Tomc takes the plot to unexpected heights.
In the year 2031, Doctor Kent Watford finally achieves a scientific breakthrough that was decades in the making. By successfully stimulating a synthetic neuron that would enable a functional artificial brain, the birth of advanced humanoid androids becomes possible. It all begins with an android named Primo. However, what was once hailed by supporters as the next step in evolution and humanity’s single greatest achievement is criticized by others when a single crime, a brutal murder, unravels what so many scientists worked so hard to accomplish. Now, in 2048, the androids are being corralled into prison camps in a military action dubbed operation Judgement Day. “I can’t believe they went so far so fast,” and, “Haven’t we learned anything from history?” are the compassionate voices of the powerless. With what amounts to a government sanctioned genocide of the android population, popular opinion turns on the guileless humanoids. Can anyone solve the crime and uncover the real motive behind the murder?
They Named Him Primo is the first in a brilliant futuristic science fiction series that explores the notion of what it truly means to be human. Within the expected framework of an exciting techno-thriller, Jaka Tomc takes the plot to unexpected heights as he effortlessly projects philosophical questions onto warring ideologies, such as what happens when human fear morphs into anger? The characters, especially the childlike introduction of Primo, are well drawn, compelling readers to really feel the story. So much cynicism and wit color the dialogue and keep readers engaged that you almost don’t notice the plot’s dynamic shifts, but shift it does. The narrative is dynamic and the storyline is riveting. History repeats itself, but with fancier equipment, in They Named Him Primo, a jazzed up paradigm of the cyberpunk genre.
