WE [Paperback]

WE is another book that I recently received and, with a quick look at the lovely cover and interesting blurb, I wanted to read pretty much right away. With the synopsis vague enough not to spoil the story, it raised my interest and made me wonder just how John Dickinson was going to approach a subject such as this - separation and isolation within the solar system. The first thing that struck me was the writing and how effortlessly he pulled me into a story that is much more than it first appears.

Paul Munro is separated from the World Ear, the one thing that almost all the population of Earth now use to communicate. It can allow instant discussion and interaction while providing a platform to have feedback and opinions at a mere thought. Once this has been removed, Paul feels very lonely and had to adjust to life with what feels like inferior and slower interaction. However, he has done this for a reason and soon embarks on an eight year frozen voyage across the solar system to his new home where he will take up the position of communications officer on an ice moon where only four humans live, and the World Ear is a distant memory.

On this moon he lives with three others -Lewis, Van and May - and must be a vital part of the team that keeps the moon in operation. He must deal with the loss of the World Ear, learn to engage in conversation and human interaction in a way he has never before needed to do, and he must solve the problem that is plaguing the communications to Earth. With all of these little things adding up it gets too much for Paul and events take an interesting turn.

The setting is definitely one of the highlights of WE and John Dickinson does a fantastic job of creating a haunting atmosphere and the feeling of complete isolation. The explanations and detail given of the station is realistic and believable and it felt like the fifth member of the group. The distance involved between the station and Earth mean that communication can take up to eight hours, and with the absence of the World Ear on the station it can feel like an completely alien civilisation.

The characters are also great and help bring the story to life. Munro is our main character and it's through his eyes that we see what Earth is like before heading into the outer reaches of the solar system. It is his struggle to adjust that pushes the story forward and his determination that shows just how much of his humanity was lost on Earth. His new colleagues - Lewis, Van and May - are supportive when they can be, but are also trying to deal with a new member of their group that has very little social skills. The views each of these characters hold also become a key part of the story and it allows Dickinson to explore what it is to be human very effectively.

I found this such a great read and I was very pleasantly surprised by the prose and style of WE - I'll look forward to anything else John Dickinson writes. Highly recommended.

Sometime in the future a clever invention called the World-Ear will be created. A mixture of the mobile phone and the internet it will be an implant behind your ear that will allow you to access information from everyone the world over. There will be no need to talk because anything you want to say will be transmitted from your mind directly to theirs. Any invention or creation will instantly update all over specialists in that area. Stressed out? Don't worry, as soon as your heart begins to speed up you'll receive automatic updates. This is the world into which Paul Munro was born and now he is leaving it. An eight year trip through space will take him to the Earth's furthest space station on a moon circling a far away planet and the people who man it as they search for life. Large portions of information being sent back home is being corrupted somehow and it's Paul's job to find out why. Two men and two women stuck out in space for the rest of their lives and among the few people left without the use of the World-Ear. Trying to cope with the removal of his link to the world and hearing the arguments of those who consider themselves the last true humans left alive, Paul must decide between individuality or the safety of the collective as humankind coalesces and forms a new entity on Earth, the WE. All the while something lurks in the darkness of space, something frightened of this new birth in the Solar System. And when you corner a beast, the chances are it will lash out.

As always and in the best traditions of the science fiction genre, this is a book to make you think. With a story definitely aimed at older readers the author takes a close look at the dangers of instant communication and the effects it could have upon the human race. With the possibility of transferring knowledge and thoughts both immediately and effortlessly through the World-Ear, which is I imagine a much more highly developed Facebook, Humankind has surrendered it's individuality in favour of the collective. This has lead to the WE and the author colourfully describes it as a feral child newly born and alone. Through much of the book the authors beliefs seem clear but towards the end the dangers of being alone become clear as well and the reader is left, with no conclusion drawn, to make their own decision.

The writing style is rather intense and gives you a real sense of claustrophobia and a hint of the madness that the four people in the station must be feeling. Death feels forever just round the corner and has a noticeable effect on the characters who fall into infighting and better resentment as they are left to determine their own future for the first time in their lives. Consequently the characters are far from likable, especially Paul.

The result of all this is a book to exercise your mind, designed to make you think and by no means a light read for simple enjoyment. If you're after some fun and adventure then read a Terry Pratchett but if you want a novel along the lines of the great science-fiction writers of the past then pick this up, make yourself some time and immerse yourself into a dark and freighting future.

I first found We when searching for Yevgeny Zamyatin's 1921 book of the same name. John Dickinson acknowledges this confusion in his book.

After reading the back cover of We I was excited to read it, being a fan of original science fiction concepts. The basic premise is thoroughly absorbing and lends a perfect backdrop to the main tale. What ensues is an engaging story which causes the reader to question what humanity might mean both now and in the possible future portrayed.

In the first half of the rather short book Dickinson sets up a world, scenario and existence which draws the reader in. Though scant detail is given of the individual characters, I engaged with all of them and was keen to learn their fates. Without wishing to give spoilers - some very interesting concepts are introduced, but most are introduced at the very end of the book.

To me it is almost as if Dickinson became bored with the book and decided to end it half way through. So many interesting concepts and possibilities were opening up both for the characters, the location and for the surprising discovery they make. I was looking forward to some of these ideas being explored, but Dickinson - while in full flow - cuts off the story and ends it very unsatisfactorily in no more than five pages. To me this book is the bloody stump of a story.

I'm not a closure junkie - I'm perfectly happy to read a story which leaves conclusions up to the reader, which poses unanswered questions. However, this promising novel cuts itself off in mid-flow as if somebody had ripped the last hundred pages from the cover.

I would give this novel three and a half stars if the rating system would allow because what there is of it is really very good. Many points are lost for not providing or even hinting at some form of conclusion. I would recommend this book, it is a good read. But do be prepared to be left feeling unsatisfied.