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The Emergent
Scintillating follow-up to 'The Sentient', which the Publishers Weekly starred review called a "staggering and un-put-downable debut, offers a fresh and feminist-forward take on cloning.""Afifi’s staggering and un-put-downable debut offers a fresh and feminist-forward take on cloning [...] This riveting debut is a must-have for any sci-fi fan."— Publishers Weekly starred review of Book 1 in the seriesAmira Valdez’s adventures continue in the sequel to The Sentient, as she finds herself in unprecedented danger. The ruthless new leader of the fundamentalist Trinity Compound seeks to understand his strange neurological connection with Amira and unleash an army on an unstable North America. The first human clone has been born, but thanks to the mysterious scientist Tony Barlow, it may unlock the secret to human immortality – or disaster. Together, Amira and Barlow form an uneasy alliance in pursuit of scientific breakthroughs and protection from shared enemies. But new discoveries uncover dark secrets that Barlow wants to keep hidden. FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress
- GenresFiction
370 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 17, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 22, 2022
The Emergent is an ambitious balancing act — on the one hand, it runs deep with philosophy, and on the other, it’s a complex web of political intrigue. To weave a tight plot while exploring metaphysical conundrums can be a tough balance to get right, but Nadia Afifi has pulled it off in style.
Amira Valdez is the book’s secret weapon. She’s a tortured soul in a cat-and-mouse situation where there are too many cats, and capture is inevitable. If it isn’t a religious-fanatic-cult-leader trying to climb inside her mind, it’s a sociopathic scientist pushing her forward like a pawn in his sick game. But how does she deal with all this pressure? Simple. She protects the people she cares about.
Amira is no helpless damsel. She’s one of the most powerful players in this story, able to tap into people’s minds and even control them if necessary. There’s always a danger laced unspoken in every chapter that Amira could be twisted into a shape every bit as villainous as the forces trying to cage her. But it’s her loyalty to her friends that roots her, and us, in this bold and vividly painted world.
The future portrayed in The Emergent is every bit as compelling as it is chilling, and it feels expansive, disparate, and all-too real. There are so many fine details on display, that it’s a pleasure to soak up the world, where space is accessed through elevators, machines can open up a person’s mind to a holographic display, the right cocktail of chemicals can make entire armies susceptible to suggestion, and a woman has given birth to a clone of herself. It’s jam-packed with ideas. And every detail carries its own quandary. Is it right to invade a mind? Is your child its own person if it carries a copy of you within it? And it’s in these corners of the world where a lot of the philosophy is given room to breathe.
The book isn’t so much about searching for answers as searching for the right questions. Amira’s pulled between knowing who she can trust — but she can’t find the answer if she doesn’t know the right question to begin with. It’s all noise to her, until the climax of the story cuts through the static and washes everything in clarity, going places that are deep and daring, to pit life against death quite literally.
The Emergent is a fascinating delve into questions that are supposed to remain as questions. But don’t think for a minute that it’s all talk and no play. The chapters are action-packed, lyrically written, with enough twists to keep you guessing. Just when you think you’re on level ground, something comes along to swipe you off your feet. And once you close the book, you’ll be left with plenty to chew over.
In terms of pacing, I found the second half of the book stronger than the first. I read the opening sections slower, indulging in the world and the way it built. But the final third, in particular, really flew. This is one of those books that reward you for getting to the final page in a big way.
Much like a mind, The Emergent is all about making connections. It yearns to make sense of things which shouldn’t go together, and yet, somehow do. It bridges action with philosophy, politics with character-study, the conscious and the unconscious, life and death and everything else in between. For those who connect with this story and its themes, you’ll find a depth that’s intriguing, and a story that’s sophisticated, slick, and satisfying. And for those who just want to sit back and enjoy the chases and the bullets and the cool camaraderie of a band of misfits struggling to find their place in a broken world, you’ll find that this delivers in spades. It’s a superior, cerebral sequel that packs a punch and will leave you craving more. It doesn’t just emerge, it looks up, aims for the stars, and soars.
