Title: To Kill a Make Nine
Product review: Tevis's novel, although originally published in 1980, has an innocent and naive tone reminiscent of SF from the 40s and early 50s. The prose style is simple and unpretentious, the events that befall the protagonists never particularly extreme. These factors are not criticisms but simple observations. But there are major problems with this novel. The story is underdeveloped and the characters tepid and uninspiring. I was never really convinced by the society Tevis posits: there are just too many incongruities and implausibilities for it to ring true. Without doubt MOCKINGBIRD contains the kernel of a fascinating examination of humanity, mortality, and the role technology should be allowed to play within our lives, but unfortunately Tevis fails to realise its promise.
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