Dear reader, there may be some
minor spoilers here from Volume 1 of the Companion Chronicles series, Some Animals, in this review. I would recommend you get the first book and read
it before reading on. You've been warned...
The continuation of the Companion
Chronicles is every bit as good as the first installment, if not even
better. It is a sci-fi story illustrating how destructive and dehumanizing
people can be when prejudice and bigotry gets stirred up. Once again, author
Joshua Todd James has hit it out of the park in this second segment featuring
Jacob, the ill-fated artificially intelligent Companion falsely accused of
committing two murders.
Minority of One is well written and moves at a
scorching pace, there's never a dull moment and James' visuals are absolutely
stunning. His characters are both compelling and appropriately repulsive and
explode off the page as though they were real people. His visuals extend the
reading experience in how vividly they paint a backdrop to stimulate all on
one's senses.
The opening of Minority
recounts the events of the previous book in the series. Artificially
Intelligent Jacob looks and behaves as a human. When he is found holding his
dead Primary, Sylvia, he is accused of her murder. After being taken into
custody, a police investigator is also killed during his interrogation and
Jacob escapes with the purpose of bringing Sylvia's killer, Mason Tolliver, to
justice. He is not only on the run from the police, but the company that
manufactured him wants to capture him. With the help of some unlikely friends,
his manufacturer's tag is removed, making him a renegade.
The story picks up with Jacob
arriving in South Bend, Indiana, where there is a palpable sense of opposition
to Companions. There are signs every forbidding the presence of them and many
incidents of violence against them. Unlike where Jacob was from, Companions may
not move about without being accompanied by their Primaries. Having his tag
removed allows him to look for Tolliver's trail while appearing human.
As he searches for clues, he
meets people who are vehemently against the existence of Companions and a few
who offer shelter to the unfortunate. All the while, Jacob gathers information
about Tolliver while, at the same time, he helps others; even to those who hate
him for what he is.
Jacob's plight is difficult,
but he is determined to use his knowledge and cleverness to track down Sylvia's
killer and bring him to justice.
How does one describe Jacob,
the principal character? The prologue of Minority opens with the following
lines (used here with the author's permission)...
"I was not born as you were. I was not dragged from the womb, kicking and screaming, held and fed until I calmed. I did not arrive into this world as a baby. I am made of living tissue, as you are. I breathe, hunger, thirst, and do everything you do, I bleed like you, though my blood is green rather than red as yours is. I am a synthetic person, manufactured in a factory, but a living being with the same desires, needs, and weaknesses that you have."
That's not all there is to Jacob
though. He can learn just by observing, and he can emulate behaviors he sees
perfectly. One of his greatest strengths, though, is his capacity to feel
compassion for those around him, even those who hate him for what he is. One
such character is Candy, a prostitute, and her young daughter Bethany.
Candy wants more for herself
and her child than the life she feels forced into. She has no love whatsoever
for Jacob's kind, and he knows it. But despite that, Jacob sees an opportunity
to lift Candy up so she can provide a more suitable life for her daughter. To
say any more about what Jacob did to help would be the major story reveal and
you are just going to have to read the book to understand the lengths Jacob
will go to help others.
Jacob is not only an amazing
character in his physical abilities, but he is also an example of what is best
in humanity.
It is Jacob's compassion and
how he cares about others, forming my favorite plot point.
One of the major themes in Minority
is one being's search for justice against overwhelming odds; that's the obvious
one. However, the main takeaway for me is how Jacob maintains his humanity no
matter what obstacle come his way. It doesn't matter what he faces, whether it
is extreme prejudice, or even danger threatening to end his life, he maintains
his humanity. There have been many stories where a non-human character shows
unexpected humanity, but, as far as I am concerned, Jacob is the best and
purist example of someone who, no matter the circumstances, walks the walk and
talks the talk of someone who will adhere to their principles without fail.
Minority is a slight departure from the first
book in the series in that we don't learn what is happening with those pursuing
him. All the while, I wondered what was going on with those who were looking to
capture him and had to keep reminding myself this story is about events being
chronicled by Jacob himself, so he wouldn't know what is happening beyond his
personal experience.
I give my highest
recommendation for Minority of One as well as the first book in the
series, Some Animals.
Author Joshua Todd James is a
brilliant writer and storyteller and I think his books will not only entertain,
but they will also teach without being preachy. The Companion Chronicles
appears at a time when much healing is needed after a tumultuous period in our
country. May we all heed the message.
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 (to
be released November 14, 2021), 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!
