Rating: 3/5 stars
Pages: 192
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Noir
Publisher: Kensington
Pub Date: September 18, 2018
Summary:
The Sickness unto Death
The Synth revolution has come at last. The supposedly synthetic beings humans crafted to do their dirty work for them have fully actualized their own humanity—and they no longer acquiesce in their enslavement. Victory in the struggle to tear down the institutions of oppression seems just a matter of time. But the halls of power are not so easily shaken—and a counter strike is inevitable.
Former Detective Jason Campbell has pledged his life to the Synthetic cause. So when a mysterious virus starts wiping out Synths left and right—and shows signs of mutating to target everyone else—he must lead a race against time to prevent the outbreak of the most horrific plague the world has ever seen. If he succeeds, he’ll expose the moral bankruptcy of the depraved elites who will stop at nothing to restore the old order. If he fails, it could mean the end of life on this planet. For both Synth and Human.
(Description as found on goodreads)
Disclaimer: I received this book free on Net Galley in exchange for an honest review
I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn’t really get into it. I read the first two books in the series as well, and even three books in I just wasn’t connecting at all with the main character. He lacked a distinct voice and did a lot of telling that I just wasn’t interested in.
The story-line was interesting enough, and I was attached enough to one of the side characters to really make me have trouble putting the book down, but otherwise it just wasn’t for me. The last 40% of the book was pretty fast paced and I was drawn in, though there were definitely places where I started skimming. Usually the action sequences. They were just technical to the point where they got boring. There was one near the end that I thought was really well-done (I’m not gonna be too specific cause spoilers), and packed a lot of emotional punch. I would call that one the big moment where I was emotionally invested in the protagonist.
The world-building and set up of how the synth’s are so intrinsically tied into humanity’s infrastructure is really interesting, and I could definitely see a corporation doing the things described in this series. Some of the side characters were also excellently done - Silas and Tia especially (though there was one subplot that made me want to shake Tia but that would be spoilers).
Otherwise, the book was exactly what you’d expect. Lots of violence, people getting shot, life or death stakes in which the protagonist has to solve it by breaking into a mystery facility with little to no information. Someone suggested online that this series would make a great movie series, and I have to agree that they lend themselves well to that.
I’d recommend this book (but seriously read the first two first, otherwise you’re gonna be lost) to anyone who likes the noir/crime genre with a sprinkle of science fiction, and a dash of action/thriller.
To find the first book in this series check out this link here:
http://jtnicholas.com/books/
To learn more about the author:
http://jtnicholas.com/