All I can say is WOW. This book is fun. Post-apocalyptic, dystopian romantic fun. I read it in two days, which for me, when I'm not locked up in the hospital, is fast. I enjoyed ever second of the twists and turns, surprises and shocks the fast moving tale presented me with.
The world died 40 years ago when the sun sent some flares that toasted the power grids. It's probable that's the underfunded, overworked power grid we currently depend on, so it's possible. Without power, if you weren't rich or needed by the rich, you lived on the edge of survival. Major corporations took over the spaces the government used to fill, as governments failed. The corporations we are interested in combined military services, security services and genetic modifications. In the struggle to be the ruling corporation, all sorts of super soldiers were developed.
There is a basic disconnect when you try to develop absolute loyalty and tactical flexibility in the same body. That hasn't stopped TechCorp from trying. The Franklin Center decided to grow clones and train them from infancy instead of putting bio-implants in adults. Both kept running into the loyalty/independence problem. An agent who can't act on their own when circumstances requires it is at risk of total failure of the task. An agent who has any degree of independence is at risk of going off on their own.
I liked the story. The characters could use some more filling out, which I would count on happening in future books. We have been promises future books. I'm waiting for them.
The world died 40 years ago when the sun sent some flares that toasted the power grids. It's probable that's the underfunded, overworked power grid we currently depend on, so it's possible. Without power, if you weren't rich or needed by the rich, you lived on the edge of survival. Major corporations took over the spaces the government used to fill, as governments failed. The corporations we are interested in combined military services, security services and genetic modifications. In the struggle to be the ruling corporation, all sorts of super soldiers were developed.
There is a basic disconnect when you try to develop absolute loyalty and tactical flexibility in the same body. That hasn't stopped TechCorp from trying. The Franklin Center decided to grow clones and train them from infancy instead of putting bio-implants in adults. Both kept running into the loyalty/independence problem. An agent who can't act on their own when circumstances requires it is at risk of total failure of the task. An agent who has any degree of independence is at risk of going off on their own.
I liked the story. The characters could use some more filling out, which I would count on happening in future books. We have been promises future books. I'm waiting for them.