Science Fiction

I love robot/cyborg stories, so I was excited to pick this one up when it came to my attention. Cygenic is a science fiction story that takes place in the future and follows a cyborg (though they’re called “Cygenics” in this story) named Dante. Cygenics are sentient machines comprised of 85% human DNA that look and feel just like humans. Though they are sentient, they are still considered by law to be machines and thus are subject to ownership by humans. People who own a Cygenic can do whatever they want with it: use it as a nanny, a caregiver, a housekeeper, or even a sex toy.

Dante is strikingly beautiful and extremely intelligent and was commissioned by a professor to help illustrate some of his educational theories. But when the professor passes, Dante is thrust into the system where he is eventually stolen and sold into the sex trade. There, his everyday existence is hell, as his only purpose is to serve the depraved and vicious sex needs of sadistic clients. There were times that the story felt so intense and anxiety-provoking, I had to stop and breathe for a minute. But then one day, Dante’s circumstances change, and his path crosses with that of a man named Nate.

Nate is a programmer who works for an organization that is dedicated to the rights of Cygenics, and much of their work involves rehabilitating down-and-out cyborgs. Nate has just gotten out of an abusive relationship and, like Dante, is hurt, angry and mistrustful of others. But when these two meet, sparks fly between them. But it’s not going to be easy going for our two protagonists, as they need to face head-on the systemic societal oppression which threatens to rip them apart.

Cygenic is a beautifully written novel that is populated with wonderfully complex and empathetic characters, displaying the perfect balance of heartbreak and hope with a tone and style that captured my heart. This is such a smart story, an eye-opening account of letting go of prejudices and of seeing beyond what we think we know.

The story juxtaposes vicious and depraved sexual cruelty with the pure poetry of a new and profound love, and rarely have I encountered a more mesmerizing, beguiling story. Though this is a hard-hitting emotional journey, the lovely ending is worth the price. The author crafts gorgeous, tension-filled scenes and dialogue that suck you in and flood you with the main characters’ depth and their beautiful hearts.

The emotional profoundness of Dante and Nate draws you deeply into their spirit, to the point that their pain is your pain and their joy is your joy. Then there are some wonderfully delicious naughty parts coupled with lovely descriptions of the glorious male physique, which I thought were exceptionally well done in this story. Once we move past some of the more horrific scenes, we’re given moments of pure erotica; heavenly, tawdry, and scintillating.

I read this book in one sitting because I simply could not put it down – I was absolutely spellbound. It’s rich, complicated, creative, clever, as well as tragic and thought-provoking — a pretty honest and raw commentary on humanity. This is a winning love story that gives a voice to underrepresented characters, which in this case, are Cygenics.

Poirer writes with the kind of humanity that we all should embody, the kind that makes you believe that there is still an abundance of good left in the world at any given moment. This book is more about facing unimaginable heartbreak and coming out stronger on the other side, no matter how long it takes you.

I felt happy and hopeful when I finished — everything you want to feel at the end of a great story. I hope the author writes more books set in this world she’s created here as I really grew attached to Dante and Nate as the story unfolded. This utterly and original book blew my mind!

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Monique Poirer for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book.

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It was recently one of the Book of the Month Club selections, and when I heard that this book was about an affliction that drove people mad with memories of a life they never lived, I snatched it right up. I love books about memory and timelines, so this was right up my alley.

Now I wasn’t familiar with Blake Crouch, the author of the book; then I learned that he penned the Wayward Pines trilogy, which was turned into a television series that I did he. He also is the author of Dark Matter, which I haven’t read, so these tidbits made me even more excited to read the book.

So this affliction is called False Memory Syndrome and leads up to a lot of people committing suicide as a result. The story starts out with the dual timelines of two people: Barry Sutton, an NYC cop whose teenage daughter was killed years earlier and Helena Smith, a neuroscientist who is trying to find a way to restore memories in Alzheimer’s patients. They are both trying to figure out what in the hell is going on and eventually, their paths and stories cross and converge.

Now I recommend going into this book knowing as little as possible about it, so I’m not going to say too much more. I will say that in their search for the truth about what’s going on, Barry and Helena discover that this whole memory thing is causing society to unravel as it becomes increasingly difficult to tell reality from these so-called false memories. It’s a story about preserving memories and then taking those memories to shift our reality.

So that being said, this is really a mind-bendy sci-fi story, the kind that I typically love. It’s not about aliens, spaceships, or planets but rather about time, about memories and our understanding of reality.

This is both a character-driven story and a plot-driven one with plenty of action which kept me glued to the page, hours past my bedtime. It’s one of those heart-in-your-throat kinds of stories — addicting, intense and one hell of a wild ride. It’s what happens when Pandora’s box is flung wide open.

I loved this novel so much that I’d say it’s probably my favorite novel of the year so far. What I loved about it was that it was so twisty that you never knew in what direction it was going to head next. It’s thought-provoking, fast-paced with a mind-blowing plot, super complex characters and is unputdownable, at least it was for me. I definitely plan on reading more by this author I gave this one 5 stars.

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I recently read and loved “Recursion” by Blake Crouch, so I immediately wanted to read some of his other work, and I heard some great things about Dark Matter. So I picked it up and was not disappointed. What was fun was that I went into this almost completely blind, so I had no idea what was coming. Now, this was published in 2016, so I guess I’m a bit late to the game here.

