I’ve read many of Faulk’s books over decades and always loved them for their gentle, insightful humanity and a good tale. The Seventh Son was a different kind of book.
American Talissa, who studies ‘ancient history’, becomes a surrogate for a charming English couple, through a facility run by an Australian multi-billionaire with an interest in genetics, and where humanity came from.
The child is different from others, although always popular with his calm, unfussed approach to life. When he is grown, Talissa discovers that he is indeed different … and thus starts a chain of events which impact both their lives.
I suspect The Seventh Son was meant to teach us lessons about what the ultimate dominance of homo sapiens over other hominid species has meant for humanity – the good we lost on the way, essentially. I confess to skim reading the many long scientific passages (as do some of the characters, Faulks is at least that aware!), but at the end of the day I wasn’t sure what the fuss was all about. The couple loved their son. He was perfectly functional, in fact more so than many, and content until everything blew up.
And while I predicted the ending, I wasn’t happy about it. A strange read, but compelling.
Find The Seventh Son here.
More reviews here and my monthly round up of what I’ve read here.