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lildrinkwater's review
4.0
This Mortal Coil is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Emily Suvada. The story follows Catarina Agatta, a teenage hacker who is also a gene-hacker genius. When a deadly virus wipes out most of humanity, Cat is left to fend for herself in a world where people can change their bodies with the press of a button.
I have read a lot of post-apocalyptic novels, and I can honestly say that This Mortal Coil is one of the best I have ever read. The story is well-written and engaging, and the characters are well-developed and believable. I especially liked the way that Suvada explored the scientific aspects of the novel in a way that was both informative and entertaining.
One of the things that I really appreciated about This Mortal Coil is that it didn't rely on tired tropes. There is no insta-love, and the characters' relationships feel genuine and believable. The ending is also very satisfying, and it left me wanting more.
Overall, I highly recommend This Mortal Coil to fans of post-apocalyptic science fiction. It is a well-written and thought-provoking novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
Here are some additional things that I would mention in my review:
The novel's exploration of the ethics of gene editing.
The way that the novel raises questions about the nature of identity and what it means to be human.
The novel's fast-paced and action-packed plot.
The novel's strong female protagonist.
I would give This Mortal Coil 4 out of 5 stars. It is a well-written and thought-provoking novel that I would recommend to fans of post-apocalyptic science fiction.
I have read a lot of post-apocalyptic novels, and I can honestly say that This Mortal Coil is one of the best I have ever read. The story is well-written and engaging, and the characters are well-developed and believable. I especially liked the way that Suvada explored the scientific aspects of the novel in a way that was both informative and entertaining.
One of the things that I really appreciated about This Mortal Coil is that it didn't rely on tired tropes. There is no insta-love, and the characters' relationships feel genuine and believable. The ending is also very satisfying, and it left me wanting more.
Overall, I highly recommend This Mortal Coil to fans of post-apocalyptic science fiction. It is a well-written and thought-provoking novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
Here are some additional things that I would mention in my review:
The novel's exploration of the ethics of gene editing.
The way that the novel raises questions about the nature of identity and what it means to be human.
The novel's fast-paced and action-packed plot.
The novel's strong female protagonist.
I would give This Mortal Coil 4 out of 5 stars. It is a well-written and thought-provoking novel that I would recommend to fans of post-apocalyptic science fiction.
clareobrien92's review
2.0
I wanted to read this because it’s a vaccine centered cyberpunk tale that feels timely given the Covid vaccines! Some aspects of this concept are original and intriguing, but in execution it’s a pile of ya tropes and not particularly compelling. Had to skim the last 200 pages.
The positive is there’s definitely some good representation for women in STEM and if a teen girl reading this gets interested in the vast potential of science, that’s awesome.
The positive is there’s definitely some good representation for women in STEM and if a teen girl reading this gets interested in the vast potential of science, that’s awesome.
debtat2's review
4.0
A Zombie Apocalypse full of twists and turns and plot twists but also touching on some serious issues: Genetic Coding, advanced Tech, the evolution of super-viruses and what a person will do to stay alive.
It starts off slow and it’s quite hard to read as it explains this post apocalyptic world and the modern science of it but then it begins to pick up its pace. Welcome to a world that has been crippled by a deadly virus outbreak that has forced most of the population underground into hiding, and the rest struggling to survive on the surface where they’re forced to do horrible things to survive.
It is a dark and brutal dystopia packed with the most fascinating sci-fi science, but in a way that’s still easy to understand and the whole idea behind genetic coding and having apps and tech that run within your body was utterly brilliant, mixed with some twists I did not see coming and even managed surprised me!
I’m cant wait to read more especially after that cliffhanger ending!
It starts off slow and it’s quite hard to read as it explains this post apocalyptic world and the modern science of it but then it begins to pick up its pace. Welcome to a world that has been crippled by a deadly virus outbreak that has forced most of the population underground into hiding, and the rest struggling to survive on the surface where they’re forced to do horrible things to survive.
It is a dark and brutal dystopia packed with the most fascinating sci-fi science, but in a way that’s still easy to understand and the whole idea behind genetic coding and having apps and tech that run within your body was utterly brilliant, mixed with some twists I did not see coming and even managed surprised me!
I’m cant wait to read more especially after that cliffhanger ending!
rakoerose's review
5.0
me: sees a book with transhumanism/coding/future technology at the forefront + viruses
me: nice
My only tiny, tiny gripe with this was that the relationship between Cole and Cat kicked off really fast but! It is nicely explained later in the story as to why their connection is so strong and I’ve grown to definitely ship the two together. V cute.
This entire book kept my heart pounding and I’m going to have to hunt for the next book asap so I can find out what happens next! This reads a lot like a TV show with how fast paced it is; I actually think it could be adapted and be fairly successful if done right. The twisted immoral characters combined with virus stuff reminded me slightly of the show Helix - which is another one of my faves. Lachlan in particular is one of my new favorite antagonists because I apparently love evil characters with twisted moral codes. Bc I can see his point, but his methods are wild.
Anyway, this book really hit a lot of the checkmarks of things I enjoy; if you’re interested, check it out!
me: nice
My only tiny, tiny gripe with this was that the relationship between Cole and Cat kicked off really fast but! It is nicely explained later in the story as to why their connection is so strong and I’ve grown to definitely ship the two together. V cute.
This entire book kept my heart pounding and I’m going to have to hunt for the next book asap so I can find out what happens next! This reads a lot like a TV show with how fast paced it is; I actually think it could be adapted and be fairly successful if done right. The twisted immoral characters combined with virus stuff reminded me slightly of the show Helix - which is another one of my faves. Lachlan in particular is one of my new favorite antagonists because I apparently love evil characters with twisted moral codes. Bc I can see his point, but his methods are wild.
Anyway, this book really hit a lot of the checkmarks of things I enjoy; if you’re interested, check it out!
jenlynnhill's review
2.0
A little too techy for me, I found parts of it to be boring, and other parts too far-fetched. I didn't like the ending either, I feel like this would have been a good one book thing, but as a series, it's too much.
agent88's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
jane_kelsey's review
4.0
I really enjoyed the book, although once I saw some of the plot twists coming, I had a hard time staying focused on the story. I found fascinating the topic of genetics and coding which was my favourite part. The novel was quite fast paces and there was always something going on and I really liked the short chapters, made me want to read on.
The characters were well fleshed out and entertaining, although at times I found Cat slightly annoying for wanting to assume a role and be ready to face the consequences, but did not look as to why and what would that mean in a political context. Cole on the other hand, he needed a bit more fleshing out, did not feel that I knew him a hell of a lot, but I did like their interaction and romance, which actually was made believable a lot more once you reach the end, so kudos for that!
I would've given it more than 3.5 stars, but I felt like something was missing and sometimes would compare it in my mind with other YA plots and subplots that I would not be as immersed as I was at the beginning. However, I overall really enjoyed it, the writing was good and the sci-fi/dystopian elements were satisfying, and I am really looking forward to book 2.
The characters were well fleshed out and entertaining, although at times I found Cat slightly annoying for wanting to assume a role and be ready to face the consequences, but did not look as to why and what would that mean in a political context. Cole on the other hand, he needed a bit more fleshing out, did not feel that I knew him a hell of a lot, but I did like their interaction and romance, which actually was made believable a lot more once you reach the end, so kudos for that!
I would've given it more than 3.5 stars, but I felt like something was missing and sometimes would compare it in my mind with other YA plots and subplots that I would not be as immersed as I was at the beginning. However, I overall really enjoyed it, the writing was good and the sci-fi/dystopian elements were satisfying, and I am really looking forward to book 2.
livinliterary's review
4.0
It was an enjoyable read, I just felt it was a little too short for the story it was telling, but saying that it's the first in a series so that's to be expected. Otherwise, I loved it, and would recommend it, will be looking for the second as soon as I can order it.
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
2.0
You know when someone has lots of cool ideas of future tech and projections about what life could be like in the future, so they think they'll write book about it? I have loads of those ideas but I also know my limitations and couldn't come up with a plot to hold that all together. That is exactly how I felt about This Mortal Coil.
Bear with me, this will take a while to lay out. In the future, a terrible virus has spread across the world. The victims explode, the resulting clouds of red mist carrying the pathogen. However, you can temporarily vaccinate yourself by eating some flesh of the infected. I'm always all over a book about super viruses, so I was expecting to like this a lot more on that basis...
