Posthuman

Name: Posthuman
ISBN: 9787576311280

弗朗西斯科·沃尔索 / Zhang FanBeijing Institute of Technology Press · ChinaOct 2022

3.5

Word count: 119K words
Chapters: 31
ISBN: 9787576311280

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Summary

Set in the near future, where environmental pollution and other disasters have left cities unrecognizable. The protagonist, Peter, lives with his mother and older brother; he is a boy who collects trash to sell to recyclers, with half his limbs replaced by prosthetics. His brother Charlie heads an anti-Kippy organization called the Bone Gang. One day, Charlie makes a move against "Alba," the goddess Peter has always admired, because "Alba" is not an ordinary human……

Editor's review

The Other Human is a work that does not rush to please its readers: it replaces cyberpunk's familiar neon and underground hackers with flood-submerged churches in the streets of Milan, the black-market supply chain of gene-edited infants, and a nineteen-year-old boy, Arturo, abandoned by his mother. Francesco Verso was among the first Italian authors to write the concept of the "posthuman" into fiction, and with an almost ruthless narrative rhythm he forces readers to confront a fact: when technology can rewrite flesh and memory, human ethics will be trampled and reshaped like wet cement. The novel's most moving aspect is not its dazzling future premise but the symbiotic relationship between Arturo and the "other" girl Lita—two lives the world defines as "nonhuman," searching for what remains of their humanity in each other's incompleteness. Verso offers no answers, only a mirror: if the "posthumans" we made with our own hands understand love and pain better than we do, by what right do we still monopolize the title of "human"?

Who it's for

A good fit for

Hardcore science fiction readers weary of cyberpunk and seeking a colder perspective
Publishing observers interested in contemporary Italian science fiction and European non-anglophone narrative experiments
Interdisciplinary professionals working on AI ethics and biotechnology policy
Cinephile readers who love the "low-tech, high-emotion" atmosphere of Blade Runner 2049 and Never Let Me Go

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting fast-paced space opera or visual cyberpunk action
Those with low tolerance for existential silence and open endings

Reading tips

Read "Food of the Gods" in Verso's short story collection Hunting the Cloud first, then enter The Other Human, to adapt more quickly to Verso's "de-anthropocentric" grammar.
Reading Donna Haraway's A Cyborg Manifesto alongside it helps capture the political metaphors of the bio-technological hybrids in the novel.
After each chapter, pause and write down "If I were Arturo, would I choose to keep or delete my memories," turning the ethical dilemma into a personal question.

About the publisher

Beijing Institute of Technology Press China · Founded in 1985

Founded in 1985, Beijing Institute of Technology Press has developed a strong presence in foreign literature, inspirational growth, science fiction, and management books. The press is known for authoritative bilingual editions of classics by authors such as Frances Hodgson Burnett and Jack London. It also publishes Wang Jinkang's selected science fiction, practical works by Chesterfield and Claude Hopkins, and titles in Adler's social psychology and essay collections. With translators and writers including Wang Xiuli and Zhang Xiaomo, the press combines retranslated classics with accessible new knowledge.

版权信息
第一部少年·2040年
第一章北方的天空
第二章死骨帮
第三章卡萨尔山
第四章游戏球逃跑主义
第二部青年·2045年
第五章寻觅
第六章荒废的维斯科尼亚
第七章幸福
第八章柜中骷髅
第九章太平间之旅
第十章布拉加庄园
第十一章兰尼和南希
第十二章逆转
第十三章秘密地窖
第十四章两个人的阿尔芭
第三部成年·2055年
第十五章生活在一处
第十六章蒙都尔公墓
第十七章阿尔科瓦鞋店
第十八章完美灾难
第十九章摩尔寺
第二十章臭先生
第二十一章帕皮隆医院
第二十二章阿泽维多家族的新年夜
第二十三章 UCU
第四部尾声
第二十四章结局A：最后的疑问
第二十五章结局B：无尽
第二十六章结局C：无情之爱

FAQ

How is this different from common cyberpunk?

It moves the stage from megacities to northern Italy eroded by climate crisis, pushes technological elements into the background, and focuses on how "people abandoned by technology" redefine themselves after their identities collapse.

Does understanding it require specialized knowledge?

No. Verso narrates through the everyday perspective of a nineteen-year-old boy, presenting concepts such as biohacking and memory implantation in plain, lived language. The real threshold is tolerance for moral grey zones.

How is the translation quality of this Beijing Institute of Technology Press edition?

The translator, Chen Ying, is a dedicated translator of Italian literature who preserves the cold rhythm of Verso's long sentences; key technical terms are footnoted with sources, and the balance between readability and accuracy is well struck.

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About the author

弗朗西斯科·沃尔索 Author

Francesco Verso is an author known mainly for science fiction. Three of his works are currently listed on this site—Sunpunk, Blood Hunter and The Successors—and are commonly classified as science fiction. Public information is limited, and basic details such as his nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name cannot be confirmed here, so this note focuses on what can be gathered from the works available. Judging from the title Sunpunk, his writing engages with solarpunk themes centered on renewable energy, social equity and ecological imagination; Blood Hunter and The Successors carry distinctly futuristic premises, the former suggesting images of blood and pursuit, the latter pointing to questions about the boundaries between human continuity and technological intervention. Overall, Verso's work builds on futuristic imagination and explores the tensions between technology, forms of life and ways of organizing society, and Chinese readers can use these three books to appreciate his thematic interests and narrative style.

Zhang Fan Author · Chinese

Zhang Fan is an associate professor at the School of Urban Design, Central Academy of Fine Arts, and secretary-general of the Design Software Teachers Association. He has taught undergraduates since 1998, lecturing on digital image design and digital multimedia, and has also taught at institutions including the Communication University of China. One of China's earlier researchers in digital art, he has published more than 40 books and textbooks, several of which have been recognized as Beijing higher education excellent textbooks. Four of his works are included here, spanning law, science fiction, computers, and film and television: a practical guide to handling administrative penalties for workplace safety, the science fiction work Post-Humans, the technology book IoT + 5G, and a film- and television-related title. This cross-disciplinary range reflects his background in digital art and design teaching, showing a writing profile that combines practice, technology, and narrative. As public information on his life dates is limited, this note is confined to confirmed facts.