Episode 65: Dawn by Octavia Butler

The Fake Ass Book Club is back this week to review "Dawn" by Octavia Butler! Octavia Butler was an American science fiction writer, one of the best known among the few African-American women in the field. In her book, "humanity is decimated, and Earth has been all but destroyed by nuclear war. A black American woman, Lilith Iyapo, awakes among frightening aliens called “Oankali,” who offer humanity a devil's bargain: they will “save” humanity from extinction by taking human DNA, blending it with their own, and creating a stronger hybrid species. Lilith, the main charter, immediately becomes afraid that they will rape her, or remove her eggs without her permission, but they assure her, “No Oankali will touch you without your consent.” However, “consent” becomes an increasingly muddied concept as the novel goes on." (https://blog.pshares.org/rape-and-the-ravages-of-colonialism-in-octavia-spencers-dawn/). As the ladies navigate this story of survival and humanity’s seemingly inevitable evolution, they have so many questions. If human evolution was dependent on their willingness to merge DNA with aliens, would you do it to survive? Would staying 100% human be that important? Would our humanity be compromised? While noting the similarities between colonialism and Oankali's quest to assimilate humans to a new way of life, Moni and Kat ponder how they would handle an alien invasion. Tune in to hear what they had to say!! (As always, this episode contains spoilers!) Warning: Adult Content (Rape/Suicide/Sexual Content) and strong language, please be advised this show is for adults 18 and up. Dedication: To our listeners as always, thank you! To Moni and her brothers and Nichelle Nichols. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nichelle-nichols-pioneering-star-trek-actress-dies-at-89-180980507/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichelle_Nichols Notes: Book: Dawn by Octavia Butler Paperback, 248 pages/ Audio book 9h 20min Sci-fi/Post- Apocalyptic/Fiction Published April 1997 by Warner Books (first published May 1987) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60929.Dawn About the Author: Octavia Estelle Butler was an American science fiction writer, one of the best known among the few African-American women in the field. She won both Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant. https://www.octaviabutler.com/theauthor Mentioned in this episode: Lost Books of the Bible https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheLostBooksoftheBibleandtheForgottenBooksof_Eden Stranger than Fiction: Heroic teen saves 3 people from drowning: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/heroic-teenager-recounts-saving-3-girls-and-police-officer-from-drowning-in-sinking-vehicle/vi-AAZqG3n?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=262080707e8c447b889972d892806976 Please email thefabpodcast@gmail.com with your "Stranger Than Fiction" stories so we can share them on the show or let us know how you feel aout the show. You can follow and find us across social media by clicking our Link tree https://linktr.ee/Fabpod Don't forget to follow us on social media; rate, review, and SHARE!