Dawn

Wow! Dawn is the first book in the Lilith's Brood trilogy. Following a war that all but destroys Earth, the surviving humans, including our protagonist Lilith, are taken in by an alien species. These aliens believe that they cannot leave the remaining humans alone lest they destroy themselves.

I've not read anything quite like this before. Autonomy of humans is explored in every sense of the word. From surviving humans wanting autonomy as a species to bodily autonomy on an individual level, Butler masterfully weaves in mediations on race, gender and sexuality for a result that is uncomfortable and stark but deeply compelling.

So many things are left unanswered however, this is written clearly to be the first in a series, and I can't wait to read the next one! How much the following books stick the landing are definitely going to influence how I look on this book retroactively. Needless to say I'll be thinking about this for a long time.