Corporate life in early 21st-century America is even more ruthless than it was at the turn of the millennium. Lou Arrendale, well compensated for his remarkable pattern-recognition skills, enjoys his job and expects never to lose it. But he has a new boss, a man who thinks Lou and the others in his building are a liability. Lou and his coworkers are autistic. And the new boss is going to fire Lou and all his coworkers--unless they agree to undergo an experimental new procedure to "cure" them.

In The Speed of Dark, Elizabeth Moon has created a powerful, complex, and believable portrayal of a man who varies radically from what is defined as "normal." The author insightfully explores the nature of "normality," identity, choice, responsibility, free will, illness and health, and good and evil. The Speed of Dark is a powerful, moving, illuminating novel in the tradition of Flowers for Algernon, Forrest Gump, and Rain Man . --Cynthia Ward


From Publishers Weekly
"If I had not been what I am, what would I have been?" wonders Lou Arrendale, the autistic hero of Moon's compelling exploration of the concept of "normalcy" and what might happen when medical science attains the knowledge to "cure" adult autism. Arrendale narrates most of this book in a poignant earnestness that verges on the philosophical and showcases Moon's gift for characterization. The occasional third-person interjections from supporting characters are almost intrusive, although they supply needed data regarding subplots. At 35, Arrendale is a bioinformatics specialist who has a gift for pattern analysis and an ability to function well in both "normal" and "autistic" worlds. When the pharmaceutical company he works for recommends that all the autistic employees on staff undergo an experimental procedure that will basically alter their brains, his neatly ordered world shatters. All his life he has been taught "act normal, and you will be normal enough"-something that has enabled him to survive, but as he struggles to decide what to do, the violent behavior of a "normal friend" puts him in danger and rocks his faith in the normal world. He struggles to decide whether the treatment will help or destroy his sense of self. Is autism a disease or just another way of being? He is haunted by the "speed of dark" as he proceeds with his mesmerizing quest for self-"Not knowing arrives before knowing; the future arrives before the present. From this moment, past and future are the same in different directions, but I am going that way and not this way.... When I get there, the speed of light and the speed of dark will be the same." His decision will touch even the most jaded "normal." Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In the tradition of Flowers for Algernon, Moon's thought-provoking novel asks whether we treat impairments of the brain at too great a cost. Lou Arrendale is a young autistic living in a future time, when most of the symptoms of autism can be controlled through medication. Lou lives on his own, works full time at a job where his abilities to recognize patterns are valued, and socializes with nonautistics during his weekly fencing class. Although baffled by the complex social signals and subtle facial cues of nonautistics, Lou is content with himself as he is--until he falls in love with Marjory. When his supervisor pressures him to try an experimental treatment that will eradicate his autism, Lou must decide whether the benefits of life as a "normal" will outweigh the possible loss of the unique qualities that make him who he is. Moon is effective at putting the reader inside Lou's mind, and it is both fascinating and painful to see the behavior and qualities of so-called normals through his eyes. Meredith Parets
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
“Splendid and graceful . . . A lot of novels promise to change the way a reader sees the world; The Speed of Dark actually does.”
—The Washington Post Book World

“[A] BEAUTIFUL AND MOVING STORY . . . Moon is the mother of an autistic teenager and her love is apparent in the story of Lou. He makes a deep and lasting impact on the reader while showing a different way of looking at the world.”
—The Denver Post

“Every once in a while, you come across a book that is both an important literary achievement and A COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY ABSORBING READING EXPERIENCE—a book with provocative ideas and an equally compelling story. Such a book is The Speed of Dark.”
—Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

“A REMARKABLE JOURNEY . . . [that] takes us into the mind of an autistic with a terrible choice: become normal or remain an alien on his own planet.”
—MARY DORIA RUSSELL
Author of The Sparrow

“A POWERFUL PORTRAIT . . . AN ENGAGING JOURNEY INTO THE DARK EDGES THAT DEFINE THE SELF.”
—The Seattle Times



Review
?Splendid and graceful . . . A lot of novels promise to change the way a reader sees the world; The Speed of Dark actually does.?
?The Washington Post Book World

?[A] BEAUTIFUL AND MOVING STORY . . . Moon is the mother of an autistic teenager and her love is apparent in the story of Lou. He makes a deep and lasting impact on the reader while showing a different way of looking at the world.?
?The Denver Post

?Every once in a while, you come across a book that is both an important literary achievement and A COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY ABSORBING READING EXPERIENCE?a book with provocative ideas and an equally compelling story. Such a book is The Speed of Dark.?
?Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

?A REMARKABLE JOURNEY . . . [that] takes us into the mind of an autistic with a terrible choice: become normal or remain an alien on his own planet.?
?MARY DORIA RUSSELL
Author of The Sparrow

?A POWERFUL PORTRAIT . . . AN ENGAGING JOURNEY INTO THE DARK EDGES THAT DEFINE THE SELF.?
?The Seattle Times

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the near future, disease will be a condition of the past. Most genetic defects will be removed at birth; the remaining during infancy. Unfortunately, there will be a generation left behind. For members of that missed generation, small advances will be made. Through various programs, they will be taught to get along in the world despite their differences. They will be made active and contributing members of society. But they will never be normal.

