I liked this cover. The elements of this book that lay the foundations for how a cyberpunk world could be created are subtly portrayed without taking away from the fact that this is first and foremost a thriller. This book starts out slowly. I expected a bit more of a bang. Stick with it though. Everything at the beginning is there for a reason. The pace picks up and doesn’t let up until the inevitable climax.
Jacob Miller is a conspiracy theorist obsessed with the theory that a prominent scientist is doing something shady and illegal. Of course the scientist in question has plans that would be shunned by any ethical committee in the west. I really enjoyed how the personal morals of the NSA director allowed him to completely ignore ethics to trial genetically enhanced soldiers. After all it would be for the greater good. At what cost though? That was where things start to get interesting. A genetically altered human is one thing but what about a cloned and programmed from scratched autonomous shell?
Colin Barnes has a real gift for taking complex technical concepts and presenting them in a way that a layman can understand them without somebody more technical feeling patronized. This really came through well in this book. I do wonder if Wearmouth and Barnes are starting to think alike as there was only one voice in this story and it was loud and clear.
There is always a twist at the end of a thriller like this. As usual I saw the obvious foreshadowing way before the end of the book. Oh hang on, that wasn’t the twist. Oh crap. I didn’t see that coming. Well played chaps that was subtle and unexpected without seeming contrived. I will be looking out for the second book in this series.
Tony's Thoughts 