The Speed of Dark

The comparisons to “[b:Flowers for Algernon 18373 Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1367141311s/18373.jpg 3337594]” are pretty apt. tl;dr: I think Flowers is a better book. Speed has more to try to say - maybe not at depth, but definitely more - but has some technical flaws that I found difficult to overlook. I waffled between 3 and 4 stars several times - at its best, it's quite good. It's just that when it fails, it brings the entire show down.The biggest problem I've heard elsewhere is that it promotes either "Autism must be cured", or "Treating autism is ablist propaganda!". I've seen both - it was one reason I've put off reading the book for so long. I think it's more complicated than either position, and I have to work myself up to reading position pieces.Fortunately, I... didn't take either away from the book, and frankly, that's the thing I liked best. The main character ends up with his autism treated, but that was after spending most of the book against the idea, struggling with what changes it would make, if it would change who he was. And, best of all, it does change him. Some of his friends chose differently. And, while he got to chase his biggest dream, he lost touch with his friends, and the woman he loved wasn't nearly as interesting afterwards. I think Moon was aiming for it to be more of a mixed bag than it sounded, but after consideration, I think that would have been somewhat difficult, at least with the time allocated. Seriously - what else could you take from him while still leaving it mixed?The biggest failing was pacing. The ending feels very rushed, and Lou's decision to have the operation, his recovery, and the post scene all total 20 pages. I think her decision to have those pieces take very little space are understandable - having a long recovery invites even more comparison to a certain other book, and a long normalcy period has other potential problems.Another problem is that Lou's capabilities seem to change depending on what the plot needed. Several times, I was jerked out of the narrative by a lack of understanding or a "deep" pondering that didn't seem in line with his earlier established capacity.Several minor subplots were introduced, built up, and then conveniently ignored. I think they were attempts to help flesh out the main character and his friends, but they fell flat - to the point that I re-read a significant portion of the book to see if I had missed what happened.The characters, other than Lou, were... fairly two dimensional. I think that works best here, as it gives Lou a chance to shine, and for us to see where his limits are.Overall? Don't read it if you're looking for hard sci-fi, epic fantasy, a lot of action, or even a fast-moving plot. Most of the book is about the interactions of Lou with others, and the remainder his introspection, which is nothing really new in the genre. That said, sometimes, what you want is to approach a well-trodden place from a new path, though, and that's exactly what this book does. Recommended.