Book Review: A Human Element by Donna Galanti
Eleven-year-old Ben Fieldstone became a lost soul the night he ran away from his home in the Catskill Mountains—just in time to witness a glowing green meteorite crash into his parents’ cabin and decimate the surrounding area.
Months later, a runaway known only as Sarah dies while giving birth to an abnormally large and grotesque boy during a violent storm. Paid by the US government, doctor and nurse hand the child over to a mysterious man in black. However, the doctor is surprised to learn that Sarah was carrying twins. He gently removes a perfect and beautiful girl from Sarah’s womb—and says nothing to the government agent.
Instead, he turns the baby over to the Armstrong family, kind farmers who had taken Sarah into their home. Laura Armstrong grows up to be a charming girl, filled with love of nature, people and life itself. She even befriends a local hermit named Jim Barrens, who prefers to be called a solitudinarian.
It isn’t long before Laura begins to realize strange abilities, such the power to read thoughts and spontaneously heal others. She brings her mother back from a fatal accident and cures Jim after he is stung by a swarm of wasps.
Meanwhile, Ben’s childhood turns out to be a stark and miserable contrast to Laura’s. After the death of his foster mother, Emma, Ben finds himself fending off sexual advances of her husband Frank, an abusive drunk. Later that night, Frank falls asleep while smoking in bed, with fatal consequences. Ben watches as the fire ignites and begins to consume the room. Without lifting a finger to help, he leaves the house without looking back.
Throughout their lives to this point, Ben and Laura have both come under surveillance by the imposing and inscrutable man in black. He appears and disappears throughout Laura’s childhood, leaving her unsettled by his glowing green eyes. The man saves Ben’s life during his time in the Navy. While stationed in Hawaii, Ben’s irresponsibility led him to be nearly raped and murdered in Hawaii—until the man in black intervened…but why?
Unbeknownst to Laura, she is also being watched by another, far less benevolent entity known only as X-10, a monstrous and evil half-alien, half-human creature caged in a government facility. In addition to his superhuman strength, X-10 has made a psychic connection with Laura that he uses to inflict severe physical pain. That is not enough for him, however. He plots an escape so that he can hunt and kill her. As it stands now, X-10 can use his honed mental abilities to reach out and murder from a distance—a practice that he employs with great pleasure. Yet when it comes to Laura, he wants to tear her apart with his bare hands.
It isn’t long before the lives of Ben Fieldstone and Laura Armstrong cross paths at the exact site of the meteor crash. Ben and Laura grow closer to one another as friends—and later lovers—and begin to realize just how connected they truly are.
The question is, who is this mysterious government agent with the glowing eyes and what does he want with Laura and Ben? Who is X-10 and how is he connected to Laura? More importantly, what drives his insatiable desire to kill her?
A Human Element is a solid tale of fate and destiny with likable protagonists and a villain so vile you cannot help but hate him. It would have been interesting to delve a bit more into X-10’s past with some scenes of his “childhood” as a lab rat for the US government. That might have made him a bit more sympathetic in the end (might being the operative word, he is a truly horrid being).
Laura comes off as excessively chatty and naive in her youth, but outgrows that as she endures one tragedy after another. There is some redundant dialogue toward the end of the book as the characters repeat themselves while working through their predicament but overall, Galanti crafts a story that is well paced and full of heart—both human and alien. A Human Element is a fine mystery-thriller with a dash of intriguing SF.
Months later, a runaway known only as Sarah dies while giving birth to an abnormally large and grotesque boy during a violent storm. Paid by the US government, doctor and nurse hand the child over to a mysterious man in black. However, the doctor is surprised to learn that Sarah was carrying twins. He gently removes a perfect and beautiful girl from Sarah’s womb—and says nothing to the government agent.
Instead, he turns the baby over to the Armstrong family, kind farmers who had taken Sarah into their home. Laura Armstrong grows up to be a charming girl, filled with love of nature, people and life itself. She even befriends a local hermit named Jim Barrens, who prefers to be called a solitudinarian.
It isn’t long before Laura begins to realize strange abilities, such the power to read thoughts and spontaneously heal others. She brings her mother back from a fatal accident and cures Jim after he is stung by a swarm of wasps.
Meanwhile, Ben’s childhood turns out to be a stark and miserable contrast to Laura’s. After the death of his foster mother, Emma, Ben finds himself fending off sexual advances of her husband Frank, an abusive drunk. Later that night, Frank falls asleep while smoking in bed, with fatal consequences. Ben watches as the fire ignites and begins to consume the room. Without lifting a finger to help, he leaves the house without looking back.
Throughout their lives to this point, Ben and Laura have both come under surveillance by the imposing and inscrutable man in black. He appears and disappears throughout Laura’s childhood, leaving her unsettled by his glowing green eyes. The man saves Ben’s life during his time in the Navy. While stationed in Hawaii, Ben’s irresponsibility led him to be nearly raped and murdered in Hawaii—until the man in black intervened…but why?
Unbeknownst to Laura, she is also being watched by another, far less benevolent entity known only as X-10, a monstrous and evil half-alien, half-human creature caged in a government facility. In addition to his superhuman strength, X-10 has made a psychic connection with Laura that he uses to inflict severe physical pain. That is not enough for him, however. He plots an escape so that he can hunt and kill her. As it stands now, X-10 can use his honed mental abilities to reach out and murder from a distance—a practice that he employs with great pleasure. Yet when it comes to Laura, he wants to tear her apart with his bare hands.
It isn’t long before the lives of Ben Fieldstone and Laura Armstrong cross paths at the exact site of the meteor crash. Ben and Laura grow closer to one another as friends—and later lovers—and begin to realize just how connected they truly are.
The question is, who is this mysterious government agent with the glowing eyes and what does he want with Laura and Ben? Who is X-10 and how is he connected to Laura? More importantly, what drives his insatiable desire to kill her?
A Human Element is a solid tale of fate and destiny with likable protagonists and a villain so vile you cannot help but hate him. It would have been interesting to delve a bit more into X-10’s past with some scenes of his “childhood” as a lab rat for the US government. That might have made him a bit more sympathetic in the end (might being the operative word, he is a truly horrid being).
Laura comes off as excessively chatty and naive in her youth, but outgrows that as she endures one tragedy after another. There is some redundant dialogue toward the end of the book as the characters repeat themselves while working through their predicament but overall, Galanti crafts a story that is well paced and full of heart—both human and alien. A Human Element is a fine mystery-thriller with a dash of intriguing SF.
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