Veracity

Nov 05, 2012 Brian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Veracity is a book that should've narrowed its scope. I need to say that first, but before I say anything negative, let me tell you about all the positives.

First, the setting is fantastic. It's another dystopian future (this time the former United States) after a Pandemic that left the Confederation and President in charge. The main means of control comes from the chips implanted in everyone that will electrocute and immediately inform the authorities (Blue Coats) if the person speaks a Red List...more Veracity is a book that should've narrowed its scope. I need to say that first, but before I say anything negative, let me tell you about all the positives.

First, the setting is fantastic. It's another dystopian future (this time the former United States) after a Pandemic that left the Confederation and President in charge. The main means of control comes from the chips implanted in everyone that will electrocute and immediately inform the authorities (Blue Coats) if the person speaks a Red Listed word like "rebellion" or "freedom" and so forth.

The nature of controlling language to control the populace is the central idea of this book and in that regard it works remarkably well. The protagonist, Harper, is simply ignorant of so many words because she's never heard them before. Her learning all these banned words and their meanings is a great way of showing her growth.

Her ability to "sense" people's feelings as a visual spectrum of colors is also a really cool idea, albeit one that I thought was initially superfluous at the beginning. Luckily this is more fleshed out and relative to the plot as I thought I would've preferred it given its own book when I first read about it.

The only real problem I had with the book is that it crammed in unnecessary details that hurt the story on the whole. The two most glaring ones (spoilers) were the "love story" and the traitor. For the former, there is absolutely no chemistry between Harper and Gage. Other than the fact that he is a male character her age...they have nothing in common. This is especially glaring given how many times Harper's mentioned that the Confederation isn't interested in banning all forms of sex, only love. Not that I think she needed a female love interest, but it seemed weird to have such an unnecessary male one if you're going to harp on how homosexual love is taboo but the sex isn't.

Perhaps it was meant to be a set up for a future book, but everything wraps up so tidy at the end, it's a wonder there was need for a rebellion at all. As I'm going along, I'm remembering more things I had issues with but I'll go in order.

The traitor was a waste of space. The identity of the traitor was immediately obvious to anyone. If Harper as the narrator is going into detail about this one character who didn't want to be there keeps acting suspicious...and then is surprised to find out that he/she was the traitor? That's just dumb. This subplot didn't really do anything than waste space and make Harper seem really idiotic. It'd be one thing if a trustworthy (seemingly) character turned out to be a turncoat, but to make the obvious choice for a traitor the traitor? It's pointless.

Another superfluous addition was Harper losing her sense powers for no reason only to magically gain them back in time to fulfill her goal. There was no sense of tension about this because you knew she'd get them back just in the nick of time. It would've been better to show her struggling as she had been already without the unnecessary (tired of that word yet?) addition of her losing her powers for a time.

Also as I said, the book ends very abruptly. After some fighting...the war is over. Now a quick revolution is interesting, but after all the hype that went into setting it up, it seems...fake. I realize Harper was needed to deactivate the main chip controller device, but the reason why Big Brother in 1984 was so menacing was because it was everywhere and undefeatable.

Don't get me wrong; by no means do I desire all dystopian settings to remain bleak and hopeless. I love the triumph and the restoration of freedom. I just like it to be earned, or at least, show some of what the world is like now. There was tons of talk underground of who would take what position, SHOW THAT.

The ending with Veracity was obvious and a nice bookend, but it would've been better to show the world, rather than more of Gage's forced romanticism.

