I've published my first novella, a sci-fi mystery called Last Human Being.
I've written it in a style akin to watching a movie unfold. I hope to turn it into a feature soon.
In the meantime, everyone is welcome to check out the book here
There is also a website www.lasthumanbeing.com
"Cole is a powerful young psychic, unknowingly involved in a conspiracy to end a mental war with a mysterious consciousness, taking place within a drug-induced dream."
"Between fear and love there is hope."
The themes of Last Human Being, like all of my work, are examinations of programming, virtue and purpose. Really, it is a story of how war is not possible in a world where you can't lie. Our hero Cole figures out how to fight fire with fire and save mankind by ending the simplest, most useless war ever, based on a fear of the unknown.
It's also a love story, about family and survival that takes place in an interesting future where evolving humans have mental powers. LHB brings into question our appreciation of reality, our ability to bring our ideas into the real world and the confusion sometimes brought on by emotions.
It's also about individual sacrifice for the betterment of others, yet from within a prejudicial framework. We work to save all, except those whom we work against. This dichotomy is further exemplified in the identity crises created by having the war take place in a dream, not truly knowing the enemy, not even knowing if he, she or it is real.
Perhaps the most interesting thematic philosophical aspect to Last Human Being, at least in my eyes, is the unconscious intentionality expressed by the idea of "the nonplan." Cole lives in a very close community with many psychics and non-psychics. It is nearly impossible to keep anything secret, yet he is daily exposed to the greatest lie ever sold. He is privy to information that he must spend great energy to "unsee" so that his mind isn't inadvertently read and the rouse foiled.
The nonplan isn't just something an individual can execute, such that Cole needs to unsee the secrets he knows, but it can also be a group effort. Several times in the story, characters remind Cole that "they could be working together without knowing." Cole comes to understand that he is playing some part in an effort to achieve an unknown goal. He doesn't know what it is or why it's required, but he hopes he's taking the right steps to complete the nonplan.
On a lighter note, Last Human Being is also super cool, with lots of hidden references to 80s music, teenage lust, scary human mutations and an overall, creepy darkness that permeates the story and hopefully the reader.
I hope you enjoy it.
Here now, please read what others have said about Last Human Being:
English Professor and Author of Forge Kevin Macpherson Eckhoff:
"Fast and shadowy, Last Human Being pits instinct against philosophy. This book, part somnambulist allegory, part speculative psychosomatic thriller, renders shifting dream-scapes in which impassioned characters confront not only one another's fears, but also the haunting vacuity of their own interiors. Fans of MTV’s original Aeon Flux series or George Lucas’s THX 1138 will easily be consumed by the ink—whether electric or chemical—within Brian Taylor’s first novella."
Award winning Filmmaker Kora Vanderlip:
"I really enjoyed it! I love the mystery, I had lots of questions while reading it, in a good way. The story kept me intrigued the whole way through."
Script Supervisor and Developer Colin Scott:
"It is in the vein of Moon or Under the Skin, it hangs with you long after you read it. Taylor's strongest writing yet."
More information about Last Human Being
Buy Last Human Being
I've written it in a style akin to watching a movie unfold. I hope to turn it into a feature soon.
In the meantime, everyone is welcome to check out the book here
There is also a website www.lasthumanbeing.com
"Cole is a powerful young psychic, unknowingly involved in a conspiracy to end a mental war with a mysterious consciousness, taking place within a drug-induced dream."
"Between fear and love there is hope."
The themes of Last Human Being, like all of my work, are examinations of programming, virtue and purpose. Really, it is a story of how war is not possible in a world where you can't lie. Our hero Cole figures out how to fight fire with fire and save mankind by ending the simplest, most useless war ever, based on a fear of the unknown.
It's also a love story, about family and survival that takes place in an interesting future where evolving humans have mental powers. LHB brings into question our appreciation of reality, our ability to bring our ideas into the real world and the confusion sometimes brought on by emotions.
It's also about individual sacrifice for the betterment of others, yet from within a prejudicial framework. We work to save all, except those whom we work against. This dichotomy is further exemplified in the identity crises created by having the war take place in a dream, not truly knowing the enemy, not even knowing if he, she or it is real.
Perhaps the most interesting thematic philosophical aspect to Last Human Being, at least in my eyes, is the unconscious intentionality expressed by the idea of "the nonplan." Cole lives in a very close community with many psychics and non-psychics. It is nearly impossible to keep anything secret, yet he is daily exposed to the greatest lie ever sold. He is privy to information that he must spend great energy to "unsee" so that his mind isn't inadvertently read and the rouse foiled.
The nonplan isn't just something an individual can execute, such that Cole needs to unsee the secrets he knows, but it can also be a group effort. Several times in the story, characters remind Cole that "they could be working together without knowing." Cole comes to understand that he is playing some part in an effort to achieve an unknown goal. He doesn't know what it is or why it's required, but he hopes he's taking the right steps to complete the nonplan.
On a lighter note, Last Human Being is also super cool, with lots of hidden references to 80s music, teenage lust, scary human mutations and an overall, creepy darkness that permeates the story and hopefully the reader.
I hope you enjoy it.
Here now, please read what others have said about Last Human Being:
English Professor and Author of Forge Kevin Macpherson Eckhoff:
"Fast and shadowy, Last Human Being pits instinct against philosophy. This book, part somnambulist allegory, part speculative psychosomatic thriller, renders shifting dream-scapes in which impassioned characters confront not only one another's fears, but also the haunting vacuity of their own interiors. Fans of MTV’s original Aeon Flux series or George Lucas’s THX 1138 will easily be consumed by the ink—whether electric or chemical—within Brian Taylor’s first novella."
Award winning Filmmaker Kora Vanderlip:
"I really enjoyed it! I love the mystery, I had lots of questions while reading it, in a good way. The story kept me intrigued the whole way through."
Script Supervisor and Developer Colin Scott:
"It is in the vein of Moon or Under the Skin, it hangs with you long after you read it. Taylor's strongest writing yet."
More information about Last Human Being
Buy Last Human Being
