My rating: 🌟🌟🌟 (3 stars)
Publisher: Abbadon (May 2019)
I was so excited to read this from the summary description but I have to say that it was a bit of a disappointment. The opening immediately pulled me in and made for a scary world that Amanda inhabits and her place in it is on the cusp of peril. All things were great as she receives what Tangle's sent her and her meeting Tatsu, a contracted AI helper and the story is well on its way.
Unfortunately, around the 30% mark things started to feel a bit mired down for me and that didn't resolve until the back 20%, so ultimately I enjoyed about half of the book. I wanted more at the very end as the build up was very good and I felt deprived at not hearing what Amanda would next say. Tatsu was easily my favourite character. The world-building was a bit choppy and felt more like a sketch of familiar things as opposed to a solid place this story was grounded in and the social commentary info dumps didn't help. The social credit score really got my attention in the book summary (because China) but ultimately was just a great hook not a prime mover in the story.
Many thanks to the publisher for the Advanced Reader's Copy
Summary: Tense tech-thriller based on the growing role of blockchains, encryption and social media in society.
Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
Yesterday, Amanda Back’s life was flawless: the perfect social credit score, the perfect job, the perfect home.
Today, Amanda is a target, an enemy of the system holding information dangerous enough to disrupt the world’s all-consuming tech – a fugitive on the run.
But in a world where an un-hackable blockchain links everyone and everything, there is nowhere to run…
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