This book has all the usual hallmarks of Sebastian Faulks’ writing -an engrossing story, superbly real characters, a fine sense of place and an exploration of some of the burning issues of our time. When a young geneticist offers herself as a surrogate she is unaware that she is unwittingly becoming part of an experiment stretching the boundaries of what is is to be human. The story is set in the not too distant future, where the ethics of what science and technology have made possible are being explored - because we have the capability to do something, does that mean we should? A baby is born to his excited and grateful parents, but as he grows his differences become more apparent and the story of his conception and genetic history start to unravel.

This reviewer is in awe of the imagination that could create this story, and the skill to write it with such fluidity, compassion and non-judgemental exploration of such enormous themes. The book of the year for me so far.

I've read a number of novels by Sebastian Faulks and always enjoyed them. Whilst this story has an interesting premise, it was not really developed. I am not convinced that Faulks is comfortable writing in the future without historical/contemporary fact to rely on.

DNA of the long extinct Neanderthal is used secretly in an IVF clinic to create a "new species" of human - this is to determine whether madness can be eliminated from the human condition. We find out briefly that Lukas Parn's (the billionaire experimenter) father is suffering from dementia and presume this is the motive for the research.

Seth is the product of the experiment but few of the project's results are discussed over the years, despite regular ongoing testing by the Parn Institute - the ending tends to suggest failure. Neither Seth's life nor his additional senses are relayed in very much detail, in fact most of the characters are scarcely developed. The inter-character dialogue seems forced at times to explain the science in layman's terms rather than for the betterment of the book.

The story covers the years from 2030 to 2056, but little appears to have changed from the present over that time - meat is scarce, handsets replace mobiles, blippers replace payment cards and electric cars have a greater range!

The final chapters of Seth and his surrogate mother don't, to my mind, provide a satisfactory conclusion to the premise of the novel although Freud would have been very interested with the relationship that develops…

A no from me, but I will continue to look out for future novels from this talented author. Many thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.

This is a fabulous, thought provoking, novel set in the near future. It starts in the year 2030, which feels reasonably close! But the world has changed and moved on. I particularly liked the description of London where the busses use the cycle lanes and the bikes dominate on the roads!

Talissa is an academic in the USA and she explores whether being a surrogate mother in the UK will earn her enough money to continue her research back home. However, what she doesn't know is that the institute behind the surrogacy arrangements is carrying out a highly illegal experiment.

This is a fascinating and compelling read. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is difficult to read in places. The surrogacy of a child is difficult to handle but what happens during that time is extremely thought provoking. Seth is the child born to loving parents and his journey through life is well explained as is the story of the surrogate. It is worthy of reading through to the end. It will make you stop and think what it is like to be 'human'.

Very interesting concept, spent the whole book wondering where it would go which kept me engaged. Took a very weird turn but it worked

Since Birdsong I have really enjoyed reading Sebastian Faulks novels. This one is very different. Set in the near future. an American academic wishing an easy way to fund her studies, agrees to be a surrogate for a childless couple. The baby she carries, however, is not an embryo from the parents but a lab experiment.
I almost feel that Faulks is too beautiful a writer to have written this. The book is unbelievably sad the whole way through. I liked Talisa and Seth and also Mrs Gobal the landlady. How fascinating that a minor character had some of the best "lines". The science bits weren't worth it- sorry- blame adverts. I did find that even from a STEM background they were very dry. I'm also not entirely certain of the point of the experiment. Was it a "just because you can" or was there some other motive? Not clear. The moral and ethical stance of conducting such an experiment could have been dealt with more but then maybe that would have made it drag a bit. I think it becomes pretty clear that the ethics and morals of doing this are highly suspect with zero regard for the people and child involved. PICs- sound horrific and like we are going backwards in accepting people not forward.
The ending is inevitable and just leaves you feeling incredibly sad. There are so many questions raised by this book that may never get answered , at least in my lifetime and part of me thinks that's a good idea

A thoughtful and thought-provoking mediation on what it means to be human, and the extraordinary and improbable randomness of human nature in all its current forms. Although they are very different books, for me, somehow 'The Seventh Son' at times recalls Ishiguro's 'Klara and the Sun'. (I prefer 'The Seventh Son' as a reading experience.) 'The Seventh Son' is a book that lingers in the mind and requires contemplation. Personally I'm contentedly unsure just how good it is, but take comfort that as Faulks writes "to be contentedly unsure [is] the mark of a mature mind - because only small intellects are frightened of the unresolved". How good a book it is must be resolved in the individual mind of each reader and that's just how it should be. Special thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for a no obligation advance review copy.

