THE HUMAN CYCLE
Books Written by JD Estrada
Review by Joe Compton
Series Overview: This is a reading experience I won't soon forget and I couldn't have had it without reading all 3 books, but that was not as easy as it sounds. We'll get to that, but this is as close a series I have read that encompasses a similar cinematic and thematic experience that I had with the arc that was Marvel's Endgame.
There is much to unpack within each book but I will say when it hits the right note and finds its stride, this series has so much to offer anyone who wants to be entertained, likes an ensemble, and has a penchant for the notion that we are spiritual beings living a human experience.
There is much to unpack within each book but I will say when it hits the right note and finds its stride, this series has so much to offer anyone who wants to be entertained, likes an ensemble, and has a penchant for the notion that we are spiritual beings living a human experience.
I appreciate, especially now that I am finished, that each of these as individual offerings serves a purpose for the overall greater good of the series. I have my favorite characters, as one would when you are enjoying something, but I think with how every character has their moments, this smart manner of writing allows for many more possibilities of different answers to that question depending on where you might be reading. I certainly think it would lead to an interesting discussion for those who have read it.
I also love how this book leans in a direction, but has the foresight and prowess, thanks again to the nature of the writing, to not thrust us into a spiritual conundrum that I believe might have tainted the overall message. Instead, it leans on its strengths of wonder, vigor, and just those beats that I can only describe as battle beats even though they don't always involve a physical conflict. There are times when those beats either get the ball rolling into the next set of action sequences or slowly bring us out of one with a nice setup into the next. Whether the characters are taking a break to catch their breaths or they are putting two and two together and sometimes coming up with six instead of four, there are these nice moments that give us insight into the relationships, the intimate thoughts, or simply serve as a reset we so badly needed.
The only difficult aspect of this design (and I believe Marvel had this as well) is you can't fit everyone into the box you are writing them in, some have to go away for a bit, some have to do other things, and thus it becomes a little harder to define a "main character" and this did sometimes take me out a time or two, but that's not a ding because that's asking the impossible. It's a natural feeling you get reading it, especially after the first significant moment, but that expectation goes away fast enough thanks to JD's great transitioning and nicely trusted dialogue and action putting us squarely into something else that grabs us fast. Marvel made that blueprint unmistakable, and I think JD follows it well here.
Now with all this talk of Marvel, you might be getting the impression this is a superhero story and in some ways, I would argue it is. Honestly, it is more supernatural than superhero, and I also like that distinction when it comes to this series because there are strong philosophies that needed some of the rooted truths and modern authenticity we get here. By JD mixing that in, you don't need to suspend too much belief or follow a dogma that makes this more goofy than thought-provoking and interesting. Which, I can without a doubt say The Human Cycle has left a mark on me that I have thought about after the 2nd and 3rd books especially.
I also love how this book leans in a direction, but has the foresight and prowess, thanks again to the nature of the writing, to not thrust us into a spiritual conundrum that I believe might have tainted the overall message. Instead, it leans on its strengths of wonder, vigor, and just those beats that I can only describe as battle beats even though they don't always involve a physical conflict. There are times when those beats either get the ball rolling into the next set of action sequences or slowly bring us out of one with a nice setup into the next. Whether the characters are taking a break to catch their breaths or they are putting two and two together and sometimes coming up with six instead of four, there are these nice moments that give us insight into the relationships, the intimate thoughts, or simply serve as a reset we so badly needed.
The only difficult aspect of this design (and I believe Marvel had this as well) is you can't fit everyone into the box you are writing them in, some have to go away for a bit, some have to do other things, and thus it becomes a little harder to define a "main character" and this did sometimes take me out a time or two, but that's not a ding because that's asking the impossible. It's a natural feeling you get reading it, especially after the first significant moment, but that expectation goes away fast enough thanks to JD's great transitioning and nicely trusted dialogue and action putting us squarely into something else that grabs us fast. Marvel made that blueprint unmistakable, and I think JD follows it well here.
Now with all this talk of Marvel, you might be getting the impression this is a superhero story and in some ways, I would argue it is. Honestly, it is more supernatural than superhero, and I also like that distinction when it comes to this series because there are strong philosophies that needed some of the rooted truths and modern authenticity we get here. By JD mixing that in, you don't need to suspend too much belief or follow a dogma that makes this more goofy than thought-provoking and interesting. Which, I can without a doubt say The Human Cycle has left a mark on me that I have thought about after the 2nd and 3rd books especially.
