Thirty years in the future, when AI is so advanced that humans live side by side with cognizant robots called Artificials, Kestrel Hathaway must come to terms not just with what machines know, but with what they believe. Soon after experiencing a personal tragedy, Kestrel witnesses a terrorist attack and is drawn into a world of conspiracies and lies that she and Jordan, her Artificial, have to … have to untangle. With a second, more brutal attack looming on the horizon, their best chance of stopping it is teaming up with federal counterterrorism agent Nick Vernon. But the clock is ticking–and all the while, Jordan is asking questions Artificials were never meant to ask.
Deftly weaving suspense and intrigue into a rich, resonant tale that explores faith and what it really means to be human, Steven James offers us a glimpse into the future–and into our own hearts.
Synapse is an unforgettable, gripping story of dreams shattered, truth revealed, and hope reborn.
Praise for Synapse:
“Perfectly timed and thought-provoking, Synapse is a smart, intense thriller that keeps the suspense building until the final page. Steven James once again delivers a perfect amalgam of character and plot, totally immersing the reader in an irresistible narrative.” –Simon Gervais, international bestselling author of Hunt Them Down
“Next-level suspense that keeps the pages turning, combined with next-level writing on par with the great literary masters . . . Synapse is not merely a thriller you should read–as 5G approaches and advances in AI snowball, it is the thriller you can’t afford not to.” –James R. Hannibal, award-winning author of The Gryphon Heist
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“Life is so precious and brief and fleeting, and… experiencing all that it has to offer without despairing at its brevity truly did lie at its heart.”
Wow, what an incredible and powerful sci-fi thriller from Steven James! This is the first book by the author I have read and I am stunned by his creativity, his flawless execution of a detailed and complex plot, and his seamless and emotion-packed writing style that grips you from page one and doesn’t let go. The philosophical, spiritual, and social questions and dilemmas the author raises through an intensely personal look at a world 30 years into the future, where artificial intelligence is so advanced to look human, will linger days after you finish the book. This thought-provoking novel about the essence of human-ness – addressing grief and suffering, faith and hope, love and forgiveness, and the afterlife – will resonate with everyone, not just fans of sci-fi or thrillers. It is one of the most captivating and stirring novels of 2019 and an absolute must-read.
The story is written in multiple points of view:
1) first person narrative from Kestrel, a Methodist pastor suffering from losing her daughter
2) third person present omniscient narrative from Jordan, Kestrel’s artificial companion and
3) third person narratives from Nick, the police officer tracking down domestic terrorists, and a couple of the villains/terrorists working to violently destroy the next innovation
The multiple points of view bring the plot together on a larger scale and enhance the reading experience rather than confuse or detract. The three major characters Kestrel, Nick, and Jordan are multi-layered and well-developed and their interactions truly tug at the heart-strings. Who would have thought that interaction between an artificial intelligence and a human would bring tears? But be prepared. Jordan is nothing like any robot you’ve met and he WILL make you cry.
I received a copy of the book from Thomas Nelson via Celebrate Lit Tours and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
Suspenseful and profound. A mind-bending thriller with a taut storyline filled with the added tension of existential questions and ethical dilemmas we have no answers to today—but may find ourselves wrestling with in the all-too-near future.
Steven James taught a class, “Story Trumps Structure” at a writer’s conference. He is one of the best writing teacher’s I’ve come across and I had to read one of his books to see how he applied what he taught. I was not disappointed.
Synapse is outside the typical scope of my reading selections. I tend to prefer YA fantasy to adult Sci-Fi. But Synapse is more than a Sci-Fi story. It’s a philosophy book and a deep theological thinker’s delight.
Thirty years in the future people are in a war between “purists” who fear artificial intelligence vs those who prefer to glean from its conveniences. Kestrel, a pastor who won’t go so far as to call herself a purist, yet isn’t a fan of AI befriends a new improved, deep thinking, more self-aware “artifical” named Jordan.
After losing her newborn baby, Kestrel stops to assist a victim of a terrorist attack thereby plunging her headfirst into the midst of a terrorist plot. As she assists Nick, a federal agent, with his investigation of the attack, she buries her daughter, gets to know her new artificial, deals with cleaning her ransacked home, and struggles with a crisis of faith due to the loss of her daughter.
Meanwhile, Jordan struggles with the loss of his “mother”–whether she is in the man-made version of heaven with all the collective consciences of past artificials–and questions whether God can forgive a created being such as himself.
