The Meek

by Scott Mackay

With the future of humankind hanging in the balance, a team of engineers is sent to the asteroid Ceres--once home to a genetically altered race of humans with a predisposition to violence that had been destroyed by Earth's government--to make it habitable, only to discover that they are not alone. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

328 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2001

About the author

Award-winning author Scott Mackay has over thirty-five published short stories to his credit and four novels: OUTPOST, THE MEEK, A FRIEND IN BARCELONA and COLD COMFORT, which was nominated for the 1999 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel. He lives in Toronto.

Reviews

[Patrick Gibson · Rating 2 out of 5]

(I borrowed some comments from Jerry Kindall, who wrote what I was thinking first.) “The author has seen fit to provide his own book with a five-star review, and I'm sure he feels he did an excellent job. I beg to differ. Although the background is intriguing, it seemed to me like all these characters suffered from (to use a psychological term) a lack of affect. No one seems to really get excited about anything, nobody ever panics or even feels a sense of urgency when confronted with a life-threatening situation, everyone is always completely level-headed and matter-of-fact. When nobody else seems interested by the goings-on in a story, it's hard for the reader to find them interesting either. A strange blue woman giving you telepathic powers by kissing you? That would seem miraculous to me, but the characters might have well have yawned for all the real interest they displayed in this remarkable development. The lead character blithely makes the decision to abandon the world he knows and lie to his parents about it without even a hint of inner turmoil. These characters aren't merely cardboard, as you would find in even well-regarded hard SF by e.g. Asimov or Hogan -- they barely react to anything at all. It is difficult to care whether these people live or die because they never seem alive to begin with. On the whole the novel just can't rise above the cold, dead weight of its characters.”

[Ameliabr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow this book is a mess. Pacing all over the place. The starting characters are introduced almost literally in a clown car fashion, only to have 80% of them unceremoniously killed off a couple chapters later. It's hard to even summarize the book. Saying it's about a recovery mission to an abandoned asteroid colony with mysterious lifeforms both sounds too cool and only describes about 35% of the book. Mostly it's about a manly sci-fi man with manly tears for his dead wife and how he ends up with a new blue alien girlfriend who communicates telepathically by kissing people. And then stuff just happens long after you think the book should have finally wrapped up and ended. Too much of a slog for an enjoyable hate read. Not recommended.

[Eric Rustand · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the backstory is pretty good, everything after that builds one implausible scenario and keeps adding another one. You keep expecting the book to be finished but no wait, another ridiculous plot twist! None of the characters show any realistic emotions and cofrontations are resolved for no real reason. It's a very odd and unsatisfying read.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mackay, Scott. The Meek. Roc, 2001.
While exploring Ceres, Cody, a young soldier with some telepathic ability, discovers a community of people genetically modified to survive low-oxygen environments like those on Mars. Conflict between earth and the refugee group ensue. Reading a mediocre book like this makes me appreciate Leviathan Wakes, a good novel with similar themes.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the story very compelling. Some of the foreshadowing was heavy handed, and in some places the writing felt stiff and forced, but the main story was quite interesting. If you read for descriptive excellence, this is not the book for you - if you ready for compelling story, this is right up your alley.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty typical SCiFi

[Brian Gaston · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting but not riveting read.

[José GG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um bom livro de ficção científica.

[James Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a great book, but a decent one. The world-building and back story are well done, and the concept of humans colonizing asteroids is presented in a vivid, believable way. The unpredictable events keep it entertaining…even if it is a little soap-operay and irrelevant. Although, maybe the Meek using the asteroid to colonize the moon would’ve been more believable than a rogue planet that just happens to wander through our solar system. Hey, it isn’t top notch, but it’s at least an interesting read.

[Bruno Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Achei uma história fantástica. Ao fazer a investigação do asteróide Ceres para o tornar habitável uma equipa liderada por Cody (com imensas parecenças a Jake Sully de Avatar) descobrem umas criaturas transformadas e mutantes que resistem a todas as tentativas de serem afastadas dali. A história desenvolve-se com uma quantidade de dilemas morais sobre as consequências daquilo que criámos e de que forma podemos resolver os problemas sem destruir raças inteiras. Vale mesmo a pena ler.

[Vitor Costa · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could I'd give this book a 3.5 rating.

The story is intriguing and something new happens every other page. But some of it just feels rushed. Something that really bothered me were the silly names given in to places in the book, it sounds dumb but when you read it in the middle of the story it makes you feel like you're reading a book meant for 8 years old. But by no means let that discourage you, if you like SciFi this is going to be a very interesting read!

[Will · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't bother with this.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for Locus in 2001. I clearly remember being HIGHLY annoyed at the idea of -290 Degrees Celsius, which is IMPOSSIBLE as that is lower than Absolute Zero.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read this year!

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a very "ho hum" read.

[Falbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great breadth of ideas, really powerful characters, this one was just a ton of fun.