4 out of 4 stars
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Have you ever wondered about how far technology will go in creating, and abusing, artificial life? Set in the distant future, Project Tau by Jude Austin is a captivating science fiction novel that deals with human rights, freedom, abuse, and the ethics of cloning.
Kalin Taylor is an almost blind, overweight college student hoping to enhance his social standing and romantic prospects by getting into Phi Mu Alpha fraternity. The only thing standing in his way is the fraternity initiation - break into a highly guarded medical facility and take a picture of Project Tau. Kalin's plan seems to run smoothly until he is captured, turning his life upside down.
One of the big themes of this book for me was the ethics of cloning and just what makes a person human. Clones are given basic instructions, not allowed to feel, and are used for tasks deemed too dangerous for humans. As the book progresses, Tau's evolution questions the ethics of treating clones as things, not people. Given the technological booms we experience, I feel like this is an area that needs more attention and thought.
Despite the seriousness of the themes in this book, it is surprisingly humorous. Because of Tau’s inexperience with life and taking words at their literal meaning, he often misunderstands what he hears. I chuckled through most of the dialogue exchanges between Tau and Kata. In one instance, after Kata states that he wants to try to think, Tau, confused over the word try, asks, "Are you brain-deficient?" This one made my eyes water with laughter.
I'm hard-pressed to find a downside to this book, but I would like to warn readers that there is quite a lot of violence and torture. These aspects form a huge basis for the theme of the book, however, and are not used gratuitously. The author also leaves many of the gruesome details up to the imagination of the reader.
Overall, Project Tau is an exciting and thought-provoking read and I give it 4 out of 4 stars. The book is well-edited with minimal mistakes. I recommend this book to science fiction fans and those who enjoy an emotional and psychological read. Besides the violence mentioned above, I would also like to warn that there is frequent coarse language, so if either of these bothers you, then I would give this one a miss.
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Project Tau
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