Book Review: 58% Too Far by M A Noordermeer

Reviewed by Gabriella Harrison

An anthropologist’s field study becomes a quiet fight to hold onto what makes us human

In 58% Too Far by M.A. Noordermeer, anthropologist Zadie Thornton finds herself transported far beyond Earth and far beyond the boundaries of her doctoral thesis.

The book opens with her on the verge of professional failure. Her research into how humanity adapts to technological change is dismissed by her professor as outdated, her confidence rattled. But a visit to her uncle in Bahrain and a hidden artifact in an archaeological dig change everything.

She wakes up on Mushēški, a planet inhabited by Homo Anunnaki, descendants of Sumerians who left Earth thousands of years ago with the help of advanced beings. The Anunnaki have integrated Quantum Sentience, a form of embedded AI that enhances cognition but also threatens to erode emotion, memory, and humanity itself. Through a device called a neuroscribe, Zadie experiences visions, telepathic memories, and experimental societies. She slowly realizes that her role on this planet isn’t just observational—she’s being observed too. Her thoughts, reactions, even her emotional responses, are of great interest to the Anunnaki: “So, I’m here to be studied?” Zadie asked, a cold sweat forming at the base of her neck. Uugazir hesitated. “No. You are here to learn from us—to inform humanity’s future on Earth. However, your perspective… is valuable to us.”

Zadie makes for a thoughtful and surprisingly funny narrator, even when the story edges into dense territory. She keeps things grounded. The book wrestles with big ideas—AI taking over cognition, whether memories are still real when stored like files, the risk of losing emotion for the sake of efficiency—but because we see it all through Zadie’s eyes, it never feels out of reach. She didn’t ask to be part of some philosophical experiment, and that’s part of what makes her easy to follow.

The book is strongest in its worldbuilding and its questions. We get biodomes filled with extinct human ancestors, long debates about whether emotional decay is a sign of progress or loss, and fragments of a history so vast it starts to feel like legend. Noordermeer writes with clarity and care. The prose flows smoothly without calling too much attention to itself. Even when the ideas get abstract, the pace doesn’t stall. A few sections do lean a little heavy on explanation, but most of the time it feels like a necessary step to fully step into this strange, thoughtful world.

There’s a real tenderness in how the book treats emotional fragility—Zadie’s loneliness, the Anunnaki’s desire to remember what they’ve lost, and the quiet tragedy of evolving past the need for connection: “Our evolution came at a cost. Quantum Sentience reshaped our thinking more than expected… Over time, it displaced more and more of our organic cognitive pathways, dulling our emotional responses.”

It’s not a thriller. It’s not even a hero’s journey in the traditional sense. It’s a thoughtful exploration of what makes us human and what we risk when we offload that humanity to our creations.

Fans of philosophical sci-fi with emotional resonance and existential dread will find a lot to admire here.

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