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The Final Flaw
Our flaws define us, what happens when they are gone?
In the near future, genetic defects will soon be a thing of the past. Every child is born using The Template, a revolutionary invention ensuring health and happiness. Its success brought about Mendelium, the largest technology company in the world, which now controls humanity’s genetic future via a board of directors.
Charlie Lamarck, an engineer with Tourette’s syndrome, is working to create a better life for future generations when he’s suddenly thrust into a position of power by Gerhard Geller, the eccentric CEO who has taken a liking to him—perhaps too quickly.
Charlie’s differences have brought success into his life, and he’s skeptical of a world without flaws. Now, he faces a choice.
Should Charlie work to change the future, or will he be part of the last generation shaped by their own genetic disadvantages?
Compelling, genuine, timely, and The Final Flaw is a gripping exploration into our differences and what makes us unique as human beings. This thought-provoking novel underlines the positives of neurological diversity and paints an all-too-realistic future of the corporatization of genetic technologies.
In the near future, genetic defects will soon be a thing of the past. Every child is born using The Template, a revolutionary invention ensuring health and happiness. Its success brought about Mendelium, the largest technology company in the world, which now controls humanity’s genetic future via a board of directors.
Charlie Lamarck, an engineer with Tourette’s syndrome, is working to create a better life for future generations when he’s suddenly thrust into a position of power by Gerhard Geller, the eccentric CEO who has taken a liking to him—perhaps too quickly.
Charlie’s differences have brought success into his life, and he’s skeptical of a world without flaws. Now, he faces a choice.
Should Charlie work to change the future, or will he be part of the last generation shaped by their own genetic disadvantages?
Compelling, genuine, timely, and The Final Flaw is a gripping exploration into our differences and what makes us unique as human beings. This thought-provoking novel underlines the positives of neurological diversity and paints an all-too-realistic future of the corporatization of genetic technologies.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
284 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 18, 2022
23 people are currently reading
728 people want to read
About the author
Michael R. Sullivan
4 books18 followersMichael Sullivan is an author and a software engineer fascinated in the intersection of humanity and technology.
Michael is passionate (i.e. obsessed) about continual education and self improvement.
He is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor, musician, chess player, and health/fitness enthusiast focused on life-long-learning across multiple domains.
Michael is passionate (i.e. obsessed) about continual education and self improvement.
He is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor, musician, chess player, and health/fitness enthusiast focused on life-long-learning across multiple domains.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 30, 2022
This book is pretty far out of my comfort zone. However, as an adult with Tourette's Syndrome I was interested to read how the main character is presented. This condition is so often mocked and used as a punch line. I was delighted to see that Charlies is bright and loving and friendly and warm. That he is an amazing human, with a few flaws, like us all.
While it was the TS that drew me to the book, it was the story that kept me engaged. The ending, where everything is finally explained, was especially hard hitting and personal to me.
This book shows the beauty of our differences and how imperfect perfect is.
I look forward to more books by this author.
While it was the TS that drew me to the book, it was the story that kept me engaged. The ending, where everything is finally explained, was especially hard hitting and personal to me.
This book shows the beauty of our differences and how imperfect perfect is.
I look forward to more books by this author.
May 31, 2022
This book was the most unique one I've read in a while. The author hit a highly debated topic right now and for good reason. This was an easy read but not "simple" in its concepts. Some of the points, such as his escapism in code, and how the technology itself worked became a bit redundant for me and I found myself skimming those sections. However, the authors choice to make the timeline jump around made it a more interesting read. Loved that the main character had tourettes, because you don't see enough about it in common media. It was nice to hear the main characters perspective and feelings related to it. Book was the perfect length. The ending, though a bit predictable, was also satisfying.
June 25, 2022
One of the most unique books I've read recently. The story was fantastic and has me really excited about reading more from a new author.
The underlying idea about the importance of our disadvantages was fascinating and had me thinking a lot about them in my own life after I wrapped it up. It started off a little bit slow, but I was flying through each chapter as soon as I made it to the end. Overall, the only thing keeping it from 5/5 was some of the punctuation errors throughout.
The underlying idea about the importance of our disadvantages was fascinating and had me thinking a lot about them in my own life after I wrapped it up. It started off a little bit slow, but I was flying through each chapter as soon as I made it to the end. Overall, the only thing keeping it from 5/5 was some of the punctuation errors throughout.
