Amped

by Daniel H. Wilson

In a near-future where the Neural-Autofocus and other neural implants made formerly mentally challenged individuals into equals or superiors to those with normal brain functionality, Owen is a high school teacher whose surgeon father helped develop the implants to control his epilepsy. When the United States Supreme Court rules that implanted individuals are no longer a protected class, Owen's life is changed forever, as he discovers that his implant has a very dangerous secret.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Audiobook, Thriller, Cyberpunk, Adult

274 pages, Hardcover

First published June 5, 2012

About the author

A Cherokee citizen, Daniel H. Wilson grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He earned a Ph.D. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Shane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amped is the latest offering from Portland, Oregon's best selling author Daniel H. Wilson. DHW is most known for his previous works "How to Survive a Robot Uprising" and "Robopacalypse". Neither of which this reviewer has read.

Meet Owen Gray; schoolteacher, former epileptic, son of an implant doctor, implantee. In short, he's an amp. A growing class of citizens who for one reason or another has had a medical implant surgically placed into their brains. Amps are conveniently...errr...easily identified by a small maintenance port on their temples. Long story short, this new class of society suddenly finds out that the rest of society no longer considers them human based on the various physical and mental abilities provided by the implants. Humans are defined by their boundaries, boundaries these implants have blown to pieces. Game on.

The premise of the book is awesome. I love the idea and the first few chapters had me brimming with excitement. The book moves along at a quick pace and there's very little if any downtime. In this sense the author does an amazing job of making you feel like your caught up in the same whirlwind as the characters. Unfortunately that's about the only praise I have for Amped, that and the cover art.

I know this is going to sound harsh but this is one of the sloppiest books I've read in awhile. There are plot holes galore and inconsistencies at every corner. I'll outline some of the bigger ones in the spoiler section below. It's written on a YA level yet the language precludes it from being a YA novel. The main character, Owen Gray, has less personality than my couch and is about as deep. Aside from one or two secondary characters, there isn't much to root for here. Foreshadowing is one thing but the ending is pretty much written out for you half way through the book (no pun intend).

It's unfortunate to see such a promising premise turn out such a mediocre product. I really can't recommend this one. If it wasn't so rushed feeling or if it was a bit more put together I'd be able to recommend it as a fun, easy going summer read but that's about the height of it.


*********************
Spoilers
*********************

Alright, you've read Amped, loved it and wonder what the eff my problem is. Here ya go..

1. Lyle. Where do I begin. Does anyone seriously believe this guy has the personality traits of a Special Forces officer? Does anyone really buy that Lyle the hothead passed all the meditative tests mentioned? We're talking about one of America's Elite and he's running a street gang of kids? Oh let's not forget that the only requirement to join said gang is to get beat in like some ghetto gang.

2. Lyle and Gray's mugshots have been posted on every media and law enforcement outlet from coast to coast for over a week and the cop that shows up at Eden chasing some amp doesn't recognize either of them? Later on in the story when Lyle and Gray confront the Sheriff he doesn't recognize them either outside of being the Amps that messed with his Deputy.

3. Page 95 Gray mentions that one seizure just ended which means it's time for the next one. Then on page 97 Gray says it's been years (not minutes) since his last seizure. Which is it?

4. Lyle goes level 5, "whole hog", for the first time in field standoff with the spotlighters. What? Dude was part of a special Army amp unit and not once during all of their training did they ever train on level 5? They just gave them this insane militarized hardware and never tested it? Riiiight. Level 5 also has long term strategic planning, something Lyle has been doing long before actually going level 5. None of it meshes.

5. Sheriff Gunning spills the beans about Valentine for no reason other than boasting. Both EM and Astra are like the Bad News Bears of secret organizations, not a single believable professional among them. Astra beats people up to join and EM has rednecks with shotguns who drink beer all night. Why can't we read about the pro's fighting this war?

6. Vaughn admits to everything while interrogating Gray. Ummm...Vaughn, the guy who funded Gray's retinal implant somehow has no clue that the thing actually records? The story could have ended right there. All Gray had to do was upload the video to the net and game over but the book needed to be a bit longer so the author adds a 25 minute time limit to recordings and just delays using the same trick until later.

7. Gray takes a cab after escaping from a maximum security secret prison. What??? So semi-trucks hauling the occasional hitchhiker have cameras in them but cabs don't? Makes sense. Don't even get me started on the shaved head shit working with the semi earlier in the book.

8. Did anyone really not know that "something extra" meant level 6?

The list goes on and on and on but you get the point. The whole thing is just sloppy.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oddly enough, I had this really weird impression that it was a YA novel from start to finish even though I know, objectively, that the MC is a school teacher. It's just the feel of it.

That being said, it wasn't bad. In fact, it kinda had the whole Little Brother vibe to it, at least when it came to the fear-mongering and the whole oppressive society bits mixed with high-tech to fight it.

The augmented humans, the Amped, the transhumans, are smarter, faster, more naturally capable, and they're also on the hate-train by everyone else, thanks to natural human fear. Non-citizens.

It's okay. I mean, we've seen this kind of thing a million times, especially in YA, so I should be forgiven for making that connection. :)

The whole plot is pretty standard with your normal situation-meets-new-abilities progression, but what I thought was most amusing was that the whole super-villain/super-hero thing was firmly planted in the red-neck okie vibe. :) I was like... woah. :)

Not surprised, really. Daniel Wilson was great with the Native Americans in his Robopocalypse novels and I was digging it there, too.

What really shines in this novel is the whole Amped technology and the progression and exploration of it. The politics around it was okay, but the fighting and developments were very cool. Maybe it's not enough to hang a whole novel on, and I really could have enjoyed this better with a more original plot, but I still had a good time and I'm glad I read it. :)

[Kaylabee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay. This review will be a little bit...Biased, i suppose is the word.
This is because i believe that Mr. Wilson wrote Amped with teenage boys/men as his target audience.
And i'm a girl.
Not even, like, a nerdy/cool girl.
I mean, i like dresses and make up and ponies.

But here are my thoughts on the book:

Mr. Wilson had a very firm grasp on what he wanted this book to be about. The plotline was very thought-out, and it had those threads that connect to each other later on in the story that make ou go, "OH! WHOA! So THAT's what that was all about!"

Which i enjoy.

However, i think where this book was really lacking was in the characters.
Somewhere around page 179 i stopped and suddenly realized....I had no idea who this Owen guy was. I mean, i knew that was the name of the narrator, and i had just read approximately 179 pages written from his point of view....But i had no feel for his personality. He was like a faceless, hazy memory.
I mean, he was SO vague, i couldn't even tell you if i liked him or not. I felt about him the way i feel about ketchup. Yeah, it's okay. I eat it sometimes. It's not like my favorite condiment. But it's cool. Whatever.

