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I bought this book from an ebay seller, needing to read it for helping a student who had an assignment based on this story. I was more enthusiastic about it than was my student, finding it a really clever, challenging, page-turning read. While expanding the mystery genre framework, Caswell creatively uses the idea of super-intelligence within a science fiction scenario, where bright kids outwit materialistic, exploitative scientists in order to solve a crime based on corporate greed. Obviously based on scientific research, the story has echoes of the original Mary Shelley Frankenstein story, with a contemporary scientist similarly obsessed with his own ability to create life, but of a more advanced kind - with the cutting-edge scientific discoveries of later centuries to exploit. Caswell explores ideas relevant to the 21st century, such as the dichotomy between human and scientific values, the power of individuals to control the lives of others, concepts of the 'norm' and 'difference' and the plight of outsiders, the unchecked power of corporation giants, the ability of love to overcome, and the fragile connecting thread that unites humanity. This story demonstrates how scientific discoveries - left in the hands of profit-driven individuals - can result in those who have the power losing sight of human and spiritual values. It suggests that the younger generations possess the ability to overcome the damage caused by the short-term, myopic, unethical behaviour of individuals or institutions.It is essentially a hopeful view of the future. The young characters are individualistic and believable, and - although their abilities might appear extraordinary - it encourages the reader to muse upon future possibilities related to brain science. We are left wondering whether humans of the future will possess telepathic abilities, as the brain is further investigated and understood by neuroscience and psychology. At times, the difficult position Caswell found himself in - with having to convey the process of thought transference, and telepathy - resulted in a brave, but sometimes confusing type of internal dialogue, which tends to lose the reader at particular moments in the story. Readers have to forgive the somewhat awkward attempt. The connection between young minds would have been a challenging idea to convey in any language. However, one is warmed by the thought that idealistic youth might still retain the compassion and human values that previous generations have shed in the pursuit of money and power. When comparing this novel to the collection of tales spawned by the Frankenstein story, it is generally satisfactory as a contemporary extension of that tale. It is certainly more accessible to a younger audience. This book is highly recommended to young and old alike; readers who would enjoy a story that takes the mind into areas that are challenging, being confronted with the possibility of telepathic communication, and the ramifications of genetic engineering. Food for thought. Isn't that what good literature is about?Read full review