caitlinww's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexual assault and Gaslighting
rumbledethumps's review
2.0
Filled with some cool and interesting ideas, but just not executed in a compelling way. I was confused by the POV (I think it was 3rd-person limited, but still not sure), and there were so many sentences that did so much expository work. For example, at the beginning while the reader is still trying to figure out the world the protagonist lives in, we are given some sentences that work really hard, probably too hard.
"It was no surprise that D’Arcy, a top quantum programmer at the Academy who custom-made her own Third Eye, had placed well – but Pandora? The project was both unusually prestigious and clandestine, even by the standards of insular Aldwych." These two sentences so clunkily convey too much information meant as character development and setting.
And this, relayed by an instructor at the academy to the protagonist "'But to do research on one of the stations, especially the Osiris, is reserved for the seasoned and the true elite. Only the best in the world go into space, no matter how they score at Placement.'" Would she really not have known this?
Some of the themes were interesting, which is why I gave it 2 stars, but the writing was just too awkward for it to be an enjoyable read for me.
"It was no surprise that D’Arcy, a top quantum programmer at the Academy who custom-made her own Third Eye, had placed well – but Pandora? The project was both unusually prestigious and clandestine, even by the standards of insular Aldwych." These two sentences so clunkily convey too much information meant as character development and setting.
And this, relayed by an instructor at the academy to the protagonist "'But to do research on one of the stations, especially the Osiris, is reserved for the seasoned and the true elite. Only the best in the world go into space, no matter how they score at Placement.'" Would she really not have known this?
Some of the themes were interesting, which is why I gave it 2 stars, but the writing was just too awkward for it to be an enjoyable read for me.
shellwitty's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kristinasshelves's review
4.0
"'I'm going to show you something' he said. 'If you're going down the rabbit hole, you need to see what could bite you at the end of the tunnel'"
Amira Valdez is a scientific prodigy with a gift for holometric reading, viewing the memories of others. She lives on another planet 200 years into the future. Her world is drastically different from ours but yet somehow seems familiar. Amira is chosen to take part in the Pandora project, assigned to a division that is seeking to create the first successful human clone after several highly publicized attempts did not come to fruition. While she thinks she knows whats happening, she is shocked to uncover she is embroiled in a conspiracy. This develops throughout the story, along with flashbacks and history about the religious polygamist cult from Amira's youth. The plot will definitely keep you on your toes and wanting to find out more!
"The Pandora project, spearheaded by a team of elite Aldwych scientists, was really a collection of projects with one common theme- a desire to push the boundaries of science as far as law, budget and human understanding would allow"
The fact that this is a debut novel blows my mind! Nadia Afifi has an incredible talent for storytelling and I can definitely see her becoming one of my favorite authors. This story has so many layers to unpack, with themes that will continue to be thought provoking long after I've finished this book. I enjoyed the way in which Afifi handled the topics of cloning, religious extremism, grief, medicine, scientific ethics and more! If you're interested in science fiction, this is a must read for sure!
I received an advanced reader copy of this ebook from the publisher, Flame Tree Press, via Netgalley; all opinions are my own.
Amira Valdez is a scientific prodigy with a gift for holometric reading, viewing the memories of others. She lives on another planet 200 years into the future. Her world is drastically different from ours but yet somehow seems familiar. Amira is chosen to take part in the Pandora project, assigned to a division that is seeking to create the first successful human clone after several highly publicized attempts did not come to fruition. While she thinks she knows whats happening, she is shocked to uncover she is embroiled in a conspiracy. This develops throughout the story, along with flashbacks and history about the religious polygamist cult from Amira's youth. The plot will definitely keep you on your toes and wanting to find out more!
"The Pandora project, spearheaded by a team of elite Aldwych scientists, was really a collection of projects with one common theme- a desire to push the boundaries of science as far as law, budget and human understanding would allow"
The fact that this is a debut novel blows my mind! Nadia Afifi has an incredible talent for storytelling and I can definitely see her becoming one of my favorite authors. This story has so many layers to unpack, with themes that will continue to be thought provoking long after I've finished this book. I enjoyed the way in which Afifi handled the topics of cloning, religious extremism, grief, medicine, scientific ethics and more! If you're interested in science fiction, this is a must read for sure!
