Hybrids is the third and final book in The Neanderthal Parallax by Robert J. Sawyer (who just won the Galaxy Award for Most Popular Foreign Author.) It continues to tell the story of Ponter and Mary, the main characters from the two previous installments of the series: Hominids and Humans.

If Hybrids is well written, I didn’t got as involved in the story as I did in the first two books of the series. In most of the first two thirds of the book, things go too smoothly to my taste. It seems everything the characters do meets no serious opposition. I like it when characters get in trouble and have to come up with brilliant strategies to get to their goals. A huge portion of the book is spent on character development. It is well done and I understand all the information presented is required in order to get to the ending, but the story suffered a bit, in my opinion. Yes, there is a menace that is present from the beginning, but it has no direct impact on the characters’ actions until later in the book. What kept me reading are the little quotes at the beginning of every chapters and the promises made by the synopsis on the back of the book. I only got excited about the story when I reached page 300 (approximately.)

The climax is very well done and there are many great plot twists. All the plot threads get tied and, if I wasn’t really excited about the first part of the book, it was worth reading through anyway because it builds up the story and prepare for the finale.

Overall, The Neanderthal Parallax is a great Canadian science-fiction story that is definitily worth reading. The characters are vibrant, interesting and credible. I would recommend it to everybody who likes science-fiction or alternate history.

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Lectures by Alexandre Lemieux