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kellymiller_author's review against another edition
5.0
"Behind Blue Eyes" was a fantastic read! Ms. Mocikat managed to draw my sympathy towards the cyborg Nephilium despite some rather unspeakable actions she commits while following the orders in the opening scenes. The events that follow are unexpected and compelling, keeping me guessing to the end. I'm not usually a reader of this genre, so I would recommend to anyone interested in a rather dark, fast-paced story!
chopprjock's review against another edition
4.0
Behind Blue Eyes is a gritty, cyber noir, thrill set in a dystopian near future where the world has been divided into three corporate controlled regions. I loved the setting, harkening to Orwell and the 'big brother' state. I also enjoyed the main characters, both pro- and antagonist. Nothing is clean or cut and dried, which is a good thing! It's hard to explain why I am not rating this book as a five star novel...there seemed to be a bit too much "telling" and not enough "showing" by the author. But don't let that dissuade you from giving this series a try. I will certainly read the next book- I think the story overcomes most of the clunkiness of certain passages.
readtoramble's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book for a blog tour, so thank you to the blog tour organiser and author for letting me take part in the tour and for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This was my first ever cyberpunk novel, and I actually loved it so much more than I was expecting. I usually don't read too much science fiction because often the science part of the story goes completely over my head because I do not have a scientific mind. However, this book absolutely captivated me and I was so surprised by how invested I became in the plot and the characters so early on.
We follow a hybrid cyborg, Nephilim who is 60% killing machine and 40% human, she is a Guardian Angel in the American "conglomerate" part of the world. This story is set in 2095, and that was the only thing that I didn't find very plausible, I doubt that this could be possible in barely 70 years, so that seemed a bit strange to me, but the rest was so surprising and enjoyable.
As I've said, I don't usually read a lot of Scifi, but I do love dystopias and this book definitely had a dystopian feel to it, I loved every minute of it. The characters were so well fleshed out and believable despite them not even being fully human, I found that Nephilim was such a special character because of her doubts. She really came across as an emotional being whereas she shouldn't be and she portrayed her ability to question things admirably, i was besotted with her and now that I know that there will be a sequel (thank you Anna!), I'm really looking forward to reading her character development after the ending of this book.
The setting was very dystopian, I really enjoyed the descriptions, especially the times that the Angels were out in the field, it was really interesting. The first couple of chapters really set the scene before all hell breaks lose basically, and I thought that those first chapters were great for what came after, it really helped me to form a connection with the characters and I've realised that I like this stylistic element in books a lot more than the story starting at the time of the big event or catastrophe. This book gave me The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games vibes, and I can't help but want to pick it up again to dive back into this world because I'm sure I've missed so much.
Metatron, another very important character in the plot is one of my favourites in this story, he is so charismatic and just ARGH!!! READ THE BOOK, I can't tell you anything about him, you have to read about him for yourself, but I guarantee you'll love him and hate him and want to shake him and give him a high five all at the same time. He was my favourite character to read about because of his personality and how he is portrayed, although I prefer Nephilim for obvious reasons, her personality traits aren't as interesting to me as Metatron's. Also, that's a really badass name lol!
I have to stop rambling about this book because I'll be here for yonks otherwise, but, overall, I absolutely loved it and I'm going to try to reread it as soon as possible because A) I want a copy on my bookshelves because that cover is gorgeous, and B) I want to read it all over again! I gave this 5 stars, and it was one of the easiest ratings I've given in a while. I would highly recommend to science fiction, dystopian and cyborg/robot fans, it was incredible and I loved every minute!
This was my first ever cyberpunk novel, and I actually loved it so much more than I was expecting. I usually don't read too much science fiction because often the science part of the story goes completely over my head because I do not have a scientific mind. However, this book absolutely captivated me and I was so surprised by how invested I became in the plot and the characters so early on.
We follow a hybrid cyborg, Nephilim who is 60% killing machine and 40% human, she is a Guardian Angel in the American "conglomerate" part of the world. This story is set in 2095, and that was the only thing that I didn't find very plausible, I doubt that this could be possible in barely 70 years, so that seemed a bit strange to me, but the rest was so surprising and enjoyable.
