Black Rain

Stories about artificial intelligence and what it means to be human are getting old, and Delaney (Jinn) unfortunately adds little to the conversation with this weak near-future novel. Jack Saxton, football hero and philanthropist, has everything ripped from him shortly after his father names him the new head of Genico, the family company. Jack’s brother, Phillip, convinces police that Jack is actually a Synthate, an engineered human. Synthates have no rights in this future Manhattan and are starting to revolt. Jack and his wife, Dolce, are both Synthates who believed they were human. The plot continues to twist, more Synthates and motives are revealed, and many people die. The action and intrigue of the story are strong, but the philosophical and religious discussions bring things to a screeching halt and reveal Delaney’s ignorance of the full scope of American slavery. (A Synthate explains that “Before anything else [black people] were acknowledged as humans,” erasing the considerable efforts of many white doctors, scientists, and pundits to demonstrate the relative or absolute inhumanity of the enslaved.) A powerful villain recalls anti-Semitic caricatures, compounding the book’s issues. An overly optimistic ending does nothing to redeem the rest. Agent: Kimberley Cameron, Kimberley Cameron & Associates. (Sept.)