
Humans
The Neanderthal Parallax, Book 2
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Davis
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Robert J. Sawyer
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By:
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Robert J. Sawyer
BONUS AUDIO: Author Robert J. Sawyer explains why one particular chapter of Humans is his very favorite.
Hunt and gather: listen to more in the Neanderthal Parallax trilogy.©2003 by Robert J. Sawyer (P)2008 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"Sawyer is a writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation." ( The New York Times)
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Enjoyable and Engaging!
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On the whole, however, Rober J Sawyer has produced another excellent and thought-provoking novel. What is humanity? How could the ills of society be remedied?
Even more thought-provoking
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Reasonable Science Fiction
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At first the story focuses primarily on Ponter Bonditt and Tukana Pratt, who are Neanderthals from Earth from a parallel universe visiting Earth from the universe we know. With the portal between the Neanderthal world and ours is permanently reopened, Tukana works to build trade and information exchange between our two societies.
Running midway through the story, about a hundred pages in, the pacing changes and focus shifts to Ponter Bonditt and Mary Vaughn. Accompanied by Ponter, Mary travels to the Neanderthal universe and navigates the cultural and ideological differences between the peoples of the two universes.
things I especially liked:
- The various technologies from the parallel world; alibi archive, companion implant, transportation cube, and personal shield.
- The Neanderthals lack of sexual discrimination.
- The world-building of the Neanderthal universe; identical to Earth yet different.
- The concept, explanation, and examples of man-mate and woman-mate.
- The idea of sterilization as the form of punishment for serious crimes, not just for the aggressor, but any family member who share more than fifty percent of their genes with the aggressor.
- Tukana the Neanderthal ambassador to Earth.
things I didn't mind:
- The religion aspect. Not that it was preachy or uninteresting.
- The personality sculpture was, at first, intrusive. Eventually, as we move past the second half of the book, he was less interruptive.
- Rape as drama.
- The Vietnam Memorial scene.
things I could have done without:
- The length at which religion was discussed and debated, particularly midway through the story.
things I didn't expect or made me shake my head:
- Although I expected the (male-to-female) rape was to be covered, the (male-to-male) rape caught me with, umm, with my pants down.
- All the steamy sex about halfway through the story. For a bit there, I thought I was reading a Harlequin romance novel. The scene was quite descriptive.
My rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5 stars)
Neanderthals and Humans Unite!
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Great story!!!
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Skip the spoilery cringe inducing intro by Author
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The sci-fi elements from book 1 continue in book 2. The main focus is on social distinctions with the smaller Neanderthal population having evolved a more socialistic and egalitarian community. The differences in nasal capabilities results in Neanderthals finding humans far more smelly with a dirty, overcrowded world. Scientifically, there is a speciation distinction provided and some interesting commentary on evolutionary pressures on both humans and Neanderthals. The social conventions seem forever contradictory.
The narration is well done with good voice distinction of both genders. Pacing and tone are well aligned with the overall plot progression.
Interspecies fooling around
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Meh... But I got to the end.
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sci-fi? more like rom-fi
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Wonderful story and a great listen
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