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billblume's review
5.0
This is one of my top three reads of the year. In fact, it’s probably my favorite YA novel this year. Emily Suvada has crafted a well-written thrill ride that subverts a lot of tropes. It’s an intelligent sci-fi conspiracy thriller.
The world-building is brilliantly executed. This Mortal Coil is The Walking Dead meets Jason Bourne sprinkled with a sci-fi twist on Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Emily Suvada manages to take all the best parts of those stories and creates an amazing look at what our world would be like if we could tweak our bodies to our every whim.
The book challenges the reader with a lot of questions that are all born from how much genetics dictates who and what we are and will become. Just as important, should we be allowed to tinker with what nature has made us.
The biggest praise I can give This Mortal Coil is that it’s the kind of book I want to shove into other people’s hands so they’ll read it.
The world-building is brilliantly executed. This Mortal Coil is The Walking Dead meets Jason Bourne sprinkled with a sci-fi twist on Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Emily Suvada manages to take all the best parts of those stories and creates an amazing look at what our world would be like if we could tweak our bodies to our every whim.
The book challenges the reader with a lot of questions that are all born from how much genetics dictates who and what we are and will become. Just as important, should we be allowed to tinker with what nature has made us.
The biggest praise I can give This Mortal Coil is that it’s the kind of book I want to shove into other people’s hands so they’ll read it.
smitchy's review
4.0
This new YA title is a thrill ride while still working topical issues into what is clearly a futuristic / dystopian / zombie (almost) narrative. I got this as an ARC.
In a world where most humans are bio-enhanced, gene hacking is the norm. People have a panel in their arm that is implanted at birth and allows an individual to download and manage apps that help with everything from aesthetic enhancement to aiding / enhancing hearing, sight or touch. Users can submerge themselves into virtual reality or browse the web from inside their own heads.
Catarina is different. Born with a rare allergy to the nanotech she lives with her father, Lachlan - a brilliant creator of biotech, in an isolated cabin. Together they code, and create new software for people for whom Cartaxus, the company that created the implant and all the official apps, refuse to help. And then the plague came.
Cartaxus want Lachlan back and they are not taking no for an answer. Left to fend for herself Catarina is shocked when a Cartaxus soldier turns up on her doorstep. Her father has created a cure but has been killed in an attack. Lachlan left instructions that only Catarina will be able to decode it. Certain that Cartaxus will keep the vaccine to themselves and racing against the clock Catarina and Cole head out to find the equipment they need to save the world.
This is a great fast paced read, certain to appeal to anyone who liked Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner or the like. Cat is a likeable character making the best decisions she can in the circumstances. As the novel evolves the motivations of Lachlan, Cartaxus and Skies become less black and white and much more interestingly real-world. The themes of individual rights vs. greater good, bioengineering, making humanity "better", and global domination by a single corporation are very much topical. This is a well thought out world with real issues. The "bad guys" aren't quite as bad as they appear and Cat's father Lachlan is not the man she believes him to be. There is a "reveal" at the end that I found a tad unbelievable but this is a Zombie apocalypse fantasy novel so who am I to judge?
Overall this is agreat read and I am looking forward to the next one.
In a world where most humans are bio-enhanced, gene hacking is the norm. People have a panel in their arm that is implanted at birth and allows an individual to download and manage apps that help with everything from aesthetic enhancement to aiding / enhancing hearing, sight or touch. Users can submerge themselves into virtual reality or browse the web from inside their own heads.
Catarina is different. Born with a rare allergy to the nanotech she lives with her father, Lachlan - a brilliant creator of biotech, in an isolated cabin. Together they code, and create new software for people for whom Cartaxus, the company that created the implant and all the official apps, refuse to help. And then the plague came.
Cartaxus want Lachlan back and they are not taking no for an answer. Left to fend for herself Catarina is shocked when a Cartaxus soldier turns up on her doorstep. Her father has created a cure but has been killed in an attack. Lachlan left instructions that only Catarina will be able to decode it. Certain that Cartaxus will keep the vaccine to themselves and racing against the clock Catarina and Cole head out to find the equipment they need to save the world.