Amira Valdez is the book’s secret weapon. She’s a tortured soul in a cat-and-mouse situation where there are too many cats, and capture is inevitable. If it isn’t a religious-fanatic-cult-leader trying to climb inside her mind, it’s a sociopathic scientist pushing her forward like a pawn in his sick game. But how does she deal with all this pressure? Simple. She protects the people she cares about.
Amira is no helpless damsel. She’s one of the most powerful players in this story, able to tap into people’s minds and even control them if necessary. There’s always a danger laced unspoken in every chapter that Amira could be twisted into a shape every bit as villainous as the forces trying to cage her. But it’s her loyalty to her friends that roots her, and us, in this bold and vividly painted world.
The future portrayed in The Emergent is every bit as compelling as it is chilling, and it feels expansive, disparate, and all-too real. There are so many fine details on display, that it’s a pleasure to soak up the world, where space is accessed through elevators, machines can open up a person’s mind to a holographic display, the right cocktail of chemicals can make entire armies susceptible to suggestion, and a woman has given birth to a clone of herself. It’s jam-packed with ideas. And every detail carries its own quandary. Is it right to invade a mind? Is your child its own person if it carries a copy of you within it? And it’s in these corners of the world where a lot of the philosophy is given room to breathe.
The book isn’t so much about searching for answers as searching for the right questions. Amira’s pulled between knowing who she can trust — but she can’t find the answer if she doesn’t know the right question to begin with. It’s all noise to her, until the climax of the story cuts through the static and washes everything in clarity, going places that are deep and daring, to pit life against death quite literally.
The Emergent is a fascinating delve into questions that are supposed to remain as questions. But don’t think for a minute that it’s all talk and no play. The chapters are action-packed, lyrically written, with enough twists to keep you guessing. Just when you think you’re on level ground, something comes along to swipe you off your feet. And once you close the book, you’ll be left with plenty to chew over.
In terms of pacing, I found the second half of the book stronger than the first. I read the opening sections slower, indulging in the world and the way it built. But the final third, in particular, really flew. This is one of those books that reward you for getting to the final page in a big way.
Much like a mind, The Emergent is all about making connections. It yearns to make sense of things which shouldn’t go together, and yet, somehow do. It bridges action with philosophy, politics with character-study, the conscious and the unconscious, life and death and everything else in between. For those who connect with this story and its themes, you’ll find a depth that’s intriguing, and a story that’s sophisticated, slick, and satisfying. And for those who just want to sit back and enjoy the chases and the bullets and the cool camaraderie of a band of misfits struggling to find their place in a broken world, you’ll find that this delivers in spades. It’s a superior, cerebral sequel that packs a punch and will leave you craving more. It doesn’t just emerge, it looks up, aims for the stars, and soars.
June 23, 2023
It has been over two years since I read Nadia Afifi’s first book, The Sentient. At the time, while I had some concerns, I was excited that the book checked off so many boxes of things I am interested in; dystopian science fiction, first novel by an Arabic American author, female protagonist, dangerous religious cults, a science academy, and prominent feminist themes.
The Emergent is the long awaited sequel. In it, Afifi picks up where the Emergent left off. Let me stress that you really need to read the first book before reading the second one. Afifi’s books are fast paced with lots of action, numerous characters, warring factions, and many political, religious, and personal issues flying at you on every page. You almost need a “score card” to keep track of who is doing what, about which, and to whom.
In 1973, an American cultural anthropologist named Ernest Becker wrote a book titled: The Denial of Death. In it, he postulated that most human action is taken to ignore or avoid the inevitability of death. In fact, he feels that our primal drive to live is in direct conflict with our knowledge that we are going to die. As I interpret his writings, this conflict puts us into an untenable situation so that we make up stories and religions to convince ourselves that life goes on after death in order to try to keep our sanity. This leads to the millennium old conflict between the facts presented by science and the myths presented by religion.
Afifi’s trilogy is about how, in a post apocalyptic world, this war between science and religion has reached a new level of conflict. Both groups are trying to put off the inevitability of death and will use any and all means possible to do so. This builds in book one and leads to open conflict in book two.
In 2023 the United States is split along very similar lines, which makes reading this book even more timely and upsetting. The headlines are filled with stories about governmental, religious, scientific, and medical groups battling over the issues of abortion, gender identify, patriarchy, and ultimately, the question of who controls one’s body. The Emergent takes these conflicts and puts them on steroids.
