Wendy's Reviews > H+ incorporated

Set in the dystopian world of 2039 after a titanic flood devastated Manila, a city saved from a watery grave by a flood-proof platform and turned into a technocratic metropolis, rising automation has fuelled human poverty and the violence of social unrest. In this environment the story opens when ten-year-old Jake Patel, a boy with a full-body prosthetic and his father David befriend Chloe, a young journalist with a hatred for police authority, joining a techno workshop funded by her mother Morgan Zhu, the head of Research & Development at H+. For the first time Jake finds happiness at the “Workshop” exploring novel modifications to his prosthetics while Chloe searches for a way to upgrade her human body.

In a secondary plot Angelo Saldana, Chloe’s former boyfriend has been recruited by a military contractor to oversee the missions of a secret, government- operated strike team equipped with the latest hi-tech weaponry and an automated stealth airship. All too soon he gets swept up in an assignment to stop the perpetrator of a cyber attack on H+ which will bring him into conflict with Chloe, her mother Morgan, Jake, David and their friends at the Workshop.

Creatively Dean Dejean builds a world fueled by innovative hi-tech science and heavily policed to bring any dissension and the violence of protests against the government under control. Action-packed and emotionally-charged with Jake’s unhappiness and isolation at school to his excitement, acceptance and happiness at the “Workshop”, his father’s protectiveness as well as his love for Chloe and her mother, the story heats up with corporate espionage and the strike team’s efforts to eradicate the perpetrator and reclaim her latest hi-tech prototype only to bring the boy, his friends, the police and the strike team into conflict. Fast-paced the intensity escalates half way through with escapes and deadly clashes as the story progresses to a gripping climax.

Fascinating as the author looks at ethical issues underlying the development of technology including the prolonging of life, and the quality of an artificially-enhanced existence, the flow of the plot is often disrupted with a failure to provide background and buildup for the sudden emergence of characters like Dr. Morgan Zhu, the disabled scientist and her need to destroy H+’s mission to build hi-tech weaponry or Chloe’s obsession to begin enhancing her body with an eye prosthetic. Details behind the emergence of the hi-tech military team, the H+ organization and government corruption would have enhanced the suspense and made the story more dramatic as well as escalating the tension. Yet at the heart of “H+” are complex and compelling characters like smart, willful but amiable Jake Patel; his protective, hardworking father David; calm, focused, self-assured Major Hanzo; and feisty reporter Chloe Zhu.

I liked “H+” and hope Dean Dejean will continue to develop his view of the exploitation of technology in future story lines. Although I would have rated this book a high 3+, I have given it a 4.o because of the scale.