CANDY BOX: Neal Shusterman's Technology

An exploration of the strange mind of Neal Shusterman, author of most notably the Unwind Dystology and the Skinjacker Trilogy

Spoiler Warning: Major plot points of UnWholly and The Dark Side of Nowhere; semi-significant elements of UnDivided

One of the most exciting aspects of reading is getting the chance to explore the worlds that authors have created.  The main reason I read so much is for that escapism; a well-written book makes the reader forget what is around him/her in favor of a new journey and the discoveries that come with it.  What helps draw me personally into an author’s world the most is technology, and nobody does a better job of creating technology than Neal Shusterman.  

Here are the three wildest inventions within Shusterman’s books.

ONE. The Orgão Orgânico

An artist's interpretation

The Orgão Orgânico,
as it appears on the
cover of UnSouled

The Unwind Dystology is a dystopian series which revolves around the idea of “unwinding,” the process of using every single part of a person’s body for transplant (so they are not technically killed, making the practice socially acceptable).  The popularity of unwinding creates a surplus of human tissue, leading some artists to use organic matter in their work.  One such artist, featured in an advertisement between chapters, creates the Orgão Orgânico, a massive instrument lined with eighty-eight human faces to produce its sound.  Yes.  Rather than the usual hammers, wires, and pipes of an organ, Shusterman brings us the lovely image of keys connecting directly to human vocal cords.  The character who purchases this disturbing instrument even remarks that “the eyes do open from time to time, which can be disconcerting.”  

TWO. Camus Composite-Prime

An artist's interpretation

With most Americans in the Unwind Dystology dismantling their children left and right, it is not too far-fetched that someone would eventually choose to reverse the process.  In clever, anxiety-inducing chapters of jumbled thoughts and observations of a body unwilling to respond to its brain, we are introduced in UnWholly to the character of Cam Comprix (short for the aforementioned full name), the first “rewound” human.  Cam, the modern Frankenstein (granting his creators the title of the modern Modern Prometheus?) is born at roughly age 16, stitched together from hundreds of other teenagers.  As Cam attempts to assimilate into normal life, he is both revered as the next evolution of humanity and considered a monster.  There is an especially awkward reunion when another character recognizes her now dead boyfriend’s hands on him.

Cam, as he appears on
the cover of UnWholly

An artist's interpretation

THREE. The Unnamed, Alien Glove Weapon

The glove, as it appears on the cover
of The Dark Side of Nowhere

While many YA novels are about discovering one’s identity, this idea becomes significantly more convoluted in The Dark Side of Nowhere.  Narrator Jason Miller slowly learns that he, and most of the other people in his town, are aliens, hiding among humans as they wait for reinforcements to complete their mission of conquering Earth.  As a beginning step to reclaiming their glory, the school janitor gifts all of the inhuman children with “training gloves.”  These heavy gauntlets function like guns, rapidly shooting small metal balls from each finger when extended.  Of course, while potentially dangerous, the training gloves are only practical for target practice and play, which makes it all the more shocking when Jason graduates to the actual weapon, a light mesh glove that fires 

concentrated lasers.