The full review can be found here:

https://nordie.wordpress.com/2019/03/12/book-review-the-overman-culture-by-edmun...

This is a fairly brief story of the Earth, long after civilization has destroyed itself. Reminiscent of Arthur Clark's 'City and the Stars' & 'Against the Fall of Night" duo this book deals with the discontent of the few who want to find out why their world is circumscribed so narrowly, if there is anything more beyond the city walls, and, if so, what and why. If you don’t mind British intellectualism then you can play the game of “what would I’d do in their circumstances” and enjoy critiquing Cooper’s choices. I admit that I was surprised at the author’s choices of thought processes and actions for children who have grown up being taught to enjoy themselves and not to think beyond the needs of the moment. Even still, the action flows smoothly, strange things happen (that don’t make much sense even after you finish the book), and it does raise some interesting questions. But the bottom line is that AI computers need humans more than we need them—because only we can supply them with a sense of “purpose”. ( )

The children growing up in a wartime London that is protected by a dome shaped force field-covered London don't know that history is askew and that Winston Churchill was not actually prime minister during Queen Victoria's reign. But they do gradually come to realise that their parents, teachers and most of their classmates do not bleed when they are cut and that they can only trust 'fragiles' like themselves.

I hadn't heard of the author before picking this book from a book table at a BookCrossing Unconvention, but I found the characters growing suspicions and attempts to evade the "drybones" and explore the city very readable. It reminded me of "Idlewild" by Nick Sagan, although this book was written a lot earlier so the solution to the mystery was different. ( )

This took a lot longer to read than I ever anticipated. I guess life took over instead of my usual reading times these last few days. Anyway a thoroughly enjoyable read and a very different take on total annihilation of the species.

Almost from the opening paragraph I was hooked and wanted to learn more about the characters, this book could have been twice as long and still not had enough detail for me. For all that it has enough to fill in any gaps that occur.

The whole premise of annihilation is one that seems to uppermost in everyone’s mind this week so I guess it was a fortuitous read for me.

At least the outcome of this book gives us all hope that something better will arrive for humanity one of these days. ( )

A boy is not like the others, and the world he lives in is very strange to those of us based in the presently acceptable one. There are many contrasts but the story is decently conducted to the author's conclusions. ( )