THis book follows the life of a couple who, unable to carry a baby, enlist the help of a young surrogate from America. However, what they don't realise is that unbeknownst to them, the IVF clinic has decided to experiment on their embryo to change the human race. When their child's differences slowly come to light theyaer left not knowing what to do or who to turn to. A great read.

This felt similar in tone and intention to, say, Ian McEwan's 'Machines Like Me' or Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Klara and the Sun'. OK, it's not AI but this speculative near-future sci-fi deals with humans meddling in things they simply shouldn't, with the obvious and devastating consequences.

It took me a while to get into it, and I have to say that I never really cared that much about the characters, but it's Sebastian Faulks and the guy can write, so it just about made it to 4 stars. It's a sad book, which doesn't really say many positive things about us humans. So if that's your thing, then this will hit the mark. 4 stars.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalleyt for an ARC of this title.)

Sebastian Faulks at his masterly best – but in a new realm of dystopia. Highly recommended.

Talissa has put herself forward to carry another couple’s child, and her surrogacy journey at the Parm Institute initially feels safe and reassuring to both herself and Mary and Alaric, the couple she’s helping.

However, behind the scenes, all kinds of subterfuge is afoot. The institute’s director is fascinated by ancient DNA, and he now has a human candidate to pursue his experimentation. When Seth, the child is born, things gradually become apparent that all is not as expected.

This is beautifully written, explores the subject sensitively, is packed with credible and interesting characters. I loved the ending.

What a fabulous book, it speaks to your brain and your heart. I could not put it down. It touches on scientific possibilities that should not be tried, but I can imagine scientists wanting to research.

The story is set in the not too distant future. Talissa is a genealogist who helps a couple have a child by being their surrogate. According to the contract, there was to be no contact between surrogate, parents and the boy Seth for 12 years.
When the time is up Talissa has some reluctant contact with the family. After some concerns about the private clinic that also did some NHS work, she does a genetic test and finds out that Seth is 51% Neanderthal. What next? Can he be protected?

A riveting read. I loved it

this was NOT what i was expecting! The story initially starts off as the tale of an intelligent young woman passionate about her chosen field of work who is looking to make money and investigates the chance to become a surrogate. Once she gets involved with the institute providing the service and the prospective parents we are very quickly drawn into a very different story about parenthood and sense of self that deepens as the plot unfolds. I found myself drawn back to the book wondering about how it would play out and what future ramifications would be as it wasn't something I had ever thought about before, it broke boundaries for me by putting a very human face on a scientific future we may be very close to for all I know and it raised ethical questions which are both dealt with and infuriatingly not really resolved within the plot.
It had elements i would question such as Faulks' treatment of a woman's maternal feelings and what lengths she may go to, and I felt there was a possible flaw in the plot over facial recognition but I maybe misunderstood the conversation between the protagonist and her offspring. In all though i found it very readable, it had real pace and offered a near future one could easily believe in from many angles. Personally I dint like the ending but I accept that is a personal choice thing. i dont believe a woman would act in that way in those circumstances, but then again that is what makes for a great book discussion and one i welcome from novelists. This would make a superb choice for book groups where mixed sex groups could consider the female pov and the outcomes. Thanks for the chance to read an advance copy.

I found this book disappointing. The idea behind it was certainly tantalising, but I found the book slightly boring, the characters unconvincing, and the ending a real let-down. This probably would have made a good short story or novella, but I felt the author lost interest about half way through.

The Seventh Son explores the ethical argument surrounding gene editing, via the premise of an IVF surrogacy.
Wrapped up in discussions of what makes us human and what makes us 'family', Faulks' story is a scathing examination of the dangers of hubris and the power dynamic created by wealth.

The central characters of Talissa and Seth are elegantly drawn, both are outsiders not conforming to their role in life, but what characteristics are learnt and which are hereditary? At times the narrative seemed a little too contrived, but overall this is a compelling read regarding a potential near future.

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House for a free copy of this book to review.
Another excellent book from Sebastian Faulks. As usual he researches and understands the science before weaving a tale which explores the meaning of being human. Because we evolved fairly quickly there were always forks in the road. Would we have been different - perhaps less violent - if another path had been taken?
What happens if someone tries to recreate such an alternative.
All sorts of ethical and moral questions; but there are also the individuals affected by experiment.
…… and was there only one?

In this thought-provoking novel, we meet anthropologist Talissa as she prepares to act as a surrogate for a couple via a programme run by the world-renowned Parn Institute. Talissa gets to know and like the baby, Seth’s, parents, and stays in contact with them after Seth is born.

