Futuristic dystopian with a family mystery
The world is spiraling out of control, with a select number of people living in cities that stretch into the sky, safe from the ground and pollutants that plague the people who still live there. Getting into the cities is very hard, even as natural disasters kill millions of people on the ground. The leaders and other high ranking people are trying to come up with a solution while many people in the cities continue to live out their lives in holo, conserving energy by pursuing life in a virtual world. Kasey is searching for her sister, Celia, who went missing three months ago. As she delves deeper into the mystery surrounding her disappearance, she discovers how little she knew her sister and just how not-present she is in her own life. Celia, meanwhile, is stranded on an island, her only company, an information bot and her own disjointed memories.
I wish there had been more emphasis placed on the world building. It was sometimes hard to follow just what the world around Kasey looked like. Celia was easy: her world was a house on an abandoned island, something I’m familiar with. Kasey’s world was entirely too foreign and futuristic for me to easily imagine. I found myself confused as to whether or not she was in holo or in real life, events passing in a flash since Kasey was too focused on finding Celia, anyway. It hardly seemed to matter whether it was happening in “real” life or not. I liked the way Kasey could adjust her mood with her implant, and how the implant could sense a decline in mood and suggest treatment. Well, I thought it was interesting this was possible. It adjusted Kasey’s mood so that she seemed very unfeeling and it was difficult to connect with her as a character.
The relationship between Kasey and Actinium is also hard to pin down. Kasey is searching for her sister and comes across Actinium, who seems to know something of her disappearance. Act is in it for his own purposes and learns about Celia alongside Kasey. They don’t spend much time together on page but know each other more intimately later, with the quick passage of time forging relationships we only get to see the result of. It made it difficult to really resonate with the characters, when they develop offscreen.
I enjoyed the mystery bits, learning what actually happened to Celia, as well as the deepening understanding between the two sisters as Kasey traced her sister’s thoughts and actions through time. Their relationship was the primary story, everything else secondary, and the story telling suffered a bit because of it. There were several other mysteries, like what crime did Kasey commit? Why does Actinium have a hacked identifier? What was going to happen to the eco-cities and the people on the ground?
I enjoyed the writing style, particularly the bits told from Celia’s point of view. The cover is also very beautiful. I was happy to receive a copy of this book! It was an anticipated read and while it disappointed in some ways, I think it came out well in the end, even though I didn’t particularly like the ending. The twist is pretty satisfying. I like having an explanation for the many questions that bogged down my reading experience from the middle through to the twist. I definitely wanted more closure than I got.
I wish there had been more emphasis placed on the world building. It was sometimes hard to follow just what the world around Kasey looked like. Celia was easy: her world was a house on an abandoned island, something I’m familiar with. Kasey’s world was entirely too foreign and futuristic for me to easily imagine. I found myself confused as to whether or not she was in holo or in real life, events passing in a flash since Kasey was too focused on finding Celia, anyway. It hardly seemed to matter whether it was happening in “real” life or not. I liked the way Kasey could adjust her mood with her implant, and how the implant could sense a decline in mood and suggest treatment. Well, I thought it was interesting this was possible. It adjusted Kasey’s mood so that she seemed very unfeeling and it was difficult to connect with her as a character.
The relationship between Kasey and Actinium is also hard to pin down. Kasey is searching for her sister and comes across Actinium, who seems to know something of her disappearance. Act is in it for his own purposes and learns about Celia alongside Kasey. They don’t spend much time together on page but know each other more intimately later, with the quick passage of time forging relationships we only get to see the result of. It made it difficult to really resonate with the characters, when they develop offscreen.
I enjoyed the mystery bits, learning what actually happened to Celia, as well as the deepening understanding between the two sisters as Kasey traced her sister’s thoughts and actions through time. Their relationship was the primary story, everything else secondary, and the story telling suffered a bit because of it. There were several other mysteries, like what crime did Kasey commit? Why does Actinium have a hacked identifier? What was going to happen to the eco-cities and the people on the ground?
I enjoyed the writing style, particularly the bits told from Celia’s point of view. The cover is also very beautiful. I was happy to receive a copy of this book! It was an anticipated read and while it disappointed in some ways, I think it came out well in the end, even though I didn’t particularly like the ending. The twist is pretty satisfying. I like having an explanation for the many questions that bogged down my reading experience from the middle through to the twist. I definitely wanted more closure than I got.