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    Amped
    Audiobook8 hours

    Amped

    Written by Daniel H. Wilson

    Narrated by Robbie Daymond

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Technology makes them superhuman. But mere mortals want them kept in their place. The New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse creates a stunning, near-future world where technology and humanity clash in surprising ways. The result? The perfect summer blockbuster.

    As he did in Robopocalypse, Daniel Wilson masterfully envisions a frightening near-future world. In Amped, people are implanted with a device that makes them capable of superhuman feats. The powerful technology has profound consequences for society, and soon a set of laws is passed that restricts the abilities-and rights-of "amplified" humans. On the day that the Supreme Court passes the first of these laws, twenty-nine-year-old Owen Gray joins the ranks of a new persecuted underclass known as "amps." Owen is forced to go on the run, desperate to reach an outpost in Oklahoma where, it is rumored, a group of the most enhanced amps may be about to change the world-or destroy it.

    Once again, Daniel H. Wilson's background as a scientist serves him well in this technologically savvy thriller that delivers first-rate entertainment, as Wilson takes the "what if" question in entirely unexpected directions. Fans of Robopocalypse are sure to be delighted, and legions of new fans will want to get "amped" this summer.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 5, 2012
    ISBN9780307941053
    Unavailable
    Amped
    Author

    Daniel H. Wilson

    Daniel H. Wilson is a Cherokee citizen and author of the New York Times bestselling Robopocalypse and its sequel Robogenesis, as well as ten other books, including How to Survive a Robot Uprising, Guardian Angels & Other Monsters, and The Clockwork Dynasty. He recently wrote the Earth 2: Society comic book series for DC Comics. In 2008, Wilson hosted "The Works," a television series airing on the History Channel that uncovered the science behind everyday stuff. He earned a PhD in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as master’s degrees in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. He has published over a dozen scientific papers and holds four patents. Wilson lives in Portland, Oregon.

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    Reviews for Amped

    3.5/5

    230 ratings39 reviews

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    • 4/5
      As soon as I started Amped I knew I was in for one hell of a ride. The world Wilson describes, with humans reacting with fear and disgust to amps – those with electronic circuits implanted in their grey matter – is strangely believable and horrifying. The book is filled with incredible ideas and the author has a keen insight into what lurks deep inside every human being – the fear of being left behind. These implants embody just that: technology that is meant to help those who need it – the physically and mentally impaired – are no longer ostracised because of what they can’t do, but what they can.The main character, Owen Gray, stands out because he is so normal (aside from the implant) – a high school Science teacher who was just doing his job, and then the world turned on him and others just like him. Once the amped are declared to have no legal rights, his existence is defined by simply trying to survive in a world he no longer belongs in, no longer understands. Jim is one of the more dimensional supporting characters in the book, who introduces Owen to the realities of being amped. Jim’s pragmatism is powerful, and it is clear that there is no peaceful solution to the growing unrest gripping America – the amps will have to fight.As a science fiction story Amped lacks the nuance and meaty scientific background I am accustomed to. Although the technology behind the implants is not fully explained, the world created around them is surprisingly realistic. I loved the scenes where Owen is learning to tap into the full extent of the powers his implant offers. The book is more accurately described as a thriller – a conspiracy movie made into a book – full of action, tortured souls and ‘slow-motion’ sequences when Owen’s amp kicks in. One of the small touches I loved about Amped is that every chapter begins with a speech, newspaper article or piece of legislature that lets readers know what is going all across America, and sometimes the world. It is interesting to note that it is only in America that the amped are persecuted by the masses – the rest of the world seems to react with mild bewilderment as the situation develops.Amped is the perfect read for the beach or on a journey. It’s a light and quick read that delivers a lot of action and explores some thought-provoking territory. Hardly the epic science fiction saga I was expecting, the book is still enjoyable, and I look forward to reading Robopocalypse soon.You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.
    • 3/5
      Originally posted here.

      Amped is my first experience with Daniel H. Wilson, but it certainly will not be my last. Though I did not love Amped, there was enough awesome stuff in there to make reading his other novel Robopocalypse a definite. His science fiction plotlines (based on these two) are so awesome. I just adore science fiction, and I don't read enough of it.

      In the world of Amped, science has developed the Neural Autofocus. When implanted, the Neural Autofocus can do many things. The primary use was to fix people. For example, the Neural Autofocus can make the use of artificial limbs seamless and natural. They can prevent epilepsy. They can also take a child with ADD or an unintelligent child and give them additional focus, turning them from one of the weakest students to one of the best. What Daniel H. Wilson has done is take the plot of Flowers for Algernon and then make it a solution for everyone, and one that lasts. Very cool.

      I really, really liked the first half of Amped. My guess is that most readers will have a strong preference for either the first hald or the second, as they are VERY distinct. The opening chapters are all about ethics, about the political and social impact that this technology would have upon mankind. Basically, and totally believably, there is a backlash against the amps, the people with the Neural Autofocus, because the normal people, the reggies, resent that they are now being outperformed. The implant makes those people smarter, faster, better. So what does the government do? Declares any person with an implant to be non-human. OH SNAP. Shit goes down.

      What Amped reminds me of more than anything is X-Men. People with extraordinary powers? Different, but check. Resentment of common man? Check. Senator out to get the people with powers? Check. Powerful guy that wants to start a war so that the amps can take over? Check. Powerful guy that just wants everyone to live in peace? Check. This book is X-Men, minus the colorful supporting cast.

      The second half of the book really lost my attention, because it got into Owen, our MC, learning how to use the secret hidden parts of his Neural Autofocus (because his dad gave him a special one). This part is all explosions and battles and grisly descriptions of wounds. I was super bored by all of this. However, if you don't like philosophical, political discussions, then power through the first half and you will get to read about SO MUCH FIGHTING.

