ByJ. Hibel

Format: Paperback

Based solely on the description of this book, I might have passed... but instead I stumbled across a great thought-provoking story that I couldn't put down. This book was better than Michael Crichton's genetic thriller "Next." Unlike Crichton's books that are set more or less in current times, Proteus Rising is a sci-fi book set far in the future so it's a bigger challenge to suspend disbelief. But the author manages to pull it off nicely. At its core this book is about flaws in human nature that have plagued us throughout history. We fear people who are different, and our first response to conflict is usually aggression. Proteus Rising's plot unfolds around an ingenious way to correct these flaws through genetic engineering. Ironically, this likely solution to chronic war, bigotry, and social conflict is very threatening to a society comprised of a species that's accustomed to being dominant. The very existence of a solution triggers the fears and aggressive response it was intended to solve. When reading this book, even the most pacifist among us will be inclined to consider whether they could accept a path to peace and harmony that would involve surrendering control and eventually being replaced by a new species. At a more current level, this is not unlike the questions some societies face when political or religious revolution loom.