Half Past Human by T.J. Bass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Here's a fascinating blast to the past--by way of thousands of years in the future. This 1971 SF is obviously a thing of its time, but let's ignore the male/female oddities for a moment to focus on what's actually GOOD about this novel.

Opposing sets of AIs have domesticated humanity, so much so that they're almost two different species. And before you say it's Wells all over again, at least those far-future peeps weren't outright eating each other for protein because almost ALL other life on Earth has been exterminated. Trillions of humans, all managed FOR THE GREATER GOOD, are now practically nothing better than vermin, rats, hunting for little pleasures and never for meaning.

It's damn plausible. And I can see it happening to us, too, when all other things are taken away and managed by others--men become hunters (to eat the other human species) and women are baby makers. It's a tight ecosystem. It's also shockingly plausible, and reminiscent of any efficiency-expert today.

The rest of the novel is pretty damn good, too. The characters are memorable, if not enviable, and they DO fight for meaning, breaking away from the constraints, and eventually murder so many of the sheeple--but at this point, we're just as disgusted with the way things are managed, so why not?

Helpful AIs sound and feel just like the ones we have today, oddly enough. The balance of logic and necessity on a big scale has utterly crushed the small.

So, let me just say one thing, before the brilliant minds holding the power today get any bright ideas--This, like other novels like Dune, are NOT SF visions of the future we ought to emulate. These are a WARNING, you MF's.

My synesthesia has been on a steady wave of nausea--these people don't have an issue with what they eat, but DAMN.


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

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