Hominids

Rating:
Summary: A great Asmovian-style SF read
Review: Hominids is a masterful weave of two modern scientific theories - one focussed on the (evolutionary) past or our world and the other on the nature of the universe itself (quantum physics). The idea to combine a forward- and backward-looking science into one tale is enough in my mind to redeem even a horribly written book. But Hominids is far from a literary dud. Scenes and dialogue are well-crafted, and the story kept me up till the wee hours some nights because I could not put the book down.

The main idea is simple, what if Neanderthals had not died off, and instead developed their own advanced society. And what if somehow our world and theirs met, what would be the differences? The book has many plot threads, but they all tie back to this main idea. What results is a creative view of some of the latest theories on Neanderthals, an imaginative look at what sort of society they might have evolved, and a commentary(more a criticism I'd say) of the psychological underpinnings of homosapiens and the culture we've developed - highlighting the fact that it is our biological evolution that has shaped much about our culture we take for granted.

I think there are a few criticisms that can be made of this book. First is that it became a little 'preachy'(too idealistic of the Neanderthal culture) and bloody obvious. It left little nuance or depth that only the perceptive reader could pick up on. Of course, that is a criticism that can be placed on most pop SF these days. Second, unfortunately, the plot lines were transparent in their goal, and at some points 'believability' was sacrificed so that comparitive discourse could flourish. The characters are not superbly developed, and half of the book leaves you with the feeling that you're sitting at a scientific conference table (the other half is more redeeming).

So, who would this book appeal to? If you're a formulaic, action-SCIFI lover, take a pass. This book is neither. If instead you enjoy a more Asimovian type story (slower, grounded in research) then this is a most entertaining must-read for your collection.

Rating:
Summary: Multicultural melange - with a twist
Review: You have to give Sawyer credit. He offers a Francophone, a Japanese-Canadian, a Canadian-Jamaican, an Ojibway, a Neanderthal, multiple universes, and a rape - all in the first 80 pages. He uses well-established credentials in converting science, albeit speculative, into fiction. He has achieved a high point with this book. Incorporating geology, paleoanthropology and quantum physics into this story, he makes a fantastic situation both credible and readable.

In this first volume of a trilogy, physicist Ponter Boddit disappears in mysterious circumstances from a deep mine physics laboratory. Ponter, however, is not of this earth. He is of an "advanced" Neanderthal society in an alternative universe. Homo sapiens has apparently gone extinct in his world, but Ponter emerges in a world where that "extinct" species dominates. Sawyer uses the need for Ponter's adjustment to his novel environment to examine many aspects of our society - its values, beliefs and practices. Communication is enhanced by Ponter's possession of an electronic implant that "learns" words and derives meaning from context. It's a cunning ploy, reflecting a measure of desparation to move Sawyer's other ideas along more readily. He further suggests the Neanderthal's brain capacity could mean greater intelligence, even an enhanced moral sense.

The story itself isn't complex. What happens in Ponter's world to account for his disappearance, and what must he do to adapt to the one he's in? The circumstances surrounding these issues give Sawyer the opportunity to minutely examine and contrast the two societies. People in the world Pondar left prove very "human" in their motives and behaviour. Although their society is drastically different, their emotions and interactions are vividly familiar. In this world, the characters are forced to examine their history and beliefs, appearing rather shallow in contrast to the Neanderthal milieu. In fact, the two primary characters are of the Neanderthal, not our, world.

If the plot is thin, the ideas considered and discussed are not. He asks us to consider many alternatives. The most important of these, of course, is how our society is structured. Can our way of life be improved? Sawyer suggests it can, particularly in how we deal with nature and one another. Most importantly, he sees change deriving from our own choices, removed from false values derived from metaphysics. Unlike many of Sawyer's other books, we are not led down some devious path to accept deities. Even the origins and structures of the paired universes are perceived differently by their inhabitants. Both are perfectly plausible in light of today's astrophysics. Better, Sawyer is able to address these issues with a fine prose style and concern for the reader's comprehension. The next volume will be welcomed warmly.

Rating:
Summary: An Old Idea with a New Twist
Review: Robert J. Sawyer adds a new twist to the idea of having someone come from a different Universe to get a new perspective on ours. Rather than going the usual rout of having an alien come from another planet to visit our world though, he has someone come from the same world (or parallel world), and show us how things could have been done differently.

The main character Ponter Bonditt, is a Neanderthal physicist, who during a quantum computing experiment accidentally opens a portal into our Universe and he falls through it. Luckily for him in our world at the same spot that he comes through, a group of our scientists had been conducting an experiment, and they are there to help him. (Otherwise he probably would have drowned, or appeared in the middle of a rock bed a mile under the ground.)

In the alternate Universe that Ponter came from, Homo Sapiens are extinct and Neanderthal's are the dominant species. Their society is like ours in many ways, but with some very big differences. Women live separately from men. Neanderthals appear to be bisexual (they have a male and a female mate). They have a tremendous sense of smell. For birth control they follow the rhythm method and they can tell by smell whether a women is having her period or ovulating. Their population is a lot smaller than ours as they deliberately only procreate every ten years to create a new generation. Their legal system is also quite different. Everybody carries around a portable computer implanted into their arms which besides monitoring vitals, also serves as an alibi. Since everybody could be continually watched, there are no crimes. They also do not believe in God. There is no religion.

Considering the facts that Sawyer provides us with that Neanderthal's brains were 10% bigger than Homo Sapiens and their muscle mass was also bigger, it's a mystery how it was that we were the ones that survived, and not the Neanderthals in our Universe. After further comparisons with the Neanderthals in the other Universe you are made to feel that we behaved far more primitively, and maybe humanity may have been better served if it was the Neanderthals that had won out in our world. Even though this all happened years before anyone who is alive today you are still made to feel morally responsible. In their universe they don't have overpopulating. No starvation. They never hunted any species to extinction as we did. They didn't commit genocide as it is theorized in our Universe why the Neanderthals are no longer around. They don't have wars. They don't have crime. They don't use light outside at night so you can still see the stars. They also had fewer diseases since they didn't eat domesticated animals. (It appears that the most serious diseases that affected us started out in domesticated animals and then were transferred to people. Measles, small pox, tuberculosis, the flue, whooping cough, etc...) After several chapters of this I became very jealous of the Neanderthal's and wanted someone to defend our species, but the greatest accomplishment it seems they could come up with on our side was that we had been to the moon and they hadn't, but even that is downplayed in the book since we've only sent 12 men there and we don't currently populate it.

Sawyer does a great job of creating this alternate paradise, and you're just glad to find out everything over there on their side isn't always exactly perfect either. Luckily they still do seem to have a few flaws.

Ponter falling through the portal into our world created a murder mystery on their side, and Ponter's partner Adikor Huld who was with him when it happened is accused. The story switches back and forth between these two Universes. Adikor with the help of one of Ponter's children Jasmel, his women-mate Lurt, and another engineer are trying to prove his innocence by recreating the experiment in one universe, and two female scientists (Mary and Louise pronounced Mar and Lou because Neanderthal's can't make the "e" sound) and one male doctor (Reuben) in our Universe are trying to help Ponter adjust to his new surroundings to face the possibility that he may never get home. Across the barriers friendships are made and potential romances are begun.

The only negative I had in reading this book was that it appears that Sawyer discredits a lot of real life hypothesis regarding the Neanderthals if they don't fit into the mold of the fantasy story he has just laid out in this book. If the facts don't support the story then he dismisses or discredits them. One that might cause some controversy is that the Neanderthals don't believe in the Big Bang theory of creation. He implies that this was made up in our Universe by a group of scientists who's opinions and theories were influenced by their religious beliefs. Many of these real theories might be completely off base, but unless a Neanderthal does walk through that door to confirm the facts I believe they shouldn't have been dismissed quite so easily. At least Sawyer has shined a new light on some of these hypothesizes.

This is supposedly book one of a trilogy, and I'm very much looking forward the next installment.

Rating:
Summary: original
Review: Great story. Unique, original and very very thought provoking. The story is well written. It's the first Robert J Sawyer book I've read but it definitely won't be the last. A man in an alternate universe (descended and evolved from neanderthals)find his quantum experiment that coincided with another experiment in the other alternate universe (our reality) transported him to that universe. In the other universe he is subjected to disease, government interference, and
other ways of life. It hints that humans are the reason for neanderthal death in our reality. This story has love crossing species, adventure , science, philosophy, danger, criminal justice theory and more in an original and definitely not boring format

Rating:
Summary: Multiverse in Parallel
Review: With HOMINIDS Sawyer has created a fascinating story with all the ingredients of a traditional science fiction novel - and a lot more. He presents the reader with a different view on life on earth - but not from the usual perspective of 'aliens' coming from outer space as he has done in previous novels. He imagined an alternative hominid reality - that of the Neanderthals - existing in parallel with ours.

Ponter Bobbit, a physicist in this parallel universe, literally drops into ours, seemingly out of nowhere and is found floating in a tank of heavy water. An accident in his quantum computing department opens up a brief window between the two realities. The people in the science lab in Sudbury, (Ontario) were taken by surprise, to say the least. They require some time to work out who he is and what his appearance represents. This is the hook that leads to a clever and imaginative description of human (homo sapiens) attitudes vis-à-vis the unexpected. An engaging story of sharing and mutual learning from both realities in this multiverse develops from there. In particular the exchange between Mary Vaughan, the geneticist brought in to examine the Neanderthal's DNA, and Ponter explore some pretty fundamental issues in both societies.

While Ponter is learning how to communicate with an ethnically diverse group of homo sapiens, in his Neanderthal reality his disappearance leads to a completely different set of problems. A small pool of heavy water provides the only hint of something having gone wrong. But, a person cannot really disappear thanks to the "alibi archives" that record where everybody is at any time. So, his friend and colleague, Adikor Huld, is charged with his murder. Alternating this second storyline with the first, Sawyer uses Adikor's case to share with the reader his vision of a completely different social reality.

The dissimilar worldviews are constantly juxtaposed. Ponter brings his experiences and perceptions into our reality and, having mastered the language, confronts fundamental issues delving deeply into all aspects of human experiences - from religion to science to interpersonal behaviour. Mary becomes his responsive interlocutor.

Sawyer bases himself on thorough and wide-ranging research into paleoanthropology, evolution, Neanderthals' fossil evidence and more. He develops a vision on how a Neanderthal civilization might have evolved and drawing interesting conclusions from starting from the fundamental differences of a non-agrarian, hunter-gatherer society.

This is a fun book to read. It flows well, the characters are drawn with empathy and sensitivity and the two parallel realities that deal with Ponter's appearance and disappearance respectively give ample food for thought as well as reasons for smiles. Read it now as the second volume of the trilogy is already on its way.

Rating:
Summary: Anti-Human, Anti-Pro-victimization, Pro-Big brother
Review: What could have been an interesting parallel world scifi novel was seriously marred by the author's radical communist leanings. Okay, maybe a bit harsh, but... The neanderthal society is a perfect utopian society with no privacy or anonymity as the general punishment, and very little individualistic behavior. Almost like a happy version of "This Perfect Day" by Ira Levinson. Oh and we're supposed to be feel guilty about developing, among other things, nuclear power, gasoline powered cars, large cities, and industrialized agriculture. The worst was, as mentioned by other reviewers, the rape scene. The main character does not carry a weapon to protect herself, instead feeling protected by "her entitlement to safety" (the authors words not mine). I'm sorry, no one, anywhere is entitled to safety, if you are serious about your safety, you will take the time to learn to defend yourself and move with situational awareness. Instead the main character is walking around totally clueless gets attacked and then she does NOTHING, no fighting, biting, or scratching, and gets raped. Even after that rather than taking self-defense seriously she just freaks out around men the rest of the book.

