The Human Experiment
by Eric S. Brown

Imagine a world of super heroes. We're not talking about the spandex-clad heroes that flash across gaudy pages, the kind of hero published by well-known comic industries. We're talking about a grittier type of paranormal human, the kind of super hero that can only originate in the mind of famed zombie-writer Eric S. Brown. In his wonderful book The Human Experiment put out by Sonar4 Publishing, the most garish costumes involve colorful trench coats and one G.I. Joe-like getup. Add a bit of realism to this mix, and you've got a winning combination. For example: if augmented humans existed, don't you think the Government would not only know about it, but would get involved? Not like S.H.I.E.L.D. from Marvel, but like the type of subversive Government for which the Eighties and the Oliver North scandal was known.

The story takes place in a world just like our modern age, a world with secretive paranormals controlled by the Government. This isn't Spiderman or Batman; this is the super hero world created by Eric Brown. It's a world of Government espionage, in which Hell's deceptive chicanery threatens to claim the main character: Robert Death. The name is cheesy, exactly what coinsurers of fine comics would expect, and that's the point: this is a novel about gritty comic characters. If you love comics, you owe yourself to check out The Human Experiment by Eric S. Brown.

Robert Death is a mystery that unfolds as the plot develops.

"I don't do Black ops anymore," Death tells Admiral Tentchoft when the commander demands the CIA Agent form a new team of paranormals.

There is no choice; the welfare of the world depends on Death's decision. The Government couldn't help but tinker around in secretive labs hidden in secure bases. They couldn't help but develop the most powerful paranormal entity in existence. He's on the loose and growing more and more powerful.

How powerful?

So powerful that the Government's Plan B involves a nuclear warhead to remove the antagonist, an experiment known only as 1123 (who takes the name Simon) from existence.

Why?

Simon plans to destroy the world, possibly repopulate it with paranormals just like him. They've sent black ops teams against Simon, but his power is already godlike and growing. He controls subatomic particles of organic matter, causing enemies to explode. He shoots energy beams and can teleport. Most importantly for Eric Brown fans, however, is how Simon's power manages to take over the minds of an entire town. This part of the novel feels exactly like a zombie novel, as the town attacks the paranormals Agent Death leads against Simon.

Enter a host of characters with eccentric personalities and paranormal abilities. There's a biomorph who controls his body's shape and density and heals wounds; Amanda, a powerful telekinetic; the flippant and irreverent Carson, a technopath with a hyper intellect and the ability to create technological marvels; Agent Paige, a bad-ass gun-toting operative like Agent Death with psychic ability; and others who weave in and out of the story, depending on whether or not they live.

Simon isn't a piece of cake. As already stated, his arsenal of paranormal power is godlike: low grade telepathy; advanced telekinesis; pyrokinesis, cyrokinesis, and control of his own body on the quantum level.

The subplot delves into the pits of Hell and heavily involves Agent Death's source of power, which brings me to the next part of this book review. I would be amiss if I failed to mention all the subject matter of the novel. It involves a philosophical point I've maintained for years, and that involves the powers of Light vs. the powers of Darkness.

You can't have one without the other.

In the past two decades, horror novels and movies have depicted vampires and demons laughing at crucifixes, easily destroying priests and believers. They try to solicit horror by depicting an evil so powerful that the power of Light and its servants cannot stand against it. This is an erroneous judgment on their part. You can't have the Darkness without the Light; you can't have one weak and one immensely powerful. They must be evenly matched. It must be this way because the Darkness I'm referring to originated in Scripture, and it is a source of much fiction: Satan, Lucifer, Hell and demons. Bram Stoker understood this philosophical argument when he depicted damned vampires shunning the cross. Something is lost when evil is the ONLY power; there no longer remains a struggle, there no longer remains a conflict when evil rules alone. Because great fiction like Dracula involves conflict, there must be Light and there must be Dark. Star Wars involves the Darkside, but WITHOUT sacrificing the Light. If the Dark within a novel involves Hell, Satan or demons, then there must be the power of Light.

Eric S. Brown has my respect because he understands this philosophical argument. He delves into the yin/yang concept of Heaven vs. Hell and Light vs. Darkness, just as Bram Stoker did in Dracula and George Lucas did in Star Wars. Many will be shocked, and most will be surprised at the very least.

If you like comics, you'll want to check this out: super heroes—Eric Brown style.