If you enjoy futuristic, fast-paced, thought-provoking, unpredictable, page turners that will keep you thinking long past the last word on the final page, Synapse is a MUST read.
(3.5 / 5)
Set at a time in the future when robots (or Artificials) have been taught to not only think for themselves, but to have emotions, and even the option of pain, there is still a lot that is unknown about how similar robots are to humans. Do they have souls? Can they believe in and worship God? Kestrel Hathaway doesn’t know, and neither does her Artificial, Jordan. Amidst their discussions of these concepts, Kestrel is pulled into a plot to put an end to the advances in AI by people known as Purists. Working with federal agent Nick Vernon, Kestrel and Jordan do their part to help prevent a deadly attack.
This book was an interesting mash-up of theology exploration and sci-fi elements. For much of the book, Kestrel is simply trying to cope with a fresh tragedy, while being slowly dragged into a deadly cat-and-mouse game between federal agents and terrorists. Jordan was probably my favorite character, as he tried to figure out what hope there was for him, especially in eternity. And there were some twists near the end that I enjoyed. But overall, the book was mostly just okay.
The very beginning of the book shows Kestrel delivering a stillborn baby (that she didn’t know was stillborn). This event is told in 2nd-person perspective, so it’s describing the events as if they happened to you. I think this is important to know for those who have gone through this or something similar. She is a pastor, and spends most of the rest of the book idly questioning her faith in God. I say idly, because it’s as if she’d forget her questions now and then, and have to remind herself she was still uncertain about if God existed, or he was actually all-powerful, or if he cared about her. She also carries some PTSD from a tragedy 9 years old, and I was surprised by the way some of that played out as well. But I suppose PTSD is not a consistent syndrome (meaning it’s not the same from person to person, and probably difficult to pin down and define). I would say that maybe the way she does respond shows her strength, but I didn’t really get that characteristic from her otherwise.
I believe Jordan’s role in the book was to parallel humanity’s question of an afterlife. How can we ever know for sure if Heaven exists, if no one who has been there can return to tell us about it? Artificials are told that there is a manufactured afterlife where their consciousnesses will go when they “die.” Jordan’s mother “died,” and he is desperate to know if she’s in the afterlife. Where this parallel falls apart, though, is that Artificials are guaranteed this afterlife by a fallible man, while humans who follow Christ are guaranteed their afterlife by an infallible God. Some of the discussions that arise between Jordan and Kestrel about afterlife and the ability to believe in and worship God are interesting though. Except for the times that Kestrel is just mean to Jordan about his inhumanness.
As for the twists near the end, they did mostly catch me off guard. But there was a weird thing that happened that got my heart pumping about a possible twist coming, but instead, it turned out not to be true. It was a huge letdown, and I can think of a few ways that some dialog could have been written to avoid this letdown. I had some questions that were left unanswered–about Jordan’s mom, about some of the Purists’ involvements and questionable actions, and some other things that came out during the climax, but are never given any kind of explanation.
I think the sci-fi plot were simply a vehicle for the theology discussed in the book, which is why the plot was fairly weak. And for me, at least, some of the theology was weak too. Kestrel’s brother, an atheist, asks her some very good questions about God, and her replies are the type I often see from the token “religious character” in TV or movies. She does go deeper than the stereotype sometimes, but I still found myself wishing for more. And very likely, this can all be chalked up to the author and me having different views on some theological aspects, which will certainly happen. I just found myself very sad about Kestrel’s brother’s view of God, and wished her responses had been more fulfilling.
In the end, I would recommend this book for those who are interested in the exploration of how humans approach God and the afterlife, and what it means to have a “soul,” and understand that there is some sci-fi around that. I don’t think I’d recommend this for readers of sci-fi, unless they are willing to wade through the theology.
One more thing that adds to my lower rating, which I almost forgot, was the way the story was told. As I mentioned above, it starts out in 2nd person (“you”), then switches to 1st person out of the blue (“I”), but is only 1st person when the perspective is on Kestrel. When it’s on a plethora of other characters, it’s 3rd person. And to make it even more confusing, when the perspective is on Jordan, it’s 3rd person and present tense, when it’s past tense the rest of the time. There’s a reason jumping POVs, tenses, and even character perspectives is meant to be kept simple, and while it’s not completely impossible to try something different…it was just confusing in this case, and made the reading disjointed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
What would you do if an AI asked you about God? This is the intriguing premise tucked under a suspenseful plot involving technology and terrorism in a slightly futuristic world, where robots and artificial intelligence has become commonplace. While not quite the page-turner I personally was expecting and I felt the romance was forced, this story does provide complex characters set against a realistic world, and it sets up some thought-provoking discussion on technology and artificial intelligence, making this story well worth reading at least once for many adults.
