This is not something I would have normally picked up now that I’ve read it, but I think I’m going to give more books like this a chance. RJ Plant paints a really interesting future, one controlled by organizations looking for a quiet domination of a populace via espionage and biological warfare in the most unpredictable ways.
It honestly took me a little to get into it. There is a whole universe that needs to be set up, from a world that has been changed by the war to the differences between what’s happened in Ireland and the US, and it’s done very well.1 But I knew the mind switching was coming up and I really love a two minds fighting for dominance over one body story.
Felix is a hard character to get behind once you meet Conor, the brother who’s been trapped inside Felix’s body. I will profess a preference to Conor, given that he’s spent his life watching everything his brother’s done and never been allowed to come out. When he does come out and we start getting answers that bring about more questions, particularly about just who is behind everything and what the purpose of his chimerism is. The execution of the chimerism and the reasoning behind it is fascinating and a spoiler, so I will refrain from talking in too much detail about it here.
Overall, it’s a really entertaining read with some good twists and turns. The world is uniquely set up to make Conor and Felix’s struggles that much more interesting and keep the stakes in the narrative high. I’d definitely suggest giving it a shot!
- And there’s an organization called GDI, which took me ages to take seriously… [↩]