So let's talk about each book and how they fit into this very nicely in this laid-out puzzle.
Right away with ONLY HUMAN, I was a tad nervous about a tough conversation I might have been faced with when I first took on this series and this book. However, I learned a valuable reading lesson from that experience though. That lesson is sometimes you don't see and feel what you need to when it comes to the greater good of not just the series as a whole but the book itself in the first reading or sitting and maybe it deserves another chance. I am lucky to have JD as a dear friend, and I may not have thought to even learn that lesson if not for that luck, but here I am having finished all 3 now.
For me, the first 2 acts of this book are the roughest stretches for the entire series, and I will say I didn't finish it the first time I attempted to read it. Then JD told me at one point after I stopped (I never told him I stopped, should have but didn't) he mentioned he was really working hard on Book 3. I wanted to support someone who meant so much to me, a fellow indie author as well, and I picked it up again.
Still a little tough the 2nd time, but I will say, my bugaboos were a tad softer because I was able to read past what I already knew tripped me up, and absorb it a bit more because I had read over it once already. That helped me get beyond where I left off, and from there I came into a 3rd act that I thought excited me enough to go into book 2.
A lot of this is not the author's fault. I know this. It comes from my propensity to cringe at hardlining exposition, and years of battling info-dumping within the fantasy genre. While I wouldn't classify what JD does here as info dumping, not in the slightest in fact, there had to be a lot of what tripped me up that needed to be here, but for me it scatters a little more than connects, and that led to a tad bit more rereading and then I am trying to play connect the dots a little more than absorbing the story. Again something that with the scope of JD is doing here is so difficult, maybe impossible to do it any other way. I accepted my own reading shortcomings to endure and I am so glad I did; more on that in a moment.
All this being said, this book starts with a prologue, and for someone who doesn't enjoy prologues, I found it to become one of my favorite aspects of the series itself because the gimmick of these is how each book starts with a perspective narrating the prologue. JD never says who it is but if you read closely you pick up on some things. I wish I had done that the first time, because that might have helped :). I honestly shut off my brain and skipped through it the 1st time because Prologues, I'll just say it, usually suck. So don't be me like the first me there. I did find it useful in helping me through this 1st book the 2nd time through.
I also love the opening scene of this book, it is the closest JD got to how the 3rd book is, and more on that in a bit too. I think Nathaniel is one of those characters that is hard to like because he is a pesky human at first and you get a lot of that typical generational sort of malaise or arrogance in this first book because he is like the guy you want to see do the thing but he does the stupid thing instead at first. Which of course, makes for good frustrated reading, which I don't mind feeling when absorbing a story. You also know that instinctively this leads to a strong character arc so you tolerate it to get there. JD doesn't make you wait long and walks the tightrope perfectly when the moment comes with the arc. Nathaniel is JD's best arc, by far for me, not the best character, nor my favorite, but what he puts this man through is what readers salivate for in these types of stories.
This arc is also a great precursor that sets the stage for what I think is one of the strongest elements of JD's craft, his writing in the last 25 to 30 pages. This first set of these 3 endings is really nice. It is a lot different tone-wise and pace-wise than the next 2 but I think it leans you into Book 2 nicely and when you pick up Shadow there is not that awkward practice of needing to a few pages get into that book, like there was with Only Human.
If I am continuing the Marvel comparison and if that's helping some of you salivate to pick these books up, then by all means, to me, SHADOW OF A HUMAN, is the equivalent of what Civil War was in the MCU. There are some aftermaths from the events of the first book, there are misunderstandings between characters introducing themselves to one another, and something greater tugging at all of them.
This book cooks right from the start and just keeps punching you in the gut, then the balls, then the face. This was the quickest read of the 3 for me. I like the layers in this book especially, there is more intrigue and a lot of false finishes that kept me turning the pages. Again though JD somehow finds the perfect walking pace on the tightrope and doesn't hit you over and over again, even with the gimmick of the Prologue. You can see glimpses of JD finding his footing here with not just the story but the characters and the ones he introduces here, they are really the ones that I think add the salt and pepper that was sort of missing in Only Human.
This book also gave me my first ah-ha into why finishing Book 1 mattered. There are a particular couple of moments I had a hard time with because so much was being thrown at the wall in the first book that started to make sense with what happens in Shadow.