Meh.

Also, call me old-fashioned, but i really prefer the main characters of my stories to be heroes. And even though Mr. Wilson set the story up for Owen to be a hero, and, i think, even TRIED to make him into one...He just wasn't.

Don't get me wrong, i don't mind flawed characters (i mean, we're all a little flawed, aren't we?) 'cause that makes the story more interesting and allows for growth. But Owen wasn't even flawed very well.

Like, I literally JUST finished the book. The laptop was here in my lap as i was reading, so as soon as i closed the book, i opened the laptop and began the review, so everything's fresh in my mind. And i still couldn't tell you ANY outstanding qualities about Owen, whether bad or good.

Plus, i mean, if you're going to have a weak protagonist, at LEAST have an interesting supporting cast. But... Just...Nope. None of the characters were especially interesting.

So that was just the characters.

But i also had a problem with the language in the book.

I know, i know, in this world, if you're going to pick up a book or get on the internet or even, i don't know, go to the grocery store...You're going to encounter curse words.

But seriously.

I mean, almost EVERY other word was a curse. A lot of people say that curse words are "just a part of the english language" or whatever. But, come on guys.

Really?

Can't we tell a story without fouling it up with every bad word in the dictionary?

I mean, why? WHY add all those curse words??

Ugh.

Just a personal preference.

Anyway, the robotics in the book sounded cool to me. I mean, i have no PhD in robotics or whatever, but it sounded fairly believable. But, like i said before, the book was pretty obviously intended for males or girls who are tough, 'cause it was full of sciency stuff and also, violence.

I had to skip, like, full paragraphs 'cause they just made me feel sick to my stomach. Blech.

So there you have it.

Characters weren't very strong.
Too much cursing.
Too much violence.
Lots of science.
But the plotline was okay!

If you're like me, and you've seen an episode of My Little Pony within the last twenty-four hours, this probably isn't the book for you.

[Kon R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Those claiming the plot is out of the realm of possibility must have been asleep at the wheel in 2020 during covid. A time the entire world lost a lot of their basic rights, seemingly overnight, over a virus we didn't even understand fully. So yes, I can easily see something like this happening, especially when you analyze the hesitation and fear people have been expressing over the booming AI business of today. Regardless of all that, isn't it our job as readers to allow some flexibility and fairy dust in the hopes of being told a great story? Skepticism is the death of creativity.

With that being said, I loved Daniel's Robopocalypse and wanted to love this too, but the plot seemed to fall flat on its face after multiple stumbles on the way there. The second half of the book feels like the author had a deadline and only a few hours to throw something together. How did an editor not pick up on all the inconsistencies? Even the plot twist felt beyond forced. Needless to say, the conclusion didn't really matter.

I also think the action fight scenes just weren't done very well and this is probably because the mechanics of the various levels weren't explained beyond a one-sentence prompt before it's activated. Each prompt seemed eerily similar as well. I had a hard time believing that having lightning fast reflexes and high intelligence somehow makes your body super strong. If that was the case, then video game nerds would dominate strong man competitions.

Cool concept. Awful execution. Wasted potential.

[Brenda Fryland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilled to have an Amped ARC. Started it this morning, wrote lesson plans all afternoon, and finished off friday night by devouring the rest of the book!

SciFi/Dystopia fans will enjoy this book -- I sure did! I'm feeling a little Orson Scott Card, Empire, similarity. Hints of Terminator and Matrix. The Senator MUST have been modeled after Rick Santorum...

So far, the story and writing is simpler than in Robopocalypse, but beautiful in its simplicity. The character doesn't seem quite fully developed, but understandly so -- with his "amped" feature, perhaps he isn't quite/just human! The story is riveting from the first moments and it draws you right into the action.

The whole concept of being "amped" is intriguing and uncomfortable. I value intelligence -- but would I value it if artificially enhanced? Would I want it?

A small hole from my perspective -- why no makeup/theatrical cosmetics to cover ports?

I really appreciate the sense of urgency created with the amp consent == three two one do you consent do you consent??? The inserted laws and orders were brilliant -- loved getting that background and really feeling a part of this messed up world created by the author. Adored the ironic personification of the sound of a buzzer -- amusing with people in a way turning to machines, to have a machine be represented with human characteristics.

The author kept me guessing right up to the end. Would the protagonist make it out alive? Whole? Who's the boss? Would Lucy and Nick make it out alive? Any chance for a happiness with the ending, or would it be a warning of things to come? At one point near the end, I was brutally shocked by a scene and my son was actuall worried about me and my reaction. Guess I got a little carried away!

Oh, such beautiful descriptive lines are woven throughout the action, battle, and brutality. Lines like "the memories of that morning are shards of glass, too sharp to sift through" Wow!

Bravo Daniel Wilson! I will most certainly purchase the next book written by this inventive and clever author!

[Steve Lowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dug the tech but didn't give a shit about the main character, or really any of the characters at all. Wilson tries hard to show us how frightening technology without humanity behind it can be, but he forgot to give us compelling humans. Maybe he just prefers writing about robots.

[Horror Bookworm Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amped by Daniel H Wilson

A Neural Autofocus MK-4 Brain Implant has been placed into a portion of the populations temple. These implants help control some medical deficiencies and disabilities such as seizures and learning impairments. Along with the success comes experimentation. One happens to be a military chip instilled into a dozen humans which increases strength, intelligence, and agility. A movement begins when "normal" humans no longer feel comfortable living among the altered which are now called Amps. These Amps are eventually pushed underground and forced to survive alone. Owen Gray, a son of a Neural Autofocus Scientist finds himself thrown into the middle of a Civil War unlike the world has ever seen.
Daniel H Wilson is an astonishing Sci Fi adventure story teller. Beginning with a well established main character that you feel and care for, Daniel plummets the both of you into a land and time which you are emotionally committed. The author is a master at description. He grabs the reader and forces him to feel the pain and mental state of those surrounding the character. Amped is a book with great individuality, a futuristic setting, and so many twists you will not know the ending until the last page. Amped will be one of the highlights of 2012.

[Lolly's Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm having a hard time writing a review for Amped. On the one hand, it's an engrossing look at the human condition. What makes us human? What happens when that definition changes? Will humans ever evolve past their fear of that which is different? While the book may not provide answers to those questions, it does provide a glimpse into a near future when those questions come into play in the most visceral and dramatic of fashions.

