Jennifer R. (Kittymama) reviewed on 4/21/2006 + 107 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

If computers could register all brain electrical impulses, couldn't they then keep a body alive even if the brain had "died"? Could one then isolate the very essence of the mind, the anima, the soul? When 13-year-old Tyler Jessup suffers profound brain injury, two neurosurgeons see conflicting opportunities. One wants to replace damaged brain cells with regenerated ones, the other wants to use a machine to separate the mind from its physical surroundings. Tyler's father, desperate to rescue his son, ultimately subjects himself to the latter experiment in order to find his son's psyche and bring it back. Darnton, a veteran New York Times editor, skillfully pushes current science just a bit further in his third novel and for the most part makes the what-if plausible. As he did in The Experiment with cloning humans on demand, he makes the science accessible but not intrusive while adding sometimes lurid plot twists. The suspense is largely psychological and emotional though no less frightening in its moral and religious implications.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details