I opened this without having read any reviews and that turned out to be a good thing as this started out quite different to anything I was expecting given the initial premise of a woman waking up and having amnesia (done to death) and making the obvious connections as to what probably happened.
Although I thought this was going to be spectacular, it ended up going the same route trod upon so many times before. Sure there were some exceptions given the sci Fi tech aspect, but, in the end, I ended up being so disappointed at the unfulfilled potential to be truly out of the ordinary. Thus, I am having a hard time giving this a star rating, so let me think awhile.
The problem in describing the plot is that I don't want to give away spoilers. I enjoyed being caught out and surprised so I'm not going to tell you anything more than to just read the synopsis. I definitely enjoyed the technological and scientific information in the book and even gave much thought while reading to the moral and ethical aspects. I surely felt that the author must have a child with autism or some other spectrum disorder in order to be able to describe it so well. The writing was excellent, it was just the resolution of the novel that felt so pre-destined and expected. The characters were exactly what I knew I'd find -- the oh so wonderful Abbie and the whack job husband. That was a let down given the possibilities that could have brought the conclusion to a whole new level.
Some reviewers have remarked that the second person point of view was distracting but I didn't have any issues with that and don't mind. The omniscient voice giving some background wasn't a problem for me either. My biggest complaint is that I didn't want this to be the usual domestic drama arc but it was. If you asked me what I had hoped for the story, I'd be happy to tell you...So, all in all, it was an entertaining read that I raced through in a single sitting but I wish it had really gone out there on a limb and shocked me with an atypical approach. The subject of AI and robotics was extremely fascinating and the applications for the future are immense in scope even as they are frightening. For, after all, what is it that makes us truly HUMAN?
This would be a great novel for a book club as there is so much to debate and discuss. Please share your thoughts!
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this e-book ARC to read and review.
This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - Domestic drama with futuristic overtones, robotics, AI
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