SUDOKU

The call from the school (again) was an unwelcome interruption spelling trouble. The dad, Theo, working through his own grief after the recent death of his wife, must now problem-solve his son’s situation: nine year old Robin, brilliant at observing and cherishing nature, just like his mom, empathic to all facets of life, has challenges fitting in at school. He just assaulted his only friend. School administration demands the parent get help for the boy. Theo knows what they are suggesting, a pharmaceutical regime for Robin. That was a no-go for Theo – there were too many mixed diagnoses from the experts about why Robin was “different.”

Theo, an astrobiologist, soothes the fury and confusion in Robin with one strategy that always works: describing fictional planets based on Theo’s own advanced research. Both father and son use their keen imaginations to space travel to other worlds. However, as Robin’s behaviour issues continue, Theo accepts an offer from a friend of his wife – for Robin to participate in an experimental technique using brain mapping technology to train the brain to manipulate screen images through a type of telepathy. What is new and untested is the added ability for participants to use the captured mental brain print of others. In this case, Robin accesses an imprint left by his mother. Her intense drive to protect the environment is something Robin mirrors. A rapidly deteriorating Earth combined with an increasingly anti-science public mood and a government driven by for-profit considerations only, makes life difficult, but for Robin, his training goes very well at first.

The journey of father and son and the emotional trauma they experience is presented by means of exquisite dialogue pulsing with the love between these two. The situations they face together are complex. The intricacies of the parent/child relationship is brilliantly manifested in this novel.

Recommended.