The BiggererS

released 7 June 528 pages | Hardback/ebook

Author amy lilwall Publisher Point Blank

How would you fancy a foot-tall human robbed of their ability to talk as a pet? You might think that’s a little creepy. You might even be looking up the number for Amnesty International. But in the near-future world of The Biggerers, owning Mini-Mes is all the rage. Because, apparently, simply marketing them as “not humans” is enough. And guess what? The “littlers” are about to fight back.

While the book valiantly uses this scenario in an attempt to explore themes of cloning, self-determination and that old sci-fi chestnut “what it is to be human”, it’s actually at its most entertaining as a satire on pet ownership and the paranoia bred by a long-term relationship gone sour.

It’s written in a bizarre, self-consciously literary style, with a fractured timeline, constant swapping of the point of view, and some very odd metaphors that scream, “Trying too hard!” (“Her legs were filling up with bath water.”) Some of this works to reflect a society in which individuals are becoming ever more selfabsorbed. Ultimately, though, it all just gets in the way of the storytelling; such techniques are too fancy for a plot that’s squarely in sci-fi techno-thriller territory. And while there are some neat prose flourishes and a few exciting set-pieces, the book never overcomes the problem that you can’t believe in a society where this situation would evolve. Dave Golder