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Book Review By Shannon Fallow
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

The book's main character, Lou Arrendale, is a 35 year old autistic man, born at the turn of the 21st century. He is part of the last generation of autists who were not essentially "cured" in vitro or during infancy. He works for a pharmaceutical company, along with other high-functioning autists, as a code pattern recognition analyst - a profession in which he and the other autists are exceptionally successful. The primary plot conflict in the book involves the pharmaceutical company's attempt to force the autists to undergo experimental treatment to "cure" their autism (and the why's and how's of this procedure). Secondary conflicts involve Lou's interpersonal relationships. A dry recitation of plot details does not indicate what an extraordinary work this is. Through the mechanisms of the plot conflicts, Lou struggles with grand questions of identity and language, philosophy and religion, intellect and emotion, and, of course, light and dark. The first person perspective of a fascinating and complex man whose brain functions very differently from those of "normals" creates a work that is so engrossing it is nearly hypnotic.
Plot Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - near future Life of a profession: Internal struggle/realization? Yes Struggle over Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Job/Profession/Status story Yes Brain/Body disability? - mental illness Love problems? - Obession with uninterested person Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Eccentric/Mental Yes Ethnicity/Nationality How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Genius Physique - very athletic Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Physique - average physique Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 () United States Yes City? Yes Misc setting Style Person - rotating 1st Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death Unusual Style: - a lot of stream of consciousness Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog