Scan barcode
A review by barlinsbooks
A Better World by Marcus Sakey
4.0
Note: I received an advance copy of this novel from NetGalley.
In A Better World, Marcus Sakey continues to explore the characters and situation we came to know and love in his excellent 2013 novel Brilliance. The book picks up immediately where Brilliance left off, in an altered version of our current world. In 1980, 1% of the population started showing signs of abnormal characteristics, or “brilliance”. These are primarily mental abilities –- enhanced perception, advanced pattern recognition, etc. – and the powers create a rift in society between “norms” and “abnorms”. The abnorms (those with powers) have a distinct advantage: will they use it for good or evil?
My expectations were high for this follow-up. Brilliance was one of my favorite books of 2013, and the one I most consistently recommended to friends since it wasn’t typically found on many “best of” lists. The plot of Brilliance was excellent, the action sequences expertly written, and the characters well developed. A Better World has many of the same characteristics, but not at quite the same level of excellence. Where Brilliance barrels along, continuously picking up steam all the way through a thrilling climax, I was a good portion of the way through A Better World before I felt like it was finally finding its way. There are moments of, well…brilliance, but this book feels like more of a bridge to the third book in the series. Sakey had to set up the rest of the story, and unfortunately that took a long time, to A Better World’s detriment.
Brilliance focused on Nick Cooper and his “Sean Archer vs. Castor Troy” style battle with John Smith, and while Cooper is still a focus, Sakey introduces additional characters, most notably a scientist named Ethan Park. Despite being a central figure, we don’t know why we should care about Park until well into the novel, other than he’s a caring husband and father of a young baby. Combine this with Cooper being somewhat in limbo after the events of Brilliance, and I spent most of the novel waiting for these characters to find their way.
Overall, I enjoyed A Better World…just not as much as Brilliance. It was a fun return to a set of characters I truly like, and good further exploration of an interesting moral dilemma (how would our current society deal with something like the rise of brilliants?). Some reviewers have noted that you don’t need to have read Brilliance to enjoy this novel, and while I agree with that on the surface (Sakey quickly fills in the basic plot points from Brilliance), I would certainly recommend reading Brilliance first. Besides it being a superior novel, the character development and more thorough backstory allow the reader to be more fully immersed in A Better World. I’d recommend A Better World, but temper your expectations; while it shows a few flashes of brilliance, Brilliance it is not.
In A Better World, Marcus Sakey continues to explore the characters and situation we came to know and love in his excellent 2013 novel Brilliance. The book picks up immediately where Brilliance left off, in an altered version of our current world. In 1980, 1% of the population started showing signs of abnormal characteristics, or “brilliance”. These are primarily mental abilities –- enhanced perception, advanced pattern recognition, etc. – and the powers create a rift in society between “norms” and “abnorms”. The abnorms (those with powers) have a distinct advantage: will they use it for good or evil?
My expectations were high for this follow-up. Brilliance was one of my favorite books of 2013, and the one I most consistently recommended to friends since it wasn’t typically found on many “best of” lists. The plot of Brilliance was excellent, the action sequences expertly written, and the characters well developed. A Better World has many of the same characteristics, but not at quite the same level of excellence. Where Brilliance barrels along, continuously picking up steam all the way through a thrilling climax, I was a good portion of the way through A Better World before I felt like it was finally finding its way. There are moments of, well…brilliance, but this book feels like more of a bridge to the third book in the series. Sakey had to set up the rest of the story, and unfortunately that took a long time, to A Better World’s detriment.
Brilliance focused on Nick Cooper and his “Sean Archer vs. Castor Troy” style battle with John Smith, and while Cooper is still a focus, Sakey introduces additional characters, most notably a scientist named Ethan Park. Despite being a central figure, we don’t know why we should care about Park until well into the novel, other than he’s a caring husband and father of a young baby. Combine this with Cooper being somewhat in limbo after the events of Brilliance, and I spent most of the novel waiting for these characters to find their way.
Overall, I enjoyed A Better World…just not as much as Brilliance. It was a fun return to a set of characters I truly like, and good further exploration of an interesting moral dilemma (how would our current society deal with something like the rise of brilliants?). Some reviewers have noted that you don’t need to have read Brilliance to enjoy this novel, and while I agree with that on the surface (Sakey quickly fills in the basic plot points from Brilliance), I would certainly recommend reading Brilliance first. Besides it being a superior novel, the character development and more thorough backstory allow the reader to be more fully immersed in A Better World. I’d recommend A Better World, but temper your expectations; while it shows a few flashes of brilliance, Brilliance it is not.