When it comes to Science Fiction, which I Am Sleepless: Sim 299 is, I like my books not to way out in the Science Fiction scale. In other words, lots of the fiction and not too much of the Science. One thing I always find with "hard" science fiction is coming to terms with the new and novel ideas and names for things the author has come up with. Although there was some of this in Sleepless, it wasn't so overwhelming as to distract me from the story. This is probably a book aimed at the Y/A S/Fiction market, but as anything but a young adult, I found I Am Sleepless: Sim 299 by Johan Twiss, a very enjoyable read and I am sure it appeals to adults as well as young people.
The story focuses on a group of young people, "Prime Cadets" who were selected, at birth, to receive what is known as the Prime injection, which will turn them into one of several different types of genetic mutations, with both special powers, but also special "defects". I guess there is a similarity here to the ideas such as X-Men, but in reality, this story stands up well as an individual effort. Separated from their families, the "mutants" are raised in training camps, where they are trained to ultimately face the biggest threat to this world, the, as yet, undescribed Splicers.
Aidan, a year 12 cadet, is the main character in this story and it appears early on that Aidan has more than just one "mutant" power. The Sim 299 in the title is the final simulation that cadets can achieve during their training. Because Aidan never sleeps, he has already achieved Sim 299, way ahead of any other cadets, but he is unable to defeat the final simulation.
Twiss' world building is a little minimal and, as a reader, I was left wondering at times, wanting more information about the history of these people, who were clearly human originally. I know this is the first book in an intended three book series (at least), so I will look for more backstory in books to come. As a teaser for a new series, this book achieved its goal. When it finished I said; "damn! So what happens next?" In many ways that all an author can expect or should expect.
Do I want to read the second book in this series and will I be waiting with bated breath for it to be released? Surprisingly, for me anyway, the answer to this was a resounding YES! I enjoyed I Am Sleepless: Sim 299 and want very much to know what happens to Aidan and his coterie once the next challenge has begun.
Twiss has set up an excellent base for his planned series and I can only hope he uses the next two, or however many, books there are in the series to develop the lead characters further. There are doubtless some excellent backstories to be devolved here and also some more information about the past, as well as their main enemies, the Splicers.
This is an excellent piece of work and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a science fiction bent, especially readers who like a good story with some clever wordplays at times. I am impressed with Twiss' first literary effort and I am happy to award this book four VERY solid stars and hope for even greater things with his future releases in this series. A great beginning. You've got me hooked.
You can check out I Am Sleepless: Sim 299 here: http://amzn.to/1SY08Jd
The story focuses on a group of young people, "Prime Cadets" who were selected, at birth, to receive what is known as the Prime injection, which will turn them into one of several different types of genetic mutations, with both special powers, but also special "defects". I guess there is a similarity here to the ideas such as X-Men, but in reality, this story stands up well as an individual effort. Separated from their families, the "mutants" are raised in training camps, where they are trained to ultimately face the biggest threat to this world, the, as yet, undescribed Splicers.
Aidan, a year 12 cadet, is the main character in this story and it appears early on that Aidan has more than just one "mutant" power. The Sim 299 in the title is the final simulation that cadets can achieve during their training. Because Aidan never sleeps, he has already achieved Sim 299, way ahead of any other cadets, but he is unable to defeat the final simulation.
Twiss' world building is a little minimal and, as a reader, I was left wondering at times, wanting more information about the history of these people, who were clearly human originally. I know this is the first book in an intended three book series (at least), so I will look for more backstory in books to come. As a teaser for a new series, this book achieved its goal. When it finished I said; "damn! So what happens next?" In many ways that all an author can expect or should expect.
Do I want to read the second book in this series and will I be waiting with bated breath for it to be released? Surprisingly, for me anyway, the answer to this was a resounding YES! I enjoyed I Am Sleepless: Sim 299 and want very much to know what happens to Aidan and his coterie once the next challenge has begun.
Twiss has set up an excellent base for his planned series and I can only hope he uses the next two, or however many, books there are in the series to develop the lead characters further. There are doubtless some excellent backstories to be devolved here and also some more information about the past, as well as their main enemies, the Splicers.
This is an excellent piece of work and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a science fiction bent, especially readers who like a good story with some clever wordplays at times. I am impressed with Twiss' first literary effort and I am happy to award this book four VERY solid stars and hope for even greater things with his future releases in this series. A great beginning. You've got me hooked.
You can check out I Am Sleepless: Sim 299 here: http://amzn.to/1SY08Jd
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