I came to know about this work
because of a weekly ZOOM session I attend. The author also takes part in these
sessions regularly. When Joshua announced his work was available, I knew I
would have to give it a read because of the book's description and the glowing
endorsements appearing on the opening pages.
I've just finished the opening
segment of this multi-part saga and want more!
Some Animals is an urban science fiction tale that
moves so fast, if you blink, you're going to miss something. I could have
easily read it all in one sitting because of its length, but even more so
because of the story. This volume may be short, only 157 pages, but it is
packed full with an excellent story. It is loaded with action, emotionally
charged, and compelling.
If this first part is any sign
of the quality of work to follow, it is not to be missed and I hope it will
become something to help readers look inside themselves and examine their own
implicit biases.
The story opens as principal
characters, Jacob Kind, chronicling the events before, and leading up to the
murder of his "Primary," or the person who has purchased him. While
incarcerated, Abagail, a detective on the city's police force, is called in to
investigate the murder along with her partner, Daniel. Because of
circumstantial evidence, the detectives determine Jacob is the murderer. When
Jacob tries to explain the actual events of the crime, including a sketch of
the actual perpetrator, Abigail is having nothing to do with it. As far as she
is concerned, Jacob is lying and will be prosecuted.
During an incident in the
police station, Jacob takes advantage of an opportunity to escape and run for
his life, but even more, to find justice for his murdered Primary.
This story is told from two
points of view, those of Jacob and Abigale.
Jacob is a Companion to an
artist named Sylvia. His job is to protect and make her happy. Companions are
synthetic beings who are very much human like, but they lack emotion and
ambition beyond what they are programed for. They are also almost childlike in
their innocence, and even when they experience acts of inhumanity toward them,
they simply move on from them. Those who have the means may purchase Companions
and are free to treat them any way they choose. Fortunately for Jacob, Sylvia
treats Jacob well, encouraging him to explore his own humanity. Being
artificially intelligent, Jacob can learn and understand what Sylvia tries to
teach him, but he cannot grasp the essence of what he has learned. To him, it
is just an exercise in making her happy. Jacob is a magnificent character who
is also a little frustrating in his inaction to defend himself when the need
arises.
Unfortunately, Sylvia isn't in
the picture very long. What we learn about her is that she is an exceptional
human being in the world created by the author. She treats Jacob more like a
child to be nurtured than someone to do things for her. She encourages him to
explore the world through literature, theatre, and music to enrich his
experience. She knows he is incapable of understanding feeling through his explorations
but is not deterred because of that. I think she is also enriching herself
through her mentorship. The relationship between Sylvia and Jacob is a truly
wonderful thing to behold, and Jacob's descriptions are deeply compelling.
Ever the hard-nosed detective,
Abigale seems to be hardened and as emotionless as Jacob. She is passionate
about solving the case and steadfast as far as Jacob's guilt is concerned. She
comes across as closed-minded and is not willing to listen to anything that
disagrees with her judgement. Abigale will not give up the chase, and I think
it is only a matter of time before she catches up with Jacob. But there were
also sneak peeks at a character who will develop during her own journey of
discovery; we've only seen the surface of this strong female persona.
My favorite point of plot is
how Jacob and Sylvia stand out as beacons in a world that seems to have lost
what it means to be human. It is ironic to me how Jacob, who is clearly not
human, stands out as a bright spot in a dark world full of prejudice and
bigotry.
My takeaway from reading Some
Animals is how sad things can become when people lose their humanity. Those
of us who have paid attention to events since the onset of the COVID pandemic
can allow people to behave in inhumane ways. People hoarding necessities,
throwing tantrums over being asked to wear masks, and the "too hell with
you" attitudes have become a part of our daily lives. But in all of that,
there are those who see there is a need to continue to be humane and care about
their neighbors. In that way, for me, James has ripped a page out of very
recent history and projected it into the not-too-distant future. The principal
theme of this story is illustrated in how humanity is abandoned in the treatment
of those different from others. But there are undertones of the "meek
inheriting the earth" too. Jacob and Sylvia provide hope in a seemingly
hopeless situation and I, for one, am hoping their example will inspire readers
to do some introspection and rediscover what has been lost in being human.
Thanks to Joshua Todd James'
excellent writing, outstanding story, and amazing characters, Some Animals is
one of the best starts to a series I have read this year. It isn't a long book
and can easily be read in one sitting. There are illustrations included in the
book reflecting the action of the tale. Those have a definite noir feeling to
them and complement the story nicely.
Some Animals is available anywhere you normally find
books online. The sequels are also now available for preorder on Amazon. Minority
of One (Book 2) will be live on October 14, 2021, and Freedom Run
(Book 3) will be released on November 14, 2021. I, of course, have preordered
both.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Books include The Companion
Chronicles, which detail the adventures of synthetic person Jacob Kind in
the books Some Animals, Minority of One, Freedom Run, Man
in a Box, Renegade, and Domo-Arigato, Mr. Robato.
You may join Jacob's chase for
justice here: Joshua Todd James.
Well, there it is...
Qapla!
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