July 9, 2022
I found this book from a post by the author on Reddit. It sounded interesting and I thought I would give it a go. I’m so glad I did.
Now, this book is set in the near-distant future, and is a about the “Template” removing genetic defects Gattica-style. It follows Charlie, a man with Tourette’s who works with building this Template, who is keen to not let his “disability” be removed from society. Obviously more happens but I’m trying to write a spoiler free review.
I’m not going to lie, I was wary when I picked this book up. I’ve read books that have disability as a focal point before. Some do it well, some do not. The fact that the author also has Tourette’s suggested good things for the book, so with no small amount of equal apprehension and alacrity I started reading. It goes without saying that I finished the book, so bottom line is that he did a good job in this aspect. It was both educational and enjoyable.
One thing that struck me is how much I cared for the characters. I’ve read a few books recently where I couldn’t give two ticks about the characters. With this book, I felt my heart race at all the appropriate moments, I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next, I was completely invested in their lives. For me, if I don’t connect with the characters, I won’t enjoy the books. Character development is more important to me than plot (though luckily this book had both)!
One negative, on occasion the author uses “I” when he should be using “me” or another first-person pronoun. It’s an easy hole to fall into but I really pulled me out of my immersion.
Overall though, I really enjoyed reading this good. It had good pace, good plot, good characters, everything you want from a book. And the subject matter is relevant to society as a whole. It raises interesting philosophical questions, and I would recommend this book a thousand times over.
Now, this book is set in the near-distant future, and is a about the “Template” removing genetic defects Gattica-style. It follows Charlie, a man with Tourette’s who works with building this Template, who is keen to not let his “disability” be removed from society. Obviously more happens but I’m trying to write a spoiler free review.
I’m not going to lie, I was wary when I picked this book up. I’ve read books that have disability as a focal point before. Some do it well, some do not. The fact that the author also has Tourette’s suggested good things for the book, so with no small amount of equal apprehension and alacrity I started reading. It goes without saying that I finished the book, so bottom line is that he did a good job in this aspect. It was both educational and enjoyable.
One thing that struck me is how much I cared for the characters. I’ve read a few books recently where I couldn’t give two ticks about the characters. With this book, I felt my heart race at all the appropriate moments, I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next, I was completely invested in their lives. For me, if I don’t connect with the characters, I won’t enjoy the books. Character development is more important to me than plot (though luckily this book had both)!
One negative, on occasion the author uses “I” when he should be using “me” or another first-person pronoun. It’s an easy hole to fall into but I really pulled me out of my immersion.
Overall though, I really enjoyed reading this good. It had good pace, good plot, good characters, everything you want from a book. And the subject matter is relevant to society as a whole. It raises interesting philosophical questions, and I would recommend this book a thousand times over.
June 15, 2022
I created an account solely to review this book. I suspect all of the positive reviews are fake, and are in fact written by the author himself. The author has been using "sockpuppets" (accounts that look like they're real people, but are actually the same person—the author) to promote his book on social media sites like Reddit.
For example, the author will post something like "The Final Flaw is the best book I've read this year!" under a sockpuppet account, and then respond to it in agreement with another sockpuppet account. To the casual viewer, this will look like multiple people talking about how much they loved the book, and will hopefully result in a sale for the author. However, if you inspect these accounts more closely, there are giveaways (in the name, account activity, creation date, etc.) that indicate they're all run by the same person. This is dishonest and manipulative. What's worse, a lot of these sockpuppets claim to be neurodivergent themselves or have neurodivergent family members: the author is literally using fake, made-up neurodivergent people as pawns to trick people into buying his book.
If the author is doing that other places, he's probably doing it here, too.
Do not support this author.
For example, the author will post something like "The Final Flaw is the best book I've read this year!" under a sockpuppet account, and then respond to it in agreement with another sockpuppet account. To the casual viewer, this will look like multiple people talking about how much they loved the book, and will hopefully result in a sale for the author. However, if you inspect these accounts more closely, there are giveaways (in the name, account activity, creation date, etc.) that indicate they're all run by the same person. This is dishonest and manipulative. What's worse, a lot of these sockpuppets claim to be neurodivergent themselves or have neurodivergent family members: the author is literally using fake, made-up neurodivergent people as pawns to trick people into buying his book.
