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Duplicity
A computer-hacking teen. The girl who wants to save him. And a rogue mirror reflection that might be the death of them both.
In private, seventeen-year-old Brandon hacks bank accounts just for the thrill of it. In public, he looks like any other tattooed bad boy with a fast car and devil-may-care attitude. He should know: he’s worked hard to maintain that façade. With inattentive parents who move constantly from city to city, he’s learned not to get tangled up in things like friends and relationships. So he’ll just keep living like a machine, all gears and wires.
Then two things shatter his carefully-built image: Emma, the kind, stubborn girl who insists on looking beneath the surface – and the small matter of a mirror reflection that starts moving by itself. Not only does Brandon’s reflection have a mind of its own, but it seems to be grooming him for something—washing the dye from his hair, yanking out his piercings, swapping his black shirts for … pastels. Then it tells him: it thinks it can live his life better, and it’s preparing to trade places.
And when it pulls Brandon through the looking-glass, not only will he need all his ill-gotten hacking skills to escape, but he’s going to have to face some hard truths about who he’s become. Otherwise he’ll be stuck in a digital hell until he’s old and gray, and no one will even know he's gone.
In private, seventeen-year-old Brandon hacks bank accounts just for the thrill of it. In public, he looks like any other tattooed bad boy with a fast car and devil-may-care attitude. He should know: he’s worked hard to maintain that façade. With inattentive parents who move constantly from city to city, he’s learned not to get tangled up in things like friends and relationships. So he’ll just keep living like a machine, all gears and wires.
Then two things shatter his carefully-built image: Emma, the kind, stubborn girl who insists on looking beneath the surface – and the small matter of a mirror reflection that starts moving by itself. Not only does Brandon’s reflection have a mind of its own, but it seems to be grooming him for something—washing the dye from his hair, yanking out his piercings, swapping his black shirts for … pastels. Then it tells him: it thinks it can live his life better, and it’s preparing to trade places.
And when it pulls Brandon through the looking-glass, not only will he need all his ill-gotten hacking skills to escape, but he’s going to have to face some hard truths about who he’s become. Otherwise he’ll be stuck in a digital hell until he’s old and gray, and no one will even know he's gone.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published March 17, 2015
About the author
N.K. Traver
1 book98 followersAs a freshman at the University of Colorado, N.K. Traver decided to pursue Information Technology because classmates said "no one could make a living" with an English degree. It wasn’t too many years later Traver realized it didn’t matter what the job paid—nothing would ever be as fulfilling as writing. Programmer by day, writer by night, it was only a matter of time before the two overlapped.
Traver's debut, DUPLICITY, a cyberthriller pitched as BREAKING BAD meets THE MATRIX for teens, is now available.
Traver's debut, DUPLICITY, a cyberthriller pitched as BREAKING BAD meets THE MATRIX for teens, is now available.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
April 1, 2015
I'll have to be honest here and say that this is a book you'll need to suspend a great amount of disbelief to take seriously. Not that I don't find cyberthrillers beyond the realm of feasibility! Of course they are and I find them extraordinarily fascinating in fact. One of the new battlegrounds we have today is the virtual space, as we find ourselves depending on technology at an exponential rate - from information to vital data to bank accounts and many more. Identity thefts happen, bank accounts get drained, scandalous videos appear occasionally to smear a hotshot name for a few days.
But come on, to have a program taunt you from mirrors that are somehow connected to the cyber space? (I mean, okay, that can be done, but the mirror from your everyday icky high school bathroom?! That's pushing it!) To have your consciousness transported to a server and a program without touching anything at all?! We're basically talking about SOULS here being transported into little 0s and 1s, because otherwise, how the fuck can you transport personalities, memories, and shit?! I can certainly suspend my disbelief if we're talking about paranormal stuff, but cyberspace things are in a whole different level because it's a field that is still fairly grounded to reality.
However, once you do suspend your disbelief (no matter how difficult it can be), you'd find that this book definitely has some potential. There are times the narration really shined, showcasing a kind of elusive yet aggressive character in Brandon who sounds like he has a lot of issues brimming inside him. He can be self-deprecating as well, making fun of himself and making me chuckle mayhaps once or twice. While that is the case, there were times his personality really bothered me, as he was shown to slut-shame certain girls (and his ex girlfriend, no less!) on a regular basis, even calling the girl who was confident enough in herself to initiate talking to him this way:
I mean, really? HOOKER HEELS? Pretty much every aggressive female contact he gets are labeled sluts and the only one who wasn't, who was worthy of his love and care and attention, the only one that doesn't get slut-shamed, is dainty Emma who is so sweet and fragile who probably cannot hurt a fly. The rest are hookers, y'all.
Taking into account the second half of the book as a separate entity, it was smooth sailing from then, and I found it a suspenseful and thrilling. It was interesting to see the world in a very limited view, although it took some time for me to understand how it was happening exactly... because his physical body was still in the physical world, so if his consciousness was only transported to the digital one, how the hell does he have a body, and why the hell would he be starving or would feel effects from drinking digital coca-cola or sugar drinks?! Yeah it was suspenseful, but there were way too many things about it that didn't make sense much to me, and as someone who actively thinks while reading a book, it was frustrating to keep asking this and not get any answers at all.
It's a decent book, if you not let certain things affect your reading experience. I'll still read book 2, though, just for curiosity's sake.
But come on, to have a program taunt you from mirrors that are somehow connected to the cyber space? (I mean, okay, that can be done, but the mirror from your everyday icky high school bathroom?! That's pushing it!) To have your consciousness transported to a server and a program without touching anything at all?! We're basically talking about SOULS here being transported into little 0s and 1s, because otherwise, how the fuck can you transport personalities, memories, and shit?! I can certainly suspend my disbelief if we're talking about paranormal stuff, but cyberspace things are in a whole different level because it's a field that is still fairly grounded to reality.
However, once you do suspend your disbelief (no matter how difficult it can be), you'd find that this book definitely has some potential. There are times the narration really shined, showcasing a kind of elusive yet aggressive character in Brandon who sounds like he has a lot of issues brimming inside him. He can be self-deprecating as well, making fun of himself and making me chuckle mayhaps once or twice. While that is the case, there were times his personality really bothered me, as he was shown to slut-shame certain girls (and his ex girlfriend, no less!) on a regular basis, even calling the girl who was confident enough in herself to initiate talking to him this way:
Suck factor one appears, predictably, in the form of Rachel Love, who's parked her yellow Cobalt at the far edge of the lot in anticipation of my arrival. I wheel the Z to the first row to avoid her. She can't trot across the pavement fast enough in her hooker heels to catch me before I push through the first doors.
I mean, really? HOOKER HEELS? Pretty much every aggressive female contact he gets are labeled sluts and the only one who wasn't, who was worthy of his love and care and attention, the only one that doesn't get slut-shamed, is dainty Emma who is so sweet and fragile who probably cannot hurt a fly. The rest are hookers, y'all.
Taking into account the second half of the book as a separate entity, it was smooth sailing from then, and I found it a suspenseful and thrilling. It was interesting to see the world in a very limited view, although it took some time for me to understand how it was happening exactly... because his physical body was still in the physical world, so if his consciousness was only transported to the digital one, how the hell does he have a body, and why the hell would he be starving or would feel effects from drinking digital coca-cola or sugar drinks?! Yeah it was suspenseful, but there were way too many things about it that didn't make sense much to me, and as someone who actively thinks while reading a book, it was frustrating to keep asking this and not get any answers at all.
It's a decent book, if you not let certain things affect your reading experience. I'll still read book 2, though, just for curiosity's sake.
September 9, 2016
I was lucky enough to get to read this book before publication, and I READ IT IN ONE NIGHT. Seriously, it is a majorly nail-biting page-turner. I could not put it down, no matter how sleepy I was!
I honestly haven't seen anything else quite like this out there. It's an original, beautifully-written, trope-busting cyberthriller, with totally non-stereotypical characters you will really root for, twists you will never see coming, and an unusual and clever hacker protagonist who often veers into anti-hero territory. I also found it refreshing to read a YA with a (very realistically-drawn) male main character for a change, where there's only a smidgen of romance on the side, and where family relationships and other friendships are just as important and perceptively portrayed.
The plot is action-filled and unpredictable, and when I say unpredictable, there was more than one place where I just stopped reading and yelled 'WHHAAAATT???' in the best possible way. It's also pretty damn scary in places, and pretty damn funny in other places.
I can't wait to see this come out as a book in 2015 - I'll definitely be buying copies for me and all my friends!
I honestly haven't seen anything else quite like this out there. It's an original, beautifully-written, trope-busting cyberthriller, with totally non-stereotypical characters you will really root for, twists you will never see coming, and an unusual and clever hacker protagonist who often veers into anti-hero territory. I also found it refreshing to read a YA with a (very realistically-drawn) male main character for a change, where there's only a smidgen of romance on the side, and where family relationships and other friendships are just as important and perceptively portrayed.
The plot is action-filled and unpredictable, and when I say unpredictable, there was more than one place where I just stopped reading and yelled 'WHHAAAATT???' in the best possible way. It's also pretty damn scary in places, and pretty damn funny in other places.
I can't wait to see this come out as a book in 2015 - I'll definitely be buying copies for me and all my friends!
April 5, 2015
***This review has also been posted on The Social Potato
Duplicity is a book I can easily classify as brain candy. I had a lot of issues with the book itself but the premise just made it so much fun to read about even if the main character and I didn’t get along at all.
This book is fantastically imagined and the fact that I am not a computer programmer and barely understand HTML, did not hinder my understanding. The author never left us technologically challenged people out of the loop (at least I felt that way) and gave explanations instead to make the whole idea behind the book seem more plausible (because it is a little bizarre at first and takes some getting used to).
Which is why this book was so fricking fun to read. I was already drawn in by the premise and hoped the book would blow my mind but sadly that did not happen.
My no.1 problem in this book appears to us in the form of a lovely (sarcasm) character named Brandon. Aka the main character. Aka a self-centered, attention seeking, asshole. It was just so ridiculously hard for me to take this guy seriously. He is kind of a sexist jerk, demeaning most of the girls around him except for his one true love. *gags*. I CANNOT. I was so enraged by some of the comments he made and the things he said. He is bad boy who acts the way he does, does the things he does, because he wants his parents to pay attention to him and he actually admits to this. Which just makes it impossibly hard for me to like him. I found myself wishing he would be more mature but he wasn’t and it bothered me. I went in expecting him to be some badass hacker and he is just a sad puppy of a hacker. I will say that he does undergo character development over the course of the book but it wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy me and make me want to forgive him.
My next problem was the romance. It was so unnecessary and random. I felt like if this book hadn’t had any romance in it, there would be so much more room for Brandon to evolve as a character and for there to just be more badassery within the book. It could revel in it’s own awesomeness instead of just being a shadow of what it could be.
The romance is your typical bad boy meets good girl and decides he cannot be with her because he isn’t good enough and cannot understand why the fuck she would like him (and in this case, I kind of agree!). My problems with the stereotype aside (oh how I don’t like it when people do a 180 in their personalities for someone), I think one of the reasons why I never bought the romance was because we never really got to see the relationship. We were told the sparks were already there but since we never really saw their romance develop it was just all kinds of weird and awkward to read about. Emma was also just not a good love interest. She was incredibly boring and she was kind of just there. We never saw enough of her for me to form any sort of emotional attachment to her.
My favorite character in this book was Seb. When Seb came onto the scene, I was torn between being creeped out and wanting to cheer Seb on. Basically, Seb is made of awesomeness. I loved the twists that came with their character and I enjoyed their creepiness. I enjoyed never knowing if Seb was pycho or not. I just really enjoyed reading about Seb. They made the book SO much more funner and definitely breathed some life into it!
The plot was also fantastically developed. It was fast paced and even when Brandon was bothering me, it gave me the will to continue flipping through the pages trying to get to the bottom of the mystery.
All in all, I think this was an okay read for me which makes me sad. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I had high expectations and went in expecting my mind to be blown away when that did not in fact happen. Many of the details amazed me but Brandon was such a hard main character to get behind that I found myself feeling withdrawn from a lot of the awesome happenings. So much could have been done with his character and it wasn’t and that made me sad.
I would recommend this if you are looking for a read to take your mind off of other books, or if you’re having a massive book hangover and just want something that is light and will encourage you to pick up more books.
Duplicity is a book I can easily classify as brain candy. I had a lot of issues with the book itself but the premise just made it so much fun to read about even if the main character and I didn’t get along at all.
This book is fantastically imagined and the fact that I am not a computer programmer and barely understand HTML, did not hinder my understanding. The author never left us technologically challenged people out of the loop (at least I felt that way) and gave explanations instead to make the whole idea behind the book seem more plausible (because it is a little bizarre at first and takes some getting used to).
Which is why this book was so fricking fun to read. I was already drawn in by the premise and hoped the book would blow my mind but sadly that did not happen.
My no.1 problem in this book appears to us in the form of a lovely (sarcasm) character named Brandon. Aka the main character. Aka a self-centered, attention seeking, asshole. It was just so ridiculously hard for me to take this guy seriously. He is kind of a sexist jerk, demeaning most of the girls around him except for his one true love. *gags*. I CANNOT. I was so enraged by some of the comments he made and the things he said. He is bad boy who acts the way he does, does the things he does, because he wants his parents to pay attention to him and he actually admits to this. Which just makes it impossibly hard for me to like him. I found myself wishing he would be more mature but he wasn’t and it bothered me. I went in expecting him to be some badass hacker and he is just a sad puppy of a hacker. I will say that he does undergo character development over the course of the book but it wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy me and make me want to forgive him.
My next problem was the romance. It was so unnecessary and random. I felt like if this book hadn’t had any romance in it, there would be so much more room for Brandon to evolve as a character and for there to just be more badassery within the book. It could revel in it’s own awesomeness instead of just being a shadow of what it could be.
The romance is your typical bad boy meets good girl and decides he cannot be with her because he isn’t good enough and cannot understand why the fuck she would like him (and in this case, I kind of agree!). My problems with the stereotype aside (oh how I don’t like it when people do a 180 in their personalities for someone), I think one of the reasons why I never bought the romance was because we never really got to see the relationship. We were told the sparks were already there but since we never really saw their romance develop it was just all kinds of weird and awkward to read about. Emma was also just not a good love interest. She was incredibly boring and she was kind of just there. We never saw enough of her for me to form any sort of emotional attachment to her.
My favorite character in this book was Seb. When Seb came onto the scene, I was torn between being creeped out and wanting to cheer Seb on. Basically, Seb is made of awesomeness. I loved the twists that came with their character and I enjoyed their creepiness. I enjoyed never knowing if Seb was pycho or not. I just really enjoyed reading about Seb. They made the book SO much more funner and definitely breathed some life into it!
The plot was also fantastically developed. It was fast paced and even when Brandon was bothering me, it gave me the will to continue flipping through the pages trying to get to the bottom of the mystery.
All in all, I think this was an okay read for me which makes me sad. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I had high expectations and went in expecting my mind to be blown away when that did not in fact happen. Many of the details amazed me but Brandon was such a hard main character to get behind that I found myself feeling withdrawn from a lot of the awesome happenings. So much could have been done with his character and it wasn’t and that made me sad.
I would recommend this if you are looking for a read to take your mind off of other books, or if you’re having a massive book hangover and just want something that is light and will encourage you to pick up more books.
May 8, 2019
This was a weird YA sci-fi with a definite cyberpunk vibe to it. The setting was contemporary but some sci-fi twists added the cyberpunk vibe. The story was a fast paced psychological sci-fi thriller that threw in a tad of romance.
Brandon is a 17 year old genius hacker with a self-destructive streak who suddenly finds his life turned upside down when someone hacks his computer and warns him to mend his ways. It only gets weirder from there as Brandon's own reflection begins to take on a life of its own and insists it could do a far better job living his life than he can!
The real success early in this story was the fact that it was impossible to tell if the things happening to Brandon were real or if the poor guy was just tipping into madness. I'd have preferred it if more focus had been given to that element of the story as the early stages of this one where Brandon was living in fear of mirror Brandon was really quite chilling and creepy! The twist when it came was pretty cool but it eliminated that psychological thriller aspect of the story and morphed it into more of an action thriller.
The characters were a strange bunch. I ended up liking most of them despite the fact that they are not the type of characters that usually catch my eye!
I felt like this book had some great ideas but that it fell just a tiny bit short of delivering on its full potential. The story still ended up being a fun read but I felt like with a few tweaks, and in the hands of a more accomplished author, we could have got something really great. Despite that this was still a worthwhile read and if a sequel comes along I'll probably give it a go.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Audio Note: This was narrated by MacLeod Andrews. I felt like it was one of his weaker performances. His general narration and male voices were good but he struggled with the female voices.
Brandon is a 17 year old genius hacker with a self-destructive streak who suddenly finds his life turned upside down when someone hacks his computer and warns him to mend his ways. It only gets weirder from there as Brandon's own reflection begins to take on a life of its own and insists it could do a far better job living his life than he can!
The real success early in this story was the fact that it was impossible to tell if the things happening to Brandon were real or if the poor guy was just tipping into madness. I'd have preferred it if more focus had been given to that element of the story as the early stages of this one where Brandon was living in fear of mirror Brandon was really quite chilling and creepy! The twist when it came was pretty cool but it eliminated that psychological thriller aspect of the story and morphed it into more of an action thriller.
The characters were a strange bunch. I ended up liking most of them despite the fact that they are not the type of characters that usually catch my eye!
I felt like this book had some great ideas but that it fell just a tiny bit short of delivering on its full potential. The story still ended up being a fun read but I felt like with a few tweaks, and in the hands of a more accomplished author, we could have got something really great. Despite that this was still a worthwhile read and if a sequel comes along I'll probably give it a go.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Audio Note: This was narrated by MacLeod Andrews. I felt like it was one of his weaker performances. His general narration and male voices were good but he struggled with the female voices.
July 2, 2015
Alright, computer nerds, this one is for you. Apparently there's this whole genre of "cyberthriller" books out there, but it's the first I've heard of the term (I know, I'm woefully ignorant). The only book I've read that even remotely resembles Duplicity is Ready Player One, but that is a dystopian-action/adventure-computer game mash up, whereas N.K. Traver's book is more mystery-thriller-science fiction. It's about a computer hacker, Brandon, who wakes up to find that his reflection is moving... on its own. It's not long before he realizes that his second self has sinister purposes, and Brandon's confusion and growing terror is loud and clear.
I hesitate to say much more, because going into this I had no idea it would head in the direction it does (until I peeked ahead, of course), and one of the major twists happens about a third of the way into the book. It's when we discover how in the world Brandon's reflection is moving on its own, and from there the book spins a completely new web. It's cleverly done - I can honestly say I've never read anything quite like it - and the combination of a fast-paced plot and a premise full of twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. Where the book somewhat lost me is the technological jargon. I didn't understand half of what Brandon was talking about when he was in hacker mode, and that makes up a huge portion of the book. It's cool to have a character with those skills, I just wish I could have followed along better! I'm also not sure I buy into the explanation for Brandon's double; while original and creative (I do love the mirror concept), it isn't entirely believable, to me. Then again, I'm not one to get hung up on futuristic conundrums, so it didn't dampen my enjoyment of the story.
Then there's our main character, who is a different change of pace in YA. Brandon is not your typical bad boy - yes, he has the tattoos and the piercings and the rough attitude, but these are used more as shields to keep the world at bay than to attract the attention of teenage girls everywhere. He's actually a bit of a brat; whiny, selfish, desperate for attention but terrified to show that he actually cares. What's great is that he calls himself on it, as does his love interest. So while he's not always likeable, I still found myself sympathizing with him. By the end, Brandon is still a sort of anti-hero, but he's already grown up quite a bit. I'm excited to see what the next book brings.
The supporting cast is fine; most of them seem more like caricatures, like his parents and his ex-girlfriend. His love interest, Emma, who sees more in him than most, is sweet, but she doesn't make a huge impression. I wish we had gotten to know her more in the beginning, though I like that they already had somewhat of a history before the book started. We get some of their relationship in flashbacks, and I have to say that I'm a sucker for the smart girl/slacker boy dichotomy, so it worked for me. But romance isn't actually much of a focus in the book; while it's what puts the first chinks in Brandon's armor and is the driving force behind his growth, the plot is more concerned with Brandon's current situation and the science fiction aspects.
I think/hope Duplicity is just the beginning. It's not that it ends on a cliffhanger, but there is a twist that opens the door for much more story. I don't believe Brandon's story is finished yet, and I won't hesitate to pick up the next one if that's the case. Add this creative debut to your list, folks, especially if you like tech-y books, male point-of-views, and a twisty premise.
***Huge thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!***
This review can also be found at Love at First Page.
I hesitate to say much more, because going into this I had no idea it would head in the direction it does (until I peeked ahead, of course), and one of the major twists happens about a third of the way into the book. It's when we discover how in the world Brandon's reflection is moving on its own, and from there the book spins a completely new web. It's cleverly done - I can honestly say I've never read anything quite like it - and the combination of a fast-paced plot and a premise full of twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. Where the book somewhat lost me is the technological jargon. I didn't understand half of what Brandon was talking about when he was in hacker mode, and that makes up a huge portion of the book. It's cool to have a character with those skills, I just wish I could have followed along better! I'm also not sure I buy into the explanation for Brandon's double; while original and creative (I do love the mirror concept), it isn't entirely believable, to me. Then again, I'm not one to get hung up on futuristic conundrums, so it didn't dampen my enjoyment of the story.
Then there's our main character, who is a different change of pace in YA. Brandon is not your typical bad boy - yes, he has the tattoos and the piercings and the rough attitude, but these are used more as shields to keep the world at bay than to attract the attention of teenage girls everywhere. He's actually a bit of a brat; whiny, selfish, desperate for attention but terrified to show that he actually cares. What's great is that he calls himself on it, as does his love interest. So while he's not always likeable, I still found myself sympathizing with him. By the end, Brandon is still a sort of anti-hero, but he's already grown up quite a bit. I'm excited to see what the next book brings.
The supporting cast is fine; most of them seem more like caricatures, like his parents and his ex-girlfriend. His love interest, Emma, who sees more in him than most, is sweet, but she doesn't make a huge impression. I wish we had gotten to know her more in the beginning, though I like that they already had somewhat of a history before the book started. We get some of their relationship in flashbacks, and I have to say that I'm a sucker for the smart girl/slacker boy dichotomy, so it worked for me. But romance isn't actually much of a focus in the book; while it's what puts the first chinks in Brandon's armor and is the driving force behind his growth, the plot is more concerned with Brandon's current situation and the science fiction aspects.
I think/hope Duplicity is just the beginning. It's not that it ends on a cliffhanger, but there is a twist that opens the door for much more story. I don't believe Brandon's story is finished yet, and I won't hesitate to pick up the next one if that's the case. Add this creative debut to your list, folks, especially if you like tech-y books, male point-of-views, and a twisty premise.
***Huge thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!***
This review can also be found at Love at First Page.
March 5, 2015
I couldn't turn the pages of this book fast enough! I loved the boy POV, and well, the entire concept of the book. Such a great read, and a total thrill ride!
October 25, 2014
I had the honor and pleasure of reading DUPLICITY before N.K. Traver received this book deal and was floored by the way the author is able to balance humor, suspense, cyber speak, and fully developed characters. The story takes twists and turns you won't see coming. You will fall in love with Brandon, the anti-hero who just can't get out of his own way, and Emma, the girl who may or may not be able (and willing) to help him. It will have you flipping pages and salivating for more. Cannot wait to have it in my hands!
April 7, 2015
DUPLICITY is an unexpected surprise of a read with a lightning-fast pace, a richly imagined virtual world, and a few mind-bending plot twists that will keep readers glued to the page. It is exciting and suspenseful and envisions a scary reality where technological and scientific advancements allow the tables to be turned on hackers in the most chilling of ways.
Brandon Eriks was sure he covered his tracks and that as a hacker he was untraceable. But when it appears as if he was hacked and that the hacker is out to make him pay for what he’d done, he starts to panic.
Especially when the hacker seems to be able to get to him whenever he’s near a mirror. Even more so when the hacker is able to do things that should be impossible. And definitely when he discovers the hacker is someone who looks exactly like him and plans to take over his life.
Author N.K. Traver created a fascinating and thrilling story in DUPLICITY – one that will have readers debating as to whether the punishment fits the crime. The world she imagined is interesting and complex, more than a little bit dark and disturbing, and a terrifying world for those deemed harmful and destructive cybercriminals.
The author introduced a main character who, while not immediately likable and whose fate is not entirely undeserved, is someone readers will be rooting for to escape the ultimate prison for hackers he finds himself trapped in. She reveals enough of his backstory to make him sympathetic. She pairs him with Emma, a girl who is smart and kind and who believes in him. And she gives him a chance at redemption.
DUPLICITY delivers moments that will intrigue, moments that will keep readers on edge, an ending that will give them much to think about, and it will leave them with the hope for a sequel so that they’ll be able to revisit the world and its characters and see what might happen next.
N.K. Traver’s debut is an electrifying read that leaves hackers with no escape from the harsh justice imposed on them. Their lives will be infiltrated. Their sense of security will be taken away. They will become the victims in this enthralling and disquieting and imaginative story that is an insanely good one-sit read.
Original GR comments:
Fascinating idea and great story. Have to figure out how to talk about what happened without revealing all it's secrets. Redeemable main character. Hope this will be a series because it was just so cool and I feel there's a ton of story left to tell.
Brandon Eriks was sure he covered his tracks and that as a hacker he was untraceable. But when it appears as if he was hacked and that the hacker is out to make him pay for what he’d done, he starts to panic.
Especially when the hacker seems to be able to get to him whenever he’s near a mirror. Even more so when the hacker is able to do things that should be impossible. And definitely when he discovers the hacker is someone who looks exactly like him and plans to take over his life.
Author N.K. Traver created a fascinating and thrilling story in DUPLICITY – one that will have readers debating as to whether the punishment fits the crime. The world she imagined is interesting and complex, more than a little bit dark and disturbing, and a terrifying world for those deemed harmful and destructive cybercriminals.
The author introduced a main character who, while not immediately likable and whose fate is not entirely undeserved, is someone readers will be rooting for to escape the ultimate prison for hackers he finds himself trapped in. She reveals enough of his backstory to make him sympathetic. She pairs him with Emma, a girl who is smart and kind and who believes in him. And she gives him a chance at redemption.
DUPLICITY delivers moments that will intrigue, moments that will keep readers on edge, an ending that will give them much to think about, and it will leave them with the hope for a sequel so that they’ll be able to revisit the world and its characters and see what might happen next.
N.K. Traver’s debut is an electrifying read that leaves hackers with no escape from the harsh justice imposed on them. Their lives will be infiltrated. Their sense of security will be taken away. They will become the victims in this enthralling and disquieting and imaginative story that is an insanely good one-sit read.
Original GR comments:
Fascinating idea and great story. Have to figure out how to talk about what happened without revealing all it's secrets. Redeemable main character. Hope this will be a series because it was just so cool and I feel there's a ton of story left to tell.
March 28, 2015
Why you should read it: This has been one of my favorite reads this month, and I definitely recommend it to fans of the twisted and strange. Brandon is a bad boy who uses his image to hold the world at bay, and uses his hacking skills to keep the world at arm's length. Our heroine, Emma, really sees him, which is why I think Brandon really connects with her. Now on to the plot! I think some readers will have a hard time suspending disbelief, but if you do it's a really, really intriguing concept. Without giving too much away, the mirrors are a separate "world," and Brandon can hack them from his computer. His reflection, Obran, is everything he is … and isn't. My husband works with coding and computers, so when I read aloud some of the coding and hacking, he thought the idea was really cool and promptly went to look at his reflection. For tech-oriented readers and those looking for something different, I'd recommend Duplicity and am eagerly awaiting the next installment!
To see what the idea was behind Brandon's reflection was head over to the HEA Blog!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyev...
To see what the idea was behind Brandon's reflection was head over to the HEA Blog!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyev...
March 28, 2016
Initial Impressions 1/24/16: 3 stars
This was much different than I expected! I think with the mention of "hacker", I had expected a lot more of the thriller aspect from a hacker vs the authorities kind of story and... well, I guess that was the story but it was largely taking place in a sci-fi world instead of in a realistic fiction setting. I think I was hoping for more of a feel like the movie The Net (90s Sandra Bullock at her finest) where the main character essentially gets replaced by a new person using their identity but this is the case of Brandon ACTUALLY getting replaced in the real world by a double that looks exactly like him, only "better".
I enjoyed the relationships in the book and I especially loved how Brandon's relationships evolved. The book ended with a lot of hope for him to patch things up with his family and to start something new/continue with a love interest. I also really enjoyed his friendship while he was in "The Program" with a fellow hacker and prisoner.
The world of The Program was not too difficult to get a grasp on and yet sometimes the logistics of it were confusing. Maybe that's just me! I also think I wasn't as interested in it as I had hoped so that didn't really help my desire to understand the ins and outs.
Overall, it was a decent read but I found myself a little disappointed that I wasn't more thrilled. I was hoping for much more of a thriller aspect -- even in a sci-fi concept -- and it was more just "what the heck is going on" than the feeling of suspense for me.
Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 2/10/16: DUPLICITY was a really interesting concept and really unlike nearly anything else that I’ve read before! As a synopsis avoider, I mostly remembered that main character Brandon was a hacker and that he was somehow being replaced by a “double” but really wasn’t entirely sure what all of that meant! The more I got into the book, the more I realized how much more sci-fi it was than I had anticipated and how unique this book truly was! Regardless of what the content was, I knew I wanted to listen to the audiobook because MacLeod Andrews, one of my all-time favorite voice actors, narrated this one so thank you to Brilliance Audio for sending me a copy to listen to/review!
I think the main thing that stuck out for me in DUPLICITY was the creativity of the concept of “The Program” (we’ll get to that one later) and Brandon’s double. I actually went into this expecting much more contemporary thriller than sci-fi thriller (I was thinking something along the lines of The Net where Sandra Bullock is essentially “replaced” in the real world by someone stealing her identity after she stumbles upon a conspiracy) so I was kind of surprised to see how much more this leaned to a science-fiction aspect. Once I got a grip on that, it was really interesting to see how this world and concept was laid out and what exactly this meant for Brandon. It was quite creative and a really interesting idea! I sometimes had a hard time really understanding the ins and outs of The Program and the true details of how it functioned but that could also just be some computer things going over my head. I know computer basics but nothing really on such a technical level!
DUPLICITY was a fun concept but didn’t quite pan out for me. The whole Brandon duplicate and the idea of traveling from the real world to The Program’s system seemed a bit unrealistic for me and I couldn’t quite grasp that as a real concept. It really was explained through science so I appreciated that and that it wasn’t just “magic with mirrors” but it did feel off until we got to that explanation which didn’t quite feel fully satisfying. I also felt like the set-up to even get to that point took a while. There was a lot of time in Brandon’s normal world as “Other Brandon” slowly started changing things but for some reason that transition before the “change” seemed to take a while for me. I really just wasn’t as engaged as I had hoped and that may be because my expectations were a bit too different from what the book turned out to be.
I did really enjoy getting to know Brandon and witness his changes as he goes through this whole ordeal. Brandon starts off as a surly and slightly rebellious teen and I really enjoyed that his whole personality wasn’t lost as the book progressed. Obviously in any book, you want to see that surly teen grow up a little bit and start to respect his family and friends a bit more, along with really learning a lesson and even respecting and appreciating their own life more so it’s no spoiler to say that Brandon does go through some changes by the book’s end. What I loved was that he doesn’t turn into “Other Brandon” who’s overly responsible to the point of sucking up and who ends up being super preppy when normal Brandon opts for leather bands, punk rock tees, and tattoos. He grows up in his own way to be a bit of a better person but doesn’t abandon his own likes for conformity so I really appreciate that.
The supporting cast wasn’t as dynamic for me, though. I suppose we don’t spend as much time with them but you don’t really get to see anyone’s personality aside from a stereotype: workaholic parents, super-sweet popular girl, annoying ex-girlfriend, etc. The only other personality we really do get to know aside from Brandon is his new friend Seb who he meets once inside “the system”. I loved their friendship, even though Brandon was incredibly reluctant at first, and how they really ended up working together and getting along.
DUPLICITY was quite a mixed bag for me and sadly I just wasn’t as engaged throughout as I had hoped I would be. I think the hacker/computer/sci-fi aspect threw me a bit and things took a more surreal turn than I really anticipated. I feel like I didn’t quite get there with my connection to the book but it was really such an interesting and unique concept, something that I really haven’t read anywhere else!
AUDIOBOOK IMPRESSIONS
MacLeod Andrews was the narrator for this book and one of the main reasons why I requested it! I absolutely adore his voice and his narration and he can really bring any character to life. It’s funny — after you listen to someone’s narrations of so many books, you’d think you wouldn’t be able to separate a voice from a character. In some ways, you do tend to hear the same voices for some characters because there are only so many voices a human can do but it’s the way that they portray a character that really brings them to life — It is voice acting. MacLeod Andrews always does an amazing job at bringing personality to each character and really making me feel like I’m IN the story. I become so invested because the character sounds so invested and his narration really just pulls me into the books. I always recommend his narration no matter the book because he just does a fantastic job!
This was much different than I expected! I think with the mention of "hacker", I had expected a lot more of the thriller aspect from a hacker vs the authorities kind of story and... well, I guess that was the story but it was largely taking place in a sci-fi world instead of in a realistic fiction setting. I think I was hoping for more of a feel like the movie The Net (90s Sandra Bullock at her finest) where the main character essentially gets replaced by a new person using their identity but this is the case of Brandon ACTUALLY getting replaced in the real world by a double that looks exactly like him, only "better".
I enjoyed the relationships in the book and I especially loved how Brandon's relationships evolved. The book ended with a lot of hope for him to patch things up with his family and to start something new/continue with a love interest. I also really enjoyed his friendship while he was in "The Program" with a fellow hacker and prisoner.
The world of The Program was not too difficult to get a grasp on and yet sometimes the logistics of it were confusing. Maybe that's just me! I also think I wasn't as interested in it as I had hoped so that didn't really help my desire to understand the ins and outs.
Overall, it was a decent read but I found myself a little disappointed that I wasn't more thrilled. I was hoping for much more of a thriller aspect -- even in a sci-fi concept -- and it was more just "what the heck is going on" than the feeling of suspense for me.
Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 2/10/16: DUPLICITY was a really interesting concept and really unlike nearly anything else that I’ve read before! As a synopsis avoider, I mostly remembered that main character Brandon was a hacker and that he was somehow being replaced by a “double” but really wasn’t entirely sure what all of that meant! The more I got into the book, the more I realized how much more sci-fi it was than I had anticipated and how unique this book truly was! Regardless of what the content was, I knew I wanted to listen to the audiobook because MacLeod Andrews, one of my all-time favorite voice actors, narrated this one so thank you to Brilliance Audio for sending me a copy to listen to/review!
I think the main thing that stuck out for me in DUPLICITY was the creativity of the concept of “The Program” (we’ll get to that one later) and Brandon’s double. I actually went into this expecting much more contemporary thriller than sci-fi thriller (I was thinking something along the lines of The Net where Sandra Bullock is essentially “replaced” in the real world by someone stealing her identity after she stumbles upon a conspiracy) so I was kind of surprised to see how much more this leaned to a science-fiction aspect. Once I got a grip on that, it was really interesting to see how this world and concept was laid out and what exactly this meant for Brandon. It was quite creative and a really interesting idea! I sometimes had a hard time really understanding the ins and outs of The Program and the true details of how it functioned but that could also just be some computer things going over my head. I know computer basics but nothing really on such a technical level!
DUPLICITY was a fun concept but didn’t quite pan out for me. The whole Brandon duplicate and the idea of traveling from the real world to The Program’s system seemed a bit unrealistic for me and I couldn’t quite grasp that as a real concept. It really was explained through science so I appreciated that and that it wasn’t just “magic with mirrors” but it did feel off until we got to that explanation which didn’t quite feel fully satisfying. I also felt like the set-up to even get to that point took a while. There was a lot of time in Brandon’s normal world as “Other Brandon” slowly started changing things but for some reason that transition before the “change” seemed to take a while for me. I really just wasn’t as engaged as I had hoped and that may be because my expectations were a bit too different from what the book turned out to be.
I did really enjoy getting to know Brandon and witness his changes as he goes through this whole ordeal. Brandon starts off as a surly and slightly rebellious teen and I really enjoyed that his whole personality wasn’t lost as the book progressed. Obviously in any book, you want to see that surly teen grow up a little bit and start to respect his family and friends a bit more, along with really learning a lesson and even respecting and appreciating their own life more so it’s no spoiler to say that Brandon does go through some changes by the book’s end. What I loved was that he doesn’t turn into “Other Brandon” who’s overly responsible to the point of sucking up and who ends up being super preppy when normal Brandon opts for leather bands, punk rock tees, and tattoos. He grows up in his own way to be a bit of a better person but doesn’t abandon his own likes for conformity so I really appreciate that.
The supporting cast wasn’t as dynamic for me, though. I suppose we don’t spend as much time with them but you don’t really get to see anyone’s personality aside from a stereotype: workaholic parents, super-sweet popular girl, annoying ex-girlfriend, etc. The only other personality we really do get to know aside from Brandon is his new friend Seb who he meets once inside “the system”. I loved their friendship, even though Brandon was incredibly reluctant at first, and how they really ended up working together and getting along.
DUPLICITY was quite a mixed bag for me and sadly I just wasn’t as engaged throughout as I had hoped I would be. I think the hacker/computer/sci-fi aspect threw me a bit and things took a more surreal turn than I really anticipated. I feel like I didn’t quite get there with my connection to the book but it was really such an interesting and unique concept, something that I really haven’t read anywhere else!
AUDIOBOOK IMPRESSIONS
MacLeod Andrews was the narrator for this book and one of the main reasons why I requested it! I absolutely adore his voice and his narration and he can really bring any character to life. It’s funny — after you listen to someone’s narrations of so many books, you’d think you wouldn’t be able to separate a voice from a character. In some ways, you do tend to hear the same voices for some characters because there are only so many voices a human can do but it’s the way that they portray a character that really brings them to life — It is voice acting. MacLeod Andrews always does an amazing job at bringing personality to each character and really making me feel like I’m IN the story. I become so invested because the character sounds so invested and his narration really just pulls me into the books. I always recommend his narration no matter the book because he just does a fantastic job!
March 30, 2015
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Duplicity seems to be apart of a growing trend of cyberpunk books, a trend that I’m extremely excited about. Though I’m a fan of cyberpunk, Duplicity truly didn’t cut it and I was so disappointed by the plot and characters in this one. This novel is filled with lackluster sci-fi and romantic elements, plus it has a horrible representation of GLBTQAI+ and female characters.
Brandon can hack banks or any computer in the world, so when he finds his computer invaded by an unknown source he is confused. When he starts seeing a mirror version of himself that moves around on its own, he begins to think he’s going crazy. The other Brandon starts to mess with Brandon and is trying to change him and his relationship with Emma.
I actually liked this novel at first, it was so strange and wonderful that I couldn’t stop reading it. I was intrigued by Brandon and the other Brandon, as well as the idea of a digital purgatory. The problem is that this novel really went anywhere beyond that and the explanations (scientific and technological) given were beyond ridiculous. I wasn’t a fan of the world-building nor it did really make any sense and I just couldn’t suspend my belief at all due to my lack of interest in the book.
I’m sorry but if you’re going to write a gay character, you have an important responsibility. So few books feature GLBT characters, so that when a book does have one I hope that the book displays this figure in a proper light. Not only is the gay character in Duplicity written using only stereotypes, but this character was beyond irritating. Please don’t write a GLBT character, if you’re just going to perpetuate stereotypes.
The female characters in this book lack any purpose at all, they’re only there to serve as motivation for Brandon. I love seeing female characters being treated as objects and as plot devices in YA, it’s so refreshing and progressive. Not only that, but Emma and Brandon’s ex lack development besides the fact that they’re both into him and each is a caricature that’s poorly drawn out. If the female characters had been removed, the plot would’ve been virtually the same because they have little to no purpose.
Duplicity is a disappointing, illogical sci-fi novel that really missed the mark. It lacked the flare that I expected from a novel about hacking and virtual reality and I’m definitely not reading the sequel.
Duplicity seems to be apart of a growing trend of cyberpunk books, a trend that I’m extremely excited about. Though I’m a fan of cyberpunk, Duplicity truly didn’t cut it and I was so disappointed by the plot and characters in this one. This novel is filled with lackluster sci-fi and romantic elements, plus it has a horrible representation of GLBTQAI+ and female characters.
Brandon can hack banks or any computer in the world, so when he finds his computer invaded by an unknown source he is confused. When he starts seeing a mirror version of himself that moves around on its own, he begins to think he’s going crazy. The other Brandon starts to mess with Brandon and is trying to change him and his relationship with Emma.
I actually liked this novel at first, it was so strange and wonderful that I couldn’t stop reading it. I was intrigued by Brandon and the other Brandon, as well as the idea of a digital purgatory. The problem is that this novel really went anywhere beyond that and the explanations (scientific and technological) given were beyond ridiculous. I wasn’t a fan of the world-building nor it did really make any sense and I just couldn’t suspend my belief at all due to my lack of interest in the book.
I’m sorry but if you’re going to write a gay character, you have an important responsibility. So few books feature GLBT characters, so that when a book does have one I hope that the book displays this figure in a proper light. Not only is the gay character in Duplicity written using only stereotypes, but this character was beyond irritating. Please don’t write a GLBT character, if you’re just going to perpetuate stereotypes.
The female characters in this book lack any purpose at all, they’re only there to serve as motivation for Brandon. I love seeing female characters being treated as objects and as plot devices in YA, it’s so refreshing and progressive. Not only that, but Emma and Brandon’s ex lack development besides the fact that they’re both into him and each is a caricature that’s poorly drawn out. If the female characters had been removed, the plot would’ve been virtually the same because they have little to no purpose.
Duplicity is a disappointing, illogical sci-fi novel that really missed the mark. It lacked the flare that I expected from a novel about hacking and virtual reality and I’m definitely not reading the sequel.
July 13, 2015
I received this YA novel as part of first-reads. A big thank-you to Goodreads, N.K. Traver, and St. Martin's Griffin!
This book was a pleasant surprise from the very beginning. When I first started reading, I was afraid that I was missing out on something. I kept wondering who Emma was. This was cleverly written because Traver keeps the reader wondering about Emma and what her impact is on Brandon, the main character. Brandon is definitely a bad boy, and not one that caring parents would want anywhere near their teenage daughter. I really liked Brandon and I was particularly fascinated by his relationship with his parents. Brandon desperately wants attention from his mom and dad, and does not seem to know how to go about doing this without causing trouble. Brandon is a very believable character and is someone that the teenagers of today's technologically advancing world can associate and sympathize with.
N.K. Traver is an author to keep on the lookout for. I highly anticipate that this novel will appeal to many young-adult readers, especially those who enjoy reading about what technology might look like in the near future. Traver's portrayal of technology is very unique and I really enjoyed how she introduced it into the story. Warning, do not become a hacker; bad things could happen to you...
This book was a pleasant surprise from the very beginning. When I first started reading, I was afraid that I was missing out on something. I kept wondering who Emma was. This was cleverly written because Traver keeps the reader wondering about Emma and what her impact is on Brandon, the main character. Brandon is definitely a bad boy, and not one that caring parents would want anywhere near their teenage daughter. I really liked Brandon and I was particularly fascinated by his relationship with his parents. Brandon desperately wants attention from his mom and dad, and does not seem to know how to go about doing this without causing trouble. Brandon is a very believable character and is someone that the teenagers of today's technologically advancing world can associate and sympathize with.
N.K. Traver is an author to keep on the lookout for. I highly anticipate that this novel will appeal to many young-adult readers, especially those who enjoy reading about what technology might look like in the near future. Traver's portrayal of technology is very unique and I really enjoyed how she introduced it into the story. Warning, do not become a hacker; bad things could happen to you...
February 23, 2015
Duplicity made me NEVER WANT TO LOOK IN A MIRROR EVER AGAIN!!!! In other words, this book was gripping, thrilling, scary, high-stakes, and utterly fantastic!
There are so many things to love about this book: Brandon, the protagonist, is such an unconventional character, and it is refreshing to read about a wayward, headstrong, hard-ass like him. (I imagine Brandon would be the sarcastic, multi-piercing, tattooed, slightly-nefarious cousin of the Weasley twins, shouting "Give her hell from us!") The stakes were enormous, which kept the pace of this book breakneck; I couldn't put it down! And the whole ideology behind Project Duplicity was philosophically intriguing. Can't wait until more of my friends read this, so that I can talk about the interesting ethics questions this book raises.
Bottom line: Exciting, dangerous, and smart! N.K. Traver is definitely an author to watch!
There are so many things to love about this book: Brandon, the protagonist, is such an unconventional character, and it is refreshing to read about a wayward, headstrong, hard-ass like him. (I imagine Brandon would be the sarcastic, multi-piercing, tattooed, slightly-nefarious cousin of the Weasley twins, shouting "Give her hell from us!") The stakes were enormous, which kept the pace of this book breakneck; I couldn't put it down! And the whole ideology behind Project Duplicity was philosophically intriguing. Can't wait until more of my friends read this, so that I can talk about the interesting ethics questions this book raises.
Bottom line: Exciting, dangerous, and smart! N.K. Traver is definitely an author to watch!
March 18, 2015
My Review:
I have been extremely lucky in the past month or so to have had the opportunity to read YA novels with unique male protagonists. As an educator working with mostly reluctant readers, it is very difficult to find Young Adult books with interesting male leads that will keep teenage boys engaged. After having read
The Tragic Age
by Stephen Metcalfe and now
Duplicity
by the brilliant N.K. Traver, it almost feels like I hit the jackpot.
Without adding the science fiction element, the story is quite simple. Brandon Eriks is a 17 year old tattooed bad boy that gains pleasure out of hacking into bank accounts and credit cards for a nefarious organization. Of course he gets his cut, however he doesn't really need it since his parents have plenty of money. Brandon seems to fit the stereotype that comes with being tattooed and pierced-- he isn't doing well in school, he treats everyone with disdain, and is in constant dispute with his parents who start to think drugs might be the reason for his attitude and lack of motivation. Brandon doesn't care what anyone thinks; in fact, he has everyone thinking EXACTLY what he wants them to. Well, except for one anomaly-- Emma. Emma is the one person that sees beyond the attitude, beyond the tats and piercings. And for awhile, Brandon allows it. For once, he lets someone get close. But it can't last. Not with how his parents pick up and move every year. No, it's better for a clean break now rather than heartbreak later.
Then things get a little...crazy. One night while running a program to begin another "hack" job, his computer starts sending him messages. Personal, scary messages:
"HERE'S THE GAME, HACKER. I'M DONE WATCHING YOU RUIN PEOPLE'S LIVES. HEARD THE PHRASE 'YOUR OWN WORSE ENEMY?' YOU'RE ABOUT TO LIVE IT."
Thinking someone has messed with his computer, Brandon tries to brush it off until he starts to notice strange things happening to his reflection in mirrors-- his reflection doesn't follow his every move, instead it moves on its own, leaves messages through the glass, and starts to make physical changes to his appearance. Tattoos and piercings are removed (somewhat painfully), clothing replaced with a completely new "preppy" wardrobe, until finally, one day, it is HE that is replaced by his "duplicate". Now Brandon is on the other side of the mirror, watching this "replica" of himself take over his life. What's worse is the fact that Obran (the name Brandon gives his duplicate) appears to be mending the relationship with his parents, getting better grades in school, and getting a little too close to Emma. Why was he pulled into the mirror? Most importantly, how will he get out? That's something you'll have to figure out by reading this suspenseful cyberthriller!
If you like anti-heroes, then you will enjoy Brandon. He definitely isn't perfect and from the very first page you know he is partaking in illegal activities and makes no apologies about it. Bank accounts, credit cards-- he hacks into them all and is looking forward to moving on up to social security numbers very soon. So why should teenage boys pick this book up when the male lead is a slacker and on his way to becoming a criminal? Because despite his less than role model qualities, he is relatable. How many kids do you know have parents that work extra hours to keep their million dollar homes, brand new cars, their lake house but spend absolutely no time with their children? Parents that move every year, yanking their kids out of school, never staying long enough to lay down roots? That is Brandon's life. Despite his standoffish appearance and front he puts on, all he really wants is to be noticed by his parents. He wants to be able to stay in one place long enough to make long lasting friendships and relationships, however, keeping people at arm's length, especially Emma, is the only way to guard himself from being hurt when it is time to move.
Another aspect of Duplicity I liked is that Brandon and Emma's relationship is already established at the beginning of the story. I thought this was a unique twist to the book and allows us to get right into the action.
While there are not too many secondary characters in the book, the one that stood out to me was Seb. Once Brandon is pulled through the mirror into this alternate "landscape", he eventually meets Seb, an androgynous, mysterious hacker that wants to work with him to get out and back to the real world. Seb has a particular set of skills that Brandon definitely needs to attain their goal, but he is unsure if Seb can be trusted. I'll admit-- I was just as wary about Seb as Brandon was. However, Seb was hilarious and definitely serves as the comic relief in Duplicity . And as the story unfolds, you learn there is more to Seb then meets the eye, things that will have your eyes widening in shock and pulling on your heart strings.
The science fiction element of the story was fascinating and the technology aspect of the story will grab teenage readers and keep them invested since we live in a world where our kids are more technologically inclined then us adults. But even less tech savvy people can enjoy this fast paced thriller even with the introduction of supercomputers and nano chips, etc.
Duplicity is an engrossing piece of literary genius-- from the concept to the plot, to the flawed anti-hero who wants to be seen but is terrified to get attached-- it is hard to believe this book was written by a debut author. The ending will leave you wanting more--is it open ended, left for you to draw your own conclusions or did the author subtly set it up for a possible sequel? I guess we all will have to wait and see. I have no doubt we will be seeing more of N.K. Traver.
Mia @ The Muses Circle
Without adding the science fiction element, the story is quite simple. Brandon Eriks is a 17 year old tattooed bad boy that gains pleasure out of hacking into bank accounts and credit cards for a nefarious organization. Of course he gets his cut, however he doesn't really need it since his parents have plenty of money. Brandon seems to fit the stereotype that comes with being tattooed and pierced-- he isn't doing well in school, he treats everyone with disdain, and is in constant dispute with his parents who start to think drugs might be the reason for his attitude and lack of motivation. Brandon doesn't care what anyone thinks; in fact, he has everyone thinking EXACTLY what he wants them to. Well, except for one anomaly-- Emma. Emma is the one person that sees beyond the attitude, beyond the tats and piercings. And for awhile, Brandon allows it. For once, he lets someone get close. But it can't last. Not with how his parents pick up and move every year. No, it's better for a clean break now rather than heartbreak later.
Then things get a little...crazy. One night while running a program to begin another "hack" job, his computer starts sending him messages. Personal, scary messages:
"HERE'S THE GAME, HACKER. I'M DONE WATCHING YOU RUIN PEOPLE'S LIVES. HEARD THE PHRASE 'YOUR OWN WORSE ENEMY?' YOU'RE ABOUT TO LIVE IT."
Thinking someone has messed with his computer, Brandon tries to brush it off until he starts to notice strange things happening to his reflection in mirrors-- his reflection doesn't follow his every move, instead it moves on its own, leaves messages through the glass, and starts to make physical changes to his appearance. Tattoos and piercings are removed (somewhat painfully), clothing replaced with a completely new "preppy" wardrobe, until finally, one day, it is HE that is replaced by his "duplicate". Now Brandon is on the other side of the mirror, watching this "replica" of himself take over his life. What's worse is the fact that Obran (the name Brandon gives his duplicate) appears to be mending the relationship with his parents, getting better grades in school, and getting a little too close to Emma. Why was he pulled into the mirror? Most importantly, how will he get out? That's something you'll have to figure out by reading this suspenseful cyberthriller!
If you like anti-heroes, then you will enjoy Brandon. He definitely isn't perfect and from the very first page you know he is partaking in illegal activities and makes no apologies about it. Bank accounts, credit cards-- he hacks into them all and is looking forward to moving on up to social security numbers very soon. So why should teenage boys pick this book up when the male lead is a slacker and on his way to becoming a criminal? Because despite his less than role model qualities, he is relatable. How many kids do you know have parents that work extra hours to keep their million dollar homes, brand new cars, their lake house but spend absolutely no time with their children? Parents that move every year, yanking their kids out of school, never staying long enough to lay down roots? That is Brandon's life. Despite his standoffish appearance and front he puts on, all he really wants is to be noticed by his parents. He wants to be able to stay in one place long enough to make long lasting friendships and relationships, however, keeping people at arm's length, especially Emma, is the only way to guard himself from being hurt when it is time to move.
Another aspect of Duplicity I liked is that Brandon and Emma's relationship is already established at the beginning of the story. I thought this was a unique twist to the book and allows us to get right into the action.
While there are not too many secondary characters in the book, the one that stood out to me was Seb. Once Brandon is pulled through the mirror into this alternate "landscape", he eventually meets Seb, an androgynous, mysterious hacker that wants to work with him to get out and back to the real world. Seb has a particular set of skills that Brandon definitely needs to attain their goal, but he is unsure if Seb can be trusted. I'll admit-- I was just as wary about Seb as Brandon was. However, Seb was hilarious and definitely serves as the comic relief in Duplicity . And as the story unfolds, you learn there is more to Seb then meets the eye, things that will have your eyes widening in shock and pulling on your heart strings.
The science fiction element of the story was fascinating and the technology aspect of the story will grab teenage readers and keep them invested since we live in a world where our kids are more technologically inclined then us adults. But even less tech savvy people can enjoy this fast paced thriller even with the introduction of supercomputers and nano chips, etc.
Duplicity is an engrossing piece of literary genius-- from the concept to the plot, to the flawed anti-hero who wants to be seen but is terrified to get attached-- it is hard to believe this book was written by a debut author. The ending will leave you wanting more--is it open ended, left for you to draw your own conclusions or did the author subtly set it up for a possible sequel? I guess we all will have to wait and see. I have no doubt we will be seeing more of N.K. Traver.
Mia @ The Muses Circle
September 1, 2015
Hmm. To put it bluntly, I didn't like this book. The concept was intriguing, but the writing felt much too amateur for me. If I was being harsh, this would get a one star, but it's a quick read and had some potential, so I'm going to be generous and up it to two.
This story details a teenage "rebel", hacker Brandon, who has fallen for a "good girl", sweet and innocent Emma, but this is complicated by the fact that his reflection seems to have taken on a life of his own and is attempting to steal his life.
A friend of mine picked this up when I was about ten pages in and got instantly absolutely hooked, so I let him read it. He actually enjoyed it quite a bit. He rated it a 3.5, which I attributed to this possibly being more of boy book?
Needless to say, I did not agree. Duplicity had a good plot, premise and even pretty good writing, but if you don't have good characters backing it up, the story will fail.
And that was Duplicity's fatal flaw. >I found the characters immensely annoying and unlikable, both main and side.
Brandon was so, so annoying. I found him to be very whiny and unlikable. He was trying way too hard to be edgy, but he was constantly complaining about his life, and it just didn't feel valid to me. His parents were actually making a genuine effort, but Brandon was so determined to hate them, and that bothered me to no end. Not to mention Brandon would NOT SHUT UP ABOUT EMMA! Oh my god, I couldn't stand this guy!
Not to mention the side characters! Ginger the slutty ex-girlfriend was incredibly weird and unnecessary. Emma was the stereotyopical good girl who wanted to change to change Brandon for the better. And Seb was creepy af!
Back to the beginning though, I couldn't but feel like we were thrown into this story. It's like the first page and Brandon is sitting around pining over Emma, and I'm like, who's Emma? I don't know her, am I supposed to care? I need more background here!
There were some enjoyable parts. I found the writing style to be very amateur, but at the same time it was written in a way that I found entertaining. Brandon's inner voice, though annoying, was easy to read from.
I also feel like this book may not have been my thing. Maybe the techy-ness was more of a boy thing? Maybe I should just avoid cyberthrillers? I guess I'd have to read more books like this one to determine whether it was the genre or the book that wasn't for me.
Although I feel like there are some people that would really enjoy this, but the characters killed this one for me.
This story details a teenage "rebel", hacker Brandon, who has fallen for a "good girl", sweet and innocent Emma, but this is complicated by the fact that his reflection seems to have taken on a life of his own and is attempting to steal his life.
A friend of mine picked this up when I was about ten pages in and got instantly absolutely hooked, so I let him read it. He actually enjoyed it quite a bit. He rated it a 3.5, which I attributed to this possibly being more of boy book?
Needless to say, I did not agree. Duplicity had a good plot, premise and even pretty good writing, but if you don't have good characters backing it up, the story will fail.
And that was Duplicity's fatal flaw. >I found the characters immensely annoying and unlikable, both main and side.
Brandon was so, so annoying. I found him to be very whiny and unlikable. He was trying way too hard to be edgy, but he was constantly complaining about his life, and it just didn't feel valid to me. His parents were actually making a genuine effort, but Brandon was so determined to hate them, and that bothered me to no end. Not to mention Brandon would NOT SHUT UP ABOUT EMMA! Oh my god, I couldn't stand this guy!
Not to mention the side characters! Ginger the slutty ex-girlfriend was incredibly weird and unnecessary. Emma was the stereotyopical good girl who wanted to change to change Brandon for the better. And Seb was creepy af!
Back to the beginning though, I couldn't but feel like we were thrown into this story. It's like the first page and Brandon is sitting around pining over Emma, and I'm like, who's Emma? I don't know her, am I supposed to care? I need more background here!
There were some enjoyable parts. I found the writing style to be very amateur, but at the same time it was written in a way that I found entertaining. Brandon's inner voice, though annoying, was easy to read from.
I also feel like this book may not have been my thing. Maybe the techy-ness was more of a boy thing? Maybe I should just avoid cyberthrillers? I guess I'd have to read more books like this one to determine whether it was the genre or the book that wasn't for me.
Although I feel like there are some people that would really enjoy this, but the characters killed this one for me.
May 4, 2016
I'm sad to say this one didn't work well for me. First, I never really cared for Brandon. Although we do come to understand why he acts the way he does, he mostly read like a typical Bad Boy to me. I'm fatigued by that type of guy. I also didn't feel that connected to Emma, partly because she wasn't in a lot of the book. I thought she'd team up more with Brandon, but he spent the beginning pushing her away, and then she was out of the picture for a while. I just wanted more from her/their storyline. Of course, every other girl in the book was obnoxiously throwing herself at Brandon, another characteristic of the Bad Boy that I could do without.
But my main issue was with the hacking/mirrors/Obran plot line. I never really bought the whole thing. I don't understand how the mirrors connected to the computers. I think the concept was too far out there for me. However, this was a clever idea, especially when things change for Brandon and readers (and he) understand more about what is going on. Brandon's situation was definitely freaky, and scary to think about, if it were possible. I think this story will appeal to people who are into gaming and computer programming centered sci-fi. It just wasn't a good fit for me.
Part of my trouble with Duplicity is that I just read another St. Martin's book, Tunnel Vision by Susan Adrian, which I liked better. Although the details of the plots are different, they both star male MCs, and the overall stories are structured similarly. For that, I couldn't help comparing them. I'd definitely recommend checking out that book. Jake was much more my style than Brandon.
Love Triangle Factor: None
Cliffhanger Scale: Standalone
Thank you St. Martin's Griffn/Thomas Dunne Books for sending me a copy of this book for review!
But my main issue was with the hacking/mirrors/Obran plot line. I never really bought the whole thing. I don't understand how the mirrors connected to the computers. I think the concept was too far out there for me. However, this was a clever idea, especially when things change for Brandon and readers (and he) understand more about what is going on. Brandon's situation was definitely freaky, and scary to think about, if it were possible. I think this story will appeal to people who are into gaming and computer programming centered sci-fi. It just wasn't a good fit for me.
Part of my trouble with Duplicity is that I just read another St. Martin's book, Tunnel Vision by Susan Adrian, which I liked better. Although the details of the plots are different, they both star male MCs, and the overall stories are structured similarly. For that, I couldn't help comparing them. I'd definitely recommend checking out that book. Jake was much more my style than Brandon.
Love Triangle Factor: None
Cliffhanger Scale: Standalone
Thank you St. Martin's Griffn/Thomas Dunne Books for sending me a copy of this book for review!
March 17, 2015
I haven't read a lot of unique YA fiction lately. It seems everything on the shelves lately has its foot in some other story already told. Such is not the case with Duplicity.
Brandon is that guy that you see often and want to know more about even though you probably shouldn't, especially if you're a "good girl." Mysterious, tattooed, an apparent "bad boy," this seventeen year old is the truth to "there's more to a person than meets the eye." Hacking into bank accounts is just a hobby for Brandon, and one that he's particularly good at. With no attention from his inept parents at home, Brandon looks toward his cybertalents to make it through the day, and also a girl named Emma.
The relationship between Brandon and Emma is believable. The good girl is always attracted to the bad guy. While Brandon still struggles with a recent breakup, he seems really into Emma and all of her kindness. At least she pays him some attention.
While his new relationship with Emma builds, Brandon suddenly realizes that his reflection in the mirror is moving, and not only moving, but changing his identity. Slowly stripping away every piece of an identity Brandon has created from himself, the duplicate becomes more and more sinister. Before we know it, Brandon is taken inside the mirror and must find a way to break a code to escape.
This was the area that I thought was the most creative and unique, though it did remind me a little of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wall-Paper," but for my students who love that story, I can now happily pass this book along as a pairing. Traver takes a lot of risk with this seemingly outlandish plot, but I do believe it pays off.
Enough romance for female readers and a strong male POV for male readers, with plenty of twists and turns for both. www.reviewscomingatya.com
Brandon is that guy that you see often and want to know more about even though you probably shouldn't, especially if you're a "good girl." Mysterious, tattooed, an apparent "bad boy," this seventeen year old is the truth to "there's more to a person than meets the eye." Hacking into bank accounts is just a hobby for Brandon, and one that he's particularly good at. With no attention from his inept parents at home, Brandon looks toward his cybertalents to make it through the day, and also a girl named Emma.
The relationship between Brandon and Emma is believable. The good girl is always attracted to the bad guy. While Brandon still struggles with a recent breakup, he seems really into Emma and all of her kindness. At least she pays him some attention.
While his new relationship with Emma builds, Brandon suddenly realizes that his reflection in the mirror is moving, and not only moving, but changing his identity. Slowly stripping away every piece of an identity Brandon has created from himself, the duplicate becomes more and more sinister. Before we know it, Brandon is taken inside the mirror and must find a way to break a code to escape.
This was the area that I thought was the most creative and unique, though it did remind me a little of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wall-Paper," but for my students who love that story, I can now happily pass this book along as a pairing. Traver takes a lot of risk with this seemingly outlandish plot, but I do believe it pays off.
Enough romance for female readers and a strong male POV for male readers, with plenty of twists and turns for both. www.reviewscomingatya.com
May 27, 2015
I loved it! Everyone should read it. Need I say more? Okay ... I was curious to know how the plot would play out. Could Traver pull off the idea presented in the blurb? Yup. She pulled it off, and she pulled it off very well. I thought it was believable and creepy and awesome. The stakes escalated and the pace accelerated as the story played out, and I found myself reading faster and faster to see how it would all end. I look forward to more by Traver.
February 16, 2022
This was a pretty fascinating book, in a lot of ways its fits into an alternate universe sort of genre but the alternate universe is not another universe, its more Tron than Dark Matter. Its not a particularly long book so it packs a lot of action into a fairly frenetic pace.
July 22, 2016
Review crossposted from Reanne Reads.
This was a pretty interesting book. I haven’t read a lot of this sort of techno sci-fi thing, especially not ones that seem to be YA, so it was a nice change of pace. The characters were sympathetic enough, and the main character’s flaws were in large part what the book was about.
I don’t think I even read the blurb before listening to this one. The cover and title looked interesting, it’s in a genre I like, and it’s read by one of my favorite narrators (MacLeod Andrews), so I bought it based on that.
The first third or so of the book reminds me of an episode of The Twilight Zone, like some kind of light horror sci-fi story, and if it had ended there (as it easily could have, had it not been a novel), that’s pretty much what it would have been. In the first third of the book, the protag, Brandon, finds himself being taunted and physically changed by his reflection in the mirror. It’s gradually turning him—on the surface, at least—from a rebellious punk into a preppy good boy. Preparing him, his reflection says, for when they will switch places. So the first third is basically Brandon dealing with this totally freaky thing that’s happening to him, trying to find a way to fight it, and ultimately losing.
In the next part of the book, it gets into the sci-fi part. Brandon finds that he’s been abducted by a technology company and is now being stored as a program in a computer while a sort of digital clone of himself (which has been created to be a “better” version of him) has entered his body and taken over his life. He’s been told that he’s stuck in there for twenty years as punishment for his hacking, and while he’s there he’s forced to do programming for the company. As you can imagine, that gets old very quickly, and then he meets a fellow captive named Seb who helps him try to figure out a way to escape.
The plot really kept moving along nicely and kept me wondering where things were going. I liked that the story used this sci-fi plot to take Brandon on a journey of character growth where, by getting replaced by a “good” version of himself, he actually begins to learn about what and who is really important, how he should respond to that knowledge, and ultimately does grow into a better version of himself. Some of the fictional science (well, pretty much all of it) was pretty hand-wavy and implausible, so it might not appeal to fans of hard sci-fi, but since I don’t mind that so much as long as the character stuff is good, this really didn’t bother me.
It didn’t end quite as satisfactorily as I’d have liked. When it ended, I was a little surprised because I felt like it could have continued the story (both the external plot about the computer company/evil programs and the interpersonal plot about Brandon and his parents and girlfriend), and there was still plenty of room to do so since it’s a fairly short book.
But overall, I did enjoy it. It was an interesting read that kept up a good pace and kept me interested and wasn’t something I’d already seen a bunch of times before.
This was a pretty interesting book. I haven’t read a lot of this sort of techno sci-fi thing, especially not ones that seem to be YA, so it was a nice change of pace. The characters were sympathetic enough, and the main character’s flaws were in large part what the book was about.
I don’t think I even read the blurb before listening to this one. The cover and title looked interesting, it’s in a genre I like, and it’s read by one of my favorite narrators (MacLeod Andrews), so I bought it based on that.
The first third or so of the book reminds me of an episode of The Twilight Zone, like some kind of light horror sci-fi story, and if it had ended there (as it easily could have, had it not been a novel), that’s pretty much what it would have been. In the first third of the book, the protag, Brandon, finds himself being taunted and physically changed by his reflection in the mirror. It’s gradually turning him—on the surface, at least—from a rebellious punk into a preppy good boy. Preparing him, his reflection says, for when they will switch places. So the first third is basically Brandon dealing with this totally freaky thing that’s happening to him, trying to find a way to fight it, and ultimately losing.
In the next part of the book, it gets into the sci-fi part. Brandon finds that he’s been abducted by a technology company and is now being stored as a program in a computer while a sort of digital clone of himself (which has been created to be a “better” version of him) has entered his body and taken over his life. He’s been told that he’s stuck in there for twenty years as punishment for his hacking, and while he’s there he’s forced to do programming for the company. As you can imagine, that gets old very quickly, and then he meets a fellow captive named Seb who helps him try to figure out a way to escape.
The plot really kept moving along nicely and kept me wondering where things were going. I liked that the story used this sci-fi plot to take Brandon on a journey of character growth where, by getting replaced by a “good” version of himself, he actually begins to learn about what and who is really important, how he should respond to that knowledge, and ultimately does grow into a better version of himself. Some of the fictional science (well, pretty much all of it) was pretty hand-wavy and implausible, so it might not appeal to fans of hard sci-fi, but since I don’t mind that so much as long as the character stuff is good, this really didn’t bother me.
It didn’t end quite as satisfactorily as I’d have liked. When it ended, I was a little surprised because I felt like it could have continued the story (both the external plot about the computer company/evil programs and the interpersonal plot about Brandon and his parents and girlfriend), and there was still plenty of room to do so since it’s a fairly short book.
But overall, I did enjoy it. It was an interesting read that kept up a good pace and kept me interested and wasn’t something I’d already seen a bunch of times before.
September 8, 2015
Huge thank you to Thomas Dunne Books for letting me review a finished copy of this book
I had a love-hate relationship with this book. I HATED the first half and LOVED the middle and was okay with the end. Brandon is NOT a likable character an I'm fine with that. But he falls too neatly into the stereotypical pierced, tattooed, black-wearing "bad boy" role for me. I wanted more depth. More than just 'my parents are always busy boo hoo I'm going to be an ass for basically no reason'. Because yes his parents ignored him, but they were also too stereotypical for me as well. So the first half of the book where we meet Brandon and his family I was just wanted more.
I was so intrigued with the hacker aspect of this book (the whole reason I requested it) and I would have liked to have seen where Brandon had learned some of his skills. A little more history. Because not just everybody can pick that up. I also would have liked to have seen MORE hacking in the beginning. The story jumps right into things and I wish there would have been more build. I also would have liked to have seen more time with Jax and his shady business.
I also really had a problem with the way Brandon treated women in this book. The only girls I really remember were Ginger (portrayed as kinda a trashy goth slut), Beretta (who actually was pretty cool), Alice (? The girl who kept trying to get his attention after he drove the BMW to school. She was portrayed as a trashy preppy slut) and Emma (a pure, delicate snowflake with a perfect body and perfect everything). Hell I didn't like the way the girls in this book were portrayed period. And I don't buy that it's because it's from a male POV. If that's how we're going to write males... well then. I wont get into it. But yeah.
So what I DID like was after Brandon and his duplicate "Obran" (worst. name. ever.) were traded and Brandon was taken into a super computer. That part was SO COOL. I loved the world inside the computer, how Brandon reacted to it, and his new friend Seb. I did roll my eyes a little at how obviously similar it was to Resident Evil (holographic glowing child? Zombie dogs?) but those were good additions (and would have been better if slightly more original). I liked the explanations behind the tech (even if some of it really probably wouldn't work in real life, or now at least) and the situations that Brandon was facing. The middle portion was gripping and I flew through it.
Brandon's "solution" to saving himself and Emma was a little confusing, but I liked that his heart was in the right place. I felt so bad for Seb and kept hoping that it was all a joke or a trick. And then the very end... left me hanging. Is there going to be another book? Should there? I'm not sure. Will I read it? Maybe!
So overall this could have been better if it had been fleshed out and a bit more genuine. If all of it had been as gripping as the middle that would have upped it a star and made for an excellent book. If you do like books with hacking and computers then this will be the right book for you!
I had a love-hate relationship with this book. I HATED the first half and LOVED the middle and was okay with the end. Brandon is NOT a likable character an I'm fine with that. But he falls too neatly into the stereotypical pierced, tattooed, black-wearing "bad boy" role for me. I wanted more depth. More than just 'my parents are always busy boo hoo I'm going to be an ass for basically no reason'. Because yes his parents ignored him, but they were also too stereotypical for me as well. So the first half of the book where we meet Brandon and his family I was just wanted more.
I was so intrigued with the hacker aspect of this book (the whole reason I requested it) and I would have liked to have seen where Brandon had learned some of his skills. A little more history. Because not just everybody can pick that up. I also would have liked to have seen MORE hacking in the beginning. The story jumps right into things and I wish there would have been more build. I also would have liked to have seen more time with Jax and his shady business.
I also really had a problem with the way Brandon treated women in this book. The only girls I really remember were Ginger (portrayed as kinda a trashy goth slut), Beretta (who actually was pretty cool), Alice (? The girl who kept trying to get his attention after he drove the BMW to school. She was portrayed as a trashy preppy slut) and Emma (a pure, delicate snowflake with a perfect body and perfect everything). Hell I didn't like the way the girls in this book were portrayed period. And I don't buy that it's because it's from a male POV. If that's how we're going to write males... well then. I wont get into it. But yeah.
So what I DID like was after Brandon and his duplicate "Obran" (worst. name. ever.) were traded and Brandon was taken into a super computer. That part was SO COOL. I loved the world inside the computer, how Brandon reacted to it, and his new friend Seb. I did roll my eyes a little at how obviously similar it was to Resident Evil (holographic glowing child? Zombie dogs?) but those were good additions (and would have been better if slightly more original). I liked the explanations behind the tech (even if some of it really probably wouldn't work in real life, or now at least) and the situations that Brandon was facing. The middle portion was gripping and I flew through it.
Brandon's "solution" to saving himself and Emma was a little confusing, but I liked that his heart was in the right place. I felt so bad for Seb and kept hoping that it was all a joke or a trick. And then the very end... left me hanging. Is there going to be another book? Should there? I'm not sure. Will I read it? Maybe!
So overall this could have been better if it had been fleshed out and a bit more genuine. If all of it had been as gripping as the middle that would have upped it a star and made for an excellent book. If you do like books with hacking and computers then this will be the right book for you!
May 2, 2015
4.5 stars
Seventeen year old hacker, Brandon Eriks, a bad boy with multiple tattoos, piercings, dyed black, messy hair and an attitude to match, thinks he’s covered up his money-making hacking activities pretty well. Until one day he finds warning and personal messages on his computer. Things get even more bizarre when Brandon’s reflection takes on a life of its own, writing messages on mirrors and altering Brandon’s appearance by removing the metal from his piercings, ripping off his tattoos and washing the dye out of his hair. Then the unthinkable happens and Brandon is watching his life unfold from behind the mirror.
Brandon, quite different from a lot of young adult protagonists, has built up his image as a shield and perfected it over the years. His ‘don’t care’ attitude stems from the hurt of his parents’ thoughtlessness, the tattoos and piercings a reaction against his flawed family life as well as a bid for some sort of attention. He pushes people away before he can become attached or emotionally involved. The one person he can’t step away from is Emma, who believes in him and sees past the face Brandon shows to the world.
Brandon’s character evolves genuinely and substantially during the story, mostly due to his feelings for Emma. The romance itself doesn’t figure hugely in the plot which centres more on the multi layered science fiction aspect and the complex digital world in which Brandon finds himself confined. This allows him to consider and acknowledge his convoluted relationships with others, as well as his own situation, from a different perspective. N.K. Traver does a really good job of showing the reasons Brandon chooses to use his computer skills unwisely, eliciting some sympathy for an emotionally starved teen, while at the same time exploring the issue of privacy in the digital age.
N.K. Traver has created a unique concept, a great storyline, with well-developed and engaging characters, and even though it’s full of technology speak it’s not too overwhelming. The supporting characters are realistically portrayed, my favourite by far is Seb, also hurting and distrustful. For such an extraordinary storyline it’s really well done, so suspend your belief, leave it by the door and enjoy a tense and very imaginative cyber thriller that didn’t go in any of the directions I expected. An extremely good debut novel.
As with all his narrations, MacLeod Andrews’ performance is excellent, really getting inside the characters and bringing them to life individually and vividly.
Seventeen year old hacker, Brandon Eriks, a bad boy with multiple tattoos, piercings, dyed black, messy hair and an attitude to match, thinks he’s covered up his money-making hacking activities pretty well. Until one day he finds warning and personal messages on his computer. Things get even more bizarre when Brandon’s reflection takes on a life of its own, writing messages on mirrors and altering Brandon’s appearance by removing the metal from his piercings, ripping off his tattoos and washing the dye out of his hair. Then the unthinkable happens and Brandon is watching his life unfold from behind the mirror.
Brandon, quite different from a lot of young adult protagonists, has built up his image as a shield and perfected it over the years. His ‘don’t care’ attitude stems from the hurt of his parents’ thoughtlessness, the tattoos and piercings a reaction against his flawed family life as well as a bid for some sort of attention. He pushes people away before he can become attached or emotionally involved. The one person he can’t step away from is Emma, who believes in him and sees past the face Brandon shows to the world.
Brandon’s character evolves genuinely and substantially during the story, mostly due to his feelings for Emma. The romance itself doesn’t figure hugely in the plot which centres more on the multi layered science fiction aspect and the complex digital world in which Brandon finds himself confined. This allows him to consider and acknowledge his convoluted relationships with others, as well as his own situation, from a different perspective. N.K. Traver does a really good job of showing the reasons Brandon chooses to use his computer skills unwisely, eliciting some sympathy for an emotionally starved teen, while at the same time exploring the issue of privacy in the digital age.
N.K. Traver has created a unique concept, a great storyline, with well-developed and engaging characters, and even though it’s full of technology speak it’s not too overwhelming. The supporting characters are realistically portrayed, my favourite by far is Seb, also hurting and distrustful. For such an extraordinary storyline it’s really well done, so suspend your belief, leave it by the door and enjoy a tense and very imaginative cyber thriller that didn’t go in any of the directions I expected. An extremely good debut novel.
As with all his narrations, MacLeod Andrews’ performance is excellent, really getting inside the characters and bringing them to life individually and vividly.
February 19, 2016
When I requested Duplicity from my amazing contact at St. Martin’s Press, I must admit that I never imagined the book was going to be such a heart-stopper. From the moment that I picked up Duplicity, I was hooked and literally didn’t put it down until it was finished. I am writing this review immediately after reading it, and I must admit- my heart is still racing.
Before I started reading Duplicity, I wasn’t quite sure what type of book it was going to be. I knew that there was some technology and some doppelgangers, but that was about it. I never imagined that there was going to be romance, hackers galore, government conspiracies, and much, much more! I can’t even begin to describe how many different layers and plot twists there were in this book. Every time that I finally thought that I understood what was going on, something else happened, causing my head to spin. While it was a bit overwhelming, overall it was definitely exhilarating.
Meet Brandon- the main character. Contrary to most YA books, Brandon wasn’t the good boy, nor was he an athlete. No, Brandon was quite the opposite. He was a bad boy, complete with piercings and tattoos galore. But those weren’t the only reasons why he was known as a bad boy- he was actually a hacker. A pretty darn good hacker, from what I could tell. His bad boy status definitely came from the technological hacker side, instead of the brutish bully/smoker that seems to be common in most YA books. Kudos to N. K. Traver (the author) for making sure that Brandon was the complete opposite of a cliche bad boy.
And yes, there was a romantic interest, by the name of Emma. She was everything that Brandon was not- Emma was a good girl, sweet, had great grades, wore nice clothes, etc… I will say that I loved Emma, from the little that I got to know her. Yes, you read that right. she was not a prevalent character in most of the chapters. It was quite an interesting technique- Emma was mentioned often, but she was used as a driving factor in the book, rather than a major character. I loved the technique!
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this book, and am giving it 5 stars.
Before I started reading Duplicity, I wasn’t quite sure what type of book it was going to be. I knew that there was some technology and some doppelgangers, but that was about it. I never imagined that there was going to be romance, hackers galore, government conspiracies, and much, much more! I can’t even begin to describe how many different layers and plot twists there were in this book. Every time that I finally thought that I understood what was going on, something else happened, causing my head to spin. While it was a bit overwhelming, overall it was definitely exhilarating.
Meet Brandon- the main character. Contrary to most YA books, Brandon wasn’t the good boy, nor was he an athlete. No, Brandon was quite the opposite. He was a bad boy, complete with piercings and tattoos galore. But those weren’t the only reasons why he was known as a bad boy- he was actually a hacker. A pretty darn good hacker, from what I could tell. His bad boy status definitely came from the technological hacker side, instead of the brutish bully/smoker that seems to be common in most YA books. Kudos to N. K. Traver (the author) for making sure that Brandon was the complete opposite of a cliche bad boy.
And yes, there was a romantic interest, by the name of Emma. She was everything that Brandon was not- Emma was a good girl, sweet, had great grades, wore nice clothes, etc… I will say that I loved Emma, from the little that I got to know her. Yes, you read that right. she was not a prevalent character in most of the chapters. It was quite an interesting technique- Emma was mentioned often, but she was used as a driving factor in the book, rather than a major character. I loved the technique!
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this book, and am giving it 5 stars.
September 11, 2015
Whoa, what a thrill ride. I took off, and at first I didn’t know where I was headed, or who was leading me, but since a friend recommended this book, I had faith and enjoyed the ride. I was drawn into this unique techno world, of which I have little knowledge, at best. But this story wasn’t difficult to read. It just made me curious to read more.
High school student Brandon Eriks is switched out of his life, for hacking crimes, and in his place body double, Obran, steps in. Obran will go to school in his place, get better grades, dress more upstanding, and hang out with Emma, the girl Brandon is quickly falling for.
Obran was created by JENA, a highly sophisticated supercomputer that can do things that will scare you. Scared me.
Brandon has been sentenced to 20 years inside of JENA. Where he will continue to program for the super computer, all his days, everyday, until the end of his day. But it’s not real, Brandon doesn’t sleep, only shuts down to meet the sleep time of his body double, who is ruining his life, and now pushing Emma away. He’s going mental with what’s happening, it’s about to push him over the edge. But he meets Seb inside, with his—or is it her, ever-changing Avatars, who may know a way out. He’ll have to hurry because now the supercomputer is threatening the only girl he’s ever cared about.
I love this story. Fast paced, scary at times when Brandon meets with some of the challenges put to him by JENA. Yet, I found myself snickering throughout, because of Brendan’s humorous voice. And the ended left me encased in chill bump. Great YA read for those who like an energetic and fast-paced ride. Even if you aren’t into technothrillers—this was a lot of fun.
High school student Brandon Eriks is switched out of his life, for hacking crimes, and in his place body double, Obran, steps in. Obran will go to school in his place, get better grades, dress more upstanding, and hang out with Emma, the girl Brandon is quickly falling for.
Obran was created by JENA, a highly sophisticated supercomputer that can do things that will scare you. Scared me.
Brandon has been sentenced to 20 years inside of JENA. Where he will continue to program for the super computer, all his days, everyday, until the end of his day. But it’s not real, Brandon doesn’t sleep, only shuts down to meet the sleep time of his body double, who is ruining his life, and now pushing Emma away. He’s going mental with what’s happening, it’s about to push him over the edge. But he meets Seb inside, with his—or is it her, ever-changing Avatars, who may know a way out. He’ll have to hurry because now the supercomputer is threatening the only girl he’s ever cared about.
I love this story. Fast paced, scary at times when Brandon meets with some of the challenges put to him by JENA. Yet, I found myself snickering throughout, because of Brendan’s humorous voice. And the ended left me encased in chill bump. Great YA read for those who like an energetic and fast-paced ride. Even if you aren’t into technothrillers—this was a lot of fun.
May 6, 2016
Very impressive. While I started this novel, a few friends and I threw out theories on what the title means in the way of the story, and what was going to happen. We even went as far as to search the meaning of duplicity in plural dictionaries. All of our theories were wrong. Not one of us got even close to getting it right. That is an impressive feat, because surprising and intriguing a reader is half the battle of writing a good book, and is extremely difficult to do in a world of “seen that, been done already.”. Since I want you too to experience Duplicity the way I did, I will refrain from anything even remotely like a spoiler. What I can tell you is that it is quite individual. I recommend this book to YA lovers, and if you are a fan of SI-FI I recommend this book two times more. Since I can’t go into any detail without spoiling something juicy, I’ll just tell you the rating. Duplicity gets the honored rating of four out of five stars!
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Want more of me? Go to: http://thenotsopubliclibrary.blogspot...
January 28, 2015
* I received this YA novel as part of the Goodreads first-reads giveaway program. *
This was my first book about computer based hacking, computer crimes, nano chips and all other things computer related. I have read other books that are about this but not the whole book being based on this. I really enjoyed it and really enjoyed learning about things that could possibly be true or out there for people to do. I loved the plot, the characters and the way in which the author grabbed my attention right from the start and held it the entire time. I read this book in 2 days - it was a non-stop thrill ride that I needed more of! Even if computers, hacking, etc. aren't your thing this book was really interesting and it was one of those books that made you stop and think - I feel like the book events could really happen and that it is something that may eventually happen in the future with the way that technology is always changing.
Pick this book up and know that you will devour it within days. A great read - add it to your TBR list!
This was my first book about computer based hacking, computer crimes, nano chips and all other things computer related. I have read other books that are about this but not the whole book being based on this. I really enjoyed it and really enjoyed learning about things that could possibly be true or out there for people to do. I loved the plot, the characters and the way in which the author grabbed my attention right from the start and held it the entire time. I read this book in 2 days - it was a non-stop thrill ride that I needed more of! Even if computers, hacking, etc. aren't your thing this book was really interesting and it was one of those books that made you stop and think - I feel like the book events could really happen and that it is something that may eventually happen in the future with the way that technology is always changing.
Pick this book up and know that you will devour it within days. A great read - add it to your TBR list!
April 11, 2015
I had such high hope for this book, but there are a lot to be desired. The whole concept of cyberspace is thrilling, but I think the characters lack sophistication and a sense of consistency. I am supposed to sympathize with Brandon and hate the parents, right? I am supposed to like Emma, right? But she made little appreance. I couldn't relate to her at all. I'm so confused. Seb seems to be the only character I like here. If I ever read the sequel, it means I'm looking for any mention of Seb. I couldn't care less for anyone else in the book. -.-
Maybe I'm too dense or something, but I can't figure out the essential message the write tried to convey through the plot or the characters. Roughly speaking, I guess it is something like " For better or worse, just let everything be what it be." Or "Beware of technology"as in "I, robot". However, when you can't connect with the main protanists, the whole thing kinda falls through.
It has rich description of tech-related matters, but appears to be lacking in other areas.
Maybe I'm too dense or something, but I can't figure out the essential message the write tried to convey through the plot or the characters. Roughly speaking, I guess it is something like " For better or worse, just let everything be what it be." Or "Beware of technology"as in "I, robot". However, when you can't connect with the main protanists, the whole thing kinda falls through.
It has rich description of tech-related matters, but appears to be lacking in other areas.
January 5, 2015
I gave this book to my teenaged son for Christmas, and I believe it was his favorite gift. He didn't put it down for 3 days straight, reading it in its entirety THAT FAST! I truely think that's a record! In fact, he hasn't stopped raving about how great this book was and has asked to find more books by N.K. Traver. I highly suggest this book for teens that like sci-fi and computers.
July 1, 2016
I read this because it was on sale on audible. It was a fun read.
Bottom line is, if I wanted to live in reality and in things that could only happen there, I wouldn't read. It's fiction. I never need it to be believable. Make it crazy, unbelievable, outlandish. And that's what this was. I liked it. Fun.
April 11, 2015
This book was just so much fun to read. I love love LOVED Brandon's voice, and the plot had plenty of twists that kept me rapidly turning pages. Not to mention, the premise is just so cool and unique. A captivating debut, and I'm excited to read whatever N.K Traver writes next!
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