“Amped” by Daniel H. Wilson, 2012

“Amped” by Daniel H. Wilson, 2012

In a future reality, the government is implanting technology, in the form of a tiny device into brains of people to correct defects and disabilities, or increase intelligence, or control other augmentations to the body.

However, after some decades, a Supreme Court decision declares "amplified humans", or ”amps”, to be an unprotected class, Owen Gray learns his implant to control his epilepsy makes him not just a second class citizen, but a criminal and a fugitive. And moments before the lab explosion that kills his father, Owen Gray learns that his implanted amp is more than an antiepilepsy device and in fear, flees for his life.

Owen heads for an amp haven in Oklahoma called Eden and meets an ex-military soldier implanted with a zenith-class amp, called Lyle Crosby. The zenith-class amp, was government classified and was bestowed to a select few, turned soldiers into supersoldiers and was secretly given to Owen by his government scientist father.

With the help of the unpredictable and violent Lyle, Owen slowly unlocks the powers of his supercharged zenith-class amp and struggles through acceptance of the possibility of becoming prone to violence.

“Amped” is an action adventure speeding across the landscape of a paranoid society that needed to stop for gas halfway through the novel. The novel had a strong start that left questions that drew me in immediately, a somewhat sputtering middle with thought provoking concepts and intriguing ideas that eventually gain momentum, and a high-impact explosive action ending.

The novel falls on its face a bit, for me, on its social commentary of the world the author painted in this novel. For the hero to be an underdog, the author had to create a society that hated and persecuted amps. Membership into this society means either extreme hatred for amps or be an amp. I just couldn’t buy into it. Where is the gray in this society? Perhaps the author intended Owen Gray to be the representative as suggested by his namesake.

Thoughtful and well-written, like the author’s previous novel Robopocalypse, the tense interplay between humans and machines is provocative and intriguing. The action sequences delivered through its conjured situations that explore boundaries between humankind and its technological creations made up for the, in my view, weak character development and thin plotting.

My rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5 stars) - I liked it.

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