If the author is doing that other places, he's probably doing it here, too.
Do not support this author.
June 13, 2022
A great first book by a new author. While it’s a fairly simple story line, it addresses many much needed topics. I first learned about this book from a post the author made on Reddit and was so thankful I ran across it and bought it right away!
July 10, 2022
Although I really enjoyed the concept and ideas in the this book I feel that the plot sped up and lacked a bit of detail in the second half, I was surprised when suddenly I realised I was at 90% because I felt i was still waiting for that intense build up to reach its exploding point. It was very interesting though and gave me food for thought, an enjoyable read albeit slightly unsatisfactory towards the end. I'd still recommend this book for the insight and thought provoking discussions around the concept of a "perfect society".
June 15, 2022
Like so many others have said, this book is a definite page-turner. Thoroughly enjoyable! Would read more from Michael R. Sullivan in the future!
July 17, 2022
I would have appreciated some harder science behind the book. It would have been fascinating to dive into the science behind the technology in the novel because it would have made the ensuing scenes more exciting. I think the message behind the novel is strong although it would have been strengthened if it had been lengthened.
June 16, 2022
This was an engrossing read. It reminded me a lot of Gattaca but from the perspective of the corporates. Really enjoyed the perspective of a narrator with Tourette's syndrome and all of the ethical questions raised around genetic engineering.
July 1, 2022
I picked this one up for the self-published square of r/fantasy bingo this year (hard mode: 100 or less ratings on goodreads) and I am not disappointed that I did.
This book reminds to me a lot of a black mirror episode without so much of the horror elements. A future that would and 100% could be ours.
🧬
𝙾𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚠𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚞𝚜. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚎?
In the near future, genetic defects will soon be a thing of the past. Every child is born using The Template, a revolutionary invention ensuring health and happiness. Its success brought about Mendelium, the largest technology company in the world, which now controls humanity’s genetic future via a board of directors.
Charlie Lamarck, an engineer with Tourette’s syndrome, is working to create a better life for future generations when he’s suddenly thrust into a position of power by the eccentric CEO who taken a liking to him.
Charlie’s differences have brought success into his life, and he’s skeptical of a world without flaws. Now, he faces a choice.
Should he work to change the future, or will he be part of the last generation shaped by their own genetic disadvantages?
🧬
"𝚆𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢, 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜."
There’s a lot of morality at play here in this little volume. It poses some interesting questions for consideration.
What makes us different? What makes us successful? Who are we without our quirks and flaws? What does it mean to be perfect and at what cost to us would there be to being perfect? Does overcoming adversity in our own lives make us better as not only an individual but also as a collective society?
Some of the most brilliant minds of our times have made the discoveries/ differences they have due to a struggle they saw within their own lives or in those around them.
"𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚞𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐."
🧬
Overall, I did enjoy this little novel, it was a quick and easy read. I enjoyed having the flashback elements peppered throughout as well as they helped to both flesh out the story and the characters themselves, sometimes providing motivations that connect later in the narrative. It also provided some interesting food for thought.
🧬
"𝙻𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚜," 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜 𝚜𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎. "𝙸 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚞𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚐𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍. 𝙽𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎."
🧬
"𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚜, 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚏𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚠 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚢."
🧬
This book reminds to me a lot of a black mirror episode without so much of the horror elements. A future that would and 100% could be ours.
🧬
𝙾𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚠𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚞𝚜. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚎?
In the near future, genetic defects will soon be a thing of the past. Every child is born using The Template, a revolutionary invention ensuring health and happiness. Its success brought about Mendelium, the largest technology company in the world, which now controls humanity’s genetic future via a board of directors.
Charlie Lamarck, an engineer with Tourette’s syndrome, is working to create a better life for future generations when he’s suddenly thrust into a position of power by the eccentric CEO who taken a liking to him.
Charlie’s differences have brought success into his life, and he’s skeptical of a world without flaws. Now, he faces a choice.
Should he work to change the future, or will he be part of the last generation shaped by their own genetic disadvantages?
🧬
"𝚆𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢, 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜."
There’s a lot of morality at play here in this little volume. It poses some interesting questions for consideration.