2/3s of this book is fantastic. The setting and the concept are great; it just falls apart near the end with mounted weight of unwarranted and unnecessary additions that only fill up a page quota without adding anything to a good story.(less)

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Sep 09, 2011 Emily Park rated it 4 of 5 stars

Set in 2045, the not-too-distant future, the story here revolves around a small resistance group attempting to overthrow the totalitarian government that now controls America. After a disease wipes out half of the country's population in 2012, the federal government gradually expands its power over the people to the point where America is no longer recognizable. Every citizen is implanted with a transmitting device, called a slate. The slate transmits every word ever spoken by that citizen to a...more Set in 2045, the not-too-distant future, the story here revolves around a small resistance group attempting to overthrow the totalitarian government that now controls America. After a disease wipes out half of the country's population in 2012, the federal government gradually expands its power over the people to the point where America is no longer recognizable. Every citizen is implanted with a transmitting device, called a slate. The slate transmits every word ever spoken by that citizen to a central facility, where monitors listen in on every conversation and search for forbidden words. Forbidden words are placed on Red Lists by the government, and whenever a person speaks a forbidden word, they receive a sharp shock in their neck from their slate. If they speak one of the extra bad words, the Blue Coats (government police) come for them, and they are never seen again. Using these methods, the government eliminates entire concepts from the public consciousness. Examples of forbidden words: apostasy, discriminate, ego, fossil, heresy, kindred, obstreperous, offline, veracity. Other small changes are hinted at throughout the book... for example, Washington, D.C. is now known as Wernthal. The President is simply referred to as "President", without the definite article. There is no Congress. The government spends much of its time vilifying a semi-mythical object known as the Book of Noah, supposedly the book that guides the resistance.

The majority of the book follows a woman named Harper Adams. Harper occupies an extremely elite position in the new hierarchy. She is a Senior Monitor, the second highest ranked individual in the country, responsible for monitoring the nation's speech. She also has special abilities, allowing her to read the moods and intentions of people. Harper can see people's "colors", which allows her to know if they're lying, in pain, angry, etc. Because the government's control is so complete and their brainwashing so effective, Harper never really questions her way of life. Sometimes she is disturbed by the brutality of the punishments dealt out to the non-compliant, but she never strays until her best friend, the highest ranked Senior Monitor, is caught working for the resistance. Her friend is killed, and her friend's daughter dies a brutal death. The final straw comes when her daughter's name, Veracity, is added to the Red List. Harper eventually goes to work for the resistance, where she is introduced to strange new concepts like culture, democracy, freedom, etc.

I enjoyed reading this book, with a few drawbacks. I was very interested in the central concept of the book, that by eliminating key words from a population's vocabulary, you can also eliminate whole ideas and concepts. Quite an ingenious way of controlling a population! The rhetoric employed by the government was really unsettling, simply because I can see how effective such speeches could be on a population that knows nothing of free choice. I liked many of the key characters in the book, and the most important ones were fairly well fleshed-out, though some of the secondary characters did seem pretty flat. There were a few pretty interesting surprises, including some of the liberties the government had taken with the nation's history. Also, when we finally get around to seeing the Book of Noah, that's a pretty interesting part as well.

The biggest issue with this book was probably in the explanatory story telling. I never really understood how Harper's special abilities worked, or how certain individuals developed them. My first guess was that the abilities were a result of the Pandemic that wiped out half the population, but that turned out to be an incorrect guess, and it was never really explained. I guess at some point in the near future, humanity will spontaneously evolve so that a few individuals can see energy colors and project their consciousness out to buildings hundreds of miles away. Alright, then. My second complaint is that the ending was muddled. I'm still not really sure what happened, because everything happened pretty fast.

In the end, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed books like 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale.(less)

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Mar 25, 2011 Bookspread rated it 2 of 5 stars

Veracity picks up right after the Pandemic, and follows the life of Harper Adams, who was six years old at the time and was a pretty special kid – she could see auras. This gift is greatly coveted in her world, and as soon as she finishes high school she is recruited to become a Sentient Monitor, a special surveyor of all the atrocities that the Blue Coats, the police enforcement body, commit in the name of order. Harper Adams is Special with a big capital S from the beginning, and she knows it,...more

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Sep 04, 2010 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Oh boy is this a great dystopian read! Me likey! Me likey!

I’ll start with one of the book’s strongest assets — the world that surrounds Harper and residents forced to live under the oppressive power of The Confederation of the Willing. It takes particular skill to create a place in space and time that has both a futuristic and old rustic feel at once and Bynum has that magical touch in spades. On one hand we have the majority of the populace living in what appears to be some sort of containment...more Oh boy is this a great dystopian read! Me likey! Me likey!

I’ll start with one of the book’s strongest assets — the world that surrounds Harper and residents forced to live under the oppressive power of The Confederation of the Willing. It takes particular skill to create a place in space and time that has both a futuristic and old rustic feel at once and Bynum has that magical touch in spades. On one hand we have the majority of the populace living in what appears to be some sort of containment bubble where technology reigns supreme. They’re being implanted, watched and having their every syllable monitored. Then on the other we see the Wastelands, which to me felt a little bit like the old wild west, a dust bowl where no life exists. Dark and grimy — outlaw country if you will.

One of the central themes in Veracity focuses on blind love and trust. The story was filled with circumstances that forced Harper and those around her to keep secrets and build intense relationships in short periods of time. I didn’t not anticipate nor expect that an abundance of attention would be paid to creating backstory or character development between Harper and these characters particularly given the story’s focus on her as the heroine and her role within the saga of The Book of Noah. One of the main reasons this wasn’t an issue for me is my belief that in such intense situations (such as those Harper encounters) people tend to bond quickly.

I fully expected that Harper would be devoted without question to Veracity (her daughter) above all else, that is, after all, what motherhood is. The fact that there wasn’t an over abundance of time spent in exploration of their relationship was neither a shock nor a detriment for me as a reader. In fact I think that choice made the story better. Keeping Veracity at arms length made Harper a person readers were able to root for. I wanted desperately to see her succeed and to ultimately be reunited with her daughter. It gave meaning to the fight and the potential for a reward if won.

The plot surrounding The Book of Noah was quite intriguing. It was at it’s most interesting towards the end when the secrets surrounding it’s true role was revealed. I had an idea of how the current regime was built around censorship but it was through the resistance that I truly learned about the culture and history of The Book. It was at that point that I had that “aha” moment and everything fell right into place. It was not at all what I expected it to be and I adored both the revelation as well as the effects it had on the story from the very start (even if I didn’t realize it at the time). I even found myself going back through events to find clues that led me in that particular direction.

Where did I struggle most? All the numbers. The Confederation had a very clear structure of punishment for it’s constituency each of which was designated by a number. When catching a criminal Blue Coats (The Confederation’s police/military force) would call out numbers and perform horrifying actions against perpetrators in punishment. There were so many numbers flying at different points that I found myself wondering what they all meant. Of course, to delve into each it would take an extraordinary amount of time so I understand why it wasn’t focussed on so much, but man, I was still super curious.

There was a good deal of thought provoking material in Veracity. Conversations could certainly be had about faith and hope, friendship and love, loyalty, oppression, resistance, humanity and a host of other interesting topics. I could see this being a really great book club book, one I don’t believe there would garner any shortage of opinions or lack issues to focus on.

In the end, in case you didn’t already get the idea, I really enjoyed this book. Though it started out a bit slow, it ultimately turned into an action packed story that compelled me to avoid putting it down. It was definitely right up my alley. I strongly encourage you all to pick it up and read it, most particularly those who enjoy dystopian fare.(less)

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Jul 24, 2010 Taracuda rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 11, 2010 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

Veracity takes place in the near future, in a world that has been overtaken by fear... fear of censorship.. fear of tyranny.. fear of just about everything. The novel centers around Harper who has the interesting ability to sense people's thoughts and feelings through color auras. While it is easy to suspend belief in regards to Harper, sadly I had a harder time doing this for much of the rest of the novel.

The world that Bynum has created has the potential to be amazing, but there are elements t...more

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May 29, 2010 Kristi (Books and Needlepoint) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs

Let me start by saying I loved this book! I read it very quickly and put all other books aside while I was reading this one. (And if you read my blog you will see that I tend to read more than one book at a time. . .) The story was told by Harper and it went back and forth from the 2020's to the present - 2045. The world as we know it is gone. It was wiped out by a Pandemic when Harper was six and she was taken from her parents and placed with a new set. She was told that her parents did not sur...more Let me start by saying I loved this book! I read it very quickly and put all other books aside while I was reading this one. (And if you read my blog you will see that I tend to read more than one book at a time. . .) The story was told by Harper and it went back and forth from the 2020's to the present - 2045. The world as we know it is gone. It was wiped out by a Pandemic when Harper was six and she was taken from her parents and placed with a new set. She was told that her parents did not survive. It was at this age that she had her slate put in. The slate recorded everything that she said, did, where she went and kept her from saying any red listed words. All books were destroyed, as well as art. -- Can you imagine living in a world with books?? I love the sentence on the cover of the book - The only thing more dangerous than the spoken word is silence.

From even before the Pandemic Harper knew that she had "gifts". She could see people's auras, sometimes able to tell what they were thinking/feeling based on these colors. She could also travel outside her body. As a senior she is chosen to be a part of the Monitor program -- even though she does what she can to stay out of it. She is groomed over the years to become the Alpha Sentient. From what I can gather, she was over all the Monitors and made the call on whether a red-listed word was used on purpose. (For example - if a baby who was just learning to talk actually said a word when they were babbling. . .) The Blue Coats would carry out the punishment to those who used these words - and these punishments were always harsh.

I sort of felt that Harper was just wandering through life, doing what she was told, but not actually taking control -- until she decides to make a break and leave for the Underground - to try to win back rights, some of which she did not even know existed. Even there she did not have the confidence in herself to think that she could do what it was required of her in order for the Resistance to win. For her daughter though, she knew she had to try.

I was really invested in this character very early on. I cannot tell you why other than she seemed like someone that I would like to know. She had a good heart, even with being able to see other's auras and tried to help when she could.
(less)

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Mar 11, 2010 David rated it 1 of 5 stars

Laura Bynum's Veracity was disappointing - I picked it up because of Elizabeth Moon's nice blurb, but it did not justify the expectations. The book reads like a cross between a realistic science fiction story and an allegory - imagine Michael Crichton writing A Handmaid's Tale or 1984, and you're in the right ballpark.

Sadly, Bynum is too reliant on taking the paths others have tread before her in this regard - the totalitarianism depicted is too precise: Orwell and Atwood leave the actual mecha...more

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Feb 19, 2010 Ziaria rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I knew instantly that I had to read it. I knew it had potential to be an exciting read. I wasn't let down. The synopsis says it is reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and after reading it I would have to agree.

Imagine living in a world where the penalty for saying something as simple as democracy could get you shot on site or tortured or worse. That's if you survive the shock the implant you have in your neck, gives you for saying t...more

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Jan 29, 2010 Jill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

I received Veracity as part of Pocket Books Blog Tours. At first I was a bit unsure about the book because I generally shy away from science fiction, but I really enjoyed this novel. It grabbed me right from the beginning and kept me wanting to read more up until the end. It may have appealed to me more because Harper, the main character, was a woman. I think some of the science fiction I have read in the past has had male main characters and I’ve had a more difficult time getting into them. The...more I received Veracity as part of Pocket Books Blog Tours. At first I was a bit unsure about the book because I generally shy away from science fiction, but I really enjoyed this novel. It grabbed me right from the beginning and kept me wanting to read more up until the end. It may have appealed to me more because Harper, the main character, was a woman. I think some of the science fiction I have read in the past has had male main characters and I’ve had a more difficult time getting into them. The book reminded me a bit of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire because the future that is portrayed is so controlled by the government. When I first started the novel the book it reminded me of was The Host by Stephanie Meyer, because of references to the future and a resistance movement.

