15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Come on, Tor!, December 14, 2009
This review is from: The Human Disguise (Paperback)
Before I review the more typical story elements like characterization and plotting, I want to take a moment and declare that I feel author James O'Neal has been done a disservice by his editor(s). Throughout this novel I kept stumbling over poor syntax, sloppy punctuation, run-on sentences, and even spelling errors. Did no one at Tor read this before it went to press?
Here's a sentence from page 90:
"She pulled her small Fonda pistol named after the actress from the twentieth century and pointed the short barrel of the gas-powered automatic pistol that made a noise like someone coughing, at the door to the office."
Huh? Here's another sentence from page 245:
"The supposedly self-sealing tires not closing the hole as large as the combat knife left in them, so the rubber and polymer tires having just enough tread to screech when the car stopped."
Do these read awkwardly to anyone else but me? On page 99 his narrator notes, "This was gong to be fun." Gong? And it's not the only time it happens; "gong" appears again on page 201. On page 264 the short phrase "were Effected" should clearly have been "were Affected," (caps added), and so on...
Before anyone says I'm being too picky, try to imagine a movie with continuity errors, or repeated sightings of boom mikes, or similar blunders--faults like these would certainly detract from the viewing experience. It certainly did here. And by no means have I exhausted the examples I could display... they're all over the place.
Despite these blemishes, there was much to like about "The Human Disguise." I gave the novel three stars because it moved quickly, the plot was complex and enjoyable, and I was compelled to read on. The characters were not overly deep, but I did feel sympathy for the protagonist.
The sci-fi elements were handled fairly decently, but there were times when I became impatient. While it's no secret that authors like to keep readers in suspense, some of these elements were telegraphed so early that I couldn't help but feel frustrated by how long it took the characters to grasp what I knew chapters earlier.
(As for whether the book had clear parallels to "1984," as the quote on the back of the book states, I don't see it. Again, that's not the author's fault...I mention it here only for the potential customer.)
In terms of the plot, there were times O'Neal tried to pack his novel a bit too densely--the approaching alien ship alluded to throughout the story did little but distract the reader, and was almost entirely absent from the book's second half. It was, in truth, little more than a wild goose.
Still, O'Neal's dystopian future is an interesting one, and O'Neal has some fun with it. In a world fragmented by continual global unrest and terrorism, the police have their hands full, to say the least. As in many other futuristic stories, the police are often stymied by the lack of funds or unwilling civil servants, but making Disney World practically the only place with a functioning DNA lab was a clever ploy. What's more, the very fact that our protagonist survives the multitude of full-on brutal bashings that he does--at the hands of his obviously superior foes--gives him something akin to an Indiana Jones-like charm, and even his practically invulnerable enemies wonder what keeps him going.
"The Human Disguise" has a satisfying conclusion, and it's safe to say the author has left a clear path for a sequel.
Will I read that sequel? Perhaps. Regardless, I certainly hope Mr. O'Neal, who publishes crime thrillers under the name James O. Born, pushes for a little more polish his next time out. His story and his readers deserve it.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Novel Disguise, September 15, 2009
This review is from: The Human Disguise (Paperback)
I understand James O'Neal is an author who has published other somewhat successful books, but The Human Disguise reads as if O'Neal once read a book on "How to Rite a SF Novel" in five easy lessons.
His premises; constant-war, enviro-breakdown, government collapse, endemic plagues, and zone trooper more-than-humans, contradict each other whenever the plot seems to require it. New York and Florida are in ruins, yet great hospitals, major constuction projects and more or less continuous wars would require a bigger tax base than we can maintain today. Sadly, a sort of police mentality is pervasive where laws must be obeyed, unless it's really, really necessary to break them. Some sort of talismanic electronic circuit board is the major plot mover, which, if used, would spell doom to the good guys, but every character from every faction tends to handle it like a hot potato, without ever seeming to realize they could just take it out of their pocket, drop it to the ground and stomp on it. Yet the hero continually goes around, telling all and sundry just where he is going to hide it next. Quarantine zones abound, guarded by rough-and-tough troops, but the characters continuously pass through them as if they are as porous as swiss cheese.
Aliens hover in the Solar System, planning to land (when, who knows,) and quasi-human/quasi-vampire affinity groups hatch plots to destroy/save poor feckless humans. Germany attacks Poland and Israel seems to nuke Iran, but wait, it's OK, they all make up at the end of the book, without any help from the characters, which is only fair, because the other wars mentioned are irrelevant to the actual plot, and seem to be devices just to ratchet up tension.
The protagonist is an ex-marine cop whose strength is as the strength of ten because, I kid you not, his heart is pure. The antagonist is a five-hundred-year old superbeing who is blown up in the climax at the end of the book, but mysteriously survives, (presumably in case some sad-sack publisher is interested in a sequel.)
James O'Neal, you have got to be kidding!
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Everything but the kitchen sink, June 10, 2009
This review is from: The Human Disguise (Paperback)
Please note that this review discusses certain key plot elements. Beware. James O'Neal is obviously a capable detective writer given that he is an award winning writer who writes crime thrillers under the name James O. Born. Thus, the book is a quick and exciting read made to be a cross between a detective story and a science fiction story. Sadly, in wanting to be all things, it fails in both respects. As a detective story, it is a bit predictable (albeit one certainly is made to care for the characters), albeit very interesting nonetheless. Readers looking for a Christi or noir type detective story should look elsewhere. As far as the science fiction story (warning warning turn back if spoilers you fear), the novel falters due to the author's (a self-described science fiction fan) desire to put everything he could that's even remotely science fiction related into the book (everything but the kitchen sink). Let's see: some things included are aliens and alien threat/friendship idea; apocalyptic future with various themes associated with that (i.e., nuclear explosions, bio warfare, resurgence of various deceases included bubonic plague, as well as the creation of new highly infectious deceases that make people look very close to what we know off as zombies); vampires and werewolves themes (i.e., alternate species with all the speed and agility of vampires or werewolves who have been killed though the ages in all manner associated with killing of vampires and werewolves); nations in constant war with each other; Germany again in expansionist mood, Africa closed off from everyone else, etc. Also, a plot to detonate a nuclear bomb as well as there being multiple reservations of those infected by various diseases in U.S. Oh, and guess what, global warming/massive climate change has also happened. So, any main science fiction idea that's out there, it's in this novel and all within the space of 365 pages. Combine that with the fact that at heart, it's supposed to be a detective novel, and you get a very odd mix of the two genres. It seemed that some science fiction plot points were just put in to try to keep us off track (like the alien invasion/body snatchers type scenario) but failed, at least with me, especially coming off the greater exposure of various superhero/mutant comic book heroes. The only thing that saves this is quick pacing and the ability of the author to keep the suspense aspect going long enough to get you involved with the characters to want to find out what happens in the end, despite the main mystery plot point being fairly predictable.
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