"
Scott Mackay
Roc, Apr 2001, 5.99, 336 pp.
ISBN: 0451458236
In the distant future, earthlings have colonized the moon and Mars by living in burrows beneath the surface. Scientists have genetically engineered infants so that they can begin living on the planet surface. However, the scientists never expected that the “Orphans” would turn into aggressive, destructive beings. Their behavior forces the decision to transport the Orphans to the asteroid Ceres in the hope that the scientists there can find away to wipe out the destructive impulses.
The experiment fails and in desperation the asteroid colony of Vesta unleashes weapons of mass destruction to kill the Orphans. Three decades later, the Vestans want to reclaim Ceres. They send an exploratory force to the asteroid. To their shock, they find 600,000 Meeks, descendants of the Orphans, living in hiding on the world. Old fears take over and the Vestans plan to destroy THE MEEK, who has plans of their own to save their race.
THE MEEK is a dynamic complex science fiction thriller that centers on ethics and justice involving genetically engineered beings. This battle occurs on massive and individual levels as Meeks and purebred humans encounter one another. Scott Mackay toasts the optimistic inevitability of the human spirit with a culturally shocking and disturbing, but quite enjoyable novel.
Harriet Klausner
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story
Yes
Plotlets:
- exploring a wondrous planet or phenomena
- preventing an ecological disaster
Romance
Yes
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- scientist
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Setting
Terrain
- Asteroid
Which planet?
- Asteroids
Not Earth, in Solar System?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- a moderate amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue?
- significantly more descript than dialog