Humans have come to rely on technology for everything, implanted with gentech, seemingly a mix of nanobots and something with DNA that's not really changing it but "wrapping it" and this keeps them healthy. Their panel can also be used to change their appearance, provide VR services and make tasteless food taste good. People can run apps in their own bodies. Traditional medicine has now been forgotten about, of course. I can get down with gene therapy but the explanations of what the gentech was doing was a bit contradictory.
Enter special snowflake Catarina Agatta. She is somehow allergic to gentech, but she can have some basic stuff. With all the technology they have, they can't cure an allergy? Hrm, well you'll find out more on that later (did someone say Everything, Everything?). Her father is a genius scientist who is taken away by Cartaxus to work on a vaccine for the Hydra virus.
Cartaxus is essentially a huge pharmaceutical company, just relying on code rather than drugs which does raise questions around the ethics of patenting medicines and also propriety software. During a year of living by herself, Catarina joins a group of rebel hackers and passes her days nibbling on infected human flesh. Turns out she's a skilled coder and has been helping to deliver medical hacks to those left behind by evil big pharma. Then one day a mysterious soldier turns up with a message from her father.
There is just so much going on, it felt like there was a plot twist every few chapters, and there's far too many explanations of tech, with some repetition, just to drive the point home. There is no leaving things for the reader to work out for themselves. I had thought it was a standalone, but it's not. There was enough material to spread over a few books in this one, so I'm not sure where it will go and I don't think I'll be finding out.
It was quite light on the romance, although there's still some weird love stuff going on (I can't tell you why it's weird without spoilers). It appears to be a bit of a Marmite book looking at Goodreads, so if you don't mind super twisty stories with a lot of information on the tech, then it might still be for you.
It did make me laugh grimly a few times on the old software development lifecycle stuff, probably the one thing that can be inferred. I mean you really don't want to release untested code into the world... But people still do.
Bear with me, this will take a while to lay out. In the future, a terrible virus has spread across the world. The victims explode, the resulting clouds of red mist carrying the pathogen. However, you can temporarily vaccinate yourself by eating some flesh of the infected. I'm always all over a book about super viruses, so I was expecting to like this a lot more on that basis...
Humans have come to rely on technology for everything, implanted with gentech, seemingly a mix of nanobots and something with DNA that's not really changing it but "wrapping it" and this keeps them healthy. Their panel can also be used to change their appearance, provide VR services and make tasteless food taste good. People can run apps in their own bodies. Traditional medicine has now been forgotten about, of course. I can get down with gene therapy but the explanations of what the gentech was doing was a bit contradictory.
Enter special snowflake Catarina Agatta. She is somehow allergic to gentech, but she can have some basic stuff. With all the technology they have, they can't cure an allergy? Hrm, well you'll find out more on that later (did someone say Everything, Everything?). Her father is a genius scientist who is taken away by Cartaxus to work on a vaccine for the Hydra virus.
Cartaxus is essentially a huge pharmaceutical company, just relying on code rather than drugs which does raise questions around the ethics of patenting medicines and also propriety software. During a year of living by herself, Catarina joins a group of rebel hackers and passes her days nibbling on infected human flesh. Turns out she's a skilled coder and has been helping to deliver medical hacks to those left behind by evil big pharma. Then one day a mysterious soldier turns up with a message from her father.
There is just so much going on, it felt like there was a plot twist every few chapters, and there's far too many explanations of tech, with some repetition, just to drive the point home. There is no leaving things for the reader to work out for themselves. I had thought it was a standalone, but it's not. There was enough material to spread over a few books in this one, so I'm not sure where it will go and I don't think I'll be finding out.
It was quite light on the romance, although there's still some weird love stuff going on (I can't tell you why it's weird without spoilers). It appears to be a bit of a Marmite book looking at Goodreads, so if you don't mind super twisty stories with a lot of information on the tech, then it might still be for you.
It did make me laugh grimly a few times on the old software development lifecycle stuff, probably the one thing that can be inferred. I mean you really don't want to release untested code into the world... But people still do.
listenbeforeigo's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0