Michael Best

Beautiful. An amazing ability to so vividly create a character with such an economy of words.

I can't say that any collection of short stories I have read warrants a ‘wow‘ rating, but I certainly loved reading these. All 4 stories are tragic, touching upon love, obsession, loss and suicide.

I don't feel that the 2nd or 3rd in the series had anything like the power of Child 44.

Somewhere between a 3 and a 4, so I have favoured the higher mark because I liked the novel's unflashy, general credibility.

The plot, though nothing special, nor full of the deep cynicism of Le Carre or Edward Wilson, romped along. Definitely better than earlier Cumming's books which I have read.

A genuinely creative sf novel and well told story - I thought I was lost after the first few pages but the ideas quickly come together.

This was a really pleasant surprise. Possibly a 3.5, but I enjoyed it so much I want to be generous. It touches upon ideas of identity, what is it to be human, what is “being alive”? Subtly, it also makes one consider the moral responsibility and implications of creating “artificial” life. Subtle is how I would describe this book.