A Book A Week

Daniel H. Wilson arrived to the novel scene with last year's inventive tale, "Robopocalypse". Combining a well thought out story with factual information (Wilson has a PhD in robotics), Wilson debuted a highly entertaining novel that earned critical and financial success. The film rights to the novel were even obtained by director Steven Spielberg. With fond memories of my time spent with his previous novel, I began reading "Amped" with high expectations.

In this sophomore novel, Wilson imagines a future in which humans have used technology to enhance their physical and mental abilities, creating a multitude of amplified humans (amps). Owen Gray, a high school teacher, is a medical amp. He was implanted with a device at a young age to help control his seizures. While Owen is a pretty straightforward amp, other humans have been amped to such a high level that normal humans fear them. Fueled by the zealous persuasion of Senator Joseph Vaughn, the Supreme Court passes laws that differentiate the rights of Amps from those of regular people (Reggies).

We abruptly learn that Owen's father, who was a lead scientist in the development of Amps, added another element to Owen's implant, one that gives him superhuman characteristics of the highest degree. Set on learning more about himself and on helping gain equal rights for all humans, Owen heads to an Amp refuge in Oklahoma, where he is forced to decide which side of the battle to fight on, and to dig deep inside of himself for the sake of humanity.

I was extremely disappointed by this novel. At only 288 pages, the whole narrative felt extremely rushed, and the characters were not given enough time for development. I was reminded of a similar novel, "Toys" by James Patterson, in which a man finds out that he is not what he thinks and is thrust into a battle between enhanced and regular humans. I can't believe that I actually enjoyed the Patterson novel more that this one. Overall, "Amped" lacks the technical reality, emotionally drawn characters, and unique concept that made "Robopocalypse" a success. Without these components, we are left with a subpar story that moves to an inevitable ending.

For more information, visit the author's website http://www.danielhwilson.com/,
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/review/RWPS79LTAMCI3/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm,
and http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12678461-amped.

(week 31, book 35)

James Patterson thrusts readers to the distant future in his novel, Toys. The year is 2061. Hays Baker is an Elite, a kind of enhanced superhuman, genetically and mechanically engineered to be a superior being of the world. We learn that Elites are the ruling class of society, controlling all government, medicine, and commerce. While humans still exist, they are left to fill the service rolls of society (waste collection, janitorial jobs, etc.) and live in the poverty stricken outskirts of the new cities, which have replaced the big cities of old.

Hays, along with his wife Lizbeth, is a senior agent for the Agency of Change. After the success of an important mission, they are called to meet with the President, and Elite named Hughes Jacklin. During this meeting, they are tasked with assisting in the most important mission of their career... destroying the human race!

On their ride home, the couple is attacked by a band of misfit humans. Narrowly escaping the humans, Hays plans to relax with his wife and two young daughters, but he is instead called to the popular Toyz store where a gruesome murder has taken place. While chasing a human suspect, Hays suffers a near fatal fall on the job and learns that he is not who he thinks he is. Suddenly shunned by every person he knows, Hays is forced to rediscover his identity and decide who to trust before the world changes forever.

The quality of Patterson's recent novels and the fact that he employs a co-author (Neil McMahon assists with this one) has come under considerable criticism lately. Despite these criticisms, I really enjoyed this book. I was ready to write this off as a ridiculous attempt at a futuristic thriller, but found that I couldn't stop reading it. Patterson's attention to a driving plot, really helps this story move along, but doesn't allow for much character development. Normally, this would cause me to find the characters one-dimensional, but in this futuristic setting, I get the feeling that these "robotic" characters add to the overall intention of the story. Hays sees many of his relationships explode before his eyes, but hardly seems to care. Overall, this is definitely not a masterpiece of literature, but is a fun way to spend the afternoon with a story from a master thriller writer.

For more information visit the author's website,
http://www.jamespatterson.com/, my Amazon review
http://www.amazon.com/review/R7IKU7KUNW8WW/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
and http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9129832-toys.

(week 12, book 13)