Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon tells the story of an autistic man in the near future where advances in medical technology have cured many diseases. The protagonist is in a small group of people who were born just before these advances and so have grown up in a world where their disability is a close anachronism. This is a subtle, introspective work that focuses on psychological, philosophical and theological questions about normality and quality of life. I could not help but cast actor Jim Pars...

Oh man. This book started out incredibly promising. The autistic first-person narrator is believable and authentic, and when an experimental cure for autism is acquired by the company he works for, the ethical ramifications are gripping and frightening. I mean, when people see autism as an illness, something to be cured, then resisting treatment is obvious grounds for firing someone. So I really wanted to see where the writer would take this.(view spoiler)[As the book progresses, the narrator be...

Moon has an autistic son, which clearly informed her writing of this book. The Speed of Dark tells the story of Lou Arrendale, an autistic man living in a near future very similar to our own time. The back of the book blurb focuses on:"…an experimental “cure” for his condition. Now Lou must decide if he should submit to a surgery that may change the way he views the world–and the very essence of who he is."But the book is so much more. This isn’t an action or adventure novel, and the treatments

This book is outstanding. Moon's believable hero is a genius trapped in an autistic shell. The characterization was vivid and touching, I grew to love the man and feel very strongly about the things he dealt with. I even found myself getting angry with the bad things people were doing thinking, "they can't do that!" even though the book was just fiction. It was outrageous and yet believable. I loved how the author didn't relegate the autistic man to being stupid or unable to comprehend big words...

I was intrigued because this book was mentioned several times at WisCon’06 as an example of disability in science fiction and austism in general. Congoers had varying opinions—some touted it as the Best Writing About Autism Ever, while others said it was unrealistic. I have little experience with autism (besides being in fandom and reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), so I can’t comment on how realistically Moon recreates an autistic experience. As a book, it’s quite good,...

I may need to review my top-ten shelf and see what can be bumped. "The Speed of Dark" book moved me like few books ever have. I cried, I laughed, I didn't want it to end. Elizabeth Moon does an absolutely amazing job of making a reader walk many miles in someone else's shoes. In this case, the reader becomes Lou Arrendale, an autistic man in an era when autism can be cured in childhood. Unfortunately, he was born too soon for the treatment. A new treatment is developed for adult autists and he h...

5.0 stars. This is an incredible novel and one that I highly recommend to anyone one liked Flowers for Algernon. Emotionally powerful science fiction at its best. Superb writing, excellent plot and an unforgetable main character. Nominee: Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction NovelNominee: Locus Award for Best Science Fiction NovelWinner: Nebula Award for Best Science Fiction Novel

Lou Arrendale is a high functioning autistic main character in ‘The Speed of Dark’ by Elizabeth Moon. I was very interested in Lou as a main character; my grandson having Williams Syndrome may have something to do with that. Lou works in an office, has a car, and takes part in a fencing community. He has autistic co-workers but is very drawn to ‘normals.’ Being engaged with the Williams Syndrome community, I have learned to question the use of the word ‘normal.’ The word typical is used more fre...

This book is about as 'sci fi' as an episode of CSI. Moon basically takes 'Flowers for Algernon' and hacks off the ending. The writing was alright, and there was some interesting characterization, but I suspect it only got the Nebula and Clarke because award committees love nothing as much as political correctness. This book is the equivalent of an actor making an Oscar bid by playing a mentally-challenged character.I know Moon is a sci fi author, but in this book, it feels like she just stamped...

One of the most brilliant books I've ever read. This novel still haunts me. I hope more people will discover THE SPEED OF DARK.

For some reason I couldn't like this book. The good things about it was the main character and how his autism was portrayed, but other than that, it just bothered me.The main thing that bugged me is, what is normal in the first place? This book takes place in the future, how far it takes place, I don't know, but I would think that by the future we'd understand autism better and wouldn't just dismiss it as abnormal but would try to empathize with people with autism and to understand their point o...

This is a very interesting book set in the near future when advancements in medical science have made autism curable in child hood. The story revolves around a group of adults with autism who were too old to be treated when the cure was found, making them the last of their kind. Eventually a possible 'cure' is found for the adults and the debate is raised whether they need to be changed or whether they are who they are and should stay the sameThere are lots of similarities between this book and

This is one hell of a fantastic SF and it hit me in all the right feels. It's not flashy, either, just really well made. It's also custom-made for anyone wanting to see and feel what life would be like as a high-functioning autistic. Its set in the near future, with talk of highly advanced treatments and AIs, but the real joy is in the narrator's outlook, the focus on patterns in everything, everywhere.For while this novel is pretty soft-SF, it actually has a hard-SF feel because of the characte...

Amazon's e-book samples are too short, only about 18 pages in length, good luck applying that ol’ “50 pages rule” here. Fortunately The Speed of Dark (2003 Nebula Award winner) is immediately intriguing and I was sold on it by the end of the short sample. I keep hearing good things about Elizabeth Moon and Elizabeth Bear in sci-fi websites and forums, I get them mixed up a lot as I have not read either one until now. Elizabeth Moon surpasses my expectations with this book, hopefully Elizabeth

What does it mean to be normal? This book explores this concept much more than it tells a sci-fi story.It's interesting to me that we spend the early part of our lives rebelling against normality (Why be normal, right?) only to want so desperately to be normal when our normality is not in our hands. Lou is born autistic, and even with the advantages of a future where more is known about the illness, there is still an enormous amount of prejudice towards people with autism. I have strong objectio...

It’s going to be a challenge to write a review without using a spoiler box but I will do it, as I have written all my other reviews without spoilers. This is kind of a cross between The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and Flowers for Algernon, both books I also really liked.The writer is the mother of a son (adolescent at the time of this book’s publication) that has autism. The main character in this book has autism, but it takes place in the future where he has received better ea...

The last forty pages of this fucking sucked. Up until that point, it was an awesome anti-ableist critique of normalcy and "cure" with what felt to me like a pretty authentic narrative voice. Then, rather inexplicably, the main character does an about-face and decides that in order to truly fulfill his dreams of being an astronaut and be able to date, he needs to be cured. Sick. It totally knocked it down from a 4 star to a 2 star. I'm still giving it 2 stars because this horrible ending was tack...

My son has Asperger Syndrome and while this book was enlightening and incredibly insightful, it was also painful to read, which is why it sat in my "Currently Reading" list for so long. I had to pace myself, taking in a little at a time, so I did not get overwhelmed by how close to home Lou's struggle with daily life hits. In addition to the "learnings" I encountered on every page, I did love the story and the characters, and enthusiastically give this book five stars for its eloquence, heart, a...

I was very impressed by The Speed of Dark. Lou Arrendale is autistic and employed by a large company that requires his special skill of recognizing patterns that can't be seen by other people or computers. Despite the fact that he is gainfully employed and a brilliant fencer, autistics have a different way of interacting socially and perceiving the world.The author has written about autism with a lot of knowledge and sensitivity.

I thought the author did a great job of presenting a character with autism, but the idea of a cure is weird to me.