Review by naomisorge -- Project Tau by Jude Austin

[naomisorge]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Project Tau" by Jude Austin.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Set on a space station around the year 3391, Project Tau by Jude Austin is the story of a sinister organization called GenTech who creates Projects, human clones for specific purposes. Project Tau is designed to work on a mining planet, protecting his human owners from cave-ins and carbon monoxide poisoning. He can hold his breath for much longer than an average human and has superhuman strength. Project Kata will become a stealth assassin for a planetary army. He can run faster than most cars, change his color to blend in with his surroundings, and has razor-sharp claws on his hands and feet.

The problem? The director of GenTech, Mason, is a man who is much too stupid for his position, and the assistant director, Dennison, is a sadist. Oh, and Project Kata is not a clone at all. He’s a smart-but-naïve college boy named Kalin Taylor who sneaks into the facility for a frat boy stunt and is never allowed to leave. Over time, as his physical body changes beyond recognition, he is slowly brainwashed to believe that he is really a Project. That is, until troublemaking scientist Andrew Renfield discovers the truth. This revelation starts Tau and Kata down a path from which there is no coming back.

Tau and Kata are deeply sympathetic characters. Tau has never been outside of the laboratory, and his world opens up as he shares a room with Kalin. Kalin’s world closes down as he is slowly molded, mentally and physically, by the scientists at GenTech. As the story unfolds, Tau starts to develop his own personality and curiosity under Kata’s influence, and Kata is forced to confront his own selfishness and use his inner resources. At one point near the end of the story, Kalin/Kata looks at Tau and thinks to himself, “This guy’s come a long way.” The reader can’t help but cheer at the progress of both of the characters.

In some ways, this novel reads like the science fiction stories that I grew up reading in the 1980s and 90s. There’s the slightly retro handling of the female characters, who all appear to toss their hair as they storm out of rooms and run away just as fast as their stilettos can carry them, while the serious work of training Projects is left to the male scientists. Andrew Renfield complains about the cost of making interstellar telephone calls and sends a lot of emails. And there’s the printing. Everyone prints their reports, emails, and newspaper articles. I loved it that in the author’s vision of the 34th century, people have the technology to make themselves invisible, but are still reliant on good old paper.

I would rate this book 4 out of 4. I found myself looking forward to my commute home so that I could find out what happened next. I also loved the slightly old-school style of writing. You would like this book if you love science fiction, stories of friendship, and survival against the odds. However, be warned: both of the Projects undergo physical and psychological torture at the hands of Dennison. If this is something that you would find disturbing, this book might not be for you.

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Project Tau
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[Twylla]

nice review. I hope we never get to the point of cloning humans. That would be a major mistake. This was one of the best books I have read in years. thanks for the great review!