She’s never had a name, but she had a friend once. The Recorder is a member of the consortium, and her sole purpose is to record everything around her through her brain implants and drones. Taught to live without emotions or friendship, the Recorder hopes to fulfill her first solo mission with absolute precision…. but everything goes horribly wrong.
Her implants are removed to save her life, but now she doesn’t know who she is, and her emotions are spiraling out of control. She forms opinions and friendships with those around her, something she could never do before. Lies from the consortium become apparent to her, and she discovers a virus that could kill most of the inhabited worlds. Without her implants she is a danger to the Consortium, but an ally to those threatened by it. She must make the choice. Does she flee and start her new life with a name? Or does she save her friends?
I enjoyed this new take on a strong sci-fi principle. Can you live well without emotions? The answer we know is no. We lose so much of life’s meaning without it. Even if we advance in knowledge and invent millions of new technologies, the foundation of life is still friendship and love. I enjoyed the nameless Recorder, her profound empathy for those struggling around her, her intelligence, and her fighting spirit. My favorite quirk of hers is how she counts seconds between human responses. He waited thirteen seconds before responding or She paused for three seconds. It was the perfect way of reminding us that even though she is human she was still forced to live like a robot. I am excited to read the next installment of this series!
Scoresheet:
Spice/Romance: No spice, mild kissing and embracing.
Violence: Mild. Blood and vomit mentioned. Dead bodies are seen.
Morals/Worldview: Christian/good morals.
Recommended reading age: 16+
