Is humanity worth saving?
Time and time again, this question has been posed by popular media. From the Mad Max films and Octavia Butler’s The Parable of the Sower to productions as mainstream and recent as Marvel’s Eternals and AMC’s The Walking Dead, the question has been answered in just as many ways.
The beauty of speculative fiction, however, is that the only limit is one’s imagination — there will always be room for fresh, exciting, thought-provoking takes. With this being said, I’m ecstatic to find that New York Times bestselling author Erich Krauss has earned his seat at this table. With his latest novel, Primitives (Briar Road Books), Krauss has crafted a sprawling yet deeply personal and poignant tale that begs the real question: What makes us human?
The world is left crippled after a treatment for widespread disease reverts humanity’s brain function back to stone age levels, leaving those afflicted not much more than savage, mindless animals left to roam the . Those who’ve retained their humanity live in isolated communities around the world, biting and clawing everyday to survive the perils of the primitive world while simultaneously clinging to any hope they can find. In the midst of this, Seth Keller and Sarah Peoples, two separate survivors located thousands of miles apart, make gruesome discoveries that could alter the future of the human race.
A SPRAWLING YET DEEPY PERSONAL AND POIGNANT TALE
Little do Seth and Sarah know, their fates will come crashing together in an epic struggle against the powers that be, where they will find that there is no such thing as good and evil, and that sometimes nothing is quite so monstrous as humankind itself.
But what is it that makes humankind … human? One of the ways Krauss answers this question is through the development of his protagonists. Krauss provides us direct access to the minds of both Seth and Sarah. Through these first-person narratives, the author masterfully weaves the characters’ interactions with the world with internal dialogue, giving readers a front-row seat to how they, as humans, learn and grow as individuals. Each time our protagonists encounter conflict, we understand exactly how it affects them, and moving forward, how these experiences then shape their future actions.
“Throughout this entire conversation, I’ve been clinging to the belief that I did the right thing by letting the mother and her baby go,” says Seth after making a grave miscalculation. “But my actions also had a greater purpose than saving two [savages] — one of which I willingly captured and delivered in the first place. I thought releasing them might help save the professor from his compulsions. Now the truth of what I’ve done settles around me like a toxic fog. I’ve ruined humanity’s last chance for a future.”
SEAMLESS AND ARTFUL
While many authors fall into the trap of inserting dense, intrusive walls of exposition and internal monologue that detract from readers’ immersion in the story, Krauss executes these in a way that is both seamless and artful, never once breaking up the flow while propelling the plot forward.
These thoughtful, introspective moments are intertwined with visceral, kinetic action sequences, a combo that serves to keep readers guessing and constantly on their toes. Krauss’ knack for vivid (and often gut-wrenching) detail is incredibly immersive and felt very real. If one of the themes of the book is survival, I could feel each character’s desperation for it in every fight.
Whether you are looking for something thought-provoking or simply for a great post-apocalyptic story, Primitives is a must-read. To answer Krauss’ own question, yes, humanity is worth saving — if it can continue to produce stories like this.
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About Erich Kraus:
Erich Kraus is a New York Times bestselling author who has written more than thirty books. Inspiration for his stories comes from more than twenty years traveling the globe, from living in the Amazon rainforest to fighting professionally in the Muay Thai rings of Thailand. He lives in Las Vegas with his wife, Georgina.