The story revolves around an issue which is coming into play even today: Implants. With mechanical parts in our bodies, taking the place of our hearts, our limbs, can we still consider ourselves human beings? How far can we go in replacing our parts with machines before we stop being human? In this near-future scenario, Wilson tells the story of amplified humans, persons with a brain implant known as a Neural Autofocus, placed there to help control any number of issues from seizures and degenerative neurological diseases, to learning disabilities and psychological disorders. This implant, though, is more than just a computer chip plunked into the brain; it burrows into the brain, into the body, into every system, continually learning how to interact with the human into which it was placed, continually improving that human. Simply turning it off or removing isn't an option, because the network the implant has created remains. These amplified humans, or “amps,” are identified by the maintenance ports on their temples and find themselves easy targets of prejudice due to the fear their amplified state engenders, and eventually come under fire from conservative groups, looked upon as something beyond human and therefore beyond human law. Bit by bit, rights are taken away until amps find themselves without identity, without protection. In scenes reminiscent of the degradation of Jews in the lead-up to WWII, Wilson depicts amps losing their homes, their families, their rights, even their lives, as their ability to exist is eroded, unalienable right by unalienable right. Soon, lines are drawn between “reggies,” non-implanted humans, and “amps” in a war which will define the next stage of human evolution. Wilson paints a compelling picture of the fear, the mistrust, the anger and hostility generated by non-implanted humans towards amps. After all, amps are smarter, faster, basically an improved version of humanity. Implanted children outperform regular children in school--talk about skewing the Bell curve!--implanted adults can perform jobs the non-implanted can't--which is just an amplified (hardy har har) version of the current argument towards immigrants. In fact, the whole novel is just a slightly altered portrayal of what we're arguing about today concerning technology and humanity. And it's a very convincing imagining of how quickly this argument can degenerate into hate and how ugly the results would be, especially once crooked politics are introduced into the matter.

On the other hand, while the book contains many satisfying action scenes, and moments of tension and drama, it's a lightweight when it comes to character depth and motivation. The leading man, Owen is so nondescript, when other characters say his name, I'm startled because I've forgotten that that's what he's called. Owen is a sympathetic leading man, trying to do his best while navigating the world which Wilson has created, but all the same he's rather blah. There's a romance thrown in involving Owen which has a slapdash, last minute feel to it, and other than the fact that Lucy Crosby, the woman Owen falls in love with, has the classic “She struck me dumb with her beauty” appearance, there's no real explanation for why we should believe these two belong together. It doesn't help that Lucy is little more than a cardboard cutout, a place holder, a stock female character from fiction plot Template A. There's some story that Lyle Crosby, Lucy's brother and the ringleader of amp rebellion, not to mention a psychopath and the catalyst behind the antagonism between amps and reggies, throws Lucy into Owen's path simply to get a feel for how malleable Owen will be and how useful to Lyle's plans. Yet, as with the relationship between Owen and Lucy, this subterfuge is just kind of passed over. In fact, aside from the very vocal “bad guy,” Senator Joseph Vaughn, and the actual, behind-the-scenes bad guy (who becomes apparent early on in the novel), we don't really get a sense of who any of the characters are, what drives them, why we should care about what they do and what they think. And even with the "bad guys," their motivations are rather shallow. The only two characters who were well-drawn, having a bit of depth and likability to them, were Jim, a rather taciturn old man who is rather like the Obi-Wan Kenobi of Eden, Oklahoma, a refuge for Owen as well as other displaced amps, and Nick, an amped child who follows Owen around like a slightly off-kilter puppy, clicking away at his Rubik's Cube in unconscious movements.

Yet, I will say this, Owen's very "everyman" nature helps drive the point of this book home. Because, while Amped is certainly about what makes us human, the overwhelming issue is what we do with our humanity, with or without amplification. Lyle, the yang to Owen's yin, the two men opposite sides of the same coin, gives in to his implant, reveling in the change it brings to his humanity and looks upon it as the next step in human evolution. Yet by letting the machinery control him, Lyle loses something elementarily human: freedom of choice. Owen continually fights his implant, recognizing it as a tool which can and should be controlled, to be used at his discretion. Ultimately making Owen the greater evolved human of the two. Which means, at the end of the day, despite the book's faults, it's still an entertaining, thought-provoking, and enthralling read.

See more of my reviews at: http://lollyslibrary.blogspot.com/

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea had so much potential, but it was never realized in a melodramatic mess with a dumb ass main character, ludicrous romantic thread, & a plot straight from a bad comic book.

Humans get 'amped', implants that turn a few from morons to fairly intelligent (occasionally genius), stop epilepsy, & such. Most don't do much except allow them to function normally.

A politician is pulling McCarthy Era tactics on them using religion, fear of them taking jobs, & being other than human as a reason to target them. When we finally find out why, it makes little sense, unfortunately. He pushed to get his daughter an early module, it got infected, & she died. How that translates to hating amps is never made clear. Misplaced guilt, I suppose. Very weak.

Our main character, Owen, is a teacher & his father put an amp in him when he had an accident that gave him brain damage. You can figure out where this is going, right? It is. Tired idea, still there was a lot that could have been done. The Japanese interment camps, the Religious Right, & all sorts of ideas are all right there, but we get a dolt blundering around with some comic book characters. Ugh.

Even the idea of what the chips could do was fatally flawed. Enhance the body, kick in the adrenaline, right? Sure. Yet never once did he feel any fatigue after such a run. Instead we get a lot of pap about mental control that didn't make much sense.

I guess I expected too much, but I got through it so I'll give it 2 stars. Barely.

[Jared · Rating 2 out of 5]

Daniel Wilson has a background in robotics, and that is blatantly clear from the book. His descriptions of technology (particularly of the "amp") are very plausible--so Wilson deserves credit as a futurist. I also give him credit for imagining what impact technology can have on society (fear, alienation, social disparity, etc.). But he is not a good author--and that becomes painfully obvious as you slog your way through the book.

My criticisms:

1. The protagonist, Owen, is extremely annoying. His intelligence is mediocre at best, and he's naive and gullible. He's also pacifistic to a fault, so when he gets into violent confrontations he's incredibly inept (like when he's being chased by Billy and runs into Lucy's trailer). The Zenith is supposed to make him a cold-blooded killer, but instead he's melodramatic and whiny and stupid. It would be like having a ninja who's crying and scared. Not very impressive.

2. Wilson builds up the different "levels" of the Zenith like they're something to be afraid of: i.e., You have to give yourself over to the Zenith at risk of losing yourself. But we never see this in the book. Owen never comes out of it feeling hungover and scared about what he just did. There's no angst. So, without that, the reader's left a little bewildered: i.e., "Why doesn't Owen just go to Level 5 and be done with it?"

