Human.4 by Mike A. Lancaster

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Humanity, like computers, can be upgraded. And old versions disappear. . . .

At some unspecified point in the future, when technology is as advanced as possible and we are a race of super beings, some old audio tapes are discovered. On the tapes is the story of fourteen-year-old Kyle Straker.

Hypnotized, Kyle missed the upgrade of humanity to 1.0. He isn't compatible with our new technology. And through the recording, he narrates what the upgrades really mean. And it's absolutely terrifying.

Sci-fi futuristic and technological apocalypse in the style of War of the Worlds, I am Legend and The X-Files.

Review:

When I first heard about Human.4 I have to admit I was intrigued, because not only was the cover different and interesting looking but the premise sounded amazing. Luckily enough Human .4 is suspenseful, imaginative science fiction fun!

Everything changes the day Danny Birnie tells Kyle, Simon, and Lilly that he hypnotized his sister. When the three first hear about it they laugh it off at yet another attempt of Danny's to catch their attention, but when the day of the talent show comes to their small town, they are sadly mistaken. Suddenly, Kyle and Lilly as well as two others are thrust in two a new world- one that has them as the top enemy and their past friends and family acting like their outcasts. What has happened? Is this some sick and twisted game, or is there something even more sinister and evil in play? Only time will tell in this fast paced tale of one boy's fight to rewrite the past and fix the future before it's too late.

One of the most compelling and well-done aspects of this book was without a doubt the premise and its execution. The idea of humanity being upgraded every few years was startling and scary and, most importantly, believable, and it only made the book even better, in my opinion. Better yet, I loved how the reader gets to learn about all of this right along with Kyle and his friend Lilly.

And talking about Kyle and Lilly, both were decently developed characters. Simon was the average teen, albeit this whole thing of upgrading he is thrown into, and Lilly was the same. The bond they form during Human.4 was yet another great part of the book, because it was interesting to see them slowly let down their guards and help one another in this huge mess, as well as begin to develop something more.

The only part I wasn't too found of with this book was the that Lancaster has left me with several questions based on the Lilly and Kyle's "new" world and such, though I read somewhere there will be a sequel to this, so hopefully everything will be cleared up sooner than later.

Lastly, Mike's writing was great for a debut author. I thought he did a great job of developing a thoroughly hashed out plot and characters in only 200 or so pages, so I'm excited to see what's next for him book wise.

In all, if you love science fiction and world that are so believable they are scary, Human.4 is the book for you!

Grade: B

Human.4 is now out!

Source: Publicist at Goodman Media.