Customer Reviews

The Breeds of Man

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I guess it all boils down to the definition of evolution. If it is the way an organism responds and adapts to its environment over long period of time then what is presented here does not make the cut. Is a new phenomenon caused by bioengineering the same thing?

The science aside it is a good read. It is similar in subject - but not plot - to COMMITTMENT HOUR (James Gardner) which casts a future Earth in which folks "decide" which sex they want to remain the rest of their lives. Fast paced action in BREEDS but too many characters for my taste and the politicians and religious "leaders" were rather two-dimensional...no deep philosophy here over such an epic happening. Even though the ending was predictable it was still a good read.

Truly a wonderful story, with plenty to make the reader think. Busby has crafted a story based so closely on the real world, that all the events feel as though they could happen. He is a fabulous storyteller, and I highly recommend that anyone who likes his work read it.

This book has 2 basic themes--what could happen if scientists aren't careful in engineering cures for disease, and the reaction of average people to a next possible step in human evolution. The book starts out with a near-future society that is ravaged by AIDS, and scientists engineer a cure. Part of the cure, however, renders women sterile to a second pregnancy by a man of the same blood type as the first (eliminating the chances of another child with the same man). To find a cure for *this* problem, scientists create an altered human, the Mark II. Unknown to them until these new children reach puberty, the children are cyclical hermaphrodites, going from male to female and back again every other month. Society's response is typical and intolerant. I won't give away the ending, but it's a fast-paced, solid science fiction novel with a terrific message that isn't preachy!

The AIDS epidemic is spreading beyond control as scientists struggle to find a way to stop the epidemic which has claimed more than half the world. After years of research, a "cure" is developed and administered to all infected without any previous testing as to side-effects.
The cure totally annhialates the AIDS virus and causes virtually no problems.
But the children born to those cured from AIDS are different, they are the "Mark Twos."

Following is the back cover text:
"The Mark Twos were a breed apart, similar to other humans in every way but one: a survival adaptation different from any seen before. When it was discovered how remarkable that adaptation was, the implications were staggering...
"Because in a world where fear and suspicion reigned, where disease limited population growth, and where survival of the human race depended on a cure for that disease, the Mark Twos were the answer: not a cure, but a new kind of humanity."

This book is an excellent tale surging with emotion and confrontations. The writing style is pure poetry and flows from word to word. I could not put the book down yet often wanted to throw it across the room! Such response in the reader proves an author is worth a good look.