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A review by gypjet
Halfskin by Tony Bertauski
4.0
I've been getting a little burned out on urban fantasy lately, so I was glad to jump at the chance to review this little sci-fi novel. Sci-fi and high fantasy were my first favorite genres and I like to sample them on occasion when I grow bored of my new favorite genre.
The story got off on a bang, and sucked me in from the start. In the world that the author has created, mankind is using nano technology to improve our health, looks, and intelligence. As the technology evolves, as with anything, the government feels it has to control it. Soon laws declare that once a human is more than 40% biomite, they are no longer entitled to exist. Once they hit 50% they are killed.
Like all good science fiction, this story brings up the question what is it that truly makes us human? The bad guy in this thinks that humans are playing God, and that biomites (the nanos) are satanic, and if you use them you are evil. On the other hand, the protagonists view them as help for humanity much as a transplant, or a pill, or a pacemaker would be. Of course all three main characters, Cali, Nix and the bad guy Walter are deeply flawed (I like a good character study).
Pros: I really enjoyed the mix of Brave New World with 1984 going on in this book. We have the technology that is changing humanity from what it is, and the government control that not only watches you, but decides who lives or dies and can switch you off at any moment. It was also scary seeing through events that happen in the book how easy it is to manipulate technology. Other than the nanobots, I think every computer manipulation that occurs in the book, could occur today, and it's really scary how the government/bad people could destroy you on a whim.
Cons: There aren't many cons. This book was a quick read, it was thought provoking, it was even an edge of the seat thriller at times. The only issues I found were the last maybe 15-20% of the book. There were a lot of sequences and flashing back and forth between inner and outer reality. It was confusing and hard to keep track of. The last scene where Cali sets up the bad man were so vague, I'm still not sure what went on.
Overall, this was a decent novel. I think it could have been longer, it ended rather abruptly and I'm still not sure why the evil agent was going to stop chasing them. However, the action never stopped, it was interesting, and I couldn't put it down. I'd definitely recommend it to lovers of the sci-fi genre, and even those who only like the genre on occasion. This book wasn't so intense in the science jargon as to put off any casual partakers of the genre.
The story got off on a bang, and sucked me in from the start. In the world that the author has created, mankind is using nano technology to improve our health, looks, and intelligence. As the technology evolves, as with anything, the government feels it has to control it. Soon laws declare that once a human is more than 40% biomite, they are no longer entitled to exist. Once they hit 50% they are killed.
Like all good science fiction, this story brings up the question what is it that truly makes us human? The bad guy in this thinks that humans are playing God, and that biomites (the nanos) are satanic, and if you use them you are evil. On the other hand, the protagonists view them as help for humanity much as a transplant, or a pill, or a pacemaker would be. Of course all three main characters, Cali, Nix and the bad guy Walter are deeply flawed (I like a good character study).
Pros: I really enjoyed the mix of Brave New World with 1984 going on in this book. We have the technology that is changing humanity from what it is, and the government control that not only watches you, but decides who lives or dies and can switch you off at any moment. It was also scary seeing through events that happen in the book how easy it is to manipulate technology. Other than the nanobots, I think every computer manipulation that occurs in the book, could occur today, and it's really scary how the government/bad people could destroy you on a whim.
Cons: There aren't many cons. This book was a quick read, it was thought provoking, it was even an edge of the seat thriller at times. The only issues I found were the last maybe 15-20% of the book. There were a lot of sequences and flashing back and forth between inner and outer reality. It was confusing and hard to keep track of. The last scene where Cali sets up the bad man were so vague, I'm still not sure what went on.
Overall, this was a decent novel. I think it could have been longer, it ended rather abruptly and I'm still not sure why the evil agent was going to stop chasing them. However, the action never stopped, it was interesting, and I couldn't put it down. I'd definitely recommend it to lovers of the sci-fi genre, and even those who only like the genre on occasion. This book wasn't so intense in the science jargon as to put off any casual partakers of the genre.