Review by KitsuneNoir5 -- Homecoming by Jude Austin
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Review by KitsuneNoir5 -- Homecoming by Jude Austin
[Following is a volunteer review of "Homecoming" by Jude Austin.]
Homecoming by Jude Austin is the second book in the Projects series. It continues Kata’s and Tau’s journey after escaping the laboratory and the struggles they face trying to find freedom. Finally making their way to Kalin’s home planet of Trandellia, the duo is so close to escaping the long-reaching arm of GenTech, when Kata is pulled into yet another government wanting to exploit his capabilities. Tau in turn has to learn to fend for himself and what it means to be human in a world that refuses to acknowledge his humanity.
I rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars. While I did not like this book as much as I liked the first one in the series, I felt Homecoming had its own unique merits to warrant a full four stars. Instead of focusing on the morality of genetically growing human labor, as in the last book, this one focuses more on the aftermath. How does one integrate into human society after so long believing that you are more or less an animal? And how does one reintegrate into human society after having that very humanity stripped from you for so long? I did find this book to be a little dry in some parts, but none the less engaging in the character arc of Kata and Tau. Their emotions are palpable as they strive to find peace and not be used for other people’s gain. Never once did I feel like the story was dragging on; I was invested in the well-being of the characters and enjoyed getting to see their final outcome.
The thing I liked most about this book was seeing the formation and progression of Kata and Alan’s relationship and how that helped Kata on his road to recovery. Alan taking an interest in Kata when he arrives on his operating table and being the first to show him true compassion is like a breath of fresh air. Out of all the misery he has had to suffer through, it was nice to see Kata catch a bit of good luck for a change. I enjoyed reading Alan’s character and was touched by how much he gave of himself to help a kid he didn’t even know and who wasn’t even from his home planet.
The thing I liked least about this book was how it ended. I felt like there was so much more that could have happened, as well as strings left unfollowed, that it was somewhat of an incomplete ending. We missed out on seeing Tau’s reaction to all that transpired at the end and how he settled into his new role. I liked that we were able to see Kalin breathe peacefully and that his story was wrapped up nicely. However, I felt like it was lacking when it came to Tau, he just disappeared at the end. I would have liked to have seen more of how he was doing in the epilogue as well. And maybe his plans for the future, if he thought to rewrite the law that declares him inhuman or to ban the genetic creation of thinking, feeling, and rational beings that were only made for servitude and subsequently denied the decency of being called human.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good character-driven story that focuses more on the development of the characters rather than spaceships and epic space battles. Anyone who read the first book in the series will love to have this book in their collection as well. This would also be a good book for anyone who loves sci-fi but would like a more realistic portrayal rather than something that is more fantasy-based. I would not recommend this book, however, for anyone who does not appreciate the use of foul language and the alluding to situations of sexual assault.
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Homecoming
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Homecoming by Jude Austin is the second book in the Projects series. It continues Kata’s and Tau’s journey after escaping the laboratory and the struggles they face trying to find freedom. Finally making their way to Kalin’s home planet of Trandellia, the duo is so close to escaping the long-reaching arm of GenTech, when Kata is pulled into yet another government wanting to exploit his capabilities. Tau in turn has to learn to fend for himself and what it means to be human in a world that refuses to acknowledge his humanity.
I rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars. While I did not like this book as much as I liked the first one in the series, I felt Homecoming had its own unique merits to warrant a full four stars. Instead of focusing on the morality of genetically growing human labor, as in the last book, this one focuses more on the aftermath. How does one integrate into human society after so long believing that you are more or less an animal? And how does one reintegrate into human society after having that very humanity stripped from you for so long? I did find this book to be a little dry in some parts, but none the less engaging in the character arc of Kata and Tau. Their emotions are palpable as they strive to find peace and not be used for other people’s gain. Never once did I feel like the story was dragging on; I was invested in the well-being of the characters and enjoyed getting to see their final outcome.
The thing I liked most about this book was seeing the formation and progression of Kata and Alan’s relationship and how that helped Kata on his road to recovery. Alan taking an interest in Kata when he arrives on his operating table and being the first to show him true compassion is like a breath of fresh air. Out of all the misery he has had to suffer through, it was nice to see Kata catch a bit of good luck for a change. I enjoyed reading Alan’s character and was touched by how much he gave of himself to help a kid he didn’t even know and who wasn’t even from his home planet.
The thing I liked least about this book was how it ended. I felt like there was so much more that could have happened, as well as strings left unfollowed, that it was somewhat of an incomplete ending. We missed out on seeing Tau’s reaction to all that transpired at the end and how he settled into his new role. I liked that we were able to see Kalin breathe peacefully and that his story was wrapped up nicely. However, I felt like it was lacking when it came to Tau, he just disappeared at the end. I would have liked to have seen more of how he was doing in the epilogue as well. And maybe his plans for the future, if he thought to rewrite the law that declares him inhuman or to ban the genetic creation of thinking, feeling, and rational beings that were only made for servitude and subsequently denied the decency of being called human.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good character-driven story that focuses more on the development of the characters rather than spaceships and epic space battles. Anyone who read the first book in the series will love to have this book in their collection as well. This would also be a good book for anyone who loves sci-fi but would like a more realistic portrayal rather than something that is more fantasy-based. I would not recommend this book, however, for anyone who does not appreciate the use of foul language and the alluding to situations of sexual assault.
******
Homecoming
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Homecoming by Jude Austin