I received an advanced reader copy of this ebook from the publisher, Flame Tree Press, via Netgalley; all opinions are my own.
shonatiger's review
2.0
2.5
Great premise, but the writing didn't work for me at all. Penalty more wordy than I would have liked. More a YA read, I think. Also, too much "sciencing", with too much explication.
Also, loads of triggers! CW.
Great premise, but the writing didn't work for me at all. Penalty more wordy than I would have liked. More a YA read, I think. Also, too much "sciencing", with too much explication.
Also, loads of triggers! CW.
jazzloops's review
'“This moment has already happened and this moment has yet to happen,” he said. “All things are possible, every outcome probable. I am dead and alive at the same time.” A Cosmic prayer, a last rite. '
Stunned by this debut. It features a lot of my favorite themes and topics - and I mean almost all of them, from dream science to desert cults to the evolution of human consciousness- in a story that's approachable, exciting and thought-provoking. Looking forward to more in this world.
Stunned by this debut. It features a lot of my favorite themes and topics - and I mean almost all of them, from dream science to desert cults to the evolution of human consciousness- in a story that's approachable, exciting and thought-provoking. Looking forward to more in this world.
senid's review
4.0
This was a solid sci fi book about cloning and other topics. Well-developed female characters which I appreciated.
theforeverbookworm's review against another edition
2.0
I was really intrigued by this book, but I'm not sure it was for me.
When I first started it, it reminded me of the Divergent series, which I absolutely love. However, as it progressed, it was a little bit more science fiction than dystopian, which isn't really my thing.
It's not a bad book by any stretch, but it was full of a lot of scientific and technical talk, and I also found it hard to keep up with the different characters.
Not a bad book, but definitely not for me.
When I first started it, it reminded me of the Divergent series, which I absolutely love. However, as it progressed, it was a little bit more science fiction than dystopian, which isn't really my thing.
It's not a bad book by any stretch, but it was full of a lot of scientific and technical talk, and I also found it hard to keep up with the different characters.
Not a bad book, but definitely not for me.
wxrldwalker's review
3.0
So, are you looking for a book with cults, cloning and complex ideas? Do you want to read about a woman who escapes a cult in the 2200's to become a mind reader on a cloning project? Have you ever wanted to read about a mystery that is dripping with technological terms?
Then this is the book for you!
The Sentient by Nadia Afifi follows Amira Valdez, a neuroscientist who escapes a cult at a young age. She dreams of going into space and working there, but her plan is derailed when she is assigned on the Pandora project- that is aiming to create the first human clone through pregnancy. But of course, some people in the world aren't happy about this (the cults duh) and aim to stop these efforts...no matter what...
The writing was great! It was descriptive and engaging, keeping me hooked on the action. And yes, there was quite a lot of action going down in this book! My favourite aspect of this story was the world-building. It was done so fantastically, from the cults in their secluded areas, to elevators that shipped cargo to space, and even the great Academy, where Amira graduated from. Amira as a character is very strong. She is morally grey, but overall she's just trying to do what's best for everyone. Her development with Rozene (the woman who is due to give birth to her clone, and also escaped from a cult), was very well-written. They related to each other in their experiences, and as their relationship becomes a great friendship, it really helps the story become something more.
In terms of pacing, I think this story could've been slightly better. Halfway through we have some information dumps that made me put this book down. But overall, it is a veery entertaining read! There are a lot of complex ideas explored, such as the impact of cloning on the male-female dynamics, how cloning is like playing at being creator, the impact of the 'perfect child' on a family, and transferring memory from the primary subject to a clone.
Overall, I think speculative fiction is not my thing, but I’m glad I read this. The sci-fi elements really appealed to me. I'm curious to see what the author does next! This comes out September 8th!
Thank you to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for an ARC to review. I am so grateful!
