5 stars – Mr A Fletcher
Having enjoyed Roz Morris’ debut novel, My Memories of a Future Life, I quickly moved onto her second novel, Lifeform Three. A well written, haunting piece of work, which takes themes from her first book and expands upon them. It’s an interesting take on what it means to be human and the author manages to imbue the narrative with a dreamlike quality, whilst cleverly creating empathy with the protagonist and noble eponymous creature, in giving them more character and humanity than the faceless humans that make occasional appearances in the background.
The first acid test of how good a book is (in my opinion) relates not just to the quality of the prose but whether it leaves an indelible mark in the memory. The second acid test is whether a book gets read again. Given it’s been a few years since I read Lifeform Three, I wouldn’t have been able to leave this review if the first box hadn’t been ticked, and I intend to tick the second in the near future.
Lifeform Three 