Brilliance Series starting with Brilliance, by Marcus Sakey beginning on August 16, 2018

[Jennifer]

Book One Description: In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called "brilliants," and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in - and betray his own kind.

From Marcus Sakey, "a modern master of suspense" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "one of our best storytellers" (Michael Connelly), comes an adventure that’s at once breakneck thriller and shrewd social commentary; a gripping tale of a world fundamentally different and yet horrifyingly similar to our own, where being born gifted can be a terrible curse.

[Jennifer]

Ch 11 - (view spoiler)[ While I agree that it would be a misuse of power if his boss DID help him with Kate's testing, I still think it is pretty crappy that there is not a way to force waiting until she's 8. I have a feeling that this will be the straw that breaks the camel's back and may force Cooper to switch sides (or at the very least relocate his family to Wyoming). (hide spoiler)]

[Jennifer]

Ch 21(53%) - (view spoiler)[ Ick, that Schneider guy gave me the creeps. Other thoughts - I'm still not 100% sure that Shannon is not going to betray him any second. There is something about her that isn't sitting well with me. (hide spoiler)]
Ch 31 (76%) - (view spoiler)[ OH crap! Not that I am surprised that John Smith wouldn't try to convince him to join him....but what if what he says is true? Then is Drew an abnormal too and a super awesome strategist to be able to beat John Smith all the time? How is Cooper going to be able to go up against him if he has been duped this whole time? (hide spoiler)]

[Jennifer]

Finished - (view spoiler)[ huh. Interesting ending. I thought it was pretty exciting while listening to it, but thinking back I'm surprised it wasn't more complicated. So one bad guy is dead, two if you count Dickerson, but there is still a bunch more. I still don't know what to think of Smith or Epstein. I'm surprised that Epstein didn't know that the video of Smith was a fake and couldn't figure out that some of the attacks on abnormals were orchestrated by Peters, and I'm surprised that Cooper didn't try to get word to him about not having all the data. I don't think Epstein is a bad guy and might even be a good ally for Cooper, especially since he has a face that could be the leader that Cooper thinks the abnormals need now. Ah well, I guess I will have to move along to the next book to see how it plays out. I think his family should move to Wyoming, just in case. (hide spoiler)]

[Jennifer]

Ch 11 - (view spoiler)[ Wow, this world is just messed up! I can't believe that Leahy is getting his way and that the soldiers are so close to just shooting people outright. And I'm still wondering WHY they couldn't send food/etc like Nick suggested as well as Leahy's plan - why were those two things mutually exclusive? And what is this research that Ethan was working on? I have a feeling it was a way to get the brilliant genes to express themselves in the normal population - making everyone closer to the same. (hide spoiler)]
Ch 19 (50%) - (view spoiler)[ Oh geez, now they are just shooting people. This is going to get really ugly. If Violet gets killed while they try to escape, I'm going to be really upset. (hide spoiler)]

[Jennifer]

Ch 28 (68%) - (view spoiler)[ WTF! Nick can't be dead! Although, I don't know how he is going to survive this! What is Soren's superpower exactly? (hide spoiler)]
Ch 32 (75%) - (view spoiler)[ Whew, not sure I really like the ease with which they explained Nick's recovery, but I'm glad he isn't dead. As for his son, I thought for sure his neck was broken and he died too. (hide spoiler)]
Finished - (view spoiler)[ One of the things I think I like best about this ending is that the author didn't do the super cliche' thing by having Nick stop the war just in the "nick" of time (bad pun, I know). He let it happen. Millions of people just died, and more probably will before the next book picks up. And here we have Nick feeling like a complete failure....but we know he won't give up because he's not dead yet. (hide spoiler)] Just one more book to find out how it all ends! I'll probably start it in a few days.

[Jennifer]

Ch 9 - (view spoiler)[ Ugh, I can't believe he slept with Natalie. Men! As far as everything else goes, I am not understanding why they think the good doctor's serum is going to solve the war. Even if they were able to inject everyone and make them Brilliant, people are still asshats and would find something else to be afraid of and fight over. I'm starting to wonder if this is going to be one of those series that doesn't end well and I'm going to be upset that I invested the time in 3 books. I guess at this point, I just don't see how this war is going to be resolved....I'll keep reading and anticipate being surprised. (hide spoiler)]

[Jennifer]

Ch 20 (51%) - (view spoiler)[ I am so sad that Bobby is dead - and I really don't think he is going to have a miraculous return to the living. And even if they find John Smith and kill him, at this point I don't think it is going to stop anything. He's too smart to not have contingencies and then there is Leahy, the slimy idiot, who will stop at nothing to have his war too. (hide spoiler)]
Ch 34 (77%) - (view spoiler)[ WTF, how did he get out? Soren is one creepy MFer, maybe they could just set him loose on the Sons of Liberty? (hide spoiler)]

[Jennifer]

Finished - (view spoiler)[ Um ok. So with Hawk out there, the virus is going to spread and John Smith still wins from beyond the grave. Neither Cooper or Shannon remembered the boy that was standing next to Smith when they shot him - I find that hard to believe, but ok. I'm glad Cooper chose Shannon over Natalie, and that Ethan didn't die. Leahy really should have gotten punished more, what a weasel!

All in all, I thought this series was pretty interesting. It sort of makes me sad to think that should humanity jump forward evolutionary like this that the "normals" would persecute the gifted to this extent - I'm especially sad because I think it would probably happen, despite the obvious benefits to society as a whole. Sometimes I wonder how humanity has even survived this long given how destructive we are to one another. (hide spoiler)]