Opinions of a Wolf

Summary:
Juliane has a supercomputer for a brain and she isn’t afraid to use it. Perhaps she should be.

Juliane Faris is a brilliant programmer determined to change the world through scientific and technical advancement. Blinded by ambition, she will do whatever it takes to secure her legacy including agreeing to participate in an experimental procedure. The procedure grants her unprecedented knowledge and cellular control over her body but threatens everything she holds dear including her sanity. When others undergo the same modifications it becomes apparent that not everyone can afford the price that this technology demands.

Review:
This is my final accepted ARC of 2016 (well, there was one more, but the author never sent me the book). I thought what better last review of 2016 than a review and giveaway of my final 2016 ARC. I picked this up right before going on vacation, and I found it to be the perfect vacation read. Tightly paced with an interesting plot and memorable characters I found it easy to remember and relaxing to come back to between vacation activities.

This is scifi of the type where scientists do a thing and it turns out that thing might not be so great after all (but we’re not sure yet). I really enjoy this type of scifi but it’s often hard to find one where the main character (the main scientist) is a woman. I knew from the plot summary that a woman was supposed to be the main character but I admit to being concerned that she would wind up overshadowed by a secondary male character. These fears were unfounded, as Juliane (Dr. Faris) stayed at the center of the story at all times. It truly was her tale at all times.

Now, Juliane is flawed, but that’s as it should be. Just because a female scientist is successful doesn’t mean she’s perfect, and it fits within the genre for the main character to have deep-seated flaws. I appreciate how well-rounded Juliane was, even though I often disliked her as a person. There is an awareness of the times she is unlikeable, as well, as seen through secondary characters’ eyes and sometimes even her own self-awareness. This reassured me that they were intentional flaws and not being held up as something to strive for.

The plot was fun, putting a fiction twist on real scientific research. It takes time for some things to develop but this is well-handled with the story being split into three parts divided by time. For instance, one section detailing a scientific discovery then another 5 years later looking at its impact. The plot was well planned and managed to surprise me a few times without venturing into the realm of the ridiculous.

The only things holding me back from a 4 star rating were the dialogue and a few editing issues. The dialogue was primarily unrealistic and stiff. I do work in academia and know how scientists and researchers speak, and the way they do in this book is too stilted and formal. There were also some editing issues throughout the book, such as: using the wrong homonym, spelling errors, and words that were probably from a previous draft that no longer belonged in the sentence in the new draft. Neither of these slowed down my reading or ruined my enjoyment of the book but they did knock it down a bit. The book has a lot of good bones, and both of these are issues that could be easily addressed in the sequel, which I intend to read (I need to know what happens to Juliane!)

Overall, if you’re a scifi reader looking for fast-paced tale of scientists inventing something that could be more dangerous than they realize and would love to see that story told with a woman at the center, you should pick this book up.

If you found this review helpful, please consider tipping me on ko-fi, checking out my digital items available in my ko-fi shop, buying one of my publications, or using one of my referral/coupon codes. Thank you for your support!

3 out of 5 stars

Length: 320 pages – average but on the longer side

Source: Kindle copy from author in exchange for honest review

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Giveaway!

This giveaway is now over. Congrats to our winner!
There were 2 entries, one via blog comment and one via twitter, both by the same person, so she is our winner. Congrats to Katie of Doing Dewey!

Thanks to the generosity of the author, one lucky Opinions of a Wolf reader can win a copy of this ebook.

How to Enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post stating what type of scifi story you’d like to see more women characters in.
2. Copy/paste the following and tweet it from your public twitter. Retweets do not count:
   Enter to win THE FAIR & FOUL by @alliepottswrites, hosted by @McNeilAuthor http://buff.ly/2htJ2XG #scifi #womenauthors #giveaway
3. Repost the Instagram giveaway announcement and tag my Instagram.
4. Tag one of your friends on the Instagram giveaway announcement.

Each options gets you one entry. Multiple tweets/Instagram posts do not count as multiple entries.

Who Can Enter: International

Contest Ends: January 5th at midnight

Disclaimer: The winner will have their book sent to them by the author.  The blogger is not responsible for sending the book.  Void where prohibited by law.