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Synthetica
This city is falling.
Seventeen-year-old Anais Finch lives in a world where everyone is born beautiful, where every dream is a possibility - and where their every move and every piece of personal information is recorded by an ID picochip inserted behind their right ear. When technology giant, Civitas, finally announces the launch of their highly anticipated Scholarly Learning Programs, which allow people to download and learn any subject instantly, Anais can hardly wait.
But not everyone is pleased with society's progress, and not everyone wants to fit in. When Anais witnesses a brutal murder on an innocent citizen and is implicated in the crime, she becomes determined to uncover the truth, especially when others like it begin to occur all over the city. But it may already be too late for Anais to stop the man who calls himself 'the Hacker' before he commits his most appalling crime yet...
Seventeen-year-old Anais Finch lives in a world where everyone is born beautiful, where every dream is a possibility - and where their every move and every piece of personal information is recorded by an ID picochip inserted behind their right ear. When technology giant, Civitas, finally announces the launch of their highly anticipated Scholarly Learning Programs, which allow people to download and learn any subject instantly, Anais can hardly wait.
But not everyone is pleased with society's progress, and not everyone wants to fit in. When Anais witnesses a brutal murder on an innocent citizen and is implicated in the crime, she becomes determined to uncover the truth, especially when others like it begin to occur all over the city. But it may already be too late for Anais to stop the man who calls himself 'the Hacker' before he commits his most appalling crime yet...
Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2015
83 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 10, 2015
Fantastic book, really awesome to read, and so entertaining! Loved it!
July 10, 2015
I received a copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.
I can resist a terrific-sounding science fiction story, and one that's YA, too? Yes, yes, and yes! Synthetica is a story that gave me a lot to think about with technology and how it could fit - or not fit - into daily life. There'd be both positives and negatives as with anything. Honestly, I don't think I'd want a chip implanted in my skin with my ID and info all there for just anyone to scan. The thought kind of freaks me out, but on the other hand, it'd be cool not to have to worry about losing my driver's license or something.
I anticipated seeing what Pattinson's vision of the future would be like. Some aspects of Anais' life made me feel jealous while others made me glad I'm not her. I loved that people had such colorful hair! Anais was born with pink hair - her parents chose it. How cool would that be?? But then again, I wouldn't want to be stuck in a job I had no passion for with little to zero chance of moving on to something better. But I knew Anais was strong and if anyone could move upward, it would be her.
Synthetica is well written with plenty of action and a touch of romance. I wasn't quite sold on Anais and Xander's relationship because they seemed to function better as friends than romantic partners in my opinion. Anais and her friend, Dalla, are total opposites, so it was interesting to see their interactions. Sometimes Dalla seemed to be so immersed in her own world that she didn't notice Anais' pain, but I think we all have at least one friend who can be like that, right?
On the plus side, I was anxious to find out what the Hacker was up to and if he'd be found and stopped. I liked the mystery of what he was doing added to the sci-fi. There were times I was shouting (in my mind) to Dalla and Anais not to do what they were about to do. I wouldn't say I was totally attached to the characters, but I still didn't want them to do something dumb.
What drew me to read Synthetica more than anything was the vision of the future as well as the Hacker. There are dystopian elements to this story, although I think Synthetica leans more toward sci-fi than dystopia. The society isn't completely abysmal for people. Places are kept neat and clean, and the citizens didn't seem to be under the heavy-duty control of a dictator-like ruler.
If you're a fan of YA sci-fi with some mystery woven in and like thinking about what society would be like in the future, Synthetica is a book I'd recommend to you.
I can resist a terrific-sounding science fiction story, and one that's YA, too? Yes, yes, and yes! Synthetica is a story that gave me a lot to think about with technology and how it could fit - or not fit - into daily life. There'd be both positives and negatives as with anything. Honestly, I don't think I'd want a chip implanted in my skin with my ID and info all there for just anyone to scan. The thought kind of freaks me out, but on the other hand, it'd be cool not to have to worry about losing my driver's license or something.
I anticipated seeing what Pattinson's vision of the future would be like. Some aspects of Anais' life made me feel jealous while others made me glad I'm not her. I loved that people had such colorful hair! Anais was born with pink hair - her parents chose it. How cool would that be?? But then again, I wouldn't want to be stuck in a job I had no passion for with little to zero chance of moving on to something better. But I knew Anais was strong and if anyone could move upward, it would be her.
Synthetica is well written with plenty of action and a touch of romance. I wasn't quite sold on Anais and Xander's relationship because they seemed to function better as friends than romantic partners in my opinion. Anais and her friend, Dalla, are total opposites, so it was interesting to see their interactions. Sometimes Dalla seemed to be so immersed in her own world that she didn't notice Anais' pain, but I think we all have at least one friend who can be like that, right?
On the plus side, I was anxious to find out what the Hacker was up to and if he'd be found and stopped. I liked the mystery of what he was doing added to the sci-fi. There were times I was shouting (in my mind) to Dalla and Anais not to do what they were about to do. I wouldn't say I was totally attached to the characters, but I still didn't want them to do something dumb.
What drew me to read Synthetica more than anything was the vision of the future as well as the Hacker. There are dystopian elements to this story, although I think Synthetica leans more toward sci-fi than dystopia. The society isn't completely abysmal for people. Places are kept neat and clean, and the citizens didn't seem to be under the heavy-duty control of a dictator-like ruler.
If you're a fan of YA sci-fi with some mystery woven in and like thinking about what society would be like in the future, Synthetica is a book I'd recommend to you.
July 21, 2015
Excellent debut novel.
Full review at www.samanthawrites.ca
Synthetica by Rachel Pattinson was a great debut novel. At 299 (kindle) pages, Synthetica was a fast-paced read for me. The story was paced well, and had surprises at every turn. Thankfully, it didn’t fall victim to the usual YA tropes and really stands out as an interesting take at the dystopian society. The world of Synthetica isn’t as far-fetched as we’d like to hope.
Anais, our heroine, is an average girl-next-door who grew up in a lower-middle class family. At her career meeting she is placed in the Picochip factory, just like her parents. Anais’ hope is that she could break out of those limits and become an architect by using SLP chips that allow the user to learn everything instantly. (Which would be awesome in the real world, am I right?) Then after witnessing a murder, her and her friends start to put the pieces together and discover a dangerous terrorist plot.
The world building was fantastic! In fact, it was probably my favorite part of Synthetica. The story is set in the “moderately distant” future of earth, where technology is so advanced that children’s traits can be picked at conception. I always found this fascinating, getting to “build” your perfect child so to speak. On the dark side of this idea, however, I could see how this could turn sour for society and we would become fixated on having the perfect child. Luckily in this world, people can easily change their hair and even eye colour to fit the particular fashion.
The story and action really kick it into gear around the 50% mark. I suddenly found it impossible to put down and I read the latter half of the book in one sitting. The ending was such a cliffhanger, hopefully the second installment will be out soon.
Unfortunately, I must comment on the formatting for the e-reader. I use a free reader, UB reader via the Google Play Store, for the ARC copies I receive. I read exclusively on my Samsung Galaxy Tablet. When I opened the file, I was disappointed to see that none of the chapters were linked or spaced properly and paragraphs cut off mid-line. Hopefully this wasn’t the case for everyone else who is reading it. However, it didn’t stop me from enjoying the story.
Ultimately, I would be interested in seeing more from this author… Particularly the one about a sex-crazed girl in a dome world that she mentioned in her bio!
*disclaimer* – I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
Full review at www.samanthawrites.ca
Synthetica by Rachel Pattinson was a great debut novel. At 299 (kindle) pages, Synthetica was a fast-paced read for me. The story was paced well, and had surprises at every turn. Thankfully, it didn’t fall victim to the usual YA tropes and really stands out as an interesting take at the dystopian society. The world of Synthetica isn’t as far-fetched as we’d like to hope.
Anais, our heroine, is an average girl-next-door who grew up in a lower-middle class family. At her career meeting she is placed in the Picochip factory, just like her parents. Anais’ hope is that she could break out of those limits and become an architect by using SLP chips that allow the user to learn everything instantly. (Which would be awesome in the real world, am I right?) Then after witnessing a murder, her and her friends start to put the pieces together and discover a dangerous terrorist plot.
The world building was fantastic! In fact, it was probably my favorite part of Synthetica. The story is set in the “moderately distant” future of earth, where technology is so advanced that children’s traits can be picked at conception. I always found this fascinating, getting to “build” your perfect child so to speak. On the dark side of this idea, however, I could see how this could turn sour for society and we would become fixated on having the perfect child. Luckily in this world, people can easily change their hair and even eye colour to fit the particular fashion.
The story and action really kick it into gear around the 50% mark. I suddenly found it impossible to put down and I read the latter half of the book in one sitting. The ending was such a cliffhanger, hopefully the second installment will be out soon.
Unfortunately, I must comment on the formatting for the e-reader. I use a free reader, UB reader via the Google Play Store, for the ARC copies I receive. I read exclusively on my Samsung Galaxy Tablet. When I opened the file, I was disappointed to see that none of the chapters were linked or spaced properly and paragraphs cut off mid-line. Hopefully this wasn’t the case for everyone else who is reading it. However, it didn’t stop me from enjoying the story.
Ultimately, I would be interested in seeing more from this author… Particularly the one about a sex-crazed girl in a dome world that she mentioned in her bio!
*disclaimer* – I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
July 12, 2015
Anais is a young woman living in the Imperial City on the cusp of her 'Career Advice' which will set the job she will do for the remainder of her life. Unfortunately she isn't as brilliant as her friend Dalla and is assigned to work in the picochip factory instead of as an architect as she'd dreamed. Still, she accompanies Dalla to the Citivas building so her friend can see where she will be working. It doesn't hurt that her boyfriend is a intern with security there. They get a quick tour and almost get into trouble. Anais decides to walk home as she decides how to tell her parents about her failure, and to dream a little about using pirated Scholarly Learning Programs to improve her fate.
She witnesses a murder, the second in just a few days, but the killer doesn't attack her, falling over dead instead. She still comes to the notice of the police, especially Officer Nox who wants to pin the murder on her in spite of the evidence, fortunately Officer Hughes supports Anais and she is released. Events conspire to keep bringing her to Nox's attention until he becomes obsessed with her. What is worse is that someone is targeting the city and somehow Anais is the person who must stop it.
I like the utopian/dystopian society of easy genetic modification and ID chips that allow for instant learning. Anais is believable as a young woman caught up by events. There are a few plot issues, such as old technology being the undetectable portal into new technology. Anyone whose tried to work with old Windows software will roll their eyes at that. Officer Nox's obsession isn't well motivated, and some other actions by main character are hard to believe. None of this takes away from an interesting and fun read.
I recommend Synthetica to readers who enjoy YA sci-fi or ones who would like a different slant on dystopian fiction.
She witnesses a murder, the second in just a few days, but the killer doesn't attack her, falling over dead instead. She still comes to the notice of the police, especially Officer Nox who wants to pin the murder on her in spite of the evidence, fortunately Officer Hughes supports Anais and she is released. Events conspire to keep bringing her to Nox's attention until he becomes obsessed with her. What is worse is that someone is targeting the city and somehow Anais is the person who must stop it.
I like the utopian/dystopian society of easy genetic modification and ID chips that allow for instant learning. Anais is believable as a young woman caught up by events. There are a few plot issues, such as old technology being the undetectable portal into new technology. Anyone whose tried to work with old Windows software will roll their eyes at that. Officer Nox's obsession isn't well motivated, and some other actions by main character are hard to believe. None of this takes away from an interesting and fun read.
I recommend Synthetica to readers who enjoy YA sci-fi or ones who would like a different slant on dystopian fiction.
July 17, 2015
First of all that cover really freaked me a little but not in a way that I didn't want to read what was inside, it intrigued me what the hell was the mask for? Who wore it?
Synthetica is set in a world where parents choose their child's hair, in the case of Anais Finch, she has candy floss pink. People can change their looks from the colour of their eyes to the colour of their skin.
Most scariest is the fact that a chip that is installed behind their ear records every single part of their life, it also acts as their phone, sat nav, go to gadget, it does everything for them.
Anais is about to find out what her profession in life will be, she dreams of becoming an architect so to discover that she will work along side her parents in the picochip factory devastates her.
She is told she does not have the grades to make it as an architect so being a teen she decides to see if she can find away round it. A pirate cope of a new software that allows you to learn a subject instantly is on the black market and she wants a copy of it.
However her plans to do anything are halted when she witnesses a murder in which both the victim and the culprit die, being in the wrong place at the wrong time she is hauled in for questioning.
