Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel


Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel


                It’s been nine years since Eva, Vincent, Dr. Rose Franklin and General Govender disappeared in the alien robot Themis, and a lot has changed since. Unbeknownst to the people left behind on Earth, the four of them had been taken back to Esat Ekt, the alien planet where those responsible for the robot and for the destruction of one hundred million humans on Earth live. The Ekt were just trying to correct an error in their own judgement. Thousands of years ago, Ekts had come to Earth and quite a few bred with the humans, leaving traces of their DNA in part of the population. The Ekts were trying to eradicate those with their DNA. They were leaving Earth after realizing how much damage they had done and were trying to take Themis with them, unaware of the four human stowaways inside. The humans weren’t allowed to leave, and three of them ended up escaping back in Themis to Earth to find a world still in chaos. The United States has a robot and they’ve been using it to intimidate and conquer the countries around them. People around the world are put into internment camps based on the amount of alien DNA they have in their genes. Eva, Vincent and Rose have left one world on the brink of war for another.
                So that was a wild ride. Neuvel starts guns blazing, well lasers blazing. Before we even find out what happened to those in Themis, we learn of the state the world is in. Chaos. And things continue to unravel from there. One thing I’ve always loved about these books are the way they are told. Neuvel uses interview transcripts, news broadcast, personal letters and mission logs to tell the story. It is surprisingly effective and doesn’t take away from the character development at all. Because large portions of this novel take place on a different planet, I could have enjoyed more world development. I wasn’t sure if readers are ever given a clear idea of exactly what Esat Ekt was supposed to look like but my imagination was in overdrive the entire time trying to create a world similar to ours but different.
                What I found interesting about this novel, that separates it from the other two previous novels, were the issues regarding civil rights and the way Neuvel chose to discuss them. Each planet is having its own existential crisis when it comes to how much Ekt blood the society has. In Esat Ekt it determines your voting power and the influence you have on decisions that affect the populace. On Earth the amount of alien (Ekt) blood you have, could force you into an internment camp, cost you your livelihood and possibly your life. The conversations that took place around these issues were interesting, especially when the four humans attempted to compare what was going on in Esat Ekt with the events they remembered on Earth. It was intriguing to read Neuvel’s attempts to show the sides of both the oppressed and the oppressors.
                Only Human ends this trilogy well. The flow of the novel and this style of storytelling was really enjoyable. I liked the fact that there was such a long passage of time between the events of the second and third novels. I had no idea what was going to happen after finishing the second book so finding our humans on another planet was fun and terrifying at the same time. Neuvel has created a really enjoyable series and this fits as a great end piece. I definitely recommend this entire series.



Thanks Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Comments

  1. Excited to get to this one. Loved the last two novels!

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    Replies
    1. This series was definitely fun throughout and so creative! I hope you enjoy reading it!

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