Jack The Bodiless (Galactic Milieu Series Book 2) by Julian May; The Return of an Old Friend
Spoilers: It's an interesting experience to reread a book after many years. In 1997, I read Julian May’s The Galactic Milieu Series. I was new to reading Science Fiction, mostly limited to Ray Bradbury's works. I was curious about this series about The Remillards, a telepathic family. It left such a large impression on me that Science Fiction became one of my favorite genres to read.
Almost 30 years later, I wondered after almost three decades of reading speculative fiction if The Galactic Milieu Series still holds up. I am glad to report that as far as the second volume in the series and the first that I read, Jack The Bodiless is concerned, it not only held up, it actually improved with age.
The most prominent and influential family is The Remillard Family whose members are highly telepathic. When patriarch Victor dies, The Remillards receive mental impressions of two monsters, Fury and Hydra who commit a series of murders over the years leaving the family vulnerable. Meanwhile, Paul and Teresa Kendall-Remillard are expecting their fifth child, Jon or Jack, who is genius, self-aware, and could potentially be the most powerful telepath in the family even as an infant.
The Earth that May envisioned has some interesting touches that are both imaginative and thought provoking. When I previously read it, the future was far away and remote. Now that it’s here, the parallels can’t be missed.
The setting of this book is over 100 years after a time called The Great Intervention (detailed in the first book in the series, Intervention unread by me.). Various alien races made contact with Earth inviting them to join the Galactic Milieu, sort of an intergalactic United Nations. Earthlings received many perks because of this union including long life spans, rejuvenated youth, mental telepathy, and the ability to travel to the stars. It is an amazing world that May built in which the human mind is invited into a higher consciousness that explores unlimited potential beyond our little blue dot in the vast universe.
However as readers of Science Fiction all know, there is always a catch to what seems to be a great offer and in the case of the Milieu, that catch is Unity. The Milieu wants Earth’s residents to join their minds and consciousness with the other species as a hive mind. Many are on board with this concept, and those who are supportive are granted higher positions in society.
However, there are plenty of humans who rebelled against the concept like Rogatien “Rogi” Remillard, the cynical and deadpan narrator of the book. Rebels are concerned about the death of individuality, privacy, and human frailties.
It is a conflict that carries over throughout the series. It’s also open-ended and invites readers to weigh their own opinions about the cost of vast knowledge and power vs. a life of mental subservience and conformity.
While Earth hasn’t exactly made contact with alien species and telepathic abilities are still more theoretical than real, many of the issues that are discussed in this series are still very relevant. In this era of vast technology, social media, surveillance, censorship, and instantaneous connections we humans are made painfully aware of what is at stake.
We are surrounded by conflicts about privacy, the pursuit of vast knowledge, the price of conformity, and the desire to be individuals. May recognized these concerns in the 90’s and inserted them into her imaginary world. Now we are weighing that for ourselves.
As detailed as May’s futuristic world is, her characters are just as well written. None more so than the large Remillard Family. They are like a fictional futuristic telepathic version of the Kennedys, a family that is rich in wealth, power, influence, charisma, and inner turmoil.
They are enthralling as a family unit and as individuals. They have some great struggles and conflicts that are pulled out of soap opera just as they are out of science fiction. Conflicts like infidelity, divorce, differing viewpoints, child abuse, illness, mental disorders are just as important as the wider conflicts with the Galactic Milieu. The Remillards are a very realistic family that lives in a fanciful universe.
Brothers Marc and Jack Remillards are a pair of stand outs in this intriguing family. Marc is an adolescent who at times acts more mature than his lecherous father and emotional mother. He shares a special bond with Jack even before Jack is born where they communicate telepathically. He also receives visions and mental impressions suggesting that his fate is much larger than he thought.
Jack too is also a brilliant character. He thinks complex thoughts inside the womb. Even after he is born, and suffers tremendous physical pain, his brain is still highly active. His brain practically ascends to a higher plane of existence that doesn’t need to be contained by a corporeal body. The overall impression is a small child who is highly intelligent, otherworldly, and somewhat disconcerting in his otherworldliness.
Surrounding this family are Fury and Hydra terrifying creatures that destroy their victims from within. It is a strange union in which Fury is clearly the dominant leader and Hydra the excitable follower. They conspire to destroy the Remillards from within.
They are like things from nightmares and feed off Remillard Family’s pain, insecurities, fears, and anger. They are unleashed in violent confrontations that are chilling and disturbing.
Jack the Bodiless is highly recommended for readers of science fiction, particularly those who are interested in reading about mental telepathy, intergalactic space travel, dysfunctional families, rebellions, utopias, and the potential of expanded human potential, knowledge, and consciousness.
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