First of all I have to commend the author for embarking into an extremely ambitious first novel. The complexity of this plot, along with the thoroughly researched knowledge needed to pull it off, are outstanding.
To summarize this plot would be pretty tricky, especially with the initial portion of the book jumping back and forth over a drawn out time line, encompassing characters form diverse walks of life—but essentially the future holds technological advances so dire and impressive, they have moved far, far beyond the realm of human ability and intelligence…and the government’s who have sought to harness that power for warfare, have quickly lost control of, or been targeted by, their inventions.
Among these weapons and advances, which are furnished by the author’s meticulous research, and pretty lofty imagination using that research, is a biologically, technologically, and genetically engineered “living” weapon, that in my mind is one of the highlights of the author’s work. This particular monster reeks untold havoc on a United States well fortified armament of soldiers, and is introduced in a way that is pretty damn scary. Within this brutally engineered monster is a programming code that defies all human explanation, and this is one of the many ripe mysteries laced into the story. But this particular monster is a small fry next to the heavy hitting baddies, who are ready and able to brutally send the Western World into an early grave.
Along side these atrocious forms of technological warfare, which are represented by super soldiers, nano-artificial locust swarms, weaponized space, and more, the author has even laced philosophically challenging concepts such as artificial intelligence, human identity transference from organic matter to synthetic matter, and even reaches into the biblical/spiritual realm using technology. All of these extremely varied, independent, dazzling manifestations of the power of technology make for a pretty intellectually stimulating feast, and its set along side a story line with enough action, violence, well timed humor, and snappy dialogue to keep forward momentum.
That being said, I think this is an authentic, hardcore sci-fi piece. With the level of knowledge the author applies to the technical components of this story, readers without familiarity or strong interest in IT, quantum physics, nano-technology, etc. might feel a bit estranged or at a loss for what’s going on. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is strictly for hardcore sci-fi readers, but I could make a few arguments. Regular/casual readers should go into it with the intention of being challenged in that way.
Also, the author is pretty invested in every one of his characters, and if a reader is looking for an instant gratification/surface level experience with a story’s characters, this book is not for them. You’re going to be invested, so have a little patience.
In the end, writing this story no doubt took a colossal effort, and the final product represents the author’s fearlessness at taking on a project just about all writers would quiver at. And hey, it looks like he had a hell of a lot of fun writing it, too, because I had a hell of a lot of fun reading it.
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J
Wow, good punctuation & grammar meet a STORYTELLER!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2014