Book Review: BROTHER, FRANK by Michael Bunker

A genius—who also happens to be a madman—saves the life of a dying child by sticking his brain inside a high-tech DARPA robot that has the power to win wars singlehandedly. And then things go sideways.

Note: the print edition of this story is titled BROTHER, FRANK while the audiobook is called BROTHER, FRANKENSTEIN. The distinction is unclear to me, but they are both the same book.

I listened to the audio edition.

The story

What kind of story can you tell when you mix DARPA, the Amish, a mad scientist, and a terminally ill autistic kid? This one, and probably several more that are nowhere near this good. Chris Alexander is the aforementioned scientist who has a loose moral code and a drive to see if he can do the impossible. Think of Hugh Laurie's Dr. House, only with an affinity for cybernetics.

Alexander usually takes time off during the year to help a local Amish community with their medical needs, and eventually befriends a young man named Frank. Frank is only about middle-school aged, and his severe autism has held back his development considerably. He's verbal and able to recognize faces, but he's also fixated on certain ticks and habits that make it highly difficult for him to control himself.

His prognosis is compounded by other factors that leave him with a short clock for the remainder of his young life. That is until Alexander realizes Frank is a perfect candidate for a new project over at DARPA, fusing human nervous tissue with a robotic chassis. Human brains, mechanical bodies. The implement? Why, war, of course!

But hey, Alexander is gonna do the responsible thing. He'll just disarm the robot and make sure its urban camouflage is up to snuff, so that Frank can pass as human throughout society. Any oddities in his appearance will just be chalked up to his autism.

Here's the problem, though: Alexander didn't really have permission to use DARPA's robot. And he definitely didn't have consent from Frank's Amish parents. He wanted to see if he could do it, so he did. And now he's got a whole new batch of problems breathing down his neck.

Especially once Frank finds out that DARPA is holding his community hostage, and he gets his hands on all those weapons that Dr. Alexander removed...

The characters

Dr. Chris Alexander is our POV character, while Frank is his patient. There's also a shady government agency, shadier than our CIA, somewhere on par with Larry Correia's "Special Task Force Unicorn," only more serious.

The world

It's our world, on paper at least. The DARPA elements are meant to be hidden from public view. Of greater interest is the fact that Michael Bunker lives much like the Amish do, and writes regularly on his website about homesteading off-the-grid. His Pennsylvania roots heavily influence his worldbuilding and this isn't the only story of his that features people living a low-tech life. That lends a degree of authenticity that brings Brother, Frank to life.

The politics

Bunker's politics are less divided between "Red Elephant, Blue Donkey" and more between "high tech conformity, low-tech individualism." So you'll frequently see protagonists who come from strong communities full of responsible individuals, people who make things with their hands and support their neighbors. Antagonists are usually excessive consumers or cogs in the government machine, who find human life to be comfortably disposable.

Content warning

Action violence, especially when Frank goes Full Metal Awesome against the dark state operatives. Some language, but nothing in excess of the S-bomb. No sensuality.

Who is it for?

Fans of sci-fi and military fiction, with bits of medical fic mixed in. If you've got any familiarity or love for the Amish and their tight-knit communities, you'll find a kindred spirit in Michael Bunker's characters.

Why read it?

It points to True North on my literary compass: it's just plain fun. In addition to that it reinforces why strong family-based communities are preferable to the immoral might of entrenched government alphabet agencies. Of the handful of Bunker books I've read, this is the one I'd plug to anyone regardless of their tastes.