Wow just wow! What a thought provoking, timely read. I’ve been intrigued by AI as well as concerned as we see it popping up more and more in technology today and I have to say I absolutely loved Synapse! I was drawn in to Kestrel’s heartbreaking story of personal tragedy as I turned each page, intrigued by Jordan and his journey of self awareness and faith and heartwarmed by the second chance love budding between Kestrel and Nick.
I loved how Steven James interwove faith into this story. It was a raw and real depiction of how we can struggle with the unanswerable questions in life and what it means to be human. From start to finish I was hooked and would totally recommend!
A big thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #Synapse
** This review can also be found on NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon
Synapse was a thought-provoking, multilayered, and infinitely compelling read. Action-packed and full of shocking twists, I couldn’t read it fast enough. There came a point where I couldn’t stop for anything. I had to know what was going to happen next.
A lot of really intriguing and deep questions were asked. It made me stop and think about things I’d never thought of before while making me see other things in a different light. Is this a glimpse into our future? It’s not that far out of the realm of possibilities.
I’ll definitely be thinking about this book for a long time to come. I hope it’s the beginning of a new series because even though there is a satisfying conclusion, I’d love to visit this world and these characters again.
WOW! James is a new author to me, and “Synapse” was the best way to start, I think! I was blown away at how this book challenged me, made me think, connected me to characters and made me tear up during a few moments. I don’t know how James has been off my radar up to this point, but it is safe to say he will be one I watch out for in the future. I am glad I picked it up at the library and had extra time to read it right now.
“Synapse” is set 30 years in the future, but could easily have been written in 2020 as technology continues to advance. The world the characters inhabit has a lot of the same things we do now, with the added complications of artificial intelligence and robotics that are almost as lifelike as humans, called Artificials. There are two very different schools of thought amidst the culture– the Purists, who refuse technology’s advances and have used their ideas to craft homegrown terror cells, and the rest of the world, the Naturals, who have easily adapted to the improvements over time. There are also the in between citizens, those who are nicknamed “Plussers,” who have had partial limb replacements with robotics and synthetic skins or upgrades done to their bodies by adding improvements such as supersonic hearing.
Kestrel Hathaway is a woman who has recently suffered a loss, upending her faith and her vocation as a minister. She can barely begin processing her grief when she aids a victim of a terrorist attack she’s witnessed at the Terabyne facility where her brother, Trevor, works as a software developer.
As the investigation develops, Kestrel is drawn into portions of the world she’s become jaded to. While not being someone who rejects the tech culture, she is also cognizant of the dangers of hosting Artificials in people’s homes, the oversaturation of tech addictions and the disconnect between humans.
Federal counterterrorism agent Nick Vernon is the first to cover the attack and suspects there is more danger ahead. Terabyne’s new product is about to be released to the public, which means the press conference would be a perfect opportunity for a repeat attack. Nick continues to gather evidence, connecting with Kestrel and her brother during his investigation.
Trevor delivers Kestrel a gift, much to her chagrin. She doesn’t trust robots and has no intention of activating this Artificial named Jordan. After Trevor discusses his reasoning behind the gift, she decides to give Jordan a chance–and that decision will alter Kestrel’s life forever.
Filled with intrigue, suspense, spiritual wrestling and the discussion of what truly makes one human (or inhuman), “Synapse” is a book that pulls you in from the first page and will not let go until the very last page. I am thankful I took a chance–this book is full of thought provoking, honest discussion on weighty matters of the soul. It is not preachy, it touches on both spiritual principles and the delicate balance of life and death. I connected deeply with the characters and was sad to come to the end of this futuristic adventure. “Synapse” is one I plan on purchasing a copy of so I can mark the many moments I felt were profound. I would love to see this book made into a movie–it was awesome.
The first half of this book reads more like a thesis paper than a suspense novel. The author is on a soap box and won’t get down. The second half of the book moves along a little bit faster, but it is also filled with what seems to be teachings. It does bring up lots of thought provoking questions that one should ponder about AI. I would like to think that the human race will not allow computers to evolve to the state that they do in this novel. But I’m sure the people of 100 years ago would not agree with our computer use today.
