An Okay Technothriller
Story: 3 out of 5 stars
Narration: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 3.5 stars
I love a good technothriller and this one sounded promising, but unfortunately, it fell kind of flat. This is more focused on the characters journey and didn’t really show any of the things I was hoping. The basic premise of the plot is that some sort of robotic apocalypse happened and anyone connected to the Neruoweb became zombie-like. Aaron never connected to the Neuroweb and his free will remains intact. He thinks he’s the only one but he meets a girl like him, and now both of them are on the run from the things controlling the Neuroweb.
The majority of the book focuses on Aaron and Hadas and their journey. We never get any information on how the apocalypse came to be. I felt like there wasn’t any world building and it left me with an awful lot of questions. Usually, book 1 is setting up the world but we get no sense of what happened or why. Plus there isn’t a lot of interaction between the kids and the Neuroweb. There are a small few fight scenes but I wanted more.
Aaron and Hadas aren’t the best characters to connect to. I did like them but didn’t love them. Everything came easy enough for them because power was still working and they had food, water, and shelter. I’m hoping that they grow a lot more in the second book because they became quite stagnant here and there was zero character growth.
Still, I did end up finishing the book and liked it well enough to give it 3 stars. On finishing the story, the first thing that came to mind about the story was that it was forgettable, and that was disappointing for me. I will probably pick up book 2 in the hopes that there are answers in it but it won’t be high on my list.
Andrew B. Wehrlen read this really well and was able to keep my attention even when I was bored. He had plenty of tones and voices for the characters and was able to bring the story alive.
Book Description:
Human Element by AJ Powers
Narrator: Andrew B. Wehrlen
Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
Published by Self Published on October 29th 2018
Genres: Science Fiction, Technothriller
Humanity volunteered for its own demise.
The Neuroweb began as the greatest invention since written language. A simple brain implant allowed the user to access information, entertainment, and even pain relief. The Neuroweb was the beginning of a golden age for mankind....
Until it was compromised. Everyone with the implant lost his or her most important commodity: free will. The collective human consciousness was hacked and is now directed by artificial intelligence. Only those without the Neuroweb have a chance of resisting...if they dare.
Aaran has legitimate reason to believe he's the last free-thinking human alive. After his family was killed in the purge, he fled for his life. Now, he aimlessly wanders through the suburbs of Cincinnati alone, desperate to find a reason to live.
When he meets a girl like him - another free thinker - they search together for a cause worth fighting for. Worth dying for.
I received this book for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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