Reading the author bio in Robert J.
Sawyer’s 2002 Hominids, I noted the
extreme lack of meaningful content. One
page long, it is an endless string of: award for this, award finalist for that,
considered by many this, heralded as that—even an appearance on Geraldo is lauded. But nothing spoke of the man (except the last
sentence: he’s married), his style of writing, or the subjects his books approach—the
usual bio fodder. This was not a
surprise, however: the author bio was located at the end of the novel. I will explain what I mean by this.
Hominids is a book
filled with ideas having that new car smell; they’re straight from the theorist’s
pen. Sawyer bets everything on the state
of research of 2002, no leeway for what five or ten more years might reveal. More than half the book is “conversations” on
theology, physics, biology, law, human rights, chemistry, social science, and other
subjects that touch upon the cutting edge of scholarly study at the time of the
book’s publishing. The problem is, 10
years have passed and already some of it feels dated. There are even old ideas (eugenics!) utilized. I can only imagine another decade will cast further doubt on the ideas
discussed, the effect of the novel diminishing with each passing year.
