A lot of people seem to want to compare Laurence Gonzales and his latest novel, Lucy, with the work of Michael Crichton. I can't imagine a bigger insult to Crichton's work. The concept of a new species made up of mixed monkey and human genes being created by a scientist who studies monkeys deep in the African jungle sounds like something Crichton would write, it kind of sounds like something Crichton DID write, but nothing else in this novel comes even close to or lives up to Crichton's literary standard. The characters are two dimensional and none of their choices make any sense. The plot is all over the place and isn't logical at all. Gonzales seems to want to make some kind of statement on society and how we treat things that are seen as different, but never got deeper then surface level with the issues.
My biggest problem with science fiction is how authors deal with the suspension of disbelief. I call it the "Independence Day Paradox" after the movie Independence Day which struggled mightily with this problem. Whenever someone picks up a science fiction book or turns on a science fiction TV show there is an implied suspension of disbelief on some level, but to what level is determined by how much of the world the story is set in is a creation of the author. J.R.R. Tolkien completely created the world his novels were set in so the audience has to completely suspend disbelief. Whatever Tolkien says is possible is possible because it's his creation. Independence Day, on the other hand, was set in our world, so even though there are aliens events have to comply with the rules of our world. So while the audience will suspend disbelief to the point that will allow aliens to exist, there is no reason to believe a regular human can out run an explosion or that an explosion won't effect a tiny room just because it's not part of the main tunnel.
Lucy is a major victim of the "Independence Day Paradox." While I was ready to suspend my disbelief enough to allow for a creature that was part monkey and part human and to allow for that creature to try to be excepted into society as a human, almost every other event and plot point bordered on ridiculous. I didn't believe any of the characters choices. I didn't believe anyone's reaction to the creature. I didn't believe the military's reaction at all. I couldn't help but find this novel to be just plain stupid and unbelievable.
I had high hopes for Lucy. I loved the concept and thought it had the potential to be a wonderful character and society study. Unfortunately, Gonzales didn't have the chops to pull it off and we are left with a vapid story that falls terrible short of the potential it suggests.
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