Overall, I enjoyed this sequel even more than book one. There are a few issues of stretching science and all of the action sometimes make it hard to follow but overall I enjoyed this book and am eager to read book three, The Transcendent.
The Emergent is the long awaited sequel. In it, Afifi picks up where the Emergent left off. Let me stress that you really need to read the first book before reading the second one. Afifi’s books are fast paced with lots of action, numerous characters, warring factions, and many political, religious, and personal issues flying at you on every page. You almost need a “score card” to keep track of who is doing what, about which, and to whom.
In 1973, an American cultural anthropologist named Ernest Becker wrote a book titled: The Denial of Death. In it, he postulated that most human action is taken to ignore or avoid the inevitability of death. In fact, he feels that our primal drive to live is in direct conflict with our knowledge that we are going to die. As I interpret his writings, this conflict puts us into an untenable situation so that we make up stories and religions to convince ourselves that life goes on after death in order to try to keep our sanity. This leads to the millennium old conflict between the facts presented by science and the myths presented by religion.
Afifi’s trilogy is about how, in a post apocalyptic world, this war between science and religion has reached a new level of conflict. Both groups are trying to put off the inevitability of death and will use any and all means possible to do so. This builds in book one and leads to open conflict in book two.
In 2023 the United States is split along very similar lines, which makes reading this book even more timely and upsetting. The headlines are filled with stories about governmental, religious, scientific, and medical groups battling over the issues of abortion, gender identify, patriarchy, and ultimately, the question of who controls one’s body. The Emergent takes these conflicts and puts them on steroids.
Overall, I enjoyed this sequel even more than book one. There are a few issues of stretching science and all of the action sometimes make it hard to follow but overall I enjoyed this book and am eager to read book three, The Transcendent.
June 2, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and to Flame Tree Press for this eARC.
The Emergent is Nadia Afifi’s sequel to The Sentient, which I dug up to read before I went into this one. I had found The Sentient a little too sciencey and much too YA for my taste, so I was pleased to find this denser and more cohesive.
The main protagonist is Amira Valdez, a young woman who grew up on a compund, a religious cult with a great deal of abuse and other general horrors. She escaped to the city of Westport before the events of the first book in the series, where she joined The Academy, a scientific institution. She became famous for her ability to use the holomentic machine, a machine for memory reading (!), and because she got caught up in a plot to create the first human clone.
In The Emergent, Amira grows up, and her character develops a lot more complexity, which is welcome. We also learn more about the compounds, and about the darker side of the Academy. There’s a lot more action and plot, and a lot less fantastical science, which helped me enjoy this a lot more than the first book. Amira also gets a rather irrelevant love interest.
My main criticism of these books is how many triggers there are: this is a really very dark world, and the author does not spare us. My other criticism is the implausibility of the science: this series skews more fantasy, on the whole. In The Emergent, characters are a lot more developed, and the plot is sustained quite well. There are plot holes which the author either belatedly tries to close up or ignores entirely, but they don’t really detract from enjoyment of the book. The ending feels strange, and rushed; but I assume that is to set us up for the next book in the series.
Overall, this is probably enjoyable for any fan of soft sci-fi/dystopia; fans of the Divergent series will probably enjoy this. I found The Emergent much more solid, gripping and enjoyable than The Sentient, so if you read the first book, I am happy to recommend this second one to you.
Rated: 7/10. However, read the first book in the series, The Sentient, before you read this one.
https://shonareads.wordpress.com/2022...
The Emergent is Nadia Afifi’s sequel to The Sentient, which I dug up to read before I went into this one. I had found The Sentient a little too sciencey and much too YA for my taste, so I was pleased to find this denser and more cohesive.
The main protagonist is Amira Valdez, a young woman who grew up on a compund, a religious cult with a great deal of abuse and other general horrors. She escaped to the city of Westport before the events of the first book in the series, where she joined The Academy, a scientific institution. She became famous for her ability to use the holomentic machine, a machine for memory reading (!), and because she got caught up in a plot to create the first human clone.