Then this is the book for you!
The Sentient by Nadia Afifi follows Amira Valdez, a neuroscientist who escapes a cult at a young age. She dreams of going into space and working there, but her plan is derailed when she is assigned on the Pandora project- that is aiming to create the first human clone through pregnancy. But of course, some people in the world aren't happy about this (the cults duh) and aim to stop these efforts...no matter what...
The writing was great! It was descriptive and engaging, keeping me hooked on the action. And yes, there was quite a lot of action going down in this book! My favourite aspect of this story was the world-building. It was done so fantastically, from the cults in their secluded areas, to elevators that shipped cargo to space, and even the great Academy, where Amira graduated from. Amira as a character is very strong. She is morally grey, but overall she's just trying to do what's best for everyone. Her development with Rozene (the woman who is due to give birth to her clone, and also escaped from a cult), was very well-written. They related to each other in their experiences, and as their relationship becomes a great friendship, it really helps the story become something more.
In terms of pacing, I think this story could've been slightly better. Halfway through we have some information dumps that made me put this book down. But overall, it is a veery entertaining read! There are a lot of complex ideas explored, such as the impact of cloning on the male-female dynamics, how cloning is like playing at being creator, the impact of the 'perfect child' on a family, and transferring memory from the primary subject to a clone.
Overall, I think speculative fiction is not my thing, but I’m glad I read this. The sci-fi elements really appealed to me. I'm curious to see what the author does next! This comes out September 8th!
Thank you to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for an ARC to review. I am so grateful!
briarfairchild's review
5.0
I requested The Sentient by Nadia Afifi from Netgalley because the description hit several of my sweet spots: “Amira Valdez is a brilliant neuroscientist trying to put her past on a religious compound behind her. But when she’s assigned to a controversial cloning project, her dreams of working in space are placed in jeopardy. Using her talents as a reader of memories…”
It’s always a bit of a risk to request a book you’ve never heard of by an author you’ve never heard of, when there aren’t any other reviews to look at and reading new books stresses you out all too easily – but I’m so glad I took the risk on this occasion! The Sentient was such a fun, pacey, sometimes crunchy, satisfying book to read. I want the sequel now, actually, even though this one isn’t out until September!
I’ll mention the single thing that I didn’t like first: there’s a trans intersex character (yay!) who is a sex worker (bit of a trope, can be dodgy) and who is deadnamed when her history is being related (absolutely not okay). HOWEVER, Nadia Afifi has responded incredibly graciously to this criticism and is requesting an edit before the book is published. I would 100% add another star just for this because it's so reassuring (makes you feel a little safer and happier reading an author's books when you know they're that kind of person, you know?) but I already gave it five. So I'll just say that it deserves them!
Aside from that, most of the characters were excellently written, especially Amira, the main character. I thought it was an excellent decision to make her a bit of an outsider – she grew up in a cult and escaped a few years before our story begins, so although she’s mostly integrated (and very successfully), the way she thinks and many of her opinions and assumptions are still heavily influenced by that. It’s a very good way of helping us get used to a world that’s set two hundred years in the future.
In addition, Amira’s just a really interesting character. I liked how confident in her own skills she is, and how that’s one trait of hers that is constant throughout the book. No matter what happens, when she’s looking into someone’s mind she has this quiet but absolute confidence which was delightful. But a lot of her other assumptions and beliefs get challenged: the fact that she, as an escapee from the fundamentalist compounds, has integrated well and been successful, has made her think of her new life as a kind of utopia where everything’s wonderful, and she soon starts learning that that’s not the case. I was fascinated and compelled by her whole journey.
There are some great supporting characters too. Hadrian, of course, is an interesting one whom I definitely want to learn more about. Valerie Singh, too, was fascinating and I just wish we got more of her throughout the story – of course, as an author you can’t put in every single thing about a person, but I just ate her up! Even Alistair Parrish, who seemed pretty straightforward and perhaps a tad bland at first, became more complex as the story developed.
