Sci-fi tale offers outsider's take on humanity

The best science fiction acts as a sort of funhouse mirror, reflecting aspects of our existence back at us in ways that, while twisted, remain recognizable. The genre provides a certain degree of freedom when it comes to exploring ideas; it offers us a removed glimpse at ourselves.

Author Matt Haig has given us one such glimpse with his latest novel 'The Humans' (Simon & Schuster, $25).