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this was the book that I chose for my amazon prime rental book for the month of October. the book enthralled me right off. the characters are likeable and the writing style interesting. I found the interruption of actions and dialog box through thought processes very intriguing. The social criticism was well integrated into the story as was the ecological message.
I will definitely continue the series and look forward to the next book.
I will definitely continue the series and look forward to the next book.
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book wasn't quite what I expected.
The premise was intriguing - a world of "brilliants," gifted people with talents that far surpassed the normal population. Not quite super powers, but close enough. I thought this was going to be much more focused on the brilliants and their talents. But instead, this book was more of a rogue cop thriller focused far more on tactics and gunfights than the people with exceptional talent.
It was a page turner, and I had a hard time putting it down. It just wasn't quite what I was hoping for. If you like thrillers, definitely give this one a shot. It's apparently being optioned for a movie.
The premise was intriguing - a world of "brilliants," gifted people with talents that far surpassed the normal population. Not quite super powers, but close enough. I thought this was going to be much more focused on the brilliants and their talents. But instead, this book was more of a rogue cop thriller focused far more on tactics and gunfights than the people with exceptional talent.
It was a page turner, and I had a hard time putting it down. It just wasn't quite what I was hoping for. If you like thrillers, definitely give this one a shot. It's apparently being optioned for a movie.
Easily the most grounded super-hero story I've ever read. Reading this after Sanderson's Steelheart, after it's apparent rejection of any sort of natural laws, was like a breath of pure realism. Definitely looking forward to Sakey's sequel!
The audiobook was also brilliantly performed; I felt like I was in a hard-boiled detective novel from the 20's.
The audiobook was also brilliantly performed; I felt like I was in a hard-boiled detective novel from the 20's.
This novel starts and ends pretty typically. The setup is that humankind is evolving and individuals who have abilities well beyond the baseline are starting to crop up. The world (namely the US) is recovering from incidents where a super-human bump-up can radically alter the face of society (e.g. pattern recognition allows an individual to game the mechanics of global economy). While I loved this idea because normally stories about super-humans (which this book calls “brilliants”) present people who can set things on fire, move objects with their minds, or generally cause havoc. It’s interesting to think that the evolution doesn’t have to be huge to be able to seriously affect humankind. Unfortunately, the story only uses that premise as backdrop. Instead, we are left with a very cliche idea that once the brilliants start to appear, the world will start to hate them, ghettoize them, and start a war with them. That’s the kind of story that has been plaguing the X-Men for the 75 years since Marvel Comics created them. As you might guess, there’s also some terrorism involved (virtually all of these books involve terrorism). Agent Nick Cooper, an operative of the US federal government, is tasked with infiltrating the brilliant underground to prevent the inevitable war that is coming (think “Jack Bauer with super-humans”). The other challenge with all books (but especially ones like these which contain a lot of action) is that the authors over-describe. It’s like they’re trying to set up the movie screenplay that is expected to follow. Scenes are given too many details and use too many contemporary metaphors that seem a bit corny. Once the action kicks in, all we have are surface descriptions of what’s going on, without a lot of reason to care about it all. There is also always a tension between getting deep in describing the ramifications of how the world has been altered by super-humans to just telling a quick-moving story. When authors like Sakey choose the latter, it ends up feeling like there’s only a handful of people who exist in the world, and are dealing with the issues in the story. That leaves room for many holes and flaws which take away from the overall narrative. In the end, I wondered why this story needed to be about “brilliants” anyway. This anti-terrorism story didn’t gain much from the super-human element. It could probably have been a run-of-the-mill Tom Clancy novel and been fine. (3.5 out of 5)
fast-paced
I really enjoyed this book! I loved the main character and the plot. I can't wait to see where this series is going!
I enjoyed this book. I had no issues with it being "too much like X-Men" or other stories. Those thoughts didn't even occur to me, until I read the other reviews here. I think, if one is going to start down that road, it is a very short trip to all Sci-Fi books have similarities and none are wholly original unless you go all the way, way, way, back to the firsts in the genre. The book was interesting in its own right and I was fully engrossed and entertained which is good enough for me.
I would have loved if john smith had more chapters. And it was a bit long. A 3.5
Depends on your expectations...
What it isn't; it isn't 'high art', it isn't particularly original, and it isn't a thriller where the twists will really surprise you.
What it is; page-turningly readable, a well thought through concept, and a nice blend of Michael Connelly/Harlen Coben style 'hard man with a heart' with a sci-fi theme.
It won't be on your list of great literature, but you won't feel the time it took you to consume it to be wasted. 4 stars in its genre.
What it isn't; it isn't 'high art', it isn't particularly original, and it isn't a thriller where the twists will really surprise you.
What it is; page-turningly readable, a well thought through concept, and a nice blend of Michael Connelly/Harlen Coben style 'hard man with a heart' with a sci-fi theme.
It won't be on your list of great literature, but you won't feel the time it took you to consume it to be wasted. 4 stars in its genre.