It is hard to imagine a world without the freedoms that we enjoy today and the arts that we are accustomed to. Starting with the Pandemic in 2012 the government, for the protection of it’s citizens, starts monitoring all people with an electronic slate in their necks that records everything that is said by that person. Once again for the “protection” of all words are made Red Listed on a regular basis which means that to speak them will cause the person to be shocked by their slate and may lead to further punishment. Over the course of more than three decades thousands of words are lost as well as art, music, books and entertainment. There is one TV channel that just airs government news, no music, no books except how to manuals, no paper for writing, no movies. For entertainment there are bars and there are government sanctioned prostitutes. People do not choose their careers, the government places them where they believe they will do best. The police force, The Blue Coats, enforce very harsh and cruel punishments for offenses and there are no judges or juries. Worse still, since it has been this way for more than 30 years and many of the original population were killed off during the Pandemic, most people do not have any idea of what they are really missing.

Harper has special skills, she can see auras and travel without her body. She can see inside people and tell if they are sick, know their emotions from their colors and can sense answers to questions posed to them. She is a Monitor and is charged with watching files of people who use red listed words or get into other types of trouble with the government. She is recruited by the resistance to work with them to take down the current government.

Seeing all these people go through to fight for their freedom brought to mind some of my own questions about our current freedom and how much people in general may be taking it for granted. The book got me thinking and made this alternate reality very realistic and believable. I think Laura Bynum did a great job with this novel and I hope to see more books written by her in the future. I am very glad I had the chance to review this novel because on my own I am not sure that I would have come across this one.(less)

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Jan 17, 2010 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, dystopian

At the age of six, Harper Adams lost her parents, her home - her entire world in a mass pandemic caused by an act of terrorism. In the aftermath of confusion and panic, a new government called the Confederation of the Willing took control of the country. No longer willing to allow people to self-govern, the state demands each person receive an implant called the Slate which records every word and action a person makes. If a person even dares to speak a banned or Red-Listed word, the Slate will d...more At the age of six, Harper Adams lost her parents, her home - her entire world in a mass pandemic caused by an act of terrorism. In the aftermath of confusion and panic, a new government called the Confederation of the Willing took control of the country. No longer willing to allow people to self-govern, the state demands each person receive an implant called the Slate which records every word and action a person makes. If a person even dares to speak a banned or Red-Listed word, the Slate will deliver an immediate electric shock along with a none too subtle reminder of the state's control. If this weren't enough to keep the populace subdued and complacent, the government also relies on a brutal police force called the Blue Coats whose punishment is swift and often deadly.

Harper has become a different sort of tool in the hands of the government. Somewhat psychic, she has always been able to read people's emotions and is now used as a Monitor to determine guilt or innocence. But Harper has seen enough corruption to know it is time to stop the oppressive government and is more than ready when an underground resistance movement recruiter makes contact. Fueled by the memory of her lost daughter, whose name is now a Red-Listed word, Harper willingly joins the Resistance knowing it just might cost her everything but it also might give her more than she ever imagined.

For me, dystopian books may as well be classified as 'Book Crack' as I tend devour them without hesitation. Although the various dystopian books I've come across vary in terms of suspense, I found myself almost shuddering at the harsh reality of Harper's world. In the vein of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Veracity is a dark and fearful reminder of the power of knowledge and the lengths a government will go to keep its citizens repressed. I also couldn't help but be reminded of M.T. Anderson's chilling book Feed, in which everyone has a computer implanted in their brain at birth.

At it's core, Veracity is a book that explores the power of words. How they allow us expression and understanding and how censorship destroys that basic freedom. I couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow as Harper confessed to ignorance of common words I so dearly love: music, poem, community, painting and so many others. Although quite dark, I was impressed with Harper's interactions with the Resistance and their struggle to restore knowledge through the fabled Book of Noah. (less)

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Jan 17, 2010 Gaby rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, literary-fiction, sci-fi, technothriller, thriller