Rating:
Summary: Solid
Review: This is an interesting twist on the parallel worlds theme. In this book, the inadvertant consequences of an experiment in quantum computing propels one of the experimenters from his world to ours. The catch is that the scientist is a Neanderthal and comes from a world line in which Homo sapiens died out and Neanderthals became the dominant hominid species. Most of the book is devoted to an implicit comparison between Neanderthal culture and ours. Neaderthals are not religous, have a strong sense of duty/ethics, very tolerant in many important respects, largely non-violent, egalitarian, and environmentally oriented. Neanderthal society is a sort of updated Enlightenment rationalistic utopia. This is fairly well done but a bit predictable. The author, Robert Sawyer, is a Canadian. This book, like most of his work, is set in Canada. An amusing way to think about this book is to view it as an allegory of the differences between Canadians and Americans.

Rating:
Summary: Great Idea marred by autor's politics
Review: Sawyer is a great science fiction author--too bad he tries to use Neanderthals to show us how bad humans are.

I gather that not much is actually known about Neanderthals, but in the tradition of good Science Fiction writers, Sawyer takes a few ideas and shows us "what it might be like if.."

For instance, what would it be like to be able to smell like a dog? (As the large nasal cavity of Neanderthals suggests they can.) If you were a judge presiding over a court case, you'd want to arrange the airflows and position yourself so that you could smell everyone else but they couldn't smell you. Never thought of that. Very clever.

Or what would a modern society be like if women and men lived seperately (as Neanderthal's were thought to do.) In Sawyer's speculation, it would be a great place. Boys would live with boys and do boy things, and girls would live with girls and do girl things. Once a month when The Urge strikes, everyone would get together and get it on--then go back to the real world the next day. Couples still interdependent financially. Still husband and wife in (normally) monagomus pairings. Still had families. Just didn't live together every day. Hot Damn! No wives to nag you, and no men to pick up after--sounds like win-win to me! Sawyer develops this idea well.

In Sawyer's Neanderthal world socialism actually works. And works very well. Everyone just naturally wants to "contribute". Wonderful society with all the modern conveniences, like computers and TVs and stoves and indoor toilets. No crime. No religion. It's the Beatle's "Imagine" come to life.

The first half of the book is great. Plausible science. Characters in realistic situations. Then he gets preachy and spoils it all.

The Evil Humans (in our world) won the evolutionary war over the Poor Sweet Neanderthals by genocide. (So Ken, what happened in the Neanderthal world, did humnans just evaporate? Or did they get so convicted in concience they all committed suicide?) And the mechanism that elimintes crime from the Neanderthal world depends too much on computer technology. What did they use in the bazillion years before? It's important because it's hard to imagine how the Neanderthal's present idylic world could have evolved in the presence of crime, and yet there is no explanation on how it could have been controlled.

Over all, I'd recommend this book, but with the caveat to watch out for the author's politics.

Rating:
Summary: Not A Timeless Classic...
Review: In 100 years will readers know early 2000 culture so well they'll recognize names and companies like Geri Halliwell, Scott Turow, Richard Corliss? Ebay? Dodge Neons? Obscure potato chip brands? Will descriptions of using the internet be recognizable? Probably not. The story's pop culture references don't further the story - only serving as reminders that this book is not meant to be a classic.

Two storylines follows a human world and a Neanderthal world. Unfortunately, the questions it raises are more interesting than Sawyer's answers.

Pros: Interesting factoids about anthropology, biology and history. Nice, quick read. Simple explanations of complex issues are interesting and not overly technical. Pleasant characters on the surface. Several times I put the book down to think about the questions and issues raised.

Cons: Superficial. Too many soon-to-be-obsolete pop culture references. Too many moralizing diabtribes, using the Neanderthal's idyllic world to illustrate mankind as terrible. Worst of all are the shallow characterizations. The rape victim's character was fundamentally unbelievable...merely a conglomeration of every stereotyped rape victim reaction and emotions, all rolled into one. It was like someone who had seen too many sappy Lifetime channel movies and read too many self-help books wrote what he thought a woman would be like. Not cool.

Overall: worth a quick read, try to get what interest you can out of the ideas...but ignore the clumsy writing.

Rating:
Summary: A great story.
Review: I recommend this book to any science fiction fan. The blend of anthropology and science fiction is brilliant. The story itself was amazing and I couldn't put it down. I love the affair between two of the characters because of how different they are. I love everything about this series and am excited to read the next two. A must read for any anthropology and science fiction fan!