Somehow manages to be a thrilling book that’s a treatise on life, death, Heaven, hell, pain, terrorism, and artificial intelligence at the same time as being a Christian novel where the characters drink beer as much as anything else.
**Note: if you have delivered a stillborn baby, chapter one will be incredibly triggering.**
After that she’s investigating terrorism and doesn’t seem like a woman fatigued from just having given birth.
Just don’t expect anything to be what you’re looking for, and then it’s a great novel.
This book is unlike any other. What’s coming in our not too distant future? Are we prepared for the answers. You’ve got to read this amazing novel!
I was hesitant to read this because I knew it would be a little more “techie” than my normal type of novel, but I am so glad I did. It was both poignant and edgy at every page-turn. It tugged at your heart on one page, and on the next made you think through not just elements of artificial intelligence and the society in which we live and may eventually live, but also, it challenged you to examine your thoughts about beliefs and God and intelligent beings. I truly did enjoy reading this novel. Action-packed and suspenseful!
From Jordan – “ They spend the vast majority of their lives pursuing what doesn’t matter while neglecting the things that they know do.”
From Kestrel – “In that moment, I realized that if I had to choose between knowing the why and knowing the who, between closure or intimacy with the Lord, I would choose the Father too. Just as Jesus did. Even if I had to live lost in the questions, as long as I could live there with him beside me, I would be okay.”
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
It’s thirty years in the future, and life has both changed and stayed the same. Self-driving cars are the norm and everybody has robot employees, called Artificials. Still, the Pacific Northwest of the USA is home of the latest tech giant, and people still wrestle with terrorism, political street protests, and prejudice.
The spine of the story is the controversy surrounding AI, or artificial intelligence. Thirty years in the future, people are still arguing about whether smart machines are good or bad. Tech industry execs and shareholders, of course, see a golden goose in the newest level of thinking robots. Many citizens disagree, and some have turned to truck bombs and other catastrophic violence.
The controversy is brought to a human level by author Steven James, who introduces us to Trevor (a tech industry security expert and atheist) and his estranged sister, Kestral, an ordained minister in the church. Kestral is unmarried and has opted for in vitro fertilization to start a family of her own.
As the novel begins, Kestral suffers the death of her child. Trevor, thinking he is being helpful, ships the latest robot model to his sister. Kestral does not trust in AI the way Trevor does not trust in God, so the arrival of Jordan (a thinking, feeling, human-looking robot) brings the siblings’ differences to a crisis point.
On the way home from the hospital, after losing her child, Kestral is nearly caught in the truck-bombing of a tech plant. She rushes from her car to help save lives at the bloody incident scene and believes she has saved at least one man, although he will lose an arm.
Thirty years in the future, loss of an arm is not a problem. In fact, it can be an advantage, because robotic arms make superior limbs and are installed routinely. Artificial body parts are so common, in fact, that the general population is divided fairly evenly into three groups: Naturals (humans), Artificials (not humans), and Plussers (humans with enhanced artificial parts).
Trevor is trying to prevent further violence against AI manufacturers, Kestral is trying to mourn the death of her tiny daughter, and Jordan is trying to understand and protect his human owner, amid the larger chaos of a world fighting over advanced technology.
The story has plenty of action and suspense to keep us turning those pages, but author Steven James brings us a more than mere entertainment. James involves us in the emotional ups and downs of the characters and causes us to examine our own philosophies about the nature of life and faith.
For example, Trevor wants Kestral to tell him how God could let her baby girl die, if He is both all good and all powerful. Kestral gives him her answers, even though she is struggling with her own questions at the same time.
Jordan, who has been given abilities to understand and experience emotions, pain, and more, has his own questions about faith and an afterlife. Does an afterlife exist for sentient robots? If Jordan can understand the Bible, can he also believe in God and Jesus? Can a machine worship?
The author sweeps us along at a faster and faster pace, with the stakes rising to a life-and-death level, right up to the surprising, enigmatic, and exciting climax.
This novel has all that any science fiction enthusiast could want. Readers from the community of faith will enjoy and appreciate it as well. James forces no conclusions upon anyone, but he presents excellent questions and arguments from all sides of each issue the story confronts.
