J.L. Sutton's Reviews > Dawn

“Yes,” he said, “intelligence does enable you to deny facts you dislike. But your denial doesn’t matter.”



Lilith wakes up on an Oankali spaceship hundreds of years after an atomic war devastates Earth. These alien Oankali, Lilith learns, feel it is their mission to save what remains of humanity. How they plan to do it is what makes Dawn such an interesting read. I just finished Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam trilogy in which we find out the future of humanity isn't really humanity. There are big differences in the approach of each author, but both envision big changes in what constitutes humanity. Perhaps in Atwood's case, the genetically modified humanoids (Crakers) aren't part of humanity nor are their descendants (even if they mate with some of the last remaining humans on the planet). Not sure?

In Dawn, what follows after Lilith wakes up is something of a contest of wills between herself and the Oankali she sees as her captors. After studying mankind for hundreds of years, are they ready to help humans repopulate Earth? Compelling read with a fascinating perspective! Dawn could be a standalone, but I am ready to continue reading the Xenogenesis series. 4.5 stars


“Your people contain incredible potential, but they die without using much of it.”