The data stored in her blood can save a city on the brink… or destroy it, in this gripping cyberpunk thrillerShortlisted for the 2019 Compton Crook Award for best first Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror NovelWhen college student Emery Driscoll is blackmailed into being a courier for a clandestine organisation, she’s cut off from the neural implant community which binds the domed city of New Worth … binds the domed city of New Worth together. Her new employers exploit her rare condition which allows her to carry encoded data in her blood, and train her to transport secrets throughout the troubled city. New Worth is on the brink of Emergence – freedom from the dome – but not everyone wants to leave. Then a data drop goes bad, and Emery is caught between factions: those who want her blood, and those who just want her dead.
2018 SFR Galaxy Award Winner — a “standout” book in Science Fiction Romance
File Under: Science Fiction [ Under the Dome | Blood Courier | Disconnected | Bright Future ]
more
After having committed an act of cathartic vigilantism, Emery Driscoll is given a seemingly straight-forward choice; go to jail or work for Aventine Security as one of their couriers.
Implanted takes place in New Worth, a city that is gradually clawing its way back from environmental catastrophe. The city proper is sealed within a bio-dome but efforts are being made to return to the open air. Since the populace is essentially trapped (even though most seem to be happy with the situation) the majority have embraced technology, not only to their society functioning but also as a means of entertainment and socializing, thanks to their implants.
As the book opens Emery is, at first glance, a fairly typical young woman of this world. She has her implant, which allows her to play simulations, some of which help with her vigilante activities. It also allows her to share thoughts and emotions with a select few people, one of whom she is considering meeting in person after several years of virtual company. But she also has some hidden trauma in her past and a very rare type of blood, which is what brings her to Aventine’s attention.
Already a self-reliant individual, Emery does flourish and come to enjoy her activities as a courier, moving around the city from the permanent twilight of Terrestrial district to the rarefied area of the Canopy. But it does come at a steep price. The terms of her employment include the separation from everyone she knows, both in the physical world and via her implant, and the easiest way to ensure this is to declare her officially dead.
Implanted works primarily in two sections; the first dealing with Emery’s recruitment and training, the second with the fallout of when a job inevitably goes wrong and she has to go on the run from everyone with the one person she can turn to believing she has abandoned him.
If I had one problem with Emery, it was that she does tend to take everything onto herself. However, during the course of the book, this is actually pointed out to her which made it somewhat easier to bear.
There is a lot of good world-building in this novel and lot of it doesn’t seem that far away. It’s easy to see the notion of the neural implants being a logical extension of current trends in smartphones. Similarly, the idea of cities encased in domes to protect from the outside environment may not be new but seems it’s in danger of becoming more and more likely.
The notion of haemocryption, of data being carried inside a courier’s bloodstream, is simultaneously ingenious and deceptively simple. It does involve multiple transfusions (something Emery isn’t keen on at first) and has an in-built time limit that the couriers refer to as the curdle, when the body begins to reject the doctored blood. Another security measure ensures that the data is destroyed if the blood is exposed to air. As methods of data transfer seen in other cyberpunk styled work, this one takes some beating.
Implanted is a great read with a strong near future cyber-punk flavour. And doubly impressive for being a debut novel.
It’s a new world. People are living in a dome because life outside is impossible. Most people have an implant. It makes life easier, it’s quick access to all the information you could need. Some people would even kill just to get one because it’s starting to become a luxury for the elite.
But Emery is just a typical girl who really enjoys simulation, and video games. This is where she meets Rik, so to speak. They know each other so well in the game world. They can connect through their implants outside of it as well. But they’ve never actually met, despite the connection.
When Emery draws the attention of a courier service, she must learn a new way of life. And while she is learning valuable skills and adjusting to her new life, her old life gets left behind. Tasked with transporting important information, Emery gets herself into trouble. Who best to turn to when things get hard?
Implanted feels a bit dystopian to me, and I really love that aspect of the book. The entire genre is not something typical for me and I am so glad I read this book because Teffeau has done a great job with this. The characters are in-depth, they are fun, smart, and relatable. Each scene is written to make you feel like you’re there. This was such a surprisingly fun read for me and while it didn’t end on a cliffhanger, I do hope that the author plans to do a book 2 because I’m not ready to let Emery, Rik, or Tahir go.
This book had plenty of action, and some mystery. The female main character was well defined and very human. It was a fast read for those interested in science fiction that blends technology with a post apocalyptic world.