Dawn-ing Dread; This Book Made Me SO Anxious
In a whole lot of alien invasion stories I've heard or read about, they almost always focus on the immediate or eventual reveal that the alien species is most assuredly and bluntly "out to get us." And I guess in a way, the Oankali are, but more as a personal attack on Lilith's and the other's identities as just "human." I found myself thinking that their integration to the humans was being experienced by Lilith as a sort of "killing me softly" process, one she never fully consented to.
The whole thing, while well written and unfolding beautifully in how the aliens reveal only half truths and small tidbits of information that eventually blossom in the story, but it actually made me soooo uncomfortable. I could physically feel myself getting anxious as the story progressed and the Oankali introduce Lilith to their ideas and end-game desires. They're obviously not ill-intended in their own right, but the way the characters felt the attack on their personhood and humanity was described had me writhing in my seat sometimes!
Lilith's whole arc was something I really admired as a writer & character focused artist; going from extreme hesitance, to begrudging acceptance, and then back to a full 180 degrees complete resilience to integration with the aliens was done in such a realistic way, I really enjoyed it! Lilith as a character that is almost always questioning and inwardly rebelling against her "saviors," and her final realization that she will only ever be ready on their terms rather than hers and choosing to try and help future humans escape was such a nice subtle unfolding compared to a more physical one. Were she to try and escape a pretty nice environment as far as alien abductions go in more of a Hunger Games-esque style rebellion, it definitely wouldn't have had the impact as her bonding with her Ooloi and eventually re-breaking that bond mentally all over again.
I really enjoyed Octavia's style, work, and overall concept; in true human fashion, we're bound to like stories where we fight back, somehow. And I thought this was a really interesting take on how people grapple with fighting back when the ones who captured you also saved and cared for you after your own undoing.
The whole thing, while well written and unfolding beautifully in how the aliens reveal only half truths and small tidbits of information that eventually blossom in the story, but it actually made me soooo uncomfortable. I could physically feel myself getting anxious as the story progressed and the Oankali introduce Lilith to their ideas and end-game desires. They're obviously not ill-intended in their own right, but the way the characters felt the attack on their personhood and humanity was described had me writhing in my seat sometimes!
Lilith's whole arc was something I really admired as a writer & character focused artist; going from extreme hesitance, to begrudging acceptance, and then back to a full 180 degrees complete resilience to integration with the aliens was done in such a realistic way, I really enjoyed it! Lilith as a character that is almost always questioning and inwardly rebelling against her "saviors," and her final realization that she will only ever be ready on their terms rather than hers and choosing to try and help future humans escape was such a nice subtle unfolding compared to a more physical one. Were she to try and escape a pretty nice environment as far as alien abductions go in more of a Hunger Games-esque style rebellion, it definitely wouldn't have had the impact as her bonding with her Ooloi and eventually re-breaking that bond mentally all over again.
I really enjoyed Octavia's style, work, and overall concept; in true human fashion, we're bound to like stories where we fight back, somehow. And I thought this was a really interesting take on how people grapple with fighting back when the ones who captured you also saved and cared for you after your own undoing.
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