Leslee's Reviews > The Devil's Alphabet

This book is centered around a small southern community called Switchcreek - where, over a decade ago, an unfortunate and mysterious epidemic occurred which turned most of the population into 3 distinct groups of mutant-like 'clades' - The Agros, who are thin, tall, fast and strong - The Betas, the females of which can procreate without the need of any male interaction - and The Charlies, short, and fat, with males that have a strange side effect in their later years.

This one again suffered from the 'biting off more than it can chew' syndrome same as the last book I read, Lev Grossman's The Magicians; although in this case, I am more than willing to admit that maybe some of it just went over my damn head. There's a reason I don't read much hard sci-fi. All the scientific mumbo jumbo and quantum physics just float about my head like those stars around cartoon characters when they've been hit too hard. Still, there was so much going on here, so many distinct storylines that never seem to get developed or finished.

(view spoiler)[For instance, we never really find out what's going on with the mysterious substance that's leaking out of the Charlies. Why does it effect Paxton so differently than other regular humans? Also, why can't the Agros have babies? And why do the Betas have the capability of reproducing on their own? (hide spoiler)]

I do recognize that part of the reason why Gregory might not want to answer these questions is tied into what I think is the overarching theme of the novel itself - humankind's desire to control our own manifest destiny and the growth of our civilization and species, and our fear of anything 'strange' and 'different' that might arise. But I just wanted some answers damn it. I just don't think I'm the right market for this kind of novel. I was left wanting in the end and felt like the book left more questions than they answered. Gregory is a capable author with interesting ideas, but I don't think this particular novel of his was for me.