In The Emergent, Amira grows up, and her character develops a lot more complexity, which is welcome. We also learn more about the compounds, and about the darker side of the Academy. There’s a lot more action and plot, and a lot less fantastical science, which helped me enjoy this a lot more than the first book. Amira also gets a rather irrelevant love interest.
My main criticism of these books is how many triggers there are: this is a really very dark world, and the author does not spare us. My other criticism is the implausibility of the science: this series skews more fantasy, on the whole. In The Emergent, characters are a lot more developed, and the plot is sustained quite well. There are plot holes which the author either belatedly tries to close up or ignores entirely, but they don’t really detract from enjoyment of the book. The ending feels strange, and rushed; but I assume that is to set us up for the next book in the series.
Overall, this is probably enjoyable for any fan of soft sci-fi/dystopia; fans of the Divergent series will probably enjoy this. I found The Emergent much more solid, gripping and enjoyable than The Sentient, so if you read the first book, I am happy to recommend this second one to you.
Rated: 7/10. However, read the first book in the series, The Sentient, before you read this one.
https://shonareads.wordpress.com/2022...
June 12, 2024
In The Emergent, a neuroscientist must protect the first human clone from enemies and must protect herself from a ruthless cult leader who is seeking to understand his neurological connection to the scientist and who wants to destabilize broader society. The book explores medical ethics in a political world, and the protagonist is intelligent and complex. The pacing is extremely well done, with ongoing conflict, plot twists, and an electrifying ending that leaves the reader wanting to continue the excitement with the next book in the series.
May 28, 2022
I finally got to read this book, and just in time for my date on the blog tour. I love the story and characters, and that ending was totally unexpected. The story bounced from explosive action to high tension to calm and the ramps back up again. Kept me turning the pages, I've read the vast majority of the book today, in a few hours. A real page-turner.
May 18, 2022
A very strong science fiction novel
For a full review, please go to https://areviewerdarkly.blogspot.com/... and follow me on Twitter @josenher
For a full review, please go to https://areviewerdarkly.blogspot.com/... and follow me on Twitter @josenher
December 20, 2023
2.75 My patience for reading action/thriller got used up. Amira is friends with cops. Hadrian's linguistic affectation, for someone who moved to the States when he was twelve, is still obnoxious.
January 3, 2023
This is the sequel to Afifi’s novel The Sentient. This novel continues the explorations of consciousness and identity, chief among the themes of her first novel. The story begins with the main character, Amira Valdez traumatized by the events of The Sentient. While recovering she decides to continue her studies on the first human clone, who may now be even more extraordinary because of the experiments of mad scientist and master manipulator Tony Barlow, one of the villains in the Sentient. She finds herself again being pursued by the extremist, religious cults she escaped from. Amira quickly finds herself subservient to Tony Barlow, who continues to scheme 3 steps ahead of everyone else. With the extremists close behind she finds herself surrounded by enemies in an unpredictable whirlwind of events.
Afifi does a good job developing a number of the characters in this story, and maybe not the ones you would expect. These included big brother figure Hadrian, villains Tony Barlow and Reznik, as well as a few characters that were tertiary or just lurking in the background. Admittedly, I was surprised which characters she chose to develop while leaving some of the obvious choices behind. Though, in my opinion, this makes me all the more interested to see what happens in the third and final book.
While the writing style is straight forward, and faster moving than her first novel, Afifi is ruthless and willing to crush your expectations and your feelings over and over again. If you are interested in psychic explorations, scheming villains, and having your heart ripped from your chest, you’ll enjoy this one.
Find more reviews and interviews here: https://itgodp.libsyn.com/
Afifi does a good job developing a number of the characters in this story, and maybe not the ones you would expect. These included big brother figure Hadrian, villains Tony Barlow and Reznik, as well as a few characters that were tertiary or just lurking in the background. Admittedly, I was surprised which characters she chose to develop while leaving some of the obvious choices behind. Though, in my opinion, this makes me all the more interested to see what happens in the third and final book.
While the writing style is straight forward, and faster moving than her first novel, Afifi is ruthless and willing to crush your expectations and your feelings over and over again. If you are interested in psychic explorations, scheming villains, and having your heart ripped from your chest, you’ll enjoy this one.
Find more reviews and interviews here: https://itgodp.libsyn.com/
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews