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Novel set in Cambridge UK (73. 131. 977. 1213. 83719*)

7th February 2014

The Humans by Matt Haig, novel set in Cambridge UK.

0857868780.01.ZTZZZZZZIt was Twitter Chatter that brought me to this novel, somewhat reluctantly as I am not a great fan of aliens popping up in my reading matter. But it is SUCH a different book, it is neatly written, short chapters, set in Cambridge (which naturally ticks the box for us at TripFiction), so what is not to like (apart from aliens, I thought).

I say with some conviction that this is the first novel that might just convert me to the gentle alien species. Professor Andrew Martin has solved the Riemann Hypothesis (for those of a mathematical bent you will already have worked out from the title that it is something to do with *Prime Numbers) and is on the cusp of making a public announcement of this tremendous break-through in the study of mathematics. It will move the human race on by light years. But on Vonnadoria (which is incidentally 865317843 Light Years away from Planet Earth) the hosts are not happy with this. Humans must be restrained, and those who already know of Professor Martin’s discovery must be eliminated. So they send down one of their trusted aliens to step into the husk of the Professor, and adopt his body, personality and place in his social setting in Cambridge. Aliens from Vonnodoria, however, have no real insight into human societal interaction and therefore struggle at times to appear normal. But this particular alien is super intelligent, so he observes how to behave from the humans around him, which of course has mixed results (including spitting and swearing). He nevertheless does a reasonably good job of blending in (apart from a few social and verbal clangers). He is husband to Isobel and father to Gulliver and gradually, as he gets to spend time with them, he begins to feel something – something unknown in the Vannadorian world, where there is no loss, nor death, nor uncontrollable pain. But he has a mission to fulfill and that is the challenging conflict for him. This is a novel that is astutely observed, the setting although not a large character in the book, can only be Cambridge, with its soaring spires and cute courtyards.

There is a lovely personal postscript from the author explaining how the idea for the book came about. In 2000 he was beset by a panic disorder which left him feeling alienated from the world around him and I guess he reflects what he felt then, via his alien creation in this book.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

We review The Beauty of Murder by A K Benedict also set in Cambridge which goes hand in hand with our featured novel.

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