Today we have sci fi novel Sentient by Michael Leon! I wasn’t so sure I’d be up for this blog tour but I wanted to give this book a try. I’m glad I did because it turned out to be an exciting read!
Read more about the book below and check out my review. Also, read an excerpt and join the giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon/B&N GC!
About the Book
A century has passed and yes, the human race stumbled into evolutionary compromise. But it’s not the androids who are the victors. Post-humans have exploded into preeminence, gaining tech superiority and a tech immunity against the global environmental degradation. Humans are trivialised, a minority species, their one last significant task, restore the environmental damage they inflicted on Earth and terraform off-planets. One human and his ‘biot’ android embark on such a journey to Mars, opening the possibility for an evolutionary path back to greatness, but hostile post-human agents have infiltrated their mission.
An intriguing and exciting sci fi thriller
It’s 2120 and of course the world has changed. Everything’s advanced, the environment on earth isn’t great, and there are less humans than post-humans or people with tech implants and biots or human-like robots. AI governs the world and the tension and politics between humans and post-humans are intense. While humans are determined to restore Earth and terraform other planets like Mars, post-humans are focused on speeding up technological change. Human scientist Dane Walker and his biot Hali leave Earth for Mars on a secret mission to bring a piece of technology vital to the terraforming project on Mars. Unfortunately, the post-humans are on to them and are hell-bent on stopping them and acquiring the technology for themselves.
This was an easy read for me because it turned out to be quite exciting. The story is fast-paced, intriguing and thought-provoking. It has all the elements of a gripping thriller – you know, secret missions, secret agents, counterintelligence, espionage, military action. Mix that with a very cool setting like space and a red dusty planet, fascinating human and non-human characters (the non-humans were my favorites, btw) and some convincing science and you’ve got a very cool and compelling story that makes you think about things like consequences, being human, how far we’d go to advance or “better” ourselves, what does “better” even mean, what we’re willing to do to change our situation and our future, and what’s out there for us as a people.
I enjoyed reading this and if you’re into sci fi and/or thrillers, you might enjoy this one, too!
Note: I received a review copy of this book as part of my participation in the tour. All opinions and views expressed here are my own.
About the Author
Michael Leon is an explorer, writer and author of the new novel, Sentient. Professionally trained in international trade, Michael has spent the last decade reading and writing SFF novels about new worlds to be explored in the future. His latest work, Sentient, imagines Earth in the year 2120. Michael has traveled extensively around Europe, walking the paths of his characters, from the famous European opera houses in Phantoms to the mountain tops of Switzerland in Emissary.
Connect with the author on his website, Twitter, Blogger, Goodreads and Amazon.
Read an excerpt from Sentient by Michael Leon
The thought of engine failure enveloped my core as we approached the fateful deceleration phase. Rationally, I knew there hadn’t been a malfunction in many years, but statistics always had outliers. I was a Martian, but this was my first Mars landing. A feeling of dread overwhelmed me as the ship accelerated toward the planet. I tried to focus on Step, who methodically adjusted the navigation system, unaffected by the looming peril. It was ironic. I was part of a resistance, demanding more humanness and less technology, but I wouldn’t have anyone else but this talented biot navigate me back to my home. Step assuredly fired the thrusters, abruptly shifting our ship from its vertical fall.
“Brace people,” he warned, as the force of the thrusters turned my world upside down. The roar screamed like a tornado, capturing me and twisting the ship as if it were lighter than a feather. Extreme G-forces turned my body inside out in one violent action. For the briefest of moments, I wished we had crashed, but the roar of the thrusters subsided as did my discomfort. I barely heard Step’s next command as the ringing in my ears slowly abated. “Welcome to Mars, Dane.”
Giveaway
Michael Leon will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Check out the other tour stops for more chances of winning! You can find the blog tour schedule here.