Don’t shy away from this book, thinking it’s a philosophical treatise or religious homily. This is a rootin’ tootin’ heckuva good story from beginning to end.
Synapse is a difficult novel to review. Parts were excellent. Parts were not excellent. And parts were downright weird. Let’s start with what I thought was excellent. Synapse is set in the future—2037. Humanoid robots are commonplace, as are the Purists, terrorists who seek to destroy the Artificials before Artificials destroy humanity (a valid concern for anyone who has seen a Terminator movie).
The main character, Kestrel, is a Methodist minister, and that gives lots of room to muse in the nature of humanity, whether a sentient robot has a soul or can believe in God or needs forgiveness for their sins.
There are some big questions around artificial life forms in this novel, and Synapse addresses them all in a natural way. Is salvation only for humans? I’d always thought so, but I don’t live in a world with sentient artificial life forms. If a computer were sentient, would it have a soul? Would it have eternal soul? These are the tough questions Steven James addresses in Synapse.
But that’s not the plot. The basic plot is more mundane—there’s a bombing, our heroine is one of the first on the scene, and that naturally brings her to the attention of the investigating officers. Predictably, one is single (well, divorced) and interested in her (but has to get past his own issues first), and the other is a dirty cop. Yawn. Sorry, but that’s one plot line I’m kind of over. However, I did enjoy the occasional touch of humour.
The underlying novel is the search for the truth about the bombing, and will the good cop find out the truth before the bad cop destroys all the evidence and implicates Kestrel. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but I found the bad cop a little cliché, and the writing in those scenes somewhat bland.
Yes, some of the writing was bland, but there were also passages of brilliance, and passages that could be either. Or both. Take the introduction. One of the first “rules” of writing is about managing point of view. In short, write in first person or third person, but be careful about writing in both. And don’t write in second person.
Synapse breaks these rules. It starts in second person as Kestrel gives birth and realises her baby is not okay. Honestly, I almost stopped reading there—using “you” (meaning me, the reader) would have been weird in any context, but in the context of a mother losing her baby? Beyond weird.
The novel then switched into first person past tense. But Jordan (Kestrel’s Artificial aka sentient humanoid robot) was also a viewpoint character, and Jordan’s scenes were written in first person present tense. This was somewhat jarring next to the rest of the novel, and definitely not a technique I’d recommend to new writers.
Overall, Synapse is a futuristic whodunit that uses enough common tropes to make it familiar despite the futuristic setting. While I didn’t wholeheartedly enjoy Synapse, it was a fascinating concept that asked some serious questions about the nature of God, humanity, and salvation.
Recommended for science fiction fans. Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
Steven James is my go-to writer when it comes to Psychological Thrillers. He captures my attention and throws in so many twists and turns that I usually don’t figure out who the villain is before the end of the novel. James has written a new novel entitled Synapse. This tale is a little dystopian meets I, Robot. Can a machine worship God? That seems to be an important question that the robot in the story asks. As for the plot, I felt quite bored. There really wasn’t that much action until the last ten percent of the novel. The main character lost a baby in the opening chapters, and it changes her and sticks with her throughout the novel. But instead of that, she really doesn’t change that much. The idea of a minister having a kid without being married is a little odd even though she does talk about God and doubting her faith at times. It just didn’t sit with me too well. Overall, Synapse by Steven James is a complete 180 from what he normally writes, and I wasn’t that thrilled with the novel. Fans of science fiction and dystopian novels might devour this novel.
I received a complimentary copy of Synapse by Steven James from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.
Suspense filled, thought provoking who-dun-it that leaves you guessing and questioning until the last page. Steven James creates a believable future with technology at the forefront, spurring people to either embrace advancing artificial intelligence or fight against it and the problems it brings. As the story unfolds, the question of who God saves and why is woven into the mix. Can a machine that is able to make it’s own choices be able to receive forgiveness for those choices or is that limited to humans, who God has set aside special with a soul? The suspense starts with a bombing and just keeps building until the end of the book. Who is responsible for the bombs? Where is their next target? Who is the enemy, and do they wear the mask of a friend? Agent in charge Vernon is facing a web of deception, danger, and misdirection while he tries to stop an unknown event that could cause the deaths of unknown numbers. I love how James mixed in a who-dun-it intrigue that left me guessing who the real bad guys were until the end. If you want a book that will entertain you from start to finish, definitely grab this one. It will not disappoint! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
What do we do when tragedy strikes—can our faith handle it? Are self-cognizant artificial life forms really alive? Can an android truly understand and worship God, be forgiven of sin, be saved? Perhaps these deeper questions of existence are not ones a reader typically encounters in a suspense novel set in the not-too-distant future, but Steven James’ new book asks us to consider these and many other questions.
This book immediately jumps into the action, with the main character, Kestrel, experiencing a personal tragedy followed closely by a terrorist attack. It leaves her struggling with many important questions despite her pastoral vocation, allowing the reader to explore the weighty topics alongside her. The physical pain, emotional trauma, and intellectual battle are all portrayed in what I felt to be an authentic manner, sometimes disturbingly so.
Running parallel to the personal story is the larger mystery of the terrorist attack, and the race against the clock to prevent another. At the same time, there is a question about what the newly developed technology is, kept a closely guarded secret until the official unveiling at the press conference.
The futuristic technology was convincing, and close enough to current scientific trends to be frighteningly plausible. Their power for good—and for evil—is spot on; as the main character thinks early in the novel, “And technology is a clock you cannot turn backward.” So how far, as a society, are we willing to push, knowing that bad will come along with the good?
A word of caution to those who may be sensitive to certain situations: Kestrel is a single female pastor of a Methodist church; Nick is a divorced federal agent; alcohol is consumed on numerous occasions, but drunkenness is never portrayed. The book does contain violence, to be expected in a suspense thriller, but it remains non-graphic. I really appreciated that this book remained clear of language despite its realism, something that has been creeping into even the Christian market lately.
Overall, this is a fast paced, relevant suspense novel that takes the reader on a breathless ride at the same time it asks us to think about what makes us human. The answers are not given to the reader, but contemplation is unavoidable, and I loved that additional layer to the futuristic suspense that this book delivers.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through Celebrate Lit but was under no obligation to post a positive review. The opinions expressed are both honest and my own.
This was a spooky idea for a book. Would we really want robots with artificial intelligence that were so real looking that we couldn’t tell they weren’t human? In this time robots could even be taught to feel pain. Some people love the artificial intelligence and others are fighting back. I loved the characters. This book is well written and makes you really think about whether robots with AI have a heaven of their own. I love how this author portrays his answer. I received a copy of this book from Celebratelit for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
Synapse
A lot different than I would normally read. I did find parts of it interesting. There is robots called Artificials. Kestrel has an Artificial assigned to her named Jordan. I actually loved Jordan and how he wanted to be human. The story is set thirty years into the future. A lot of things different from today but a lot of things still the same.
If you are into reading about robots and how things may be in the future you will love this book. Someone that isn’t into tech/computers may not understand a lot of terms in the book.
I received an advanced copy of the book from the publisher through Celebrate Lit. This book review is my own opinion.
When I was growing up it was hard to believe that in the future I would live in an era where cell phones were so small they could fit in the palm of your hand or laptops that you take with you and were able to connect with a click to the web. I remember watching The Jetsons and thinking how cool it would be to have flying cars that whisked you away to your destination. With the above mentioned subjects, the author has given us a glimpse into a world that isn’t that far fetched of what it could be like in ten or twenty years in this wonderful display of creativity.
The book may not be for everyone but I really enjoyed reading the story and letting my mind imagine what would happen if we had “Artificial robots that helped us through hard times. Kestrel is a pastor of a church who is grieving the loss of her child. I know people will say she was in sin because she had a baby out of wedlock. What the story portrays is a look at sin in a different way. I wasn’t sure at first where the author was taking us. As I began to learn more about Jordan, I understood how the author took something that wasn’t suppose to have emotions and gave Jordan everything a human could feel.
Jordan’s curiosity about God was one that many of us have wondered before. Why would God allow bad things to happen and watch His people suffer? Can Jordan really experience everything a human does? With technology taking leaps and bounds everyday, it is not too far fetched to have an Artificial pop up in the market place. Do you remember when a test tube baby was unheard of? The author expands our thoughts and allows us to question our beliefs. I found the story to be emotional at times and loved the secondary plot of a terrorist threat. The twists at the end are unexpected and really enhanced the story.
I don’t want to ruin anything that may give the book away so I will leave you with these thoughts: The story is rich in faith and really takes a look at the question many have asked. Is God real? In this thought provoking science fiction book we are able to look past what we can see and get a sense of what it is like as characters experience faith, grief, forgiveness and hope.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.