Review of Project Tau
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Andy Clipperton
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- Latest Review: Project Tau by Jude Austin
Review of Project Tau
[Following is a volunteer review of "Project Tau" by Jude Austin.]
Bookish and far from athletic, Kalin Taylor is a young college student about to embark on what he thinks will be a stupid prank in order to gain acceptance into a fraternity. (Quite frankly, I think he's an idiot!) There is no long, clanky uphill climb preceding a hair-raising rollercoaster ride of a story. Instead, the reader is catapulted, along with young Kalin, like a pinball into an exciting tale that touches on diverse topics such as true friendship, animal rights and slavery. Kalin's attempt to infiltrate a high-tech facility engaging in questionable cloning work goes horribly wrong, mostly due to a complete absence of any kind of real planning. Poor decisions lead to catastrophic decisions, and before he has a chance to say, "Hey, wait a minute, here!" he's become the firm's latest “Project” and is thrown into a small room with a bona fide clone. I knew, of course, that Kalin would eventually escape the facility, but exactly how was not a forgone conclusion. Whether the nearly physically perfect entity enigmatically called Project Tau would be a help or a hindrance was also an unknown variable.
I like how even though Project Tau is set over 1,000 years in the future, author Jude Austin avoids nearly all the tropes associated with the modern science-fiction genre and has crafted a thoughtful narrative about what it means to be human and what imbues a person with value. The author drips information about Kalin's family of origin on a need-to-know basis, which makes the story flow smoothly and quickly. It also makes finding out why Kalin's sense of self-worth is so abysmal something of a mystery until enough information is revealed. Kalin's perception of what makes a person valuable is so shallow, it doesn't take much to be at the bottom of the scale, but why he holds such views isn't immediately apparent. Action sequences are written in a way that makes them easy to follow and doesn't break up the pacing. Plot and character development sections are equally well written, with enough information given to the reader so that they understand, while also avoiding a sense of dragging.
Given how far into the future this tale is set, I find it implausible that cultural references that are readily recognizable in our time would still be in use, something that happens a few times in this book. In the context of the story, an attempt is made to justify this, but I found it to be something of a prohibition to my suspension of disbelief. This would be my only real criticism of Project Tau. I am someone who enjoys reading vivid descriptive passages and this is not one of the author's style points. All the same, there is enough detail given so as to spark the imagination to fill in the gaps.
I give this book a rating of three out of four stars, mostly because of how the author framed an intelligent question about what it means to be human in a unique way, even while using the clone vs. human trope. I enjoyed seeing Kalin develop from a shallow, selfish boy into a young man with resilience and character.
I would recommend this book for young adult readers that are bored with the typical space-opera novel but still want that science-fiction feel. Jude Austin delivers an origins story that is both tragic and satisfactory. I am very inclined to get book 2 and see what happens to this young character next.
******
Project Tau
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Bookish and far from athletic, Kalin Taylor is a young college student about to embark on what he thinks will be a stupid prank in order to gain acceptance into a fraternity. (Quite frankly, I think he's an idiot!) There is no long, clanky uphill climb preceding a hair-raising rollercoaster ride of a story. Instead, the reader is catapulted, along with young Kalin, like a pinball into an exciting tale that touches on diverse topics such as true friendship, animal rights and slavery. Kalin's attempt to infiltrate a high-tech facility engaging in questionable cloning work goes horribly wrong, mostly due to a complete absence of any kind of real planning. Poor decisions lead to catastrophic decisions, and before he has a chance to say, "Hey, wait a minute, here!" he's become the firm's latest “Project” and is thrown into a small room with a bona fide clone. I knew, of course, that Kalin would eventually escape the facility, but exactly how was not a forgone conclusion. Whether the nearly physically perfect entity enigmatically called Project Tau would be a help or a hindrance was also an unknown variable.
I like how even though Project Tau is set over 1,000 years in the future, author Jude Austin avoids nearly all the tropes associated with the modern science-fiction genre and has crafted a thoughtful narrative about what it means to be human and what imbues a person with value. The author drips information about Kalin's family of origin on a need-to-know basis, which makes the story flow smoothly and quickly. It also makes finding out why Kalin's sense of self-worth is so abysmal something of a mystery until enough information is revealed. Kalin's perception of what makes a person valuable is so shallow, it doesn't take much to be at the bottom of the scale, but why he holds such views isn't immediately apparent. Action sequences are written in a way that makes them easy to follow and doesn't break up the pacing. Plot and character development sections are equally well written, with enough information given to the reader so that they understand, while also avoiding a sense of dragging.
Given how far into the future this tale is set, I find it implausible that cultural references that are readily recognizable in our time would still be in use, something that happens a few times in this book. In the context of the story, an attempt is made to justify this, but I found it to be something of a prohibition to my suspension of disbelief. This would be my only real criticism of Project Tau. I am someone who enjoys reading vivid descriptive passages and this is not one of the author's style points. All the same, there is enough detail given so as to spark the imagination to fill in the gaps.
I give this book a rating of three out of four stars, mostly because of how the author framed an intelligent question about what it means to be human in a unique way, even while using the clone vs. human trope. I enjoyed seeing Kalin develop from a shallow, selfish boy into a young man with resilience and character.
I would recommend this book for young adult readers that are bored with the typical space-opera novel but still want that science-fiction feel. Jude Austin delivers an origins story that is both tragic and satisfactory. I am very inclined to get book 2 and see what happens to this young character next.
******
Project Tau
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Project Tau by Jude Austin
