Humans

The Neanderthal Parallax, Book 2

By: Robert J. Sawyer

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Robert J. Sawyer

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

In this Hugo-nominated novel, Neanderthal physicist Ponter Boddit brings Canadian geneticist Mary Vaughan back to his world to explore the near-utopian civilization of the Neanderthals. Boddit serves as a Candide figure, the naive visitor whose ignorance about our society makes him a perfect tool to analyze human tendencies toward violence, over-population, and environmental degradation. The Neanderthals have developed a highly artistic, ethical, and scientific culture without ever inventing farming - they're still hunters and gatherers - and this allows the author to make some interesting and generally unrecognized points about the downside of the discovery of agriculture.

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.

Critic reviews

"Sawyer is a writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation." ( The New York Times)

Enjoyable and Engaging!

A fast-paced story with an interesting premise, the Neanderthal Parallax (set largely in Canada... Huzzah!) is an easy and engaging read. The narrator of the audio version brings the characters to life well, and the hours pass quickly. My choice to give it four stars is only in comparison to the first book in the series, but all three are definitely recommended.

Even more thought-provoking

The story kept me listening avidly, but I found some of it squirm-worthy. Not so much for the sex scenes as for the descriptions of female thought and emotional processes. There was, of course, the male assumption about the importance of genital size, but there was also an attribution of sexual jealousy only to female characters. (Interestingly enough, NOT including the one described as a bombshell.) I also detected a tendency to portray females (of both species) as being less rational than males.

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?

Reasonable Science Fiction

There are some very decent, interesting ideas in this book. Unfortunately it is marred by a soppy, unlikely love story; and especially by a whole bunch of nonsensical religious discussions.

Neanderthals and Humans Unite!

Similar to its preceding book, Humans is a technically smooth novel with a pleasing style. Unlike its preceding book, Hominids, this installment mixes it up a bit. The running plot is framed by Ponter's session with a personality sculpture (what we would call a shrink in our universe)

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)

Great story!!!

Book two in the Neanderthal Parallax series, about a Neanderthal quantum physicist named Ponter Boddit and the human geneticist he has come to love Mary Vaughan exploring both Earth's and learning about and overcoming each others wildly differing cultures. This book is a great continuation of the first book, Hominids and I will be starting the final book Hybrids next! A solid 4.5 star read.

Skip the spoilery cringe inducing intro by Author

I was reluctant to move in to the second book despite the fantastic first one but I’m glad I did. So many interesting concepts. Excited for the third one now!

Interspecies fooling around

Humans is the second book of Robert J Sawyer's Neatherthal Parallax series. On the Neanderthal side, there is debate and finally agreement to reopen the portal, while on this side, Mary Von joins a group preparing for interactions with the Neanderthals and discovers that they are a distinct species relative to humans. The Neanderthals send Ponter and a diplomat over. A bit of trouble ensues, but the diplomat manages to convince their high level scientists and artists to share with the humans. Meanwhile, Ponter and Mary develop romantically with Mary spending time on the other side and facing her preconceptions regarding Neanderthal social and sexual relationships. Ponter deals with her past rape in a most Neanderthal way.

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.

Meh... But I got to the end.

Not as good as the first book. . Lots of potatoes no meat. It's too bad. It had a lot of promise. There was really nothing there.

sci-fi? more like rom-fi

listening to description of penises is not my fave in sci-fi. The lack of action is also frustrating. specialy because the first bool was so good.

Wonderful story and a great listen

I'm really enjoying this world created by Sawyer. It's complex, full of interesting people, and I can't wait to continue the adventure!