3. The Zenith levels don't seem that different from each other until he gets to Level 5--which is very anticlimactic. (Side note: It's also underwhelming when Owen gets his @#$ kicked while under the Zenith's power.)

4. Wilson presents this near-future America as being very similar to ours except for these few amped people...but then he keeps destroying this image by adding other technological oddities throughout the book, like biomech suits and genetically-modified people. So you end up thinking: "Why was everyone freaking out about the amp instead of freaking out about these genetic monsters?" and "Why do these local hillbilly cops have biomech suits and yet the future is not more futuristic than this? Where are the T-800s?!?"

5. Wilson's near-future America doesn't behave like a normal America: a senator has the ability to have people arrested and acts like a banana dictator, U.S. marshals allow a paramilitary faction to take people from their custody, etc. So you end up thinking, "This is supposed to be AMERICA, right?"

6. Owen and Lucy's relationship was artificial and forced.

7. And, probably my biggest criticism: Based on how we humans leap at every new technology, I don't understand how only the poor people and a SpecOps military unit ended up with this technology. Where are the wealthy and powerful business leaders and scientists boosting their brain potential? The premise of the book is that an amp makes a dumb person smart and a smart person brilliant. And yet we never meet any brilliant people. Why is that?

Overall, the book is as one reviewer said on Amazon: like eating a rice cake... no real substance.

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm always up for a good science fiction ethical quagmire, and I enjoyed Robopocalypse, so Amped seemed like a decent bet. It wasn't until I was 80-some pages in that I recognized something amiss:

Apparently the world of Amped has next to zero women.

I don't usually spend my time calculating the demographic composition of characters in a novel, but Amped was so egregiously male it was impossible not to notice. Because I expect to be accused of exaggerating, I went back through the book page by page and counted every person whose sex is identified, no matter how insignificant.

Ready?

90 total sex-identified characters (including 'groups').

15 female.


Of those 15:

- Samantha Blake, who's dead by the end of the first chapter.

- "girl wearing a short skirt and a pair of sunglasses" noticed in passing.

- Police officer who says "hey" as protagonist flees.

- Tammy Rogers, a name at the top of a faux lawsuit decision

- "a couple" I'll heteronormatively define as one male, one female, mentioned in passing.

- Bank teller with no dialogue who gives protagonist his money.

- Monica, off-stage wife of protagonist's friend. Mentioned once.

- Lucy Crosby, the love interest.

- Miranda, identified (but never seen) as one of three trailer park residents.

- "my folks", never seen, parents of a character.

- "...Old lady barfs up her nachos". Only reported, never seen, so might be hypebole.

- Representative of Homeland Security, identified as 'she' in a faux newspaper quote.

- Janet Marino, the name attributed to a faux newspaper article.

- Unidentified "I hear a woman screaming from a trailer".


In short, we have TWO female characters and one pitches herself from a roof seven pages in. The other is a Mary Sue created solely for the romantic attention of the protagonist.

And if that's not annoying enough, Wilson even manages to commit the ever-annoying trope of a father and son with absolutely no glimmer of a mother. Did the Dr. David Grey's talents include growing a fully functional human being in a petri dish?


If this had been Wilson's first novel, he'd have an excuse (even if it was only "I'm a privileged tool, but I'll do better next time"). But seeing as it's not, and that Robopocalypse managed to present women as something with substance, I really have to wonder what happened here. Where were his first readers, agent, editors and publisher? Was everyone so drunk off his prior success that they didn't bother reading the manuscript?

The world of Amped had a lot of potential, but despite some great turns of phrase, Wilson doesn't fully deliver. And not just because he's oblivious to half the population (that also make up the vast majority of book buyers and readers), but because he dodges the deep ethical questions that would've made this book required reading in classrooms. Truly unfortunate.

[Lisa Eskra · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a quick read, but it won't be long until you realize it's a story you've heard before...it's sort of like eating a rice cake. No real substance. It struck me as the sort of novel written for the sole purpose of being turned into a movie. Though unlike Robopocalypse, there's nothing remotely fresh about the premise of Amped. In fact, it's like reading a book about superheroes where you don't care about any of the superheroes.

Owen thought he was an ordinary guy who had an implant to control his epilepsy. After Owen's father's research is seized by the FBI, he learns he's not just an amp, he's a ~special snowflake~ super amp. He goes on the run, and thus begins his journey. The plot is fairly predictable and so is the premise. You've seen it in X-Men and every other movie/novel that pits superhumans against normals.

As far as the writing style is concerned, I didn't care for Owen Gray's voice. It's an awkward blend of narration and description, blended in a way that doesn't quite work. Descriptive in the way an author would think so it never jives with Owen's voice. As it's told in first-person point of view, it should've invested me more in his character. Instead, the novel relies heavily on the plot so character development is almost nonexistent, one of Wilson's major shortcomings.

Given the lack of character development, it should come as no surprise that the romance feels contrived. And it makes no sense that Owen somehow is better at combat than guys who were in the special forces. Oh wait, it does -- he's the self-insert Marty Stu protagonist. That would explain why we only ever learn a few things about him.

Chapters aren't framed in the script-like manner Wilson used in Robopocalypse; in Amped, he incorporates news articles for more or less the same effect. Again, it proves to be a crutch for his weak world-building skills. Many are unnecessary, as the information is provided during the story. So they feel like awkward interruptions.

Another failing of the novel is that it doesn't paint a compelling enough argument for the amps. They act like normal humans don't have a right to be upset about smarter/stronger amps replacing them. So from the reader's perspective, it puts them at a disadvantage as far as garnering any sympathy goes. Wilson never overcomes that hurdle so in turn I never found myself rooting for the amps. Especially since many of them aren't nice guys.

There's only one major action scene in the first two parts. It's well written, Wilson really nails the action sequences. But there really needed to be more going for it early on. Some of the chapters are started too far into the scene. The first chapter is guilty of this. Instead of having an investment in what's happening via a good tension build-up, the reader spends more time trying to figure out what's happening and why is it happening.

Part three sets a great pace, and the sprint to the conclusion is fast and gripping. None of the "revelations" are surprising, but for the most part, the climax is satisfying. A little quick and too easy, perhaps, but it's the best part of the book.

Unfortunately, it was too little too late for me. For the most part, the story itself is uninspiring and unoriginal; I didn't think Wilson breathed enough life into it to make it a good novel. While Wilson isn't a bad author by any means, I hardly found Amped to be the "techno-thrill ride" it's advertised to be.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of Wilson's work (Roboapocalypse and Robogenesis) I was looking forward to reading this book, and boy was I not disappointed. Portraying a world I feel we aren't too far away from, Wilson weaves a fascinating tale of implanted super humans and the consequences this brings. Amped (RRP $19.99 from Simon and Schuster Australia) opens a few years after people have started receiving implants for both medical reasons and pure enhancement. Owen Gray has received an implant in his brain from his father to control his debilitating seizures. Or at least this is what he is initially told. Following a Supreme Court ruling that rips basic human rights from the 'amps', Owen is thrust to the forefront of a simmering and brutal class war between amplified humans and humans. To make matters worse, Owen also discovers his amp is different, and he is sent on a harrowing journey to a community in Oklahoma where he will discover his own startling and latent gifts that will change him forever.

I loved the basic premise of this book, and whilst it is not original (X-Men anyone?) it is arguably dealt with in an original and fascinating way. Owen Gray is an interesting protagonist, and I really enjoyed how Wilson examined his humanity and how it changed throughout the course of the book. I also loved reading the scenes that included Lyle Crosby, the leader of the growing amp movement. Ex-military, he is a strange and intoxicating meld of Magneto and Kurtz that I found both terrifying and incredibly addictive to read. Their interaction was the highlight of the book for me, and how Wilson dealt with their relationship had me immersed late into the night. Like in all previous books by Wilson the technological ideas are well thought out and implemented, and they are stunningly familiar as we as a society plough rapidly towards enhancement of ourselves in order to live longer. I also adored how Wilson examined the notion of a class war in the future, and I found the alienation experienced by the amps despite their miraculous abilities enthralling to read.

Where this book is let down (and thus stopping me from giving it a 5 out of 5) is in its final third. Ideas and plot lines that have been set up never fully reach the heights I thought they would, and I was left feeling a little disappointed by the conclusion. All in all though Amped is a solid and fascinating dystopian fiction that will be loved by fans of his previous work.

4 out of 5 stars.

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A review copy was provided.

[Nicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amped is... okay. A quick read. A bit obvious. Well, more than a bit.

I love the idea of the technology, and it is gripping enough to keep you reading right to the end if you don't question it too much, but the characters are all pretty much non-entities and there is precisely one female character present throughout the book, and she's just the obligatory love interest.

I read it really, really fast because there isn't really much there. A bit disappointing.

[Aristotle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pure Pride! White Pride! What's the difference?

First they came for the mexicans, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a mexican.
Then they came for the muslims, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a muslim.
Then they came for the amped, and I did not speak out
Because I was not an amp.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.
A good read. Very relevant in Trumps U.S.A

[Robert Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this but I didn't. The cover promised that it would cover the kinds of things that interest me: future tech, brain optimisation and the effects of these on a person. What I got instead was a YA book that veered into politics, fighting and the idea of the body as an advanced weapons system. And on top of that, it wasn't really credible that the events in the book could ever happen.

If you like politics etc. then you will love this book, but if you want it to contain the kinds of things it promised on the cover then you're going to be sh..heck out of luck.

That said, there's a kind of an appreciation of the human condition here that lights up some parts of my brain. I like to read about people struggling with their identity, falling in love and caring for those around them in dangerous situations and so because all of these things are included too, I dug this book on that level. But it wasn't enough for me to give it any more than three stars.

[James Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worth the read.

The story is pretty paint by numbers. This book suffers from the same problems that robopocalypse did. Intimate scenes are traded for larger set pieces and we rush through them to get to the information needed for the next scene. Characters interact a bit unnaturally and nothing is really rooted properly. None of the setups necessarily pay off, they just disappear.

That being said, it is worth the read. The scenes are fun though emotionally empty. It plays like a summer movie waiting for a spectacle director to get hands on with it.



--- Spoilers below ---

Were we to sympathize with The Brain? Here is a Frankenstein of a man and he's reduced to law furniture. A scene with The Brain and Nick or Lucy revealing a gentle giant would have been great emotional pay dirt.

How was Lucy able to lull Lyle and Owen out of their depths? If a piece of information is introduced and it's meant to be something the reader is to just accept, don't point at it over and over again.

How was Owen surviving without the implant? He pulled it out, and each time something happened to it before he became violently sick. Did they install a new one? Is it still weaponized? This is sloppy.

[Kyle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Combines the worst aspects of the novelization of a video game and someone trying to bait a movie deal.

Meaningless 'levels' of technology, lousy characters, a transparent 'betrayal' as final crisis. It's kind of amazing this is getting the buzz and sales that it is. Hell, that it got published.

Two great things going for it:

1- It's short. No more than three hours reading.

2- Seriously, one good thing: Wilson intersperses legal language with chapters that move the plot forward but also reflect the larger implications of character actions.

The merging of newstalk with general culture over the last fifteen years has been a slow but profound change. Any future changes in society and technology will be reflected in the Fox media machine and the others. That media force will shape and influence the law, which will drive (or slow) other change.

Science fiction that does not include this new element is like looking at Star Trek where there were no social networks. It's suddenly an odd absence. More writers should, and credit to Wilson for making that aspect prominent.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Amped by Daniel H. Wilson is a great and thought-provoking book. It hits the ground running and hardly pauses for breath.

The book opens with a twenty-nine-year-old math teacher perched on the roof of his high school, pleading with one of his students not to jump. It’s some time not too far in the future. Medical implants called amps are in use throughout the world. At first, they were used to control epileptic seizures and artificial limbs. Then a government program brought them to children and others suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome and low IQs. The amps can assist with medical issues, but Neural Autofocus implants can also amplify intelligence.

The young woman on the roof has an amp and has lost a case before the Supreme Court, which declared that “implanted citizens are not a protected class.” The math teacher has an amp too, but only to control his epilepsy. His amp is only for medical purposes. At least that what he’s been told.

A quasi-religious group called Pure Pride and led by a charismatic senator arises, protesting the use of amps. Members of Echo Squad, a secret military organization with a special class of amps, are suspected of terrorism. Offices are bombed. Medical research is seized. People with amps are herded into ghettos and stripped of their rights.

Scattered throughout the book are fictional court cases referencing real ones (like Brown v. Board of Education), news updates from the BBC, CNN, and various real newspapers, acts of Congress, a recall notice from the Food and Drug Administration, and the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. These have the effect of making the book seem like a nonfiction memoir of real events rather than a novel.

