Nexus

Ramez Naam
Nexus Cover

Nexus

Ann Walker
10/9/2015
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You know that my preferred reading usually involves dragons, bards, magical quests, and the like - technothrillers are so not my thing. But I'm involved in a reading challenge, and this filled the bill in a couple places, and so...

Wow! This was really gripping. I haven't watched a lot of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D", but these seems like what AoS would have wanted to be. There's a nerdy male protagonist, very like Fitz, and a totally kickass female protagonist, like Skye, and a whole horde of baddies. There's no romance or even implied or manufactured sexual chemistry between the two - it's all strictly business. The body count of the novel is very, very high, but seems standard for a technothriller. Stealth technology, physical enhancements, superhuman strength, all that stuff.

All that being said, the novel does raise thought-provoking questions about the purpose and use of technological advances. I also found the interweaving of mindfulness practices and meditation as a way of expanding the power of mind to be very interesting and timely. An unexpectedly enjoyable and worthwhile read!