Sebastian Faulks writes a thought provoking novel set in the near future in which changes in British and American society feel all too plausible, it is structured into 4 parts and begins in 2030 and ends in 2056. 26 year old American academic, Talissa Adam, wants to pursue post-doctoral studies at the Helen Lingard Institute, but lacking the funds, makes the fateful decision to attain the finance by becoming a surrogate mother in London, despite being in a great relationship with boyfriend, Felix. At the Parn Institute, she undergoes a battery of tests, getting to know would be parents, Alaric and Mary Pederson, camping with them in France, engaging in deep and meaningful discussions. None of them are aware that Aussie billionaire entrepreneur, Lukas Parn, feeling himself above the law, has made a decision to carry out a disturbing and unethical secret IVF experiment.

Talissa gives birth to Seth, handing him over to the Pedersons, returning to the USA to take up her place in academia, and although she continues to see Felix, who goes on to develop serious mental health issues through the years, their relationship is no more. Seth grows up in a loving home environment, solemn, shorter and stockier than average, no close friends, an affinity to animals, bullied at school, reaching puberty early, and with abilities that distinguish him from others. He goes on to study Engineering at a prestigious university, making friends for the first time, and comfortable in a relationship with Rosalie Wright, feeling just like a regular guy. Through the years, Seth is regularly and closely monitored by the Parn Institute. However, despite Talissa's efforts to protect Seth, his life comes under the kind of strains no-one should have to endure.

Faulks asks and explores fundamental questions of what it is to be human, examining in detail the existence of madness and dementia in homo sapiens. When it comes to the Parn Institute, the possible 'for the greater good' arguments are laid out logically, but missing from their self serving comprehension is the human impact of the experiment, society's inability to live and let live when it comes to difference, and are unable to forsee the possibilities of the tragedy that follows. There are indepth scientific details and explanations of processes in the text, but what spoke to me most were the human relationships forged between Talissa and the Pederson family, and a Seth I grew to feel close to, and the unbearable circumstances, through no fault of his own, he finds himself buckling under. An extraordinary, profound, and well written novel that I have no doubt will appeal to a wide range of readers. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

What would happen if some unethical clinic with an owner with more money than morals decided to create a 'hybrid' species? This is the fascinating premise upon which this novel is based. Here, Faulks is tackling a moral conundrum, setting a novel some time in the near future and, actually, this is not a situation that would be impossible even now. The complexities of the plot are diluted through a fairly simplistic narrative style, which, given the span of time (a life time, as it happens) the novel covers, is apt. What I found clever about this novel - one of the many aspects, that is - is that Faulks is questioning all the time, implicitly, what is *right*? He is questioning the idea of 'hybridity', family, motherhood, relationships. That's a lot, for sure, but it's done in such a way to plant seeds of doubt about what 'morality' means - what 'ethics' mean. This is definitely a novel I'd read again because I'm sure I'd pick up yet more in subsequent read-throughs. My grateful thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Set in the near future (2030), "The Seventh Son" by Sebastian Faulks reminded me of a John Marrs or Claire North novel - really well told with a hint of sci-fi. It tells the unnerving story of the possibilities of science and what happens if ethics are not adhered to or experiments are engineered just for the greater good of one person. It is told from all sides, and even though the ending is sad, it probably is the only one that could work properly.

Sebastian Faulks’ novels always keep me gripped and this one was no exception. Talissa, an American academic in anthropology decides to become a surrogate mother for a young couple in England to earn the money needed to continue her studies. What no one knows is that this particular baby is going to be the result of an unscrupulous scientific experiment. The research for this novel is meticulous and the science behind the story is very well explained. It is very thought provoking and raises many questions about ethics, motivations for medical research, attitudes to people who are different to ourselves, the necessity to have a sense of belonging. I loved this novel and know that it will be in my mind for a long, long time. Another masterpiece by a remarkable story teller!

I have read a few Sebastian Faulks books but this one is quite different from his last offering. The setting is the near future with a dystopian feel to it although some of the scenes are perhaps a bit to close to real time rather than science fiction. This is at times a slightly uncomfortable and disturbing read but very thought provoking.

It’s an actually a deeper book than you think it is. Set a little way ahead it retrials the underbelly of the humans and their ability to buy whatever they need. It’s not for me. If that the future I don’t want it!

Incredibly thought through, beautiful prose, immense characterisation. And it made me cry.
What a topic, and what a perspective. Looking into the future - a not so far distant one - Faulks presents a very different world, but some things d9nt change. Fear of difference. Fear of being replaced. Fear of being lessened, somehow. AI. Climate change. Multi-billionaires with immense power and questionable morals. Plus ca change...
What makes us human? Asked and, maybe, answered.
Brilliant, but oh how I wished for a happier ending. It's just all too real.

I didn’t quite get into this one.

Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

I feel sad.

I hate humans. Why can’t we just love and accept each other for what we are? Live and let live. Take joy in our world?

