The Speed of Dark

The Speed of Dark
By Elizabeth Moon
Del Rey, 2003. 340 pgs. Fiction

Lou Arrendale has autism. He is extremely high functioning with a job, his own apartment, and a car. Set in the near future where autism has been cured for those born on the spectrum, Lou is part of a subset of people who received early intervention but was born after the cure was discovered. Lou likes his life, friends, and fencing and doesn't feel like his autism is a detriment.

However, his bosses boss Mr. Crenshaw feels otherwise. He sees Lou's department, made up of individuals who all have autism, as a draw on resources. Mr. Crenshaw schemes to have the entire department take part in a brand new experimental cure whether the employees are interested in the cure or not.

I thought this book was fascinating. I really enjoyed learning about how Lou saw and interacted with the world from his autistic perspective. This book left me with a lot of things to think about and would be excellent for a book club to discuss.

AMM