A work of dystopic fiction set in the recent future, Veracity paints a picture of a people decimated by a pandemic. The remaining population is ruled by a totalitarian regime that has gone beyond limited personal freedoms. The government controls nearly all aspects of behavior, but most noticeably, the use of language. By blacklisting or "Red Listing" words from the population's vocabulary, the government erases the ideas behind the words from the collective culture. The criminalization of these...more

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Oct 31, 2012 Jade McDonough rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian, science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Let me just start off by saying that I really wanted to like this book. It has an amazing concept and I'm pretty much a sucker for Dystopian Futures. I'm such a sucker that it's really hard to mess it up for me.
The problem with this book isn't necessarily the over detailed technology of this future, like I read in some reviews. I actually kind of enjoyed that aspect of it. The concept is golden: Certain words are red listed and will cause a plate in the back of your neck to short out and potenti...more Let me just start off by saying that I really wanted to like this book. It has an amazing concept and I'm pretty much a sucker for Dystopian Futures. I'm such a sucker that it's really hard to mess it up for me.
The problem with this book isn't necessarily the over detailed technology of this future, like I read in some reviews. I actually kind of enjoyed that aspect of it. The concept is golden: Certain words are red listed and will cause a plate in the back of your neck to short out and potentially kill you. Words have the power to carry ideas and when you're brainwashing an entire society, you find a way for them to not say them. Harper, the main character, is a sentient (or psychic) so they use her to find potential threats. The relationship between Harper and her daughter, Veracity, is done well, if obviously. Wanting to join up with a resistance based on the fact you can't say your daughter's name anymore making you realize how much society's given up. It's an exceptionally well written book. When you're dealing with a book about language, having someone with a firm grasp on it is definitely a plus. These are the good points and cover about the first half of the book.
Now the bad:
The main thing that killed this novel for me was the interpersonal relationships between Harper and everyone who wasn't her daughter. The relationships develop in ways that just don't make any sense whatsoever. She's in love with John who she initially hated. I can't figure out why, other than the author apparently felt that some kind of love story was desperately needed. Personally, the story would have been better without it. Her friendship with Ezra is no less mystifying. Ezra can't stand her and says she's the worst kind of whore. And then she's doing Harper's makeup. Um, kay?
The other problem for me was that it beat you over the head with the concept that this is clearly a post 9/11 metaphor. The Pandemic and the resulting control used over the population are clearly about 9/11 and the Patriot Act. Which is all and good, but by the sixth time you've gone into detail about it, I promise you the slowest reader has gotten it. Or if they haven't they're not going to.
There's also the whole way the war goes about. Call it a flaw in me, but the good guys have no business winning in a dystopian future. It takes away from the fear of it happening and the general air of hopelessness that tend to permeate the stories. But I'll give that part is just me.(less)

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Jul 17, 2012 Fil Correia rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia

The big plus about this novel is that Harper Adams feels like a real person; with conflicting emotions, doubts, some irrational behavior and, most importantly, clear motivation for her actions. The rest of the cast (the inspirational leader, the evil villain, the bad-ass secondary character…), unfortunately, seems cookie-cutter at best but taken all together they are acceptable.

The police state Bynum describes is terrifying and uses fear liberally in order to keep its citizens under its heel, ef...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Jennww2ns rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 3-fiction, dystopian

5 stars for potential but only 2 for execution. I REALLY wanted to like this book but there were just too many flaws.
My major beef with this book is that Bynum introduces words or concepts but doesn't explain them for another 2 or 3 chapters at which point, I realize, "Wait... I think I read something about that." and then have to flip back to find it.
As well, there are small inconsistencies such as a woman putting on thigh-high stockings but then she "springs off the sofa, her nylons a tether b...more

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Jul 01, 2012 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

This book explores a dystopia in which words themselves are obliterated from a nation's vocabulary. The premise is that when one takes away the vocabulary, one limits the thinking. In this world, the philosophy works like a charm. Citizens are equipped with "slates" from a very early age, and the government monitors every word out of their mouths. Some utterances will shock the person, but truly awful words can result in your execution...or worse. Blue Coats (police) are allowed to declare your...more This book explores a dystopia in which words themselves are obliterated from a nation's vocabulary. The premise is that when one takes away the vocabulary, one limits the thinking. In this world, the philosophy works like a charm. Citizens are equipped with "slates" from a very early age, and the government monitors every word out of their mouths. Some utterances will shock the person, but truly awful words can result in your execution...or worse. Blue Coats (police) are allowed to declare your punishment at the scene of the crime, and this can include torture, rape, and many other unsavory actions.

In this world, people are anesthetized to what's really going on because the government has made a lot of "recreational" activities widely available and inexpensive. Plus they manufacture a happy drug that's legal and encouraged. Because people are numbed and have no way of expressing many of the more negative things they feel, they just kind of trudge ahead. As new generations are born and enter into the slate, the national school system, etc. the past of free thinking and uncensored language becomes more and more distant.

Harper, the main character, is a special woman. Known as a sentient, she sees auras and is quite a bit like what we generally call a psychic. She can also leave her body and find things. Because of her talents, life is pretty good. She has one of the top jobs in the nation and many fringe benefits as a result of her occupation. The most important thing to her, however, is her daughter Veracity. Things are all good until the word "veracity" appears on a government "do not speak" list and she is forced to change her name. This point is the catalyst for Harper joining up with the resistance and learning the truth behind everything she ever knew...and learning to use her powers in a much different way.

The development of Harper's character is really good. She's a strong woman, but needs a lot of help from various people throughout the book to realize her potential and tap into her self-empowerment. (less)

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Sep 06, 2011 Jacki Potratz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

Harper survives a viral terrorist attack referred to as the Pandemic which wiped out one-third of the population. Going back and forth between the 2020's to the present – 2045 she details a new government dedicated to suppressing resistance by electronically monitoring people via a slate embedded in the back of their necks. The slates record everything a person says, does and where they go—they also keep people from using Red Listed words.
Harper is a sentient, she can see people’s auras and know...more

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Jun 19, 2011 Chrissi Jackson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Veracity was an intriguing dystopian story centering around the life of Harper Adams. The author had a great vision for a story, and her development of the society and the government was quite strong.

I wish that the character development and relationship development between some of the key characters would have been stronger, though. Particularly the link between Harper and John Gage...I wanted to feel it more than I did. My other problem with the story was the author's decision to skip around...more

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Nov 19, 2010 Stacy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-books

Hmmm... if it weren't for the writing style this book could have been way better. The premise is very interesting, especially from someone who loves to read. It's a post-apocolyptic book where "Big Brother" dictates what can be said and how to live. The characters are pretty likeable. The writing style is confusing though. The author jumps around a timeline that spans from 2012 to 2045. If she even just jumped to different years I could handle it but one chapter would take place in May 2045 and...more

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Aug 09, 2011 marg rated it 1 of 5 stars

Two things I want to say to Laura Bynum - 1. Huh??? and 2. I hope YOU understood this book because I sure didn't.
This was the dystopian story we all read, done better, in school - world taken over by crazy people, thoughts and speech heavily censored, small uprising of brave souls who can't take it anymore, blah blah blah. The difference is that those other books did it well. I want to shake the jerks on the back of the book who had the nerve to liken this work to 1984 or the Handmaid's Tale. S...more

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Jan 09, 2011 Bruce Sanders rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book remind's one of The Handmaid's Tale, but poorly done. I did not like the esp side of the book. The resistance that could simultaneously mobilize thousands yet worried not in the slightest about moles did not really make any sense. It was both amateurish and over the top capable. Same with the police state. A police state that was ludicrously brutal and pervasive and at the same time incompetent in hunting down the resistance or escapees was not remotely realistic. The redaction machine...more

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Jan 22, 2010 Mary (BookHounds) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: from-publisher-author, 2010-book-challenge

The world revolves around words and this post apocalypic story really reminded me a great deal of 1984 in that the certain words are forbidden. I felt that parts of this book already are true because of the political correctness that the world is facing today and how words can be used as weapons. This is a good spooky tale and perfect for a rainy day read in front of a fireplace. I think what makes it so scary is that elements of this fantasy are happening today.

Overall this is an excellent scie...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Kristina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wow, What a book! Have you heard the term "big brother is watching you?" If you have and you've thought about it then this is a book too read. Conspiracy theory anyone; have you ever thought of that?
Well then check out "Veracity", it's a scary book to read and makes you grateful to live in a world where we can make our own choices! have you ever wondered what it would be like to have everything you ever do or say monitored? To be punished for saying a WORD that others think is wrong?
This book...more

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Apr 07, 2010 Jaime rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, suspense-thriller, dystopia

This book contains all the elements of the typical dystopian story set in a totalitarian society. Critics may call this derivative, but I call it hitting the marks. I was completely immersed within the first chapter and didn't resurface until the final page. That doesn't mean it's flawless, however. Some people may find it irksome to jump around in time with the narrative (though it didn't bother me; in fact, I liked it), and readers will need to gloss over inconsistencies such as those involvin...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Marsha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature-fiction, science-fiction-speculative-fiction

The world is a dystopian nightmare, where saying the wrong word can get you literally killed. Ms. Bynum convincingly gives us this fascistic regime, a world of legalized prostitution to quiet the masses and government sanctioned mutants used to fish out and destroy the rebellious. But the rebellion lives on and the struggle to take back a language stripped more and more of its words is laid out in precise terms. The author plays expertly on current fears, twanging the nerves and forcing us to ta...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Evilynn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, dystopia

By all rights, this should be right up my alley, there's some linguistic theory geekery and I do like a good dystopia, and I am known to be partial for weird structures, but there is something missing for me. It's a little clunky, some things are a little rushed, there are some instances of telling instead of showing, and then showing a couple of chapters later, and there's a little too much causal Christianity involved for my tastes. And then there is the persistent geek voice in me saying: "Bu...more

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Jun 14, 2010 Sarah Sammis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed, read-in-2010

Veracity takes place in the near future in a dystopian society that becomes frightenly familiar as the novel progresses. Science fiction is built on a solid foundation of social commentary and the dystopian subgenre holds true to that tradition. By taking the worst pieces of modern society to extremes a novel can provoke discussion on those very flaws. It's not so much about how plausible is the imagined future as how much of ourselves can we see reflected in this society?

The first person heroin...more

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Feb 07, 2011 Sheila rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: apocalyptic-or-dystopian

A dystopian novel, set in the year 2045, world where half the population has been wiped out by a virus, and people are kept from speaking "red listed" words by slates implanted in their necks. The story was interesting, though the constant flipping back and forth in time tended to get a bit confusing. Thankfully each chapter had a date at the top, so I could try to keep track of what was happening. One thing that I didn't understand though was how so many people had sentient powers, and it was n...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Bridget rated it 5 of 5 stars

Half of humanity has met it's end. When this happens, a six year old named Harper is adjusting to a new way of life. The government now holds more control than ever before.

Some have decided to stand up to the powers that be, but the cost can be deadly. Following the "Book of Noah", they try to get others to join them in an attempt for freedom. Harper has grown into a woman and she is devastated by the death of her little girl at the hands of the government. She joins this resistance holding the...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

While it had an interesting premise, based on the power of words, it would have benefited from a far more subtle treatment of how, if you don't complain about the loss of small freedoms, society can quickly become a totalitarian regime that believes rape and torture are acceptable forms of official punishment. Instead, we have a wise old rebel explicitly outlining the progression for the slower members of the class. Also, the protagonist's feelings for her recruiter go from zero to 100 in about...more

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title link	preview: Veracity
avg rating	preview: Veracity Goodreads rating: 3.50 (365 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6846037-veracity?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347961333l/6846037.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6846037-veracity?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Veracity by Laura Bynum[/url]

Veracity

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