To Dream: Anatomy of a Humachine by Louis K. Lowy

Val Penny ♦ February 24, 2017 ♦ Leave a comment

I am not generally a fan of the science fiction gene, so when my friend Louis K. Lowy sent me a copy of his most recent novel, To Dream: Anatomy of a Humachine, in exchange for an honest review, I was concerned in case I did not like the book and lost a friend. My fears were groundless. This is a carefully constructed and original story that even this science fiction phobe enjoyed!

To Dream: Anatomy of a Humachine starts far in the future and I had to acquaint myself with new words and concepts. This was slightly off-putting, but, of course, William Shakespeare was criticised for making up new words in his time. Still, assassination (Macbeth Act I, Scene VII) and manager (A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream Act V,  Scene I) are now well accepted into the English language. Perhaps the same may be true of teleportathon, polyflesh and genimetrothiasine one day.

The reader returns from the dystopian exoplanet of Truatta in 2250 to Florida, USA in 2030. Here we meet the eminent scientist, Dr. Niyati Bopari. She has never recovered from the deth of her son, Jay, seventeen years earlier. She led the teams that created a Humachine (human machine) for the mega-corporation Ameri-Inc. and names her creation J-1. It is made in her son’s image.  Mankind’s thirst for immortality is explored in this unnerving novel, To Dream: Anatomy of a Humachine as Bopari secretly infuses the humachine with Jay’s DNA. J-1 is the most sophisticated robot ever created and is intended to replace human manual labour.

However, before the blueprints of the humachine are transported to Ameri-Inc.
headquarters a rogue agent attempts to steal them. The story spans two centuries and crosses two planets, Earth and Truatta. The novel revolves around J-1, who fights to find humanity. The reader feels for Bopari who lost her son and created the robot. The head of the corporation who owns J-1 adds excitement as does the leader of the rebel force seeking revenge for the death of her own family and the destruction of her home planet.

To Dream: Anatomy of a Humachine is designated Book 1 – perhaps the author has converted me to science fiction as I am genuinely looking forward to the next instalment. I was not surprised to learn that this talented former fire-fighter received a State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship. Louis lives in South Florida with his wife and daughter, their son lives on the West coast of the USA.

Valerie Penny