Amped feels current and relevant, and it touches on all kinds of societal issues. Although they are not mentioned, Amped will make you think about such issues as U.S. immigration policies, the Catholic Church’s stance on birth control and abortion, and the fight over health care. It will make you remember Oklahoma City and 9/11. And it will make you think about charismatic leaders pushing their own agendas and what personal demons might lay behind their actions.

But don’t let all this talk about heavy issues put you off Amped. It’s a great read, fast-paced and with interesting characters and plenty of plot twists. It will make a great book for discussion, whether at a formal book club or around your dinner table.

There is an added bonus for those who live in Galesburg, Illinois. The book is divided into parts, and each part starts with a quotation from a real person. Part 2 opens with Carl Sandburg’s poem The Hammer.

I read an advance release copy of Amped. It is scheduled to be released on June 5.

[Marguerite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a fan of Daniel H Wilson books since I first read The Clockwork Dynasty. His examination of what makes a human a human is always so interesting. This book doesn't disappoint.
The story is well thought out and progresses quickly. The issues include prejudices, political corruption and mob mentality which are sadly very believable as we look at current issues we face in 2020.
Character development is done via actions and reactions. The story is told from a single POV so there is little character background which makes it difficult to find the motivation for some character's actions. It didn't distract from the story but those who like fully developed characters might find it lacking.
I liked this book and would recommend it. This is the fourth book I have read from him and would rank it 4th behind The Clockwork Dynasty, Robopocalypse, and Robogensis.

[Little Timmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well this never seemed to go anywhere. Nice concept and some good story plot lines but it never seemed to actually build into a good story. Always seemed the buildup to the ending was just around the corner and you never got there. Not Recommended

[Dean C. Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a Half star Sci-Fi

This is a dark, and entirely convincing post-apocalyptic sci-fi piece, which is probably why I didn’t like it as much as Robopocalypse. Call me goofy, but I insist even my End Times dramas come with some cheeky humor and unforgettable one liners, if only to break the monotony of the otherwise dark and dreary world being portrayed with relentless, grim determination. Something the author gave us in spades in Robopocalypse but fails to do here. Maybe he thought by losing the sense of humor the world would be just that much more terrifying, or that we’d take him that much more seriously. Ironically, I didn’t find it to be so. I found the world certainly that much more depressing, and something I didn’t want to escape to even for a few hours, far less live in indefinitely. And maybe that was as intended. Maybe considering the gravity of the subject matter the author felt it more important to wake us to eff up from our somnolence about a future that we’re sleepwalking into that if we could wake up for a moment, would surely run the other direction from. But for such a tale to be truly effective, you have to want to finish the story. And I found doing so this time around more of a chore than a truly enjoyable undertaking. But I may not have been the right audience for this book. If you like things dark and humorless, then by all means jump in (most people would insist that it’s the only way to dine on post-apocalyptic fare.)

On the plus side, the author is wrestling with very real and important issues, far more real and important than anything which makes the headline news. The latter seems if anything like a smoke and mirrors distraction from the real issues of our day. Things such as the ongoing, ever-expanding loss of jobs to automation, robotics, self-service IVRs and websites, and of late, Watson stepping in to do what even most doctors and highly educated people can’t. I guess it’s too scary and too depressing that people face the prospects of being made entirely obsolete in their own lifetime, surpassed and outclassed by AI in every way. And then, to add insult to injury, after being demoted from the top of the food chain, they come to find out their even more dire fate may well be to simply be eliminated from the food chain. Yeah, maybe with that in mind, I can see why the powers that be try to distract people from the issues that really matter. Hats off to this author for at least keeping things real, and for that he deserved my rounding up to four stars and my getting over myself regarding his story being a bit less fun of a read than I’d have liked. If, after all is said and done, he paints a picture of the future that seems that much more realistic and inescapable, can he really be blamed if that future isn’t something we want to live in? Or does that blame fall more properly on the rest of us too busy playing ostrich with our heads in the sand to insist these near-future concerns be front and center in the public forum?

[Mogsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I thought this was a pretty good book, too many things kept it from being phenomenal or even memorable, and I struggled to find anything that would convince me that it deserved any more than a 3 star rating.

First of all, the plot, which was interesting and held potential, was way too thin and full of holes. It's not like I demand everything in a sci-fi novel to work realistically, but I do have expectations that it be somewhat logical. I am much more lenient about this point when it comes to young adult novels, but then that's not what this book is. At times, it does feel like the author wants you to not ask questions and just run with it.

For example, take the book's idea of discrimination against amplified humans or "Amps" -- it feels very crude and underdeveloped to me, like I'm not so sure the country would simply deny a whole swath of the population their basic human rights overnight without a million things happening before that point. Sure, there were a few details about a court case, but I would have loved to see more details. Without them, the story's premise just feels like an empty shell. That said, Wilson is definitely a strong writer on the whole futuristic technology front, but seems to falter when it comes to constructing and describing plausible human societies.

Next up, the characters. I don't know what it is, but I found the main protagonist extremely bland and pathetic. There is hardly anything noteworthy about him at all. The other supporting characters fare a little better, but again, like many of the themes present in this book, they feel underdeveloped. They are like templates, saying things and acting in ways that are very predictable and not very realistic.

Like I said, despite the problems I had with it, I didn't think this was such a terrible book. It just felt like it needed more substance. I did enjoy the addition of news reports, article excerpts, transcript documents etc. at the beginning of each chapter though; I thought that was a nice touch. Pity they weren't enough to flesh out the book's setting and plot.

[Sarah (Workaday Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was full of scary possibilities, of technology that is plausible and beliefs and actions that are recognizable. This book is Robopocalypse on drugs. The author has definitely taken his experience with that book and amped it up a notch.

Even though it was easy, and sad, to see how quickly people turn to hate and discrimination, there was a deeper message the people are inherently good. People rallied together and looked after one another. There seemed to be a message that while there will always be extremists, most people are good.

My favourite character was, without a doubt, Nick. His hyper, nonstop attitude brought a smile to my face every time. Even with everything happening around him, he was still very much a kid. And just any kid, but the type you're glad to know. The one that drives you crazy, but that you love without a thought.

Overall, this was a great read. The possibilities are scary, and people's reactions were both predictable and saddening, but overall, it was a thrilling adventure.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this book thinking the concept, of an impending war between technologically-enhanced humans and those that are not, was a 4 star concept. So many issues about choice and how humans interact with those different from them could be explored. Some of these ideas are explored but then abandoned for your basic war thriller and a kinda hokey (and too optimistic) ending for me. For these reasons and plot that gets less engaging even as the action picks up, I give this book only 3 stars. It could've been more but overall it was just escapist fun.