Shadow is a bit darker and that helps establish a tone that I think was needed going into BEYOND HUMAN. It also helped shake loose ONLY's tone and keep you in the established aesthetic of this world JD built without seeming like it was a Part 2.
This is also when my favorite character gets to shine and I won't say who that is, let's just say she is not ever easily fooled, and just when you think you got her, you don't. The first act of this book really zips, reminding a lot of the establishing first act of The Usual Suspects. There is some great introduction work here and we really start to see who is the strength of the outfit that will be fighting at the end, small spoiler alert, it's not the men. :)
This book cooks right from the start and just keeps punching you in the gut, then the balls, then the face. This was the quickest read of the 3 for me. I like the layers in this book especially, there is more intrigue and a lot of false finishes that kept me turning the pages. Again though JD somehow finds the perfect walking pace on the tightrope and doesn't hit you over and over again, even with the gimmick of the Prologue. You can see glimpses of JD finding his footing here with not just the story but the characters and the ones he introduces here, they are really the ones that I think add the salt and pepper that was sort of missing in Only Human.
This book also gave me my first ah-ha into why finishing Book 1 mattered. There are a particular couple of moments I had a hard time with because so much was being thrown at the wall in the first book that started to make sense with what happens in Shadow.
Shadow is a bit darker and that helps establish a tone that I think was needed going into BEYOND HUMAN. It also helped shake loose ONLY's tone and keep you in the established aesthetic of this world JD built without seeming like it was a Part 2.
This is also when my favorite character gets to shine and I won't say who that is, let's just say she is not ever easily fooled, and just when you think you got her, you don't. The first act of this book really zips, reminding a lot of the establishing first act of The Usual Suspects. There is some great introduction work here and we really start to see who is the strength of the outfit that will be fighting at the end, small spoiler alert, it's not the men. :)
There is a subtle slow down, kind of like having gone 100 mph to 0. You don't just hit the brakes, you take your foot off the gas, and cruise to a slow enough spot to tap the brakes. I think again the last 20 pages here are beautifully written, and all that gives the reader a good parlay into BEYOND HUMAN.
BEYOND HUMAN is the bigger of the 3 books, and it is easily the most enriching because by now you should have a favorite and an idea of what's going on. Everything is laid out here and now it's just kicking ass and chewing bubble gum and it doesn't take JD long to run out of bubble gum and your favorite is most likely a part of that.
What I really love about Beyond, which is not there in the first 2 books, is its experimental deviance. It has this interesting, not false finishing aspect, but more of let's try this, and well that didn't work so let's do this instead. There is no hesitation with any of it.
There is also this amazing thing that makes ONLY HUMAN a must-read if you get to Beyond. The way this book lays out, makes the other 2 that much better but Only Human makes so much more sense now because I read Beyond. All that unwarranted mild disdain I had for the first 2 acts, went away, and like a good mystery does, when you put all the context pieces together you see what you didn't before.
Beyond has the deep enriching and thought-provoking essence that I think both SHADOW and ONLY elude to and play with, but this is more overt, more philosophical in the approach of the meaning of all of this and the story.
Beyond has the deep enriching and thought-provoking essence that I think both SHADOW and ONLY elude to and play with, but this is more overt, more philosophical in the approach of the meaning of all of this and the story.
The travel aspects each of these 3 novels takes you across are impressive but none more so than what we have in BEYOND. I love the journey to the Middle East, it works so well, and JD does it incredible justice. I think that could have easily been glossed over but JD took such precious care of the location being a character that I think if this ended anywhere else it might have felt a little flat. It also gives us the reader some easter egg moments and some nice pop culture shout-outs that if you know, you know.
I also love how every character had their truest moment here. It is nice to reconnect with a few of them and see the culmination of why they mattered to this story. My favorite is especially important, and I'll debate that she is, I don't care what anybody says :).
The conflict sequences play in your mind like a soundtrack to a moment in time that I think establish a very nice rhythm here. I love the ending too, a little nod to Inception, again if you know, you know. I think it does everything it needs to do.
When I put down Beyond Human after the last word I was reminded of a special quote...
The conflict sequences play in your mind like a soundtrack to a moment in time that I think establish a very nice rhythm here. I love the ending too, a little nod to Inception, again if you know, you know. I think it does everything it needs to do.
When I put down Beyond Human after the last word I was reminded of a special quote...
You can experience The Human Cycle too by starting with ONLY HUMAN here
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