Hybrids (Neanderthal Parallax, 3) [Hardcover]

The genetic obstacle to this breeding exercise gives Sawyer the opportunity to display his research abilities. How he resolves it is testimony to his writing skills. Humans, he tells us, are unique in possessing 23 chromosomes. Other primates, probably including the extinct Neanderthals, have 24. Merging genes from two such creatures is unlikely to produce viable offspring. Sawyer however, has no intention of boring you with clinical issues when there are bigger questions to address. Neanderthals are not only genetically distinct, their social structure differs in ways that would give a sociologist nightmares. Males and females live apart except for a brief period each month - Two Becoming One. Living apart means that each gender "bonds" with another of its kind for most of the month. Intrusions on this rigid social ideal aren't welcome, and Mary's insistence that couples "live together all the time" violates Neanderthal social mores. Tensions build as human and Neanderthals interact.
Neanderthals possess an electronic avatar called a "Companion". These ultimate PalmPilots communicate with one another and with a central recording station. All actions, conversations, decisions are recorded for posterity, or adjudication, if required. Adjudication has a long reach in both time and subject. Violence, they believe, is a genetic trait. The "sins of the fathers" are punished along lines of genetic relationships our society cast aside with the rise of Christianity. If "Hybrids" falls into the hands of a "mainstream" fiction reader, the howls of "genetic determinism" will disturb Sawyer's Mississauga home. However, there's an even bigger issue in this book than justice through biology. Neanderthals have no concept of deities or an afterlife. Why do humans believe in gods but Neanderthals don't?

The question of "faith" builds as the central issue in this series. Sawyer has flirted with it before, but never better than here. His handling of the question is at once novel, entertaining and based on sound research. Not only are Neanderthal and human chromosomes unalike, that condition reflects differences in brain structure. Sawyer extends the findings of Canadian scientist Michael Persinger in coping with this question. What gives humans a "religious sense"? Is it really derived from the supernatural, or does some mechanism bring about faith - an "illness" subject to cure? Ironies abound in this story, but none more potent than those Sawyer raises over this question. What do we believe? Why do we believe it? How do we deal with the concept of gods? There is no "rust-proofing" to cover the issue - Sawyer confronts you with it forcefully. You must see through the ironies and address reality.

Can you read this book without having read the previous two in the trilogy? Easily, if you can accept the notion of alternative universes joined by a quantum gateway. Sawyer deals well with the advance in human cognition that supposedly occurred forty thousand years ago. There are many ramifications branching off from this event and Sawyer handles them skilfully. Sawyer doesn't write simply to entertain. He writes to challenge your thinking, make you ponder the validity of your beliefs and raise questions about how we view the world around us. Read him and ask yourselves the questions. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

With great skill and immense empathy for this alternative to the homo sapiens’ world Sawyer builds a far-reaching vision of Neanderthal society covering all aspects of its reality, its people and their accomplishments. Exploring the scientific innovations of “Barast” society provides him with a platform for discussing the latest thinking in genetics, consciousness studies and brain research, physics, etc. His comprehensive knowledge of and enthusiasm for scientific explorations shine through all levels of the narrative without becoming heavy or too demanding for the reader. In some ways, the Neanderthal version of the universe is presented as a mirror of what could have been in our world. Take the environment: the dialogue between Ponter and Jock, Mary’s boss, during a copter flight over New York beautifully illustrates the differences between the two versions of earth as it leaves a deep impression on Jock: Manhattan IS the “Island of Hills” - devoid of skyscrapers, people and traffic. It makes him wish that we could start all over again with a clean slate.

As Mary spends more time in Ponter’s world she learns to accept the differences, up to a point anyway. Yet, Barast society is so markedly different in every major aspect of society that it is not be easy to adapt. For one, our concept of individual freedoms does not mean much here. Men and women live pretty much separate lives, each with a same-sex mate and their monthly four-day heterosexual coming together, ‘Two become One’, is treated like a holiday. Children are born according to a predefined generational schedule, allowing the society to maintain population levels stable. Besides the timing, the lovers’ wish to conceive a child appears impossible due to their genetic differences. Sawyer just loves to explain complex genetics in layperson’s terms! But DNA research has advanced, mainly in Ponter’s world, and new possibilities emerge. There are more complexities to delve into concerning genetics, above all the potential existence of a specific gene, a “God organ”. The question of religion has been a major theme throughout the trilogy and here it ends in a dramatic climax.

Sawyer’s fluent style and clear, lively narrative make this one of best reads around. At the same time, you learn about some fascinating new research and scientific discoveries and can ponder some important questions about the society we live in. [Friederike Knabe, Ottawa Canada]