My absolute favourite was Rozene, who starts out appearing to be a meek little victim but very quickly shows herself to be a lot more than that. I loved her and I hope there will be lots more of her in the sequel. I also loved her relationship with Amira, the way they challenged and helped one another and became confidantes in a way that most of the other characters in the story couldn’t understand.
The plot was exciting and fast-moving. I confess that by the end of the book I wasn’t entirely sure what the villains’ endgame actually was, which was a bit frustrating. I’m assuming that all will be revealed in the sequel, but I think I’d rather have ended by knowing exactly what Amira was up against – or perhaps even with Amira thinking that she knew (and therefore the readers thinking that we knew!) what was going on, even if further information is to be revealed later. Having said that, I have every intention of reading the sequel, so clearly Nadia Afifi’s doing something right!
All in all, I really enjoyed The Sentient. It had some good characters and was a lot of fun to read. Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reading copy – The Sentient is published on the 8th of September 2020.
See all my reviews on my blog https://thewearybookcase.home.blog/
It’s always a bit of a risk to request a book you’ve never heard of by an author you’ve never heard of, when there aren’t any other reviews to look at and reading new books stresses you out all too easily – but I’m so glad I took the risk on this occasion! The Sentient was such a fun, pacey, sometimes crunchy, satisfying book to read. I want the sequel now, actually, even though this one isn’t out until September!
I’ll mention the single thing that I didn’t like first: there’s a trans intersex character (yay!) who is a sex worker (bit of a trope, can be dodgy) and who is deadnamed when her history is being related (absolutely not okay). HOWEVER, Nadia Afifi has responded incredibly graciously to this criticism and is requesting an edit before the book is published. I would 100% add another star just for this because it's so reassuring (makes you feel a little safer and happier reading an author's books when you know they're that kind of person, you know?) but I already gave it five. So I'll just say that it deserves them!
Aside from that, most of the characters were excellently written, especially Amira, the main character. I thought it was an excellent decision to make her a bit of an outsider – she grew up in a cult and escaped a few years before our story begins, so although she’s mostly integrated (and very successfully), the way she thinks and many of her opinions and assumptions are still heavily influenced by that. It’s a very good way of helping us get used to a world that’s set two hundred years in the future.
In addition, Amira’s just a really interesting character. I liked how confident in her own skills she is, and how that’s one trait of hers that is constant throughout the book. No matter what happens, when she’s looking into someone’s mind she has this quiet but absolute confidence which was delightful. But a lot of her other assumptions and beliefs get challenged: the fact that she, as an escapee from the fundamentalist compounds, has integrated well and been successful, has made her think of her new life as a kind of utopia where everything’s wonderful, and she soon starts learning that that’s not the case. I was fascinated and compelled by her whole journey.
There are some great supporting characters too. Hadrian, of course, is an interesting one whom I definitely want to learn more about. Valerie Singh, too, was fascinating and I just wish we got more of her throughout the story – of course, as an author you can’t put in every single thing about a person, but I just ate her up! Even Alistair Parrish, who seemed pretty straightforward and perhaps a tad bland at first, became more complex as the story developed.
My absolute favourite was Rozene, who starts out appearing to be a meek little victim but very quickly shows herself to be a lot more than that. I loved her and I hope there will be lots more of her in the sequel. I also loved her relationship with Amira, the way they challenged and helped one another and became confidantes in a way that most of the other characters in the story couldn’t understand.
The plot was exciting and fast-moving. I confess that by the end of the book I wasn’t entirely sure what the villains’ endgame actually was, which was a bit frustrating. I’m assuming that all will be revealed in the sequel, but I think I’d rather have ended by knowing exactly what Amira was up against – or perhaps even with Amira thinking that she knew (and therefore the readers thinking that we knew!) what was going on, even if further information is to be revealed later. Having said that, I have every intention of reading the sequel, so clearly Nadia Afifi’s doing something right!
All in all, I really enjoyed The Sentient. It had some good characters and was a lot of fun to read. Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reading copy – The Sentient is published on the 8th of September 2020.
See all my reviews on my blog https://thewearybookcase.home.blog/