This book has a dystopian feel to it but at the same time, everything that happens in it feels like it’s within touching distance. Travel by unmanned car, restrictions on flights. Meat becoming a rarity. Experiments on genes. It’s started already. The story begins in 2030 and spans across the next 25 years. Talissa Adam volunteers to be a surrogate and carry a child for Mary and Alaric Pederson. She doesn’t realise that the son she bears for them is the result of an experiment. How he was created doesn’t matter, because he is loved and he’s just a man.

I’m not a science geek so some of the science stuff was a little over my head but it wasn’t too much to affect my enjoyment of the book.

The nods to the disasters in recent politics show that me and Sebastian Faulks share the same views on the debacle that is Brexit and the lying buffoons and xenophobic behaviour that caused it. Which brings me back to the point, we live on a tiny and beautiful planet. There’s room for us all and we are all equally entitled to live here.

Seth Pederson is just a man. I would be glad to be his friend.

Thought provoking and very well written and observed.

Set in 2030, a young academic travels to London where she decides to fund her studies by becoming a surrogate. Little does she know that the billionaire ‘father’ wants to use the baby as a medical experiment. The birth mother keeps in touch with the baby and its surrogate parents but can they together prevent disaster which will have profound effect for all of humankind?

This powerful novel is set in the not-too-distant future and raises many ethical, moral and cultural issues. IVF, surrogacy, attitudes to those who are ‘different’ to the accepted cultural norm, mental disorders and financial gains are each encountered, causing the reader to ask questions, ponder and maybe even rethink long-held views on some of these. Handled in an exquisite way by Sebastian Faulks, the plot is gripping and the characters well-drawn. There are scientific explanations, cause and effect implications and enough twists and turns to ensure that you want to keep reading!

During the first few chapters I did wonder whether I would like the book and was tempted to give up. I am so glad I didn’t and soon found that I was drawn in, wanting to know how things would work out, or not, for Talissa the surrogate mother, for Seth, her son, and for his parents Alaric and Mary. And Felix too, a former boyfriend to Talissa and soon sadly suffering with ‘young madness.’ And even, for Luke the scientist and his Parn Institute, where the IVF switch occurred to blend homo sapiens with Neanderthal DNA. Was the genetic manipulation done for the good of mankind? For financial gains? Or for even more sinister reasons?

Early on I was reminded of The Midwich Cuckoos; but The Seventh Son went further and deeper, and to my mind is a far better constructed and involved book. Fractionally less scary too, although the thought of what might be possible for mankind before too long was also a terrifying underlying theme here.

Sebastian Faulks’ writing has changed and developed over the years; I still hold great affection for the early novels – the French Trilogy of The Girl at The Lion D’or, Birdsong, Charlotte Grey. But The Seventh Son had me in its grip and the ending will stay with me for some time!

My thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for enabling me to read the ARC and review this amazing, wonderful, terrifying book.

This is a very weird book with a storyline likely to appeal to few readers. It is very drawn out with far too much detail. Seth is the child carried by a woman who needs to raise money to further her career. The boy is raised by the man thought to be his father and Mary his wife. However, there has been bad practice in the laboratory and Seth is not who they all believe him to be. He becomes a figure of international interest. At one point, someone called Sheila says “you’ve lost us, Malik”. Indeed and that can be said of much of the intricate detail given in the book. I am unable to be positive about it.

I have read a few Sebastian Faulks books and he has to be praised for writing a wide range of novels over the years in different genres. This book is a science fiction novel set in the near future and about an artificial insemination experiment in which the father's sperm is switched for a replacement containing Neanderthal DNA. Both the birth mother and the two parents are unaware of the switch and the birth of "Seth" is normal and for a while everything is ok.

However as the child grows and the differences become more pronounced as the problems of living amongst a species that is only half of you grow for Seth - and his parents.

The book didn't entirely work for me. I found the "future" to be very similar to the world we live in now, with a few token additions such as eating meat has become socially unacceptable and the concept of "race" has disappeared from the language. The odd obvious addition like self-driving cars has been introduced. No problem, really, but then all the characters bar Seth are all very similar. They are serious, ponderous types and spend a lot of time explaining "dumbed-down" science to one another. This makes the dialogue rather weird, and it doesn't feel like how people talk to one another.

Seth is the only unusual character. He has many senses that we don't have and is more in tune with nature and less driven than the more career focussed Sapiens.

Inevitably some sort of crisis happens and Seth has to deal with it and he's somewhat of a fish out of water. I won't reveal the ending but it wasn't particularly happy or satisfying.

So it didn't really work for me. I find the subject of de-extinction fascinating and I was interested in a view on how it might work out, and some of the ethical issues that arise, but it felt like writing a book around an idea and the characters were just there because they had to be.