Over time, however, Talissa comes to realise that the Parn Institute, headed by a brilliant but eccentric billionaire, may have intervened more in the research of genetics than anyone had previously realised. To say more would lead to spoilers, so I will just say that this is an interesting glimpse into concepts of what it means to be human, and how this may be interpreted differently depending on varying viewpoints.

While the concept was interesting, and the plot moved along at a fair pace, I didn’t feel as though I got to know much about several of the characters. I also wasn’t keen on the ending, although I can see that others will appreciate the conclusion.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

If you’re looking for the beauty and poignancy of Birdsong, then don’t expect to find it here. However, if you want something fresh, pacey and thought-provoking, then you’ll enjoy this latest novel from Sebastian Faulks.

The Seventh Son is set in the near future, where advances in genetics mean that the Parn Institute is in a position to experiment with the idea of what makes us human. Unfortunately, what they want to do goes against ethical and legal guidelines, and so it’s carried out secretively, without the consent of those involved. Without giving too much away, it’s a really interesting premise and one that made me feel invested in the characters from the start.

Faulks certainly knows how to create his charcters. Talissa, Mary, Alaric and Seth are all hugely likable characters. We don’t get much about the adults’ backgrounds, but there is a lot of love involved, and a sense of kindness and the drive to care for others, which provide motivation for many of their actions. And far from being painted as the ‘baddies’, there is a certain amount of apparent sympathy for the choices made by the Parn Institute, the main-players being perhaps driven by a sense of furthering our understanding of genetics for the collective good of mankind. Perhaps!

I feel like the current trend in fiction is to make novels about 100 pages longer than they really need to be, and found The Seventh Son to present a refreshing change. Faulks does not dwell on the ‘niceties’ of description and drawn-out dialogue in this novel, and at sometimes break-neck speed switches between scenes and often decades in the blink of a paragraph. This is one of the first novels this year that has left me wanting more, not less, and I found it a welcome change. The scientific backdrop of this novel, and its thirty year span, could easily lend itself to a tome but I’m grateful that Faulks kept it focused on the characters and plot in this instance.

There are scenes towards the end of the novel that made me feel rather uncomfortable, and the characters’ feelings weren’t outlined in enough detail to justify their actions. I personally feel that the story-line would have been stronger without these.

A thought provoking read which ponders some of the biggest questions of our time. Set in the near future, there is a lot of very believable speculation about where we might find ourselves a few years down the line. The central story is a moving tale of ordinary people who find themselves in a most extraordinary situation through no fault of their own. Ethical and moral dilemmas abound. As one expects of Sebastian Faulkes, faultkessly written. A novel which will stay with me for a long while.

I do like a thought-provoking read. The book is set in the near future and it was very interesting to see how the world was responding to climate change (realistically to my mind). I didn’t feel particularly moved by individual characters in the book though. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

With the recent news of scientists recovering RNA from an extinct species of Tasmanian tiger, The Seventh Son is an amazingly prescient story. Sebastian Faulks' ideas about the near future and the ethics of biological research are full of interest and it goes without saying that the book is effortlessly readable. But in contrast to his other work, I just couldn't connect with the characters who all seemed slightly bland and distant. The plot too was a bit thin. I really wanted to love this book and wondered if the title was a nod to Doris Lessing's The Fifth Child, a novel I read more than thirty years ago and which has stayed with me. I somehow doubt that The Seventh Son will do the same.

I'm rarely impressed by this sort of milk and water sci-fi by mainstream writers and unfortunately The Seventh Son was no exception. The narration is exposition heavy and the dialogue often unrealistic and any philosophical exploration a tad underwhelming.
Despite all the shortcomings, Faulk can weave a decent story so this might certainly appeal to some readers. 6/10

In summary, this is a brilliant book. It’s well-written, thought provoking and a fascinating concept. It’s a challenging read for many reasons, the science being one, but it is well explained and I never felt completely out of my depth.

Written in the near future, there are some fascinating predictions about what life will look like, but not overly fanciful or out of the realms of possibility. Just enough familiarity blended with a possible future. Aside from the science, we’re given insight into what the shape of politics, freedom of speech and travel might look like if the world follows its current trajectory.

