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Monday 2 March 2015

Review: The Legacy Human by Susan Kaye Quinn

New Release: The Legacy Human (Singularity #1) by Susan Kaye Quinn #YA #SF
INTRODUCTORY PRICE 99CENTS - limited time
ebook and print

When transcending humanity is the prize, winning the Game is all that matters.

Seventeen-year-old Elijah Brighton wants to become an ascender—a post-Singularity human/machine hybrid—after all, they’re smarter, more enlightened, more compassionate, and above all, achingly beautiful. But Eli is a legacy human, preserved and cherished for his unaltered genetic code, just like the rainforest he paints. When a fugue state possesses him and creates great art, Eli miraculously lands a sponsor for the creative Olympics. If he could just master the fugue, he could take the gold and win the right to ascend, bringing everything he’s yearned for within reach… including his beautiful ascender patron. But once Eli arrives at the Games, he finds the ascenders are playing games of their own. Everything he knows about the ascenders and the legacies they keep starts to unravel… until he’s running for his life and wondering who he truly is.

The Legacy Human is the first in Susan Kaye Quinn’s new young adult science fiction series that explores the intersection of mind, body, and soul in a post-Singularity world… and how technology will challenge us to remember what it means to be human.

WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING:
“If I were a movie producer, I would option this in a heartbeat.”
“This story is so intense I felt I couldn’t get a proper breath.”
“Science fiction with philosophical depth.”
Win paperbacks of The Legacy Human and Mindjack Trilogy, as well as other great prizes, and chat with some AMAZING Sci-Fi author-friends (check out the line-up below!). Giveaways run ALL DAY (9a – 9p Chicago Time, GMT-6)

SCHEDULE - Chicago Time (GMT-6) on March 2nd
9a - 10a - Sue (Singularity)
1p - 2p - Jennifer Wells (Fluency)
2p - 2:30p - Endi Webb? (Terran Gambit)
3p - 4p - Rysa Walker (Timebound)
5p - 5:30p - Wes Davies? (Binary Cycle)
5:30 - 7p - Sue (Singularity)
7p - 8p - E.E. Giorgi? (Chimeras)
8p - 9p - Jessica Keller? (Saving Yesterday)
9p  - Sue - PICKING WINNERS
Stop by ANYTIME to enter giveaways;  stop by during the guest-host hour to chat! (Join the party now!)

My review

Eli is a legacy human in a world where most humans have ascended, becoming perfect human-machine hybrids. He wants nothing more than to join them, but his legacy status means his pure human genes have to be preserved. But Eli's mother is dying from a disease the ascenders won't cure. The only way out is for Eli to enter the creative Olympics, winning ascension for himself and his family. The problem is, he can only create his best art when in a fugue state he doesn't understand.

I was immediately hooked. Susan Kaye Quinn has a gift for creating sympathetic characters and a writing style that grabs you and doesn't let go. All the characters are unique and three-dimensional, from Eli's supportive best friend Cyrus to the other contestants at the Olympics, to the ascended, who have motives of their own. Eli is a fantastic lead character and I was rooting for him from the first page. The high-stakes plot kept moving, never stalling. This is a gripping story which raises profound questions about technology and what makes us human. A compelling start to a series I'll certainly be continuing with!

Rating: *****

On a side note to indie authors: Susan's blog is a goldmine of useful information, and I really recommend it!


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