Lou Arrendale is a member of that lost generation, born at the wrong time to reap the awards of medical science. Part of a small group of high-functioning autistic adults, he has a steady job with a pharmaceutical company, a car, friends, and a passion for fencing. Aside from his annual visits to his counselor, he lives a low-key, independent life. He has learned to shake hands and make eye contact. He has taught himself to use “please” and “thank you” and other conventions of conversation because he knows it makes others comfortable. He does his best to be as normal as possible and not to draw attention to himself.
But then his quiet life comes under attack. It starts with an experimental treatment that will reverse the effects of autism in adults. With this treatment Lou would think and act and be just like everyone else. But if he was suddenly free of autism, would he still be himself? Would he still love the same classical music–with its complications and resolutions? Would he still see the same colors and patterns in the world–shades and hues that others cannot see? Most importantly, would he still love Marjory, a woman who may never be able to reciprocate his feelings?Would it be easier for her to return the love of a “normal”?
There are intense pressures coming from the world around him–including an angry supervisor who wants to cut costs by sacrificing the supports necessary to employ autistic workers. Perhaps even more disturbing are the barrage of questions within himself. For Lou must decide if he should submit to a surgery that might completely change the way he views the world . . . and the very essence of who he is.
Thoughtful, provocative, poignant, unforgettable, The Speed of Dark is a gripping exploration into the mind of an autistic person as he struggles with profound questions of humanity and matters of the heart.

Author Biography: Elizabeth Moon is a native Texan who grew up two hundred and fifty miles south of San Antonio. After earning a degree in history from Rice University, she spent three years in the Marine Corps, then earned a degree in Biology from the University of Texas, Austin. She is intimately acquainted with autism, through the raising of an autistic son, now a teenager. She lives in Florence, Texas.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

"If I had not been what I am, what would I have been?" wonders Lou Arrendale, the autistic hero of Moon's compelling exploration of the concept of "normalcy" and what might happen when medical science attains the knowledge to "cure" adult autism. Arrendale narrates most of this book in a poignant earnestness that verges on the philosophical and showcases Moon's gift for characterization. The occasional third-person interjections from supporting characters are almost intrusive, although they supply needed data regarding subplots. At 35, Arrendale is a bioinformatics specialist who has a gift for pattern analysis and an ability to function well in both "normal" and "autistic" worlds. When the pharmaceutical company he works for recommends that all the autistic employees on staff undergo an experimental procedure that will basically alter their brains, his neatly ordered world shatters. All his life he has been taught "act normal, and you will be normal enough"-something that has enabled him to survive, but as he struggles to decide what to do, the violent behavior of a "normal friend" puts him in danger and rocks his faith in the normal world. He struggles to decide whether the treatment will help or destroy his sense of self. Is autism a disease or just another way of being? He is haunted by the "speed of dark" as he proceeds with his mesmerizing quest for self-"Not knowing arrives before knowing; the future arrives before the present. From this moment, past and future are the same in different directions, but I am going that way and not this way.... When I get there, the speed of light and the speed of dark will be the same." His decision will touch even the most jaded "normal." (Jan.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

VOYA - Donna Scanlon

In the not-too-distant future, Lou Arrendale is one of the last of his kind, an autistic man who benefited from early intervention training as a child but was born too late for the genetic treatments now done on infants. Lou enjoys his job and does well in a workplace that provides a supportive environment. He has an apartment, drives a car, and fences once a week. His days have a regular and comforting routine to them, especially when he contemplates ideas such as the speed of dark and whether it is faster than light. When it appears that there is a way to "cure" autism in adults, a new manager tries to take away the supports, pressuring Lou and his coworkers into getting the treatment. Uncertain that he wants the treatment, Lou worries whether he will be the same person. Much of his background includes a kind of autistic culture where "'normal' is a dryer setting," and he has learned to like who he is. At the same time, he wonders what it would feel like to be "normal." In the end, what matters is not what Lou chooses but whether he has the choice to say yes or no. Moon, herself the mother of an autistic child, captures the singular perspective of the autist in her portrayal of Lou yet makes it clear that people with autism are not all alike-and that the so-called "normal" people have more in common with the autistic than perhaps they would like to admit. Some characters, such as the psychiatrist who treats Lou as a low-functioning child and the insensitive new manager, seem over the top, but sadly, as the mother of a child with Asperger Syndrome, which falls in the autism spectrum, this reviewer can confirm that they are all too real. The story is engrossing and beautifully writtenwith wide appeal for young adults. Those who like books such as Flowers for Algernon will devour it. Thoughtful and thought provoking, the book raises serious issues and questions of importance for everyone while telling a poignant and hopeful tale. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P J S A/YA (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2002, Del Rey, 352p,

Library Journal

Well-known sf writer Moon (Heris Serano) is also the mother of an autistic teenager. In her latest book, she movingly depicts an autistic adult struggling with a momentous decision. Lou Arrendal functions on a fairly high level: he has a job with a pharmaceutical company and leads a quiet, independent life. Telling Lou's story from his perspective, Moon depicts his thought processes and his interactions with his co-workers, therapist, and others around him, clearly revealing some of the social obstacles that an autistic person faces. Lou's difference from "normal" people is highlighted by his obsession with the "speed of dark," a puzzle dismissed by everyone else as trivial. When an experimental treatment offers Lou a chance to reverse his autism, he must choose between remaining himself or possibily becoming a different person. Unlike Daniel Keye's classic Flowers for Algernon, Moon's work shows little of Lou's life after the treatment and spares readers from the tragedy of Lou's losing what he had at the novel's beginning. Recommended for larger fiction collections and academic libraries with disability studies and autism collections.-Corey Seeman, Univ. of Toledo Libs., OH Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews