WE

This novel is described by the author as owing a lot to the idea of a dystopian future. For those that don't know that is basically an anti-utopia where things are generally bad and bleak. In this case the bleak future is what has become of the human race an how it interacts.

At the beginning of the story it doesn't seem so bad. There is a device implanted behind the ear which is called a World Ear. This allows near instant communication and consultation with thousands of people in the comfort of your own head. This isn't quite the same as a 'hive mind' like The Borg in Star Trek, because ultimately you can still make your own decisions. Our main character Paul Munro is one of the 80% of the population who has one of these installed. However he is selected for a mission in deep space, on the moon of a planet where the World Ear will not work. Upon having the WE removed he must learn to speak, something that isn't needed in a world of mental networking. Then he must undertake the 8 year journey out to the station. When he gets there he must relearn how to talk and interact with other human beings.

It is at this point that we begin to see the world ear as something other than a useful tool, as those other 3 people on the station have been disconnected from earth and grown wary of the WE. Through them we begin to see that perhaps the earth is beginning to lose the human race and develop into somethign different. Unfortunately the motives of these people on the station may also not be as pure as Paul thinks.

At first reading the beginning of the story it kind of reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey. At least the film, I've never actually read the book, but the description of the capsule containing Munro leaving Earth is written in the same graceful spirit as the film. This is clearly not a novel for every teen reader. It is well put together and thought through, but may at times be a little baffling for the reader who is uncertain of the meaning of some words.

This is described as a thriller, but I have to say that at no point did the writer ever inspire that true sense of adrenalin that you expect from a book in that genre. Having said that if you are a capable reader you may find this interesting for the nature of discussion that it will bring up. The idea of the individual within a society is a major theme. As Munro is taken from the busy brained society of the WE on earth into a smaller society on a space station. In this small society he is an important part, but so is everyone else, and they have to deal with offending each other and feelings, something that was easily ignored in the WE.

We also have the idea of a linked society actually becoming a life-form in it's own right and then searching for something similar to communicate with. Again this is food for thought in a purely theoretical way.

This also looks at the notion of God in a slightly mystical way, as one of the people on the station is a believer and although the scriptures have passed out of common culture, she is trying to recall them and log them in the computer system.

I found this book didn't really grip me in the way I expected, possibly it's a little bit too cerebral for me. However I have to say that I think the author has possibly misjudged his readers here. This book is aimed at the teenage market, but I don't know that it will really find a home here. Perhaps this should have been released on a more sci-fi devoted label and for an older audience?