FRIDAY NOTES & NEWS: Book Review — The Immeasurable Man

We are trying something new in our FRIDAY NOTES & NEWS — book reviews of contributor-authored titles listed on our Book Store page. This is first  book review, of Wes Payton’s novel The Immeasurable Man. It will be followed by the occasional book review posted on Fridays and linked to the title on our Book Store page. 

REVIEWED BY CHARLINE POIRIER

DUE TO an immunocompromised condition, IM has been confined to living in a pod in space since birth. Now an adult, IM’s worldview has been shaped by old books and films, giving him an unusual lens through which he makes sense of human behaviour. His sole relationship is with his brother, Jodian, who is similarly afflicted.

One day, Jodian, who has become a powerful businessman over time, suggests that IM leaves his secure environment and directly engages with the world. This marks the beginning of IM’s journey. The Immeasurable Man tracks this journey through three acts, each representing a stage in his self-discovery. As IM learns more about himself, his brother, and the broader society, the reader is invited to take part in a philosophical exploration of identity, perception, and reality. Wes Payton’s background as a philosopher shines through in the deeply intellectual underpinnings of this story, which doesn’t shy away from engaging with provocative issues. Topics taken up include artificial intelligence, humanity, recidivism, technology, and the socio-political constructs that shape us.

At the outset, IM describes himself as possessing three core traits: decisiveness, detachment, and discernment. However, don’t expect Sherlock Holmes’ cold calculation IM is a more layered and complex character. Loneliness, isolation, and compassion powerfully propel the narrative forward.

The plot is fresh and full of surprises. Revealing plot elements in this review would deprive readers of the joy of discovering them. Suffice to say for now that the novel is a collage of engaging and intellectually pleasurable twists and turns.

During an interview, Payton stated his preference for dialogue-based storytelling.

“Well-written dialogue offers more immediacy than description that too often seems prosaic and irrelevant.” (https://wespayton.weebly.com/author.html)

Accordingly, the book relies on verbal exchanges between characters, with little contextual descriptions. For instance:

“IM inhaled deeply through his nose. The air in his pod was odorless as always. ‘Am I real?’
Jodian exhaled from his mouth. ‘I’ve been expecting you to ask me that for such a long time now.’
‘So then I assume you’ve prepared an answer?’
‘That you would ask the question makes you real. You’re as real as I am. Our advantage is that we’re immeasurable.’”

(Immeasurable Man, p. 97)

While the novel’s conceptual strength is undeniable, the reliance on dialogue and its exclusion of contextual details has its limitations. This is not a book for those seeking richly imagined world-building or lush descriptions of settings. In addition, the main access to the story through dialogue creates additional demands on the role of voices. They essentially need to carry the plot. Yet here, the characters’ voices tend to be so close at times that they only weakly support a real sense of different subjectivities. They feel somewhat utilitarian. This, combined with the preponderance of philosophical content, may leave readers at times with a slight sense of dogmatism.

As the story progresses, there is a shift of focus from the characters to the storyline. This change sacrifices further the characters’ distinction from one another. Their initial core characteristics seem to fade, resulting in the plot being less driven by them. This may result in a weakening of readers’ sense of immersion and completeness. For example, when we first meet Conrad, he is an irreverent young man with a quick temper, sharp intelligence, and a strong sense of humour, and as such he is a character who is relatable, sympathetic, and easy to bond with. However, as the story moves along, these fundamental qualities recede, and Conrad becomes more subdued and tolerant with no obvious justification for the transformation. The reader has little sense of why the transformation has occurred. Payton, I think, misses an opportunity by not exploiting his rebellious temperament in his rich context.

Overall, the ideas in The Immeasurable Man are thought-provoking and striking. I couldn’t help feeling though that they deserved more development, cross-references, and nuances. In many situations in the novel, for instance, we encounter immense ideas that end up existing in a single verbal exchange contained in a brief narrative moment.

That all said, the novel offers an exciting blend of imagination, philosophical inquiry, and intrigue. Although released in 2024, Mr Payton encourages readers who are new to his work — Immeasurable Man is the 15^th novel he has published — to­ read this one first.

In short, if it’s ideas and unpredictability that you are looking for in a science fiction story, this book will not disappoint.

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Charline’s writing career has encompassed various roles. She has contributed book reviews to The Blue Nib, served as an associate editor for Brilliant Flash Fiction, and currently, holds a position of priority editor for Flash Fiction Magazine. Her stories range from crime to literary fiction. Her work can be found in Scarlet Leaf Review, Freedom Fiction, CommuterLit, Change Seven, Flash Fiction Magazine, Brilliant Flash Fiction. “Riding the Waves,” received a nomination for a Pushcart in 2021. Her collection of short stories, Mysteries and Bad Behaviors, has been published in 2021.  She is currently working on completing her first novel. Charline is a London, Ontario-based writer.