eBook Brain Child epub

Typical of Turner's greatness, the author explores the scientific realms of psychology, genetics and sociology and a dabbling of other branches which make his novels so interesting. There's always some twist on the old formula but with some additional spices which accent the former. In Brain Child, the reader observes a broad glimpse in the areas of art appreciation, intelligence quotients and hypnosis. These three undertakings aren't explored to a lesser degree than his standard sciences- they are all equally as fulfilling in their right as the next.

Exploitation is a major factor to consider when reading Brain Child. Abuses of power, intelligence, social standing, money, etc. are being utilized throughout the entire book. The abuses are obvious but it's the more obscure manipulation which will keep your eyes glued to the pages. Exasperating this factor is the indication that the Nursery experiments have such a high degree of intelligence that baseline humans have little or no understanding of their logic, emotion or goals. Therefore, the reader, too, will have an incomplete path to follow in order to ascertain the ambitions of the gifted experiments.

I was captivated by a full 85% of the novel while I tried to envision what Turner had in store for his finale. My far-flung guesses in distant spheres of hyper-reality took me to the chances that: 1) the super-intelligent Nursery experiment Conrad manipulating the athletic idol of Derek to the benefit of humankind and 2) of subliming into the quantum ether by Nursery Group C in order to manipulate mankind through a third hand. Obviously, the pathway to the investigations solution was left wide-open until the near end. However, Turner took a much more practical approach to the explanation of Group C's suicide. I felt disappointed at the simple explanation.

I'm flabbergasted that this book is out of print. Just as the superbrain clone characters in his fascinating novel died without heirs, so must have George Turner. This work is like a sequel to Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD. Set 50 years into our future, our current Genome Project makes this work totally current. A bureaucratic test tube manipulation of human brain cells produces three sets of quadruplets (Group A, B & C) each with a different and genius combination of mental qualities: one computational, one artistic/creative, and one power driven. These three sets of characters grow up to become mechanistic characters who cannot fit in with the barnyard IQs that spawned and surrounded them.
Although their limited ranges of intellect liken them to idiot savants, Turner uses the clones experiences like a scalpel to reveal the current foolishness of man's real life hopes to genetically engineer mankind. Turner's intellectual spokesman, clone Arthur, sums the whole field of cloning up nicely, to paraphrase: since evolution is based on death and decay so that mutations can continue to replace ineffective life forms and adapt to climatic change, extended life spans would result in species stagnation. Man's mind must evolve slowly to fit his surroundings. The manipulation of IQ genes or muscle genes will produce only misfits. Sudden genetic changes become reproductive dead ends. To prevent its misuse, Clone Arthur chooses not to trust mankind with the knowledge of genetic topology discovered by one of the power driven C group of clones.
The most creative Sci-fi device was in implanting visual/audio biochips to bio-wire the eyes and ears of the narrator, David Chance, to become a human camcorder -- imprinting the sights and sounds on a molecular layer inside of his skull which could be later played back like a tape recording. This idea gives a whole new slant to where human memory might reside. The brain may be merely a recording device and consciousness only a playback of that recording.

Hard to say how many times I"ve read this book - I would guess this was my 7th or 8th reread of the novel, but possibly more, though first after the 4 year intensive sff reading/reviewing so I was curious how it will stand versus more modern sff - and the book still stands tall so to speak deserving a place on my all time favorite lists (that also covers the rest of the near-future Australia sequence of George Turner comprising Destiny Makers, Drowning Towers, Genetic Soldier and the posthumous Down There in Darkness); the book is a sort of retro-future Australia of the 2040's with climate change, overpopulation and no Internet, but the power of the narrative, the extraordinarily compelling style of the author, the superbly drawn characters and the twists and turns of the story spiced with a few nuggets of eternal wisdom (power corrupts, who do you trust to watch the watchers etc) make this a top-top sfnal novel.

The story seems straightforward - in 2002 the government created super-babies of which 3 (quadruplet and related in-between like sort of cousins) groups of two girls, two boys A, B, C survived; group A turned to be good at science and group B at art but outside a few social dysfunctions they were within normal human parameters and were released at 18, while now in the 2040's they are reclusive and working for the government in group A case and just reclusive in group B case.

David Chance, young upcoming journalist raised into an upscale orphanage (under the population laws extra children born without permits become charge of the state and are raised in orphanages and of course the rich people "indiscretions" get better orphanages...) gets summoned by Arthur Hazard (of group A, not to speak of the pun of the surnames plus the letter D) who declares that he is his father (not by intention as he was experimenting with sex when 18, a girl wanted to keep hold of him etc... and David did not get aborted as the girl concealed her pregnancy etc...also David is only known child of the groups) and that David has to undertake the mission he was raised for and subtly influenced from young age when his existence became known to Arthur and the government (so he became journalist etc)....

After a bit of recriminations and feeling upset, David is hooked on the mission and so the adventure starts...

And the mission - well remember group C; they were true posthumans, super-powerful, unknowable and the humans in charge got scared and kept them isolated, but at age 18 one of them, Conrad escaped to unknown hereabouts; returning a few months later he conferred with his group - nobody knows what about since once Conrad returned his group which until them accepted the humans surveillance and later harsh interrogation up to torture, now isolated itself and accepted only one nurse as point of contact - and then they committed suicide (they just stopped living), but Conrad tantalizingly mentioned a "legacy' to the nurse and only a few like Armstrong, the scummy politician that kept that nurse on his private payroll and the Hazards knew about that...

Said legacy may have to do with human immortality or at least control of DNA and genetics, while David is also nudged to find out what happened to Conrad in his months away and why group C committed suicide on return...

Just awesome and with so many twists and turns and a "jaw breaking" denouement that is still powerful on the 8th reading or so

All George Turner's books mentioned above in this sequence are superb, still relevant and highly readable though Brain Child is still the one that stayed with me the most