What makes us different? What makes us successful? Who are we without our quirks and flaws? What does it mean to be perfect and at what cost to us would there be to being perfect? Does overcoming adversity in our own lives make us better as not only an individual but also as a collective society?
Some of the most brilliant minds of our times have made the discoveries/ differences they have due to a struggle they saw within their own lives or in those around them.
"𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚞𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐."
🧬
Overall, I did enjoy this little novel, it was a quick and easy read. I enjoyed having the flashback elements peppered throughout as well as they helped to both flesh out the story and the characters themselves, sometimes providing motivations that connect later in the narrative. It also provided some interesting food for thought.
🧬
"𝙻𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚜," 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜 𝚜𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎. "𝙸 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚞𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚐𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍. 𝙽𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎."
🧬
"𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚜, 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚏𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚠 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚢."
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May 3, 2022
What can I say, this was a real page turner. I am not one for science fiction, let alone fiction in general but I gave this book a shot after a suggestion from a good friend. I am glad I listened to him because this book was very hard for me to put down.
The characters and their development are amazing and the fact that Tourette's Syndrome was involved with this novel was also very interesting. With TS often being mocked and misunderstood in our society it was refreshing see TS being depicted the way the author chose to.
This was a fascinating and captivating book that allows us to find positives in our imperfections and differences. This could be a quality read for anyone and everyone.
The characters and their development are amazing and the fact that Tourette's Syndrome was involved with this novel was also very interesting. With TS often being mocked and misunderstood in our society it was refreshing see TS being depicted the way the author chose to.
This was a fascinating and captivating book that allows us to find positives in our imperfections and differences. This could be a quality read for anyone and everyone.
June 7, 2022
A thought-provoking take on the aspects and obstacles in our lives that make us who we are.
May 16, 2022
A gripping story with an excellent message! Well worth the purchase and read. Makes you think about our use of technology!
June 5, 2022
Not a fan of how the last third was handled, but overall good story.
June 15, 2022
The author is creating fake accounts to review his own material. He is abusing this platform and fabricating good press for his mediocre work.
July 13, 2022
Decent idea, but my goodness does this book need to be edited!
Read
November 4, 2023This author is using fake reviews on social media, and has planted dozens of fake accounts across multiple platforms to advertise his book, which is NOT good to begin with. Just want to get this out on here, and to not trust any review you see here that is overwhelmingly positive, and doesn't have any substance. Of course, there are real positive reviews... just be cautious while looking for your next book to read.
June 17, 2022
Made it halfway through and DNFed it. I have 3 complaints:
1) The hype for this self-published book seems to be mostly the author making social media rounds promoting their own work with fake accounts.
2) The book is riddled with typos and grammatical errors. Was there no one around to proofread this? Even a friend or relative? Anyone who reads English would've caught most of the errors.
3) The premise of the story is very interesting. It goes without saying that people with disabilities can still make valuable contributions to society and should be accepted. However, I'm skeptical that most people who have Tourettes or autism, etc. would choose to keep those traits if there was a way to change it. The book doesn't present enough evidence to convince me these disorders are beneficial. Since that is the central premise of the book, it fell flat for me.
1) The hype for this self-published book seems to be mostly the author making social media rounds promoting their own work with fake accounts.
2) The book is riddled with typos and grammatical errors. Was there no one around to proofread this? Even a friend or relative? Anyone who reads English would've caught most of the errors.
3) The premise of the story is very interesting. It goes without saying that people with disabilities can still make valuable contributions to society and should be accepted. However, I'm skeptical that most people who have Tourettes or autism, etc. would choose to keep those traits if there was a way to change it. The book doesn't present enough evidence to convince me these disorders are beneficial. Since that is the central premise of the book, it fell flat for me.
September 5, 2022
The idea was great but the execution is lacking. I went in thinking it was scifi but what it was is a poorly executed murder mistery. Some parts drag on forever with unending monologues,which do not fit such a short book. It's full of grammatical and spelling errors. The plot twist is revealed in a very cringey way. I had debated with myself if I should DNF,finally deciding to give it the final push and I wish I had DNF'd
January 7, 2023
I loved the message in this book and couldn’t put it down. It was a good read that kept me engaged.
April 19, 2023
Definitely would not recommend. If it hadn't been such an easy read, I wouldn't have bothered to finish it. The writing was awful. I lost count of the grammatical and spelling errors - really needs an editor up in here. Almost every instance of "were" was accidentally spelled "where" which drove me insane. Innumerable other issues, like "desert" instead of "dessert", and so many commas where no comma should ever be.
The storyline was interesting but the selfishness and self-importance of the author/narrator was intolerable. Also - not convinced AT ALL that most people with Tourette's wouldn't choose to get rid of it if they could. Seems like a huge disadvantage in life with no upside.
The storyline was interesting but the selfishness and self-importance of the author/narrator was intolerable. Also - not convinced AT ALL that most people with Tourette's wouldn't choose to get rid of it if they could. Seems like a huge disadvantage in life with no upside.
May 30, 2023
Awesome book! Very thought provoking. Great story. I found it well written.
October 19, 2024
I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this book. I found it randomly at a thrift store and was intrigued by the premise. I’ve always been a fan of dystopian fiction, which I’m certain started when I read The Giver in grade school. But this book took on a whole new concept that I found fascinating and ultimately so incredibly important.
I assumed immediately that the author had Tourette’s Syndrome and was earnestly telling a story about a protagonist with the same affliction. This alone gripped me from the earliest pages. But the story soon opened up an incredibly rich and important dialogue about genetics and the impact of selecting and removing defects from the human genetic code. Again, my interest in this topic started with the movie Gattaca, and this story dove deeper into the layers of genetic selection and its impact on humanity.
Gerhard’s speech near the end of the book should be required reading. I just recently said to my husband that we have arrived at the place in history where science fiction and reality coexist. And the topics covered in this novel should be at the forefront of our conversations about the future of genetic testing and our hope for the future of humanity.
As a writer/editor I will say there were quite a few errors in the novel that perhaps were corrected in future editions. That is my only complaint about this otherwise unique and intriguing work of not-so-science fiction.
I assumed immediately that the author had Tourette’s Syndrome and was earnestly telling a story about a protagonist with the same affliction. This alone gripped me from the earliest pages. But the story soon opened up an incredibly rich and important dialogue about genetics and the impact of selecting and removing defects from the human genetic code. Again, my interest in this topic started with the movie Gattaca, and this story dove deeper into the layers of genetic selection and its impact on humanity.
Gerhard’s speech near the end of the book should be required reading. I just recently said to my husband that we have arrived at the place in history where science fiction and reality coexist. And the topics covered in this novel should be at the forefront of our conversations about the future of genetic testing and our hope for the future of humanity.
As a writer/editor I will say there were quite a few errors in the novel that perhaps were corrected in future editions. That is my only complaint about this otherwise unique and intriguing work of not-so-science fiction.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2022
I enjoyed this one start to finish. I think it is clear by some of the comments in here that the subject matter of neurodiversity is a touchy one.
I find it hard to believe how anyone couldn't enjoy this. It was an interesting insight into what it is like day-to-day to live with tourette syndrome, but more than that it made me think about the future of genetic manipulation in a way that I never had before. Thank you so much for putting this work out into the world, I just want to gift this out to kids and schools as I think the message of embracing your disadvantages is such a powerful one.
I find it hard to believe how anyone couldn't enjoy this. It was an interesting insight into what it is like day-to-day to live with tourette syndrome, but more than that it made me think about the future of genetic manipulation in a way that I never had before. Thank you so much for putting this work out into the world, I just want to gift this out to kids and schools as I think the message of embracing your disadvantages is such a powerful one.
January 22, 2023
The Final Flaw has some amazing big societal ideas to digest as you are engrossed in a sci-fi thriller plot. I love the fluid timeline where the author is using flashbacks to reveal important ideas throughout the book. As I read this book it is hard to not imagine a not to distant future where this sort of technology may be used and think about how humanity will use that power.
November 19, 2023
I've recommened this book to two different friends that have Tourette's syndrome. Although the topics are a lot more brood than just tics, this is a must read if you are someone with Tourette's syndrome. Not a long read, and captivating the whole way through with a great message.
November 18, 2024
I sought this out specifically as an adult with Tourette’s and a fan of sci fi! I didn’t like it. I didn’t like almost any of it. I’ll give it this, it’s an accurate portrayal of Tourette’s. That alone is not enough to carry a novel unfortunately.
March 2, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. Not only is it entertaining with interesting characters, it also delivers a positive and thoughtful message.
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