This is a great fast paced read, certain to appeal to anyone who liked Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner or the like. Cat is a likeable character making the best decisions she can in the circumstances. As the novel evolves the motivations of Lachlan, Cartaxus and Skies become less black and white and much more interestingly real-world. The themes of individual rights vs. greater good, bioengineering, making humanity "better", and global domination by a single corporation are very much topical. This is a well thought out world with real issues. The "bad guys" aren't quite as bad as they appear and Cat's father Lachlan is not the man she believes him to be. There is a "reveal" at the end that I found a tad unbelievable but this is a Zombie apocalypse fantasy novel so who am I to judge?
Overall this is agreat read and I am looking forward to the next one.
lurdes_oliveira's review
1.0
dnf at 14 %
This started decent enough, the 50 or so first pages were intriguing but it seemed to go downhill from there.
The concept is interesting - an apocalyptic world where a fast-spreading virus causes people to burst apart and infect others - but that YA feel really put me off…
This started decent enough, the 50 or so first pages were intriguing but it seemed to go downhill from there.
The concept is interesting - an apocalyptic world where a fast-spreading virus causes people to burst apart and infect others - but that YA feel really put me off…
sverville's review
5.0
This book was honestly one of the best I’ve read all year. It has everything YA and dystopian that I love, and I felt like the sci-fi aspect was creative and also easy to understand for those of us who aren’t the best at science. If you love gore, INSANE plot twists, and a super fast pace, you will love this book.
alisonwonderland823's review
5.0
Oh. My. Gosh.
You should have heard me read this book. There were gasps, screams and gulps. It's high tension and fast paced without losing sight of how fantastic the characters are.
Do yourself a favor and rush out to get this book as soon as it's released. I guarantee it's the book everyone will be talking about this winter.
You should have heard me read this book. There were gasps, screams and gulps. It's high tension and fast paced without losing sight of how fantastic the characters are.
Do yourself a favor and rush out to get this book as soon as it's released. I guarantee it's the book everyone will be talking about this winter.
crikeycrawfish's review
5.0
Loved loved loved. My heart says 5 stars 100% but my head says that with the issues it's maybe a 4.5 possibly a 4. But I'm going to keep my rating at a 5 because the ending had me pretty shook and I'll just list the issues it had.
Have you ever bought a book knowing what it was about and then it sat on your shelf so long that by the time you decided to pick it up you had completely mis-remembered the premise? Yea that was me with this book and it actually worked out very well because it was like a pleasant surprise to find out that this book was post-apocalyptic aka one of my favorite kind of stories to read about. I think the only thing I initially remembered about the book was that it involved hackers and I never would have connected the two but it WORKED.
HYDRA, the disease that has essentially ruined the world, was interesting and original and I loved the more we learned about. Like come on, a disease that makes you literally explode?? and then anyone who breathes in your gross exploded bits becomes infected too??? Being a biology nerd, hearing how this virus worked, it was a beautiful thing to enjoy and seemed like it could be a real disease (as horrifying as that would be).
Another interesting aspect with the disease was the WRATH it incited and the way to get immunity. It made it similar to zombies without being outright so which I think really worked and once again made it all the more terrifying, knowing there's nothing you can do to stop yourself from slipping into madness. Fantastic.
Character wise, I loved them. They were amazing although a few little things bothered me (but didn't really take away too much from the story for me)
Catarina: Hardcore, intelligent, bad ass. I'd want you on my side fighting any day of the week. She's compassionate and determined and not afraid to do what's right. Which is kinda where my issue came in. She was almost a little TOO altruistic. A little too willing to self sacrifice in moments. She was edging on being a little Mary Sue so just be prepared for that when you go into this, but once again it wasn't so much like that that I couldn't enjoy it.
Cole: My sweet baby artist I love you and your sensitive soul. Sometimes you too could be a little much and I couldn't tell what was actually your decisions and feelings and what was in your programming...
Dax: I have a sneaking suspicion about something I believe I'll find out in the next book... So I won't say more on that.
Leoben: You are fantastic and I hope to get so much more of you in the next book.
Lachlan: .... bruh.
The action sequences I thought were great and the tech/hacker lingo didn't get to be too much that I couldn't follow it. I actually loved all the advancements you could find and how well explained the gene modification was and it's limitations. The fact that there were limits at all made it more real and more of like a realistic future that could happen with the way technology is growing now.