[Lena Hurzook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gritty audiobook explores humans integrating technology directly into their brains. But now that they are enhanced, are they still considered human?

[Kristina Coop-a-Loop · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s still too early to call Amped by Daniel Wilson the stupidest, most badly written book I’ll read this year, but it’s the worse so far. It’s absolutely retarded. The plot is unrealistic and dumb, the writing is godawful, the characters are paper thin and entirely forgettable, the dialogue painful, the romance reeks of YA dipshittyness, and there are so many idiotic and drawn-out violent fight scenes that I wonder if Daniel Wilson is perhaps thirteen. The utter crappiness of this book amazes me because his first book, Robopocalypse, was really, really good. At least, I gave it a lot of stars and that’s how I remember it. Now I’m doubting myself because I find it difficult to believe the same author wrote this piece of trash. If I’m extra mean to this book, it’s because I was expecting awesomeness and was horribly disappointed.

The events in Amped take place in the not-so-distant future in which technology is so far advanced that implants inserted into the brain can not only cure illnesses such as epilepsy, but also make people much smarter. Owen Gray is a twenty-something teacher who has such an implant; it was inserted by his father, a doctor, to cure his epilepsy. People with this technology are called “amps.” Over the years, people without this enhanced technology, “reggies,” have been complaining that amps have unfair advantages and reggies cannot compete with them. Complaints by a grumbling few have been fanned and organized by a group called the Pure Human Citizen’s Council (PHCC). At first this was simply a religious organization that believed you don’t mess with God’s handiwork, but it grew to be a political movement. Joseph Vaughn, a senator from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the president and founder of the PHCC. He’s actively creating hysteria and encouraging hatred and repression of the “amps” by calling them not human and a threat to humanity. When the government decides to seize all research by amp technology scientists, Owen visits his father, an amp scientist/doctor. His father tells him that (surprise) the technology in his head doesn’t just control his seizures, it’s something extra—stolen hardware that can give Owen incredible unknown powers. Just before being bombed into oblivion, Dad refuses to answer Owen’s questions, is deliberately mysterious (what an overplayed trope of these superhuman types of novels) and urges Owen to go to a trailer park in Eden, Oklahoma. That’s where he’ll find all the answers to his questions. (Seriously. A trailer park in Oklahoma. Giggle.) Owen stumbles off, confused and afraid. He eventually makes his way to Eden (gotta love the obvious symbolism of the name), meets other amps and the novel gets even way dumber.

I’m not going to bother hiding spoilers. Stop reading now if you don’t a) want to know anything else about the plot or b) don’t want to read my specific complaints about this book.

So, my first reaction to this book wasn’t even about how stupid it is (I was still in denial), it was about how familiar the crazy senator is. Who does he sound like? Oh, maybe an orange-hued megalomaniac loud-mouthed boastful asshole with visions of greatness named Donald Trump. Encouraging racism and hatred to further his political cause? Trump and Vaughn. Insisting that some people are more human (in Trump’s case, more American) than others? Yup. The similarities between Vaughn and Trump’s rhetoric is eerie. So I can go along with all the bad things that happen to amps in the book, even though I think they are far-fetched and happen too quickly. What strikes me as completely unrealistic is what happens at the end of the book. When Vaughn is exposed as a liar and the perpetrator of the violence against “reggies” (violence he blamed on renegade “amps” to ramp up the hatred and violence against them), the frothing mass of humanity, which two seconds before had been more or less calling for amp extermination, said, oh, our bad. Amps are great people! We love them! All the fear, anger, and hatred that Vaughn had whipped up over years immediately dissipated. No, I don’t think so. How often do fervent believers in something change their minds when shown the truth? Hardly fucking ever. No one wants to admit to being wrong, particularly fearful angry asshole racists. Whenever Trump fans (who are not all racists…probably just 99.9% of them) see yet another of Trump’s lies being exposed, they shrug, say, “You can’t trust the liberal media” and go along their merry racist way. You can’t reason with that kind of mindset. So do I think it’s believable that these amp haters would all of a sudden reverse their thinking just because Vaughn was exposed as the bad guy? Fuck no. They’d all shrug, say, “You can’t trust the liberal media,” and go along their merry Pure Human racist way.

The book’s plot is stupid. Supposedly this amp technology can be programmed to do lots of things—cure illnesses and/or make you smarter. The government also freely gives away this technology to poor people’s kids who have illnesses that can be cured by it, illnesses that also include being intellectually challenged. Let’s not quibble with the idea of the United States government just giving away this kind of technology even though today’s Congress shits itself at the idea of universal health care for anyone other than themselves. Let’s look at the obvious—if technology existed that could make you genius smart (as supposedly this does), then anyone who could afford it would have it done. Thus you would have a deep divide—not merely between the haves and have-nots, but between the wealthy possessors of this technology and the poor citizens who don’t. A superhuman race vs. pathetic normal “as God made us” humans. And if you don’t think that just about every politician in America would have one of these implants, you’re nuts. Of course they would. So, the premise of this novel is already bullshit. It would be a fight between the pathetic normal humans and the amped-up rich superhumans. C’mon, Wilson.

The technology itself is not realistically portrayed. Supposedly the “amps” are genius smart. That is, humans of normal intelligence who then get the implants are now super-smart. No, they’re not. They’re fucking stupid. A kid named Nick who Owen befriends at the trailer park is the sole evidence that amps are smarter. What does the kid do? Oh, he can solve a Rubik’s Cube superfast. Like, over and over again. Wow. Um…Wilson (I’m having a flashback of Tom Hanks screaming “Wilson!”) are you aware that there already are real-life people without amp technology who can do this? So, Nick isn’t impressive. He’s an annoying little fuckface of a character and I don’t like him. Not that any of these characters has any more charm or intelligence or personality than a puddle of dog piss, but Nick is extra annoying. These amps aren’t all that smart. They are harassed, bullied, stripped of their basic human rights and citizenship and beat up by everyone from religious fanatics to the Oklahoma rednecks who just enjoy violence for the sake of violence. I’m sorry, but if these amps were so fucking smart, this wouldn’t be happening. The super-genius amps would have banded together a long time ago and they’d be ruling the country (if not the world, mwah-ha-ha) by now. Some military personnel were given “military-grade” amps. These amps not only make them smarter, but also give them superhuman strength and reflexes. I love this in a super-sarcastic way. The military amps can choose what level of bad-assery they want, anything from level 1 (who’s got your nose?) to 5 (who just ripped off your fucking face?). But what’s so damn stupid about all these levels is that no matter how awesome they can make your brain, your body is still flesh and blood. There are physical limitations to speed and strength. So when Owen or his fearless leader Lyle Crosby is described doing that fucking awesome amp ninja shit they do, my response is to roll my eyes. Even if the amp is repressing the pain they feel, their bodies are still being affected. Suppressing pain isn’t necessarily a good thing—it’s pain that tells you, hey, something is seriously fucking wrong here. The only time this ninja shit is believable is when the character has physical body parts either replaced entirely or augmented by metal, which is the case for a few of them (and even then it’s dumb).