Thankfully she is freed but more and more of these strange murders start to happen across the city and Anais starts to look closer at them. Will she be able to discover who is behind these horrific crimes?
Synthetica is a great read, it has all my favourite book components, dystopia/utopia setting, crazy tech, hint of romance, scary villain and a great female lead.
A great addition to your bookshelf!
Thank you to YA Bound for providing me with a copy
Synthetica is set in a world where parents choose their child's hair, in the case of Anais Finch, she has candy floss pink. People can change their looks from the colour of their eyes to the colour of their skin.
Most scariest is the fact that a chip that is installed behind their ear records every single part of their life, it also acts as their phone, sat nav, go to gadget, it does everything for them.
Anais is about to find out what her profession in life will be, she dreams of becoming an architect so to discover that she will work along side her parents in the picochip factory devastates her.
She is told she does not have the grades to make it as an architect so being a teen she decides to see if she can find away round it. A pirate cope of a new software that allows you to learn a subject instantly is on the black market and she wants a copy of it.
However her plans to do anything are halted when she witnesses a murder in which both the victim and the culprit die, being in the wrong place at the wrong time she is hauled in for questioning.
Thankfully she is freed but more and more of these strange murders start to happen across the city and Anais starts to look closer at them. Will she be able to discover who is behind these horrific crimes?
Synthetica is a great read, it has all my favourite book components, dystopia/utopia setting, crazy tech, hint of romance, scary villain and a great female lead.
A great addition to your bookshelf!
Thank you to YA Bound for providing me with a copy
December 28, 2015
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
YOU CAN READ MY FULL REVIEW ON NERDYCHAMPAGNE
Overall, Synthetica is a cute, fun, action-filled with a bonus feeble romance and trivial mystery factor SFD (Sci-Fi Dystopian) read. The characters are their own. I love the life in them. Xander is this untouchable dude we’re attached to and Anaishas a really complicated name and is this stupid nosy and jumpy teenage girl. Sounds familiar? Well, there’s something about them that I couldn’t resist, hence, the life. The plot is somewhat cliche but with the little twist of mystery, it’s cute. I would like to read the second book, like, right now, because I am not happy with the series-ing. We can get over this now or you can continue it and make me wait which won’t be pretty until you release the second book. Another thing, in this book, no one grew. That’s a factor I didn’t like. Everyone stayed the same as their own cliche characterizations which I don’t exactly have a problem with but I just wish they’ll grew. I believe that everyone and everything has more room to improve, including that shady hacker. So, if you’re into Dystopian and Sci-fi and all the cliche stuff happening in YA world right now, you should definitely give this book a try. Also, because bonus mystery factor. And you might want to argue with me on the romance.
YOU CAN READ MY FULL REVIEW ON NERDYCHAMPAGNE
Overall, Synthetica is a cute, fun, action-filled with a bonus feeble romance and trivial mystery factor SFD (Sci-Fi Dystopian) read. The characters are their own. I love the life in them. Xander is this untouchable dude we’re attached to and Anais
November 12, 2015
Synthetica is a weird book for me. I devoured it in several days, it is in a genre I am interested in, and I love me some sassy heroines. However, the inconsistencies in the timing of certain events and more than a few grammatical errors distracted me from fully being absorbed into the book. But those things could be solved with a good round of editing. Also, the villains, I say multiple because there are several from Anais’ point of view, were disappointingly lackluster.
Read the rest of my review at BibliobibuliYA.com
Read the rest of my review at BibliobibuliYA.com
March 23, 2015
Okay, so as the author I'm probably ever-so-slightly biased ;).
But if you like books about ID chips, impossibly high buildings, being able to change your DNA and your looks on a whim, people with pink/purple/sky blue hair and eyes, as well as a pinch of murder and a dash of danger, then this is definitely the book for you ;). Oh, and there's also an explosion. And ice cream. Just sayin'.
Enjoy!
But if you like books about ID chips, impossibly high buildings, being able to change your DNA and your looks on a whim, people with pink/purple/sky blue hair and eyes, as well as a pinch of murder and a dash of danger, then this is definitely the book for you ;). Oh, and there's also an explosion. And ice cream. Just sayin'.
Enjoy!
May 18, 2015
Fast paced, action packed and a great read. Exciting from start to finish.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews