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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780765346759
ISBN number: 0765346753
Label: Tor Books
Manufacturer: Tor Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: September 15, 2003
Publishing house: Tor Books
Sale Popularity Level: 332952
Studio: Tor Books
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Robert J. Sawyer, the award-winning and bestselling writer, hits the peak of his powers in Humans, the second book of The Neanderthal Parallax, his trilogy about our world and parallel one in which it was the Homo sapiens who died out and the Neanderthals who became the dominant intelligent species. This powerful idea allows Sawyer to examine some of the deeply rooted assumptions of contemporary human civilization dramatically, by confronting us with another civilization, just as morally valid, that has made other choices. In Humans, Neanderthal physicist Ponter Boddit, a character you will never forget, returns to our world and to his relationship with geneticist Mary Vaughan, as cultural exchanges between the two Earths begin.
As we see daily life in another present-day world, radically different from ours, in the course of Sawyer's fast-moving story, we experience the bursts of wonder and enlightenment that are the finest pleasures of science fiction. Humans is one of the best SF novels of the year, and The Neanderthal Parallax is an SF classic in the making.
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Rated by buyers 
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I enjoyed the very first book in the series, Hominids. It was a quick, enjoyable read that did spend some time talking about problems in our society.
Therefore, I received this book with some interest. Sadly, it stinks. The very first 100 pages where all about the author whining about the negatives in our society. Unlike another reviewer, I don't agree it's "socialist" propaganda. The author complains about extremist positions one both wings of the political spectrum, including some lefty PCisms. However, that's all he does. He whines and whines as if the negatives on the extremes are all that exists in our societies.
Of course, he does act as if the entire world is Christian driven, as if that's the only religion/philosophy around. And, while decrying our societies, his idiotic map in the beginning of the book names all the continents -- including Europe! It's only a "continent" because Western Asians (or Eurasians, if you prefer) wrote the very first widely used maps. There's no real separation and no reason for the Neanderthals to also have a Europe.
Even worse, his whining might have been manageable if there'd been a plot. There was none that I could see, just existential angst from the two supposed protagonists. I couldn't read any more of the drivel and the book will be donated to my local library.
I plan on avoiding the third in the series.
My only hope is that Rollback, a non-series book from the same author, which I also received in my latest offer, shows the same writing skills from Hominids with a bit more sense. if not, it'll be the last book I read from him.
Rated by buyers -
The premise of this book is very interesting, what if Neanderthals were still living. I admit to being a little lost at times, but Sawyer brought me back to his version of Earth! Read all three books of this trilogy!
Rated by buyers 
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Humans
In Humans, the second book of the Neanderthal Parallax Sawyer has Ponter Bodditt spend most of his time in the world that we know along with a dozen or so of the Neanderthal best scientist. In the very first book,Hominids (Neanderthal Parallax)Sawyer spends most of the time in the Neanderthal world.
Sawyer does introduce a novel method for dealing with crime. Treating it as a genetic disorder. Sounds interesting to me. Be sure to tune in for the third book in this seriesHybrids (Neanderthal Parallax)
Gunner July 2007
Rated by buyers -
Humans is not as good as the very first book in this trilogy, Hominids. However, much of the book still takes place in the intelligent and imaginative alternate universe populated with neanderthals created by Sawyer. This book focuses on the developing relationship between Ponter and Mary and the obstacles of their separate worlds and cultures, as well as Mary's past sexual assault. The ending alone makes this book worth reading.
Rated by buyers 
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After the excellent Hominids, Humans is somewhat of a let down. The series remains above the average SF fare, both in terms of contents and execution. But Humans wouldn't win any awards on its own though (PC award excepted).
Rather than exploring new ground, Mr. Sawyer has Ponter (the main Neanderthal character) repeatedly asking questions that highlight how we humans are so unpleasant to each other. This is not a bad thing in itself, but it is not a substitute for a plot either. By the time Ponter asks his 4th or 5th such question, with Mary providing an uninspired pro forma defense, the trick is as stale as my hiking socks. I especially "liked" the cocktail discusion with Mary's colleagues, with verbatim quotes from Jared Diamond's excellent Guns, Germs and Steel.
The Neanderthals' policy of castrating criminals and their immediate relatives smacks of eugenics, despite recent statistical research on the hereditary component of criminality. How did they avoid judicial errors, before the oh-so-convenient alibi machines? Is that policy ever defended? Nope, no need to, they are perfect after all.
Like others, I wonder how the Neanderthals can have such advanced technology, without our population base, our manufacturing base, or indeed our wars. I see several possibilities, and I would have welcomed more insight from the book.
a) Not having civilization collapses is more efficient in the long term (tortoise vs. hare).
b) The Neanderthals are smarter as they have bigger brains. What is Ponter doing with Mary then?
c) Technological research has been long been driven by the military, though nowadays, consumer/business oriented research seems to be more important. But pure science may be less influenced by military spending.
d) Having one language/civilization might speed up the transfer of ideas. More likely, it would introduce serious groupthink.
e) The Neanderthals' socialism implies universal acess to education which could maximize the potential of gifted individuals.
All in all, the author rests on his laurels and Humans doesn't add anything fresh to Hominids' storyline. Instead, he falls back into his usual habit of throwing "subtle" barbs at our southern neighbours. Gee, Mr. Sawyer, you live in Canada and prefer it to the US. Living in Canada, I sympathize, to an extent. But, need we be reminded, at length, in _all_ your books??? Hominids was much the better for being unusually subtle on that matter.
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