Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Review:: Amped, by Daniel H. Wilson

Title: Amped
Author: Daniel H. Wilson
Format: eBook
Rating: ★★★☆☆

 I thought I'd like Amped better than Robopocalypse. I was right. Unfortunately, though, there's very little substance in Amped, and little that hasn't been worked before.



My biggest issue with Robopocalypse was how optimistic it seemed with regards to the nature of humanity. Amped (fortunately for me) takes this in the opposite direction and more fully covers transhumanism, my favorite scifi theme.

However, the plot is so standard and the characters are so ephemeral that there's not much to speak of. The protagonist is a teacher who has to go on the run because suddenly the government has declared "amped" humans a non-protected class. He has to learn who he can trust, who he can't, fail a lot at doing so, and try to retain his humanity all along. (Surprise! His totally, completely, only medical implant is anything but.)

That's not to say Amped isn't a fun, albeit short ride. One thing I really likes about it was how it was clearly set in near-near future, somewhere between now and cyberpunk. The politics hadn't gotten quite where they needed to be for cyberpunk, but you could see them starting to be laid down.

At less than 300 pages (that go quickly), if you're looking for a fast read that won't make you think too hard, Amped is the way to go.

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