And now for the issues I had:
- Insta-love: So this wasn't SUPER a thing but it kind of was. And I HATE instalove but honestly wasn't too bothered by it but I did want to make it known that it was present here. Also a love triangle-esq thing? Kind of? Not really? Don't really know how to explain all that.
- I kinda already mentioned this above but Cat's near Mary Sue type character. Most of the time I was too into the story to care but sometimes I'd tilt my head and go "really? that's what we're gonna do. Okie"
- the last one I can’t talk about bc of spoilers but it’s near the end
Those were my biggest issues but once again, I enjoyed the story enough that I could live with those issues.
But Y'ALL! THAT ENDING. Amazing. I don't know how I didn't see it coming. I feel bamboozled in the best way. Honestly the ending twist was so great that's probably why my rating for this book is so high so take that as you will.
So I do suggest to readers who enjoy a little bit of science, or post-apocalyptic books, and a good fair amount of violence because it all happens and it's great so read it.
Have you ever bought a book knowing what it was about and then it sat on your shelf so long that by the time you decided to pick it up you had completely mis-remembered the premise? Yea that was me with this book and it actually worked out very well because it was like a pleasant surprise to find out that this book was post-apocalyptic aka one of my favorite kind of stories to read about. I think the only thing I initially remembered about the book was that it involved hackers and I never would have connected the two but it WORKED.
HYDRA, the disease that has essentially ruined the world, was interesting and original and I loved the more we learned about. Like come on, a disease that makes you literally explode?? and then anyone who breathes in your gross exploded bits becomes infected too??? Being a biology nerd, hearing how this virus worked, it was a beautiful thing to enjoy and seemed like it could be a real disease (as horrifying as that would be).
Another interesting aspect with the disease was the WRATH it incited and the way to get immunity. It made it similar to zombies without being outright so which I think really worked and once again made it all the more terrifying, knowing there's nothing you can do to stop yourself from slipping into madness. Fantastic.
Character wise, I loved them. They were amazing although a few little things bothered me (but didn't really take away too much from the story for me)
Catarina: Hardcore, intelligent, bad ass. I'd want you on my side fighting any day of the week. She's compassionate and determined and not afraid to do what's right. Which is kinda where my issue came in. She was almost a little TOO altruistic. A little too willing to self sacrifice in moments. She was edging on being a little Mary Sue so just be prepared for that when you go into this, but once again it wasn't so much like that that I couldn't enjoy it.
Cole: My sweet baby artist I love you and your sensitive soul. Sometimes you too could be a little much and I couldn't tell what was actually your decisions and feelings and what was in your programming...
Dax: I have a sneaking suspicion about something I believe I'll find out in the next book... So I won't say more on that.
Leoben: You are fantastic and I hope to get so much more of you in the next book.
Lachlan: .... bruh.
The action sequences I thought were great and the tech/hacker lingo didn't get to be too much that I couldn't follow it. I actually loved all the advancements you could find and how well explained the gene modification was and it's limitations. The fact that there were limits at all made it more real and more of like a realistic future that could happen with the way technology is growing now.
And now for the issues I had:
- Insta-love: So this wasn't SUPER a thing but it kind of was. And I HATE instalove but honestly wasn't too bothered by it but I did want to make it known that it was present here. Also a love triangle-esq thing? Kind of? Not really? Don't really know how to explain all that.
- I kinda already mentioned this above but Cat's near Mary Sue type character. Most of the time I was too into the story to care but sometimes I'd tilt my head and go "really? that's what we're gonna do. Okie"
- the last one I can’t talk about bc of spoilers but it’s near the end
Those were my biggest issues but once again, I enjoyed the story enough that I could live with those issues.
But Y'ALL! THAT ENDING. Amazing. I don't know how I didn't see it coming. I feel bamboozled in the best way. Honestly the ending twist was so great that's probably why my rating for this book is so high so take that as you will.
So I do suggest to readers who enjoy a little bit of science, or post-apocalyptic books, and a good fair amount of violence because it all happens and it's great so read it.
kalaha1's review
3.0
Interesting premise but this reading this book was like watching a train wreck, just can’t look away despite the horror.
tstreet's review
5.0
Amazing! I loved this book. Cat is smart and amazing. I love how she meets Cole and learns to trust and love him. I hate how she found out that her father lied to her for her entire life. I love when she finds out who she really is. I hate that she thought she killed her father when she really didn't. It was good when realized that.