The story itself is utterly compelling. It holds a light up to humanity and reflects what it means to be human. A billionaire entrepreneur who wishes to exert control in a field of scientific study (and we don’t have to look to hard to find a contemporary example) for his own reasons, and raises moral and ethical questions about the choices we would make if we had the cash and means to kick-start a potentially ground-breaking and life-changing hypothesis in action. And coupled with that, just how does humanity deal with that which is different.

This is a book that I will think about long after closing its pages, and that to me is the sign of a remarkably talented writer and a very clever story.

unintentionally ended up reading this immediately after a sci-Fi book with some similar themes- I enjoyed both but this one pipped to first place. There are layers to the story- different points in time (in the not so distant future) done artfully in a way that is not so outlandish as to be impossible, various characters with differing reasons for being involved in the experiment (some knowingly some unknowingly). There’s a lot to think about and I’ve been imploring people to read the book so I have someone to discuss it with- I think it could spark really interesting debates in book clubs and wider settings. In the interests of transparency I didn’t love the ending, which felt a bit peculiar (the relationship between S and his surrogate (?) and the ultimate end to the story), but overall an interesting and memorable read.

‘A Child Will Be Born Who Will Change Everything’ - teaser.

My thanks to Random House U.K. Cornerstone Hutchinson Heinemann for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Seventh Son’ by Sebastian Faulks.

Faulks’ latest work of literary fiction is something of a departure from his previous novels as it is speculative fiction set in the near future with a scientific premise.

In 2030 Talissa Adam, a young American academic, becomes a surrogate as part of a programme run by the Parn Institute. She carries the child of Mary and Alaric Pedersen. Yet she has no idea of the life-changing consequences of this birth. The baby, Seth, is safely delivered and entrusted to the hopeful parents.

Unbeknownst to them all the billionaire tech entrepreneur behind the Parn Institute is undertaking an experiment that could upend the human race as we know it. Lukas Parn and his people intend to keep the nature of their experimental IVF treatments secret as they stretch the boundaries of medical ethics.

By the time Seth is twelve certain differences have begun to mark him out from his peers. As a result he begins to attract unwanted attention. No further details to avoid spoilers.

This was quite an unexpected reading experience as my previous encounters with Faulks’ writing had been his works of historical fiction, such as ‘Birdsong’ and ‘Charlotte Gray’.

As the novel is set between 2030 and 2056, it’s obvious that there have been changes in society, though I felt that Faulks was quite restrained in his world building keeping his story primarily focused on his central characters.

Overall, I felt that ‘The Seventh Son’ was well written, intelligent, and thought provoking. It was also a melancholic read and a meditation on what makes us human.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Set in the near future, Talissa is in urgent need of funding for her further education. Becoming a surrogate seems to be the easiest answer but stick with this as you are about to be catapulted into some pretty deep and uncomfortable choices.

Whether you agree with surrogacy is probably going to be the first point you will need to ponder on but believe me this may be the easiest.

Seth is the result of the surrogacy but all is not quite as it seems to the new parents as the big bad wolf in this story is the owner of the company providing the IVF treatment.

Very difficult to go into much more detail about the turmoil you might find yourself in as the story develops without giving too much of the plot away but I found that I would not only question myself but got into some really good discussions by springing questions that came up in the book, to friends who had not yet read it. Without exception said friends were seduced into buying the book.

The Seventh Son is a very enjoyable read but as with any other Sebastian Faulks books don't expect an easy relaxing read. You will work for it but ultimately be rewarded.

I can wholeheartedly recommend The Seventh Son By Sebastian Faulks but first of all I must admit to having read all of his books and being quite a fan of his superb writing.

I received a pre publication copy of The Seventh Son from NetGalley in return for this honest review.

The seventh son.
An overly ambitious billionaire tech-bro is running an advanced fertility clinic with negotiable ethics- what could possibly go wrong?
Talissa is a young anthropologist looking for funding to continue her research. She decides to become a surrogate mother. For her everything goes smoothly until seventeen years later she meets her son Seth, and realises how different he is.
This novel is very timely, it touches on mental illness, medical ethics, the abuse of power and consent and raises the question of how we define a human being. The science is up to date, well researched and well explained, and does not slow down the moving story.
An excellent book from an always excellent writer, highly recommended.

Talissa agrees to be the surrogate for an English couple. The procedure takes place in a clinic run by a shady multi-millionaire who has his own ideas about the human race.

As a result Seth, the son, turns out to be quite a different human being (no spoilers!).

I liked the near future setting that felt realistic but felt that there was a bit of distance from Seth. First person may have given more depth to his feelings. A great read though.