So this is more of a techno-thriller that follows a university professor named Jason Dressen, who is married to the love of his life Daniela and together they have a son named Charlie. One night, Jason is walking home from a bar after briefly joining a friend for a celebratory drink when a stranger wearing a mask and wielding a gun kidnaps him, though, for the life of him, Jason cannot even begin to fathom the reason why.

The man leads him to a warehouse where he then injects Jason with some sort of drug, causing him to pass out.

When he awakes, he’s in a lab, strapped to a gurney and a man – someone he’s never seen before — says to him, “Welcome Back.” Jason plays along and at the first opportunity, escapes. Soon he learns that in the world to which he’s awoken, he is not married nor ever has been.

He has no son nor ever has had one, and he is not a university professor but rather an award-winning atomic physicist. So the question is: which is actually his life? The one in which he finds himself now or the one he remembers?

He also learns pretty quickly that someone is hunting him down.

So what we have here then, is a gripping, action-filled mind-bending thriller that has Jason trying to make sense out what in the hell happened to him. I appreciated the fact that one didn’t need a Ph.D. in physics or mathematics to understand the concepts present in the story.

Though the author introduces some complex scientific theories such as quantum physics, string theory, and game theory, they are explained in terms that an average Joe like myself can easily comprehend.  It’s also quite thought-provoking as it invites some serious contemplation about reality, family, about, about who we are vs. who we want to be, about what matters most in our lives, the choices we make, and about the road not taken.

This novel asks some pretty deep philosophic questions that made me sit back and think about my own life and my own ideas about reality.

This is a super twisty and zigzaggy book as Jason digs himself in deeper and deeper. The short paragraphs — averaging two to three sentences each — really added to the feeling of ever-growing urgency and desperation that hung throughout the story.

This is one of those books where unexpected twists and chilling revelations lurk around every corner, but I dare not say too much more to avoid the risk of spoilers. I will say, however, that the surprises are expertly executed at just the right time and just when you think you may have figured out the rest of it, everything changes.  This is also a powerful and ingenious story in which the tension never lets up.

So that being said, I found Dark Matter to be a profound, exhilarating, and thought-provoking journey with a relatable heart-warming and multi-faceted protagonist. This book took my breath away. Wow, what a story! It’s a clever, mind-bending, whirlwind of a book that I absolutely loved.

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This is an alternative history story that follows Dr. Elma York, a pilot, physicist and mathematician who works at the International Aerospace Coalition. One night in 1952, a meteorite falls to the earth, wiping out most of the east coast of the United States, including the capital. Elma soon figures out that the meteorite collision will result in a climate cataclysm, causing such high temperatures that the oceans will boil and the earth will be inhospitable for humans.

This threat accelerates the space program and the need to colonize space sooner rather than later if the human race is to survive. This also creates a need for many more astronauts. Soon, Elma begins to wonder, with so many skilled female pilots, scientists, and mathematicians why women cannot become astronauts and go into space.

In so doing, Elma strives to become the first Lady Astronaut even though the societal conventions of the 1950s are against her goals. Additionally, the author did an excellent job of illustrating how sexism and racism prevented leaders of the space program from taking advantage of all of the highly skilled and exceptionally talented people who could definitely be an asset to the program.

What’s interesting about this book is that it didn’t examine only the issue of sexism but also of racism, both of which were pretty much the norm in the 1950s. Elma was mostly unaware of racism issues in society, or at the very least it wasn’t something she thought about until people closer to her were affected by it. Initially, she was kind of self-centered and mostly unaware of the oppression of those around her.

In this way, the book illustrated nicely how even well-meaning, supposedly open-minded people can be utterly ignorant of other people’s struggles until those struggles are really brought to the forefront of their attention. I enjoyed the book’s exploration of discrimination across gender, race and even mental health and appreciated how these topics were the main themes of the story. The book also did an excellent job of showing how challenging life in the 1950s was for anyone who wasn’t a white male.

As for Elma, she’s a wonderfully inspiring character. She’s determined, brilliant, brave and competent. But it was also interesting to learn how she suffers from crippling social anxiety which was an important theme in this book, especially once she became thrust into the spotlight.

I thought it was especially empowering that Elma eventually comes to terms with her anxiety, understanding that it is a medical condition and does not mean she is weak. In this way, it was an extremely accurate portrayal of what anxiety looks like so an excellent representation here of anxiety disorder I thought.

My only niggle with this novel were the sex scenes with her husband, Nathaniel. Now Elma and her husband had a wonderfully sweet relationship (perhaps even a tad too sweet), and a lot of the book focused on their romance. But the sex scenes felt awkward to me and like they didn’t really belong in this story. There were a lot of sexual innuendos such as “launch is a go,” that caused me to roll my eyes a time or two. To me, the sex scenes just felt out of place and a bit forced in this story, and they may have been better left out.

But apart from that, I loved this gripping and riveting story. There are so many important subjects that this book addresses including discrimination against women, racial inequality, climate change, space travel, and mental health, to name a few. But what I especially like about the book’s treatment of these topics was that it wasn’t done in a preach or heavy-handed way but rather with sensitivity and fitness.

I can’t begin to imagine the amount of research that went into this story. The author clearly did her homework here with the result being a fully immersive and realistic novel with a diverse cast of characters. Ultimately, this book hooked me and wormed into my heart and mind

This book is part of a series but can be read as a standalone as everything was nicely wrapped up at the end. I do plan on picking up the sequel entitled “The Fated Sky” as I am looking forward to continuing on with this series.

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