As I've said, I don't usually read a lot of Scifi, but I do love dystopias and this book definitely had a dystopian feel to it, I loved every minute of it. The characters were so well fleshed out and believable despite them not even being fully human, I found that Nephilim was such a special character because of her doubts. She really came across as an emotional being whereas she shouldn't be and she portrayed her ability to question things admirably, i was besotted with her and now that I know that there will be a sequel (thank you Anna!), I'm really looking forward to reading her character development after the ending of this book.
The setting was very dystopian, I really enjoyed the descriptions, especially the times that the Angels were out in the field, it was really interesting. The first couple of chapters really set the scene before all hell breaks lose basically, and I thought that those first chapters were great for what came after, it really helped me to form a connection with the characters and I've realised that I like this stylistic element in books a lot more than the story starting at the time of the big event or catastrophe. This book gave me The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games vibes, and I can't help but want to pick it up again to dive back into this world because I'm sure I've missed so much.
Metatron, another very important character in the plot is one of my favourites in this story, he is so charismatic and just ARGH!!! READ THE BOOK, I can't tell you anything about him, you have to read about him for yourself, but I guarantee you'll love him and hate him and want to shake him and give him a high five all at the same time. He was my favourite character to read about because of his personality and how he is portrayed, although I prefer Nephilim for obvious reasons, her personality traits aren't as interesting to me as Metatron's. Also, that's a really badass name lol!
I have to stop rambling about this book because I'll be here for yonks otherwise, but, overall, I absolutely loved it and I'm going to try to reread it as soon as possible because A) I want a copy on my bookshelves because that cover is gorgeous, and B) I want to read it all over again! I gave this 5 stars, and it was one of the easiest ratings I've given in a while. I would highly recommend to science fiction, dystopian and cyborg/robot fans, it was incredible and I loved every minute!
afictionalhubbard's review against another edition
5.0
This fast-paced cyberpunk dystopic is sleek yet gritty, plunging you into a corporate-controlled future where privacy is an illusion, even for those running the system. When Nephilim, an elite cyborg poised to ascend even higher in the ranks of the ‘angels’ who keep order and quash dissent, begins to question her choices, she begins to expose the ugliest truths about this so-called perfect society. Brutality reigns, and this isn’t a read for the squeamish, so be prepared.
jferrell526's review against another edition
5.0
Cyborgs... Hmmm!!
Cyborgs have taken over the new earth after WWIII. Anna Mocikat has given us a look at the world through the eyes of a cyborg and the corporations that own them. This story is very exciting. I got lost in it. It intrigued me from the beginning. And I found myself wondering if maybe, just maybe, if it could be possible.
Cyborgs have taken over the new earth after WWIII. Anna Mocikat has given us a look at the world through the eyes of a cyborg and the corporations that own them. This story is very exciting. I got lost in it. It intrigued me from the beginning. And I found myself wondering if maybe, just maybe, if it could be possible.
frasersimons's review against another edition
In 2095 we follow a cyborg named Nephilim, groomed from birth to be a hunter-killer for a mega corporation. They’ve colonized her body, indoctrinated her with company thinking and ideology, and inducted her their puritanical angelic hierarchy. Things take a turn when she goes on a mission and kills two guardians, possibly mothers, of a small community of people off-grid. When the kids look at her like she’s a monster, she starts having doubts. And in the company, doubts can, and often do, get you killed.
I had to put this aside at 16% in unfortunately. I didn’t feel like there was any work done in the setup to cause this cascade failure of her ideology. It’s alluded to that many of the missions are run. This isn’t her first time. The kids don’t confront her at all. What, specifically, is haunting her? It feels like it’s taken for granted but it was hard to follow. The commercial fiction, cinematic style prose make it clear that I think that is a perfunctory point, yet I couldn’t see my way through and it’s the crux of the story. The author was a script writer and writer for video games, I believe, and that makes sense here.
