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Flash
When they know you, they own you.
In Benison, controlling actions is a simple blend of stalking and good psychology. Armed with this power, the Architects play puppet master, interfering with people’s lives in the name of creating destiny.
Three years ago, Cael lost his sister to their whims. Now, the Architects want to recruit him.
They see a rising star capable of greatness. He sees a chance at freedom—and revenge. So he takes it.
But in a world where your actions can be predicted perfectly, were they ever really your own?
In Benison, controlling actions is a simple blend of stalking and good psychology. Armed with this power, the Architects play puppet master, interfering with people’s lives in the name of creating destiny.
Three years ago, Cael lost his sister to their whims. Now, the Architects want to recruit him.
They see a rising star capable of greatness. He sees a chance at freedom—and revenge. So he takes it.
But in a world where your actions can be predicted perfectly, were they ever really your own?
300 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2016
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 8, 2022
It was a great book! I’ve probably read it at least twice by now and I’m told my siblings about it and they have read it and loved it especially my brother as he and one of the characters have the same name 😂. 5 stars DEFINITELY RECOMMEND! I love reading and there are some books that I have to force myself to read, but this book once I started and got a couple chapters in, I couldn’t put it down…. I stayed up late reading it and read it whenever I got the chance and probably finished in 2 or so days 😅!
July 2, 2016
In the town of Benison, citizens' lives are neurotically controlled by an organization known as the Architects through subtle manipulation and carefully planned "interventions." Most of the town's residents don't know that, though. Cael is one of the few who do; his father is an Architect, and now the organization wants to recruit Cael as well. But that is the last thing Cael wants, since he knows that the Architects are responsible for the death of his sister three years ago. He starts looking for ways to fight back, to escape the massive chess board of Benison in which he is merely a pawn. Every day brings new surprises, new betrayals, new mysteries, and new tragedies into Cael's life. He doesn't know who he can trust, but he'll have to choose very carefully if he wants to get out from under the Architects' collective thumb with the people he loves.
Let me start out by saying that I really wanted to like this book. I kind of distantly know the author, so when I heard that he had just published Flash, I was naturally very happy for him and immediately snapped it up for my Kindle. I rated it three stars (i.e. I "like it," according to the GoodReads rating system) because while there was nothing really wrong with the writing or the characters or the editing (and in some self-published books, the editing--well, more accurately, the lack thereof--is a REAL problem), it wasn't really my cup of tea. (Oh, the irony of my using that phrase... I don't even drink tea.) Cael experiences so many betrayals over the course of the novel that by the time I got to the end of the book, the "pull the rug out from under my feet" maneuver had kind of lost its shock value. I started to feel like Murphy's Law was literally in effect: imagine the most emotionally traumatic thing that could happen to Cael, and BAM, it would inevitably happen. I found it depressing, the apparent impossibility of escaping the Architects' influence.
Let me be clear: Flash is not a bad story or bad writing, and I think there are plenty of people who would enjoy it more than I did. People who like stories about huge conspiracies with their fingers in all the pies. People who like books with an overall dark mood. People who like espionage/spy-type stories where the MC and the readers never know who can be trusted. I'm pretty sure my "meh" reaction is mostly due to my personality and genre preferences rather than any glaring fault in the book.
So whether Flash is the right book for you depends mostly on you. My reaction was lukewarm, but that doesn't necessarily mean you won't love it. Give it a chance and judge for yourself.
Let me start out by saying that I really wanted to like this book. I kind of distantly know the author, so when I heard that he had just published Flash, I was naturally very happy for him and immediately snapped it up for my Kindle. I rated it three stars (i.e. I "like it," according to the GoodReads rating system) because while there was nothing really wrong with the writing or the characters or the editing (and in some self-published books, the editing--well, more accurately, the lack thereof--is a REAL problem), it wasn't really my cup of tea. (Oh, the irony of my using that phrase... I don't even drink tea.) Cael experiences so many betrayals over the course of the novel that by the time I got to the end of the book, the "pull the rug out from under my feet" maneuver had kind of lost its shock value. I started to feel like Murphy's Law was literally in effect: imagine the most emotionally traumatic thing that could happen to Cael, and BAM, it would inevitably happen. I found it depressing, the apparent impossibility of escaping the Architects' influence.
Let me be clear: Flash is not a bad story or bad writing, and I think there are plenty of people who would enjoy it more than I did. People who like stories about huge conspiracies with their fingers in all the pies. People who like books with an overall dark mood. People who like espionage/spy-type stories where the MC and the readers never know who can be trusted. I'm pretty sure my "meh" reaction is mostly due to my personality and genre preferences rather than any glaring fault in the book.
So whether Flash is the right book for you depends mostly on you. My reaction was lukewarm, but that doesn't necessarily mean you won't love it. Give it a chance and judge for yourself.
July 2, 2016
This book is one of the most thought-provoking, exciting young adults novels I have ever read. It has a moving plot that made me forget to go to sleep when I was reading it. And, while this may be the author's first novel, the writing has a quality that is reminiscent of a seasoned artist.
The main character, Cael, lives in the town of Benison, where the public officials have taken it upon themselves to secretly engineer everyone's life, and, in the end, their destiny. In this place where choices are given to you by someone whom you can't see, where decisions never really are your own, Cael experiences loss and betrayal, but finds purpose and hope as he takes on a role bigger than himself. The challenges he experiences in his path to find freedom are not just fantastic or dystopian-they have elements that would be relatable to everyone who picks up this novel. And that is one of the greatest things about this book; it's a young adult novel that takes you somewhere else and yet returns you to your own world empowered to choose, empowered to make your own destiny.
I'm excited to read this author's next book, and I know that I wouldn't be surprised to see Flash on the shelf next to best-sellers like the Hunger Games, Divergent, or Paper Towns. And now it's up to you--will you make the obvious choice to read this great book, and let your day/month/life be changed?
The main character, Cael, lives in the town of Benison, where the public officials have taken it upon themselves to secretly engineer everyone's life, and, in the end, their destiny. In this place where choices are given to you by someone whom you can't see, where decisions never really are your own, Cael experiences loss and betrayal, but finds purpose and hope as he takes on a role bigger than himself. The challenges he experiences in his path to find freedom are not just fantastic or dystopian-they have elements that would be relatable to everyone who picks up this novel. And that is one of the greatest things about this book; it's a young adult novel that takes you somewhere else and yet returns you to your own world empowered to choose, empowered to make your own destiny.
I'm excited to read this author's next book, and I know that I wouldn't be surprised to see Flash on the shelf next to best-sellers like the Hunger Games, Divergent, or Paper Towns. And now it's up to you--will you make the obvious choice to read this great book, and let your day/month/life be changed?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews