o.4 by Mike Lancaster (retitled as Human.4)
Publisher/Year: Egmontusa | January 1st, 2011
Pages: 240
Series: Point 4 Book 1
Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi
Format: Paperback
Source: Own
Summary (From Goodreads)
Kyle Straker volunteered to be hypnotized at the annual community talent show, expecting the same old lame amateur acts. But when he wakes up, his world will never be the same. Televisions and computers no longer work, but a strange language streams across their screens. Everyone’s behaving oddly. It’s as if Kyle doesn’t exit.
Is this nightmare a result of the hypnosis? Will Kyle wake up with a snap of fingers to roars of laughter? Or is this something much more sinister?
Narrated on a set of found cassette tapes at an unspecified point in the future, “Human.4 “is an absolutely chilling look at technology gone too far.
Shannan’s Summary
They found the tapes, and now great controversy exists over what the tapes actually mean. Kyle is the voice, telling those who will listen the story, they may not know, about the truth of human history. It started with a simple talent show, and Kyle volunteering to be hypnotized with 3 other people. But what happens during the hypnotism sets the four apart and down a road questioning “what makes us human?”
First Off…
I saw this on the shelf at Half-Price Books and it was a good price so I thought I’d give it a try. Found out it was discounted because they’ve re-titled this book to Human.4.
Thoughts:
I didn’t have high expectations for this book, the cover made it seem as though it would be easy to predict, but it wasn’t quiet. What made it a better story was the way it was written. The telling of the story to an unknown future discoverer of the tapes the story is recorded on made a clever twist. I especially liked the added commentary of the people who have discovered the story, explaining things that we would understand, but will one day be unknown to the people that come after us, or at least be known in a historical kind of way.
The main character, Kyle Straker, tells the story of how everything changed. He has a good voice and he is easy to follow. The character development isn’t deep, so it’s mostly the action that is driving the story. I did like that the romance and love triangles are kept to a minimum and the minor characters are interesting and add an extra level to the story.
I don’t want to give away too much since it’s the story that drives you, but you do have enough answers by the end to be satisfied, yet curious about the next book.
10 Second Summary:
- Easy Read- This was a middle grade level reading and the story is interesting enough to keep you going which makes it an easy and quick read.
- Unexpected Writing- The way this book was written made it stand out from other books in this genre. I enjoyed the refreshing point of view.
- Story driven- If you want deeply developed characters, this isn’t the story for you, but it’s a good story.
This was a good story, I’d say buy it if it’s under $5, which is what I spent. So not a bad buy, and I’ll eventually read the next book, 1.4. If you like Sci-Fi you should check this one out. I think fans of The Martian Chronicles would like this as well.