4 stars – Karen Inglis, author, The Secret Lake
Literary science fiction comes into its own in Lifeform Three. Roz Morris’s lyrical prose presents us with a futuristic world in which we get inside the minds of a select number of ‘bods’ that have been programmed to serve and ‘niche market’ to occasionally glimpsed humans in a theme park designed to showcase the ‘old world’ of countryside, which has all but disappeared in the real world. Paftoo, the main bod character, is different from the other bods – not only does he dream, but, unlike the others, he fails to ‘switch off’ at night. This allows him to explore, and as he slowly pieces events and memories together he starts to understand both his past and his and the other bods’ doomed future. Wrapped up in this journey of discovery is his relationship with horses. Be prepared to be bowled over by the extraordinary writing that captures the majestic world of these animals – not just how they are and behave, but also the unique relationship between horse and rider as they get to know each other. I don’t normally read science fiction but I’d highly recommended this if you like literary fiction and feel like something different.
Lifeform Three 