Book Review: The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
A view into the life of an autistic in a near-future society.
We enter the life of Lou through his eyes. The first person perspective allows us to gain an inside view that is essential to understanding this book. We follow Lou through his day to day existence. He is very capable and lives and works with “normals”. His work consists of finding patterns in complex fractal designs for a corporation, which is never named in the book. This does add a level of coldness about it. We also know that this company has purchased the rights to an experimental treatment that will “reverse” autism. The division boss, Mr. Crenshaw, tries to force the employees to have the treatment. This uncoils a string a events that result in Crenshaw getting canned and the program becoming voluntary. What is intriguing is the number that volunteer. Lou is one of them. This is nearly the end, we do get to find out about Lou afterwards but then you should read the book.
I have overly simplified the plot but the book is quick moving and the character endearing. What is interesting , and I am not the only one who has this view, is that Lou seems like the exact same character from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It is also about an autistic, but in this Christopher is younger. It is almost as if we are getting the same character, grown up. Very interesting and very oddly parallel.
This book was very enjoyable and Elizabeth Moon won the 2003 Nebula award but do not let this fool you into thinking it is full of aliens and rayguns. It is so nice to see a genre stretched and pulled. This is as much “Sci-Fi” as The Prestige is “Fantasy”. I recommend this book with the following caveat – you need to read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time as well. Both are fast, both are very touching and both offer views into “normal” and explorations of good and evil, identity, choice and free will and responsibility.