This is going for a cinematic, campy vibe similar to anime in tone and affectations and plot beats. I think it’s doing that well, it’s just not to my taste, so I didn’t feel rating it was appropriate as I don’t think I was able to actually accept it and engage with it in the spirit in which it was written. Perhaps another time.
I had to put this aside at 16% in unfortunately. I didn’t feel like there was any work done in the setup to cause this cascade failure of her ideology. It’s alluded to that many of the missions are run. This isn’t her first time. The kids don’t confront her at all. What, specifically, is haunting her? It feels like it’s taken for granted but it was hard to follow. The commercial fiction, cinematic style prose make it clear that I think that is a perfunctory point, yet I couldn’t see my way through and it’s the crux of the story. The author was a script writer and writer for video games, I believe, and that makes sense here.
This is going for a cinematic, campy vibe similar to anime in tone and affectations and plot beats. I think it’s doing that well, it’s just not to my taste, so I didn’t feel rating it was appropriate as I don’t think I was able to actually accept it and engage with it in the spirit in which it was written. Perhaps another time.
alexbloodfire's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant action-packed dystopian cyberpunk book. The storyline was addictive and brilliantly written, excellent characters, and overall a great book.
samanthakroese's review against another edition
4.0
Exciting read from start to finish.
This is a fast-paced thrill with lots of unexpected twists and turns. If you're a fan of brutal tales of survival in dystopian settings give this one a chance.
This is a fast-paced thrill with lots of unexpected twists and turns. If you're a fan of brutal tales of survival in dystopian settings give this one a chance.
rylanneburdette's review against another edition
4.0
Trigger Warning: this book does address rape and other sexual encounters.
‘Behind Blue Eyes’ by Anna Mocikat is a dystopian sci-fi/romance novel about human-machine hybrids who basically control the planet. Nephilim, our protagonist in this story, is special. 60% robot and 40% human, she is a high ranked member of the squad of hybrids who attack and kill on a regular basis. However, Nephilim differs from her squad members. She isn’t satisfied with her life and eventually finds herself falling in love with a human—something that isn’t supposed to happen. This leads to dangerous and life threatening situations that could cost her everything.
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would! Sci-fi is not usually my genre of choice, but the synopsis of this book sounded interesting, so when I was offered to receive a copy and review it, I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.
Nephilim is my absolute favorite. She was willing to risk everything for the man she loved, even if that man ended up with secrets of his own. She wasn’t like those that she worked with; she wanted more in life and didn’t enjoy her job. She was powerful, yes, but she wished for more.
The plot was more or less fast paced and interesting, and there were several twists that I didn’t see coming (especially in the epilogue which makes me want to see a sequel to this book). Mocikat did a great job at keeping readers hooked.
I personally felt the plot drag a bit at times, but overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to those who love dystopian novels full of cyborgs with a dash of romance involved as well!
‘Behind Blue Eyes’ by Anna Mocikat is a dystopian sci-fi/romance novel about human-machine hybrids who basically control the planet. Nephilim, our protagonist in this story, is special. 60% robot and 40% human, she is a high ranked member of the squad of hybrids who attack and kill on a regular basis. However, Nephilim differs from her squad members. She isn’t satisfied with her life and eventually finds herself falling in love with a human—something that isn’t supposed to happen. This leads to dangerous and life threatening situations that could cost her everything.
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would! Sci-fi is not usually my genre of choice, but the synopsis of this book sounded interesting, so when I was offered to receive a copy and review it, I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.
Nephilim is my absolute favorite. She was willing to risk everything for the man she loved, even if that man ended up with secrets of his own. She wasn’t like those that she worked with; she wanted more in life and didn’t enjoy her job. She was powerful, yes, but she wished for more.
The plot was more or less fast paced and interesting, and there were several twists that I didn’t see coming (especially in the epilogue which makes me want to see a sequel to this book). Mocikat did a great job at keeping readers hooked.
I personally felt the plot drag a bit at times, but overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to those who love dystopian novels full of cyborgs with a dash of romance involved as well!