To go along with the superhero mythology/clichés, Owen, of course, has top secret special abilities. No one knows what he is capable of because, as Dad told him before being blown up, he stole the military hardware that he stuck in Owen’s brain. He doesn’t know what it does, only that it’s gonna be way cooler than all the other military amps (suck on that, Lyle ya freak). Owen’s amp goes to level 6 (say whaaat?) and like all reluctant heroes, Owen is all aww, shucks about it and doesn’t want to amp above level 3, even to save his own ass. But you know he’ll decide to use it right when the situation is at its most dire. Which, of course, he does.

If you suspect his decision to go to the ultimate badass level 6 has something to do with his gross pseudo-romance with the generic, barely female character Lucy, you’d be right. Lucy’s only function is to be the subject of Owen’s immature affections. She has no personality and absolutely no impact on the story, in essence she’s just tits and ass—the prize for the hero. When Owen pouts and says, you don’t really like me; Lyle gave you to me like a birthday present for spying on me, she defends herself by saying she does like him “Because you stood up for Nick in that field. You stood up for Eden. And none of it worked out and Eden is burned, but it doesn’t matter. You tried. You’re a good man. And because you’re sort of cute” (189). Let’s overlook the inane, teen-agery quality of the dialogue and focus on how Owen sees her: she’s an object, a “present,” to be given to him. Not only that, but for (supposedly) spying on Owen, she gets the honor of being Owen’s prize. Wouldn’t you think it’d be the other way around? But I guess that scene pretty much sums up the sexism and assholishness of this book and its characters.

The plot of this book is easily figured out and if you have half a brain, you’ll know who is doing what (even if you think it’s complete and utter nonsense) long before this piece of shit whimpers to a halt. The amp technology, as portrayed, is unrealistic. How everything falls apart is also unrealistic. It’s basically just a really dumb alternative version of the superhero story; instead of Krypton or spider venom or whatever else makes superheroes super, these humans are super due to technology they implanted in their own skulls. There are way too many scenes of fighting in this book and each scene is way too damn long. It’s not the violence of it that bothers me, it’s the utter stupidity and gratuitous quality of the scenes. I think Wilson wrote this book under the impression it would be turned immediately into a blockbuster action-packed Hollywood movie. It’s big on wham! and bam! but character development, intelligent plotlines and snappy dialogue are seriously lacking. This book is seriously a teenage boy’s wet dream—violence, an average geeky guy with superhuman powers and a girl whose role is limited to her body parts. I advise all sensible readers to avoid this book like the fucking plague.

[J.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4 mostly because of the brilliant narration in the audiobook.

There will likely be some spoilers in this review.
The good:
The action is good.
Some of the descriptions were really well done.
This is a straightforward, and enjoyable Science Fiction adventure. it doesn't make things complicated for itself, and it doesn't pretend to be something it's not. It's perfect for a great, entertaining read and enough to keep the interest of most Sci-Fi fans.
It's really nice to see some cyberpunk that's not leaning super heavy into all the tropes, especially the more negative tropes.

The negatives: (Keep in mind, it's easier to talk about negatives than positives. Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this book.)
One of my biggest frustrations with this book was just that it had moments of preachiness. It wasn't constant, but there were more than a few chapters of hand-holding, direct one-to-one comparisons with modern political situations, and a good deal of waxing poetic. Sometimes it's solid, and sells it as the genuine thoughts and struggles of a person in that situation, but more often it comes across as an author not so gently pushing the reader to "learn something".
Being a straightforward Sci-Fi means you know what you are getting. Both a positive and a negative. The negative here is that the story is pretty predictable. Even to the point that the bad guy's motive is pretty much just "I wanna take over the world".
There were several plot threads that were not followed up or were just wrapped up a bit clumsily. Or there were moments that promised some sort of tension but were just rushed through.

The... ehhh.: So, I don't really think this is a real negative, but just something I thought of a few times while I was listening to this. Adult sci-fi can be really heavily schewed toward male audiences. All well and good. The only time I have an issue with it is when it highlights sexual violence. That is a HUGE theme in most Cyberpunk, sadly, so this really isn't a big deal.
But there were only two female characters in this book. 1 was a 15-year-old girl who kicked off the plot by killing herself. The second was the love interest whose primary character trait was "she's pwetty and really nice".
Once again, it's not a big deal to me, I'm not someone who needs a certain quota of female participants in order to feel validated or comfortable with a story. But it would have been nice to see a little bit more thought put into that.

Over all, it was a good read and I would recommend to anyone who likes the typical cyberpunk plots, or wants a fast paced Sci-Fi read.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the premise of this novel, with some reservations about the inherent ableism, and the worldbuilding was strong, however it lost me a little with the pacing of action followed by action.

Cw for suicide, ableism, graphic violence

[Mal Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Want to Buy a Better Brain? Better Think Twice!

Some of the very best science fiction explores the unintended consequences of breakthroughs in technology, and not those that are merely fanciful but advances that can be seen years ahead by observers of contemporary science. Amped is such a book.

Amped ventures into the near future — sometime around 2030, it seems — to depict American society in upheaval over the brain implants installed in half a million of its least fortunate citizens. The implants “amplify” the brains of the elderly and infirm, accident victims, and those with severe mental illness and mental retardation, allowing them to focus clearly and to make the most efficient use possible of their bodies. These “amps” are smarter, quicker, and stronger than the average bear — and the vast majority of Americans don’t like it one bit. They’re especially upset about the few amps who began with superior intelligence and outstanding physical abilities and have been turned into superbeings. Nobody likes a smartypants, it seems.

But this novel is not speculative nonfiction thinly disguised as fiction, with lame dialogue used to “explain” and cardboard characters created for the sole purpose of illustrating different points of view. Amped is, instead, a skillfully written novel of suspense that charges ahead with breakneck speed. In fact, the book can best be described as a thriller, with enough action, suspense, and plot twists to sate the desire of any Hollywood producer.

Amped’s author, Daniel H. Wilson, sports a Ph.D. in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, which some consider the epicenter of the field. This is Wilson’s seventh book. His previous works include Robopocalypse and How to Survive a Robot Uprising.