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A review by crowinator
Human.4 by Mike A. Lancaster
3.0
Wow. That was fast.
This is a great one for reluctant readers, with a high-concept premise and fast-paced, easy-to-read storytelling.
Lots of short, one-sentence paragraphs in a row.
Kind of like this.
It can be annoying but it's used effectively in this story.
I had to keep reading just to find out the answers to the intriguing set-up, Kyle, the narrator, records his story on some old cassette tapes and leaves them to be found, and the frame tale basically sets up how we're reading the transcription of his story from the POV of an academic in the future. A few narrative quirks bugged me (the brief authorial notes defining Kyle's outmoded phrases and pop culture struck me as being too "winky winky" and in love with its own cleverness, especially the opening explaining what a book is, which just reminded me of that internet meme) but they show up less and less as the story goes on, which is smart, since then the furious pace isn't so broken up at crucial moments. I am kind of amused at the idea of future people analyzing Kyle's story with that same style of theoretical navel-gazing that I am so familiar with from graduate school, so that made some of the asides worth it.
The characters don't get much development, but that's sort of the point; they're sketched in enough to be relatable, but this is one of those science fiction books more about the idea than the people. The ending could go either way -- sequel or no sequel -- and I kind of hope for no sequel. I like how the characters get answers but not solutions. It's like the first Matrix and how there maybe shouldn't have been a second and third -- once there's a sequel that tries to work out where a premise like this should go, it's ruined. It's not tidy, and that could bother some readers, but I think it could also foster some interesting discussions.
This is a great one for reluctant readers, with a high-concept premise and fast-paced, easy-to-read storytelling.
Lots of short, one-sentence paragraphs in a row.
Kind of like this.
It can be annoying but it's used effectively in this story.
I had to keep reading just to find out the answers to the intriguing set-up,
Spoiler
in which most of humanity is "upgraded" but a few people, for various reasons, are disregarded and therefore rendered obsolete.The characters don't get much development, but that's sort of the point; they're sketched in enough to be relatable, but this is one of those science fiction books more about the idea than the people. The ending could go either way -- sequel or no sequel -- and I kind of hope for no sequel. I like how the characters get answers but not solutions. It's like the first Matrix and how there maybe shouldn't have been a second and third -- once there's a sequel that tries to work out where a premise like this should go, it's ruined. It's not tidy, and that could bother some readers, but I think it could also foster some interesting discussions.