{"id":3797,"date":"2025-08-11T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3797"},"modified":"2025-08-11T11:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T11:30:00","slug":"book-review-58-too-far-by-m-a-noordermeer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3797","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: 58% Too Far by M A Noordermeer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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58% Too Far<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by M.A. Noordermeer<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Science Fiction<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9781067058913<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 308 pages<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Gabriella Harrison<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>An anthropologist\u2019s field study becomes a quiet fight to hold onto what makes us human<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In 58% Too Far<\/em> by M.A. Noordermeer, anthropologist Zadie Thornton finds herself transported far beyond Earth and far beyond the boundaries of her doctoral thesis.<\/p>\n

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 Her research into how humanity adapts to technological change is dismissed by her professor as outdated, her confidence rattled.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.<\/p>\n

She wakes up on Mush\u0113\u0161ki, 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\u2019t just observational\u2014she\u2019s being observed too. Her thoughts, reactions, even her emotional responses, are of great interest to the Anunnaki: \u201cSo, I\u2019m here to be studied?\u201d<\/strong> Zadie asked, a cold sweat forming at the base of her neck. Uugazir hesitated. \u201cNo. You are here to learn from us\u2014to inform humanity\u2019s future on Earth. However, your perspective\u2026 is valuable to us.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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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\u2014AI taking over cognition, whether memories are still real when stored like files, the risk of losing emotion for the sake of efficiency\u2014but because we see it all through Zadie\u2019s eyes, it never feels out of reach. She didn\u2019t ask to be part of some philosophical experiment, and that\u2019s part of what makes her easy to follow.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a real tenderness in how the book treats emotional fragility\u2014Zadie\u2019s loneliness, the Anunnaki\u2019s desire to remember what they\u2019ve lost, and the quiet tragedy of evolving past the need for connection: \u201cOur evolution came at a cost. Quantum Sentience reshaped our thinking more than expected\u2026 Over time, it displaced more and more of our organic cognitive pathways, dulling our emotional responses.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a thriller. It\u2019s not even a hero\u2019s journey in the traditional sense. It\u2019s a thoughtful exploration of what makes us human and what we risk when we offload that humanity to our creations.<\/p>\n

Fans of philosophical sci-fi with emotional resonance and existential dread will find a lot to admire here.<\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading Gabriella Harrison\u2019s book review of 58% Too Far <\/em>by M.A. Noordermeer! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: 58% Too Far by M A Noordermeer<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

58% Too Far by M.A. Noordermeer Genre: Science Fiction ISBN: 9781067058913 Print Length: 308 pages Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Gabriella Harrison An anthropologist\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3797"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}