Biomass: Rewind

I absolutely loved the premise of this book: Human Colony ships controlled by an AI that manufactures and programs “human” colonists from the recycled biomass of previous colonists, mixing and matching parts until it gets the behaviors and results that it is looking for (sort of like a sci-fi groundhog day). At the end of each chapter, you get a short commentary from the AI about what it has learned from all of this and maybe a clouded preview of what it is trying to do. All of this raises some interesting philosophical and theological questions to ponder (Are we really just a product of our chemical/electrical/biological programming) … There were a few nits to pick … such as how only 12 mating paired humans would be able to actually colonize a world with the obvious issues of genetic diversity … in that respect is sharing a bit of the surreal impact with the HBO series Raised by Wolves. There is a deep mystery to solve as the colonists struggle to succeed and avoid being “recycled” by the mother ship, so it is a slow, methodical and somewhat plodding story arc with a few supposing revelations that make you go Hmmm (adding to the list of questions to ponder). Despite that, I felt fully engaged with the story and enjoyed it all the way to the end.

I was given this free advance review copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#BiomassRewind #NetGalley.

Biomass: Rewind

[Blurb goes here]

This is one great read. I just couldn't put it down. Aside from the few unanswered questions that arise as I progressed through the story, I really enjoyed it. The characters are well defined and, as characters should, they grow.

Thank you for the free copy!

An interesting premise, mostly well executed. Persun has written a lot, so he know how to craft a story. This has some interesting characters and it explores of some big ideas. I stayed engaged, and look forward to the author's future work.

I really appreciate the free review copy for review!!

One of my most thought-provoking recent reads is this sci-fi first (?) contact thriller involving a team of clones sent to colonize an alien world that, perhaps, their previous incarnations may have visited in the past. The aspects of the story related to cloning and memory are fascinating; the elements concerning their attempts to deal with a seemingly aggressive native species less so. There's not much depth to the characters so when they are under threat or, in some instances, killed, it's hard to care without that emotional investment.

A fairly standard sci-fi story, in the service of some really great ideas.