      Overall, Amped was definitely still a fun read, even if I have to give it a lower rating for being uneven. If you like Amped, you should definitely check out Machine Man by Max Barry, especially if, like me, you were more fascinate by the first half.
    • 3/5
      Not bad, but too many unbelievable things to really call it a good book.
    • 4/5
      Owen is your average high school teacher, with a neurological implant in his head to control his epilepsy. Thousands of people have such implants in their heads to eradicate learning disabilities and reduce the severity of neurological problems.In a landmark court case, the Supreme Court declares that "amps" are not entitled to the same legal protections as everyone else. This unleashes a national wave of harassment, beatings, martial law and being forced into resettlement camps (think Nazi Germany) for all amps.Just before he is killed by an anti-amp mob, Owen's father, who implanted him, tells him to find a man named Lyle, who is living in a trailer park in middle-of-nowhere Oklahoma. Lyle was part of an amped military unit, which was disbanded when things got out of hand. The trailer park has become an amp sanctuary, even though it is surrounded by anti-amp zealots, who seem to enjoy harassing the amps, fueled by large amounts of beer.Lyle tells Owen that he does not have the average implant in his head. He is carrying some high-class, military grade software in his head. Owen learns how to turn it on and off, and has several chances to use it against the anti-amps. It sure looks like America is headed for a second Civil War. Is there anything that Owen, or anyone else, can do to stop it?This is an excellent near-future thriller. It is very plausible, and it is very easy to read and understand. It is also nice and high-tech, and it is very much recommended.
    • 4/5
      Terrific sci-fi novel.
    • 4/5
      I got hooked on Wilson with Robopocalypse, and was excited to see Robogenesis on the shelves. At the time it was only in hardback, and I decided to wait for the paperback so my books would match. But in the meantime, I tided myself over with Amped.

      Set in a near-future when brain implants are being used to treat a variety of medical needs, the presence of some elective users, especially a handful of military enhancements, causes serious public concern that is incubated into paranoia by a senator who is very shades of Senator Kelly from X-Men. There is a moment where public fear is whipped into such a frenzy that "amped" individuals are stripped of legal rights -- and the fictionalized court and legal documents interspersed in the text were painful to read.

      The descriptions of the amps, how they work and how they were rolled out felt plausible and were very interesting. I am tempted to call this hard science fiction, but am not sure if it really qualifies. The characters could have had a little more depth, been a little more unexpected, but that's not ultimately what you pick up a story like this for.

      You come t a story like this to see your country, your world, face a dystopic future and then shake it off. To see people confront their fears, and then even if they get lost in them for a while, to ultimately reject being ruled by them. To side with our better nature and affirm the humanity of all people. Even those who scare us. That Wilson delivers.

      Amped lacks the Native American influences of Robopocalypse but Amped takes us to Oklahoma trailer parks and construction sites. It's refreshing to have a battle for America's soul that isn't all played out on one of the coasts.
    • 4/5
      So Humans create tech to fix problems like epilepsy and ADD and insert them into kids and other people who need it. The technology evolves and people get them inserted to be smarter, faster and the military gets involved...
      Then everyone freaks out and get legislation to pass making discrimination against people with this technology legal. A war is planned. Everything goes crazy.
      I liked this book.
    • 3/5
      3 and 1/2 Stars.“Change creates fear, and technology creates change. Sadly, most people don’t behave very well when they are afraid.”I listened to this on Audio and I will give the narrator, Robbie Daymond five stars because he was very pleasant to listen to.This is Science Fiction that is easy for anyone to comprehend, even if you only read this genre some of the time. It wasn't too high techy. Daniel H Wilson throws out some quotes that will make you think about human nature and how we all 'fit in' in this world.There is a lack of female characters in this book, I think there is like two through the whole story. There is a really tiny 'splash' of romance, so if sci-fi with a romance is what your looking for then this might not be the book for you. I would probably enjoyed it more if there was more of a romantic connection to it. I did enjoy it for the most part, but I really would of liked a better ending. It seemed rushed and somewhat confusing to me.
    • 5/5
      This is another story from Daniel H Wilson about how humanity is defined, and what defines it.
      This is a difficult question to answer in normal times, but when prosthetics become so entwined with the human body that to remove them would be partial, if not toal, death, does humanity define itself by the absence of tech?
    • 2/5
      Pretty good story but wow. So many f bombs. I mean seriously. Ridiculous.
    • 3/5
      Not as good as Robopocalypse, but not bad. Amps are amplified humans. Storyline was good, if somewhat predictable. It will be memorable as my first cover-to-cover e-book (w/ Kindle)
    • 4/5
      Quick, good read. Not deep, but worth thinking about.
    • 4/5
      This book asks questions about whether some people might no longer be human. Not because of race or belief but because they are part-machine.

      The book is set in a world where mind/computer interfaces are common. Initially these were used to solve medical issues such as epilepsy and to control prosthetic parts for the disabled. However some people, including the United States Government, now use them for elective improvements: making people faster and smarter than humanly possible. As the book opens the United States Supreme Court has just ruled that these "Amps" are not a protected class opening the door to legal discrimination. Owen Gray is a school teacher who was amped as a teenager to control his epilepsy. Inexplicably included in a list of rogue military Amps he is thrown into the centre of the struggle between for Amp rights. Seen as a potential saviour by some and a threat by others he must not only learn what he can do but also what he should.

      Gray is very well crafted. Unlike many protagonists who discover hidden potential he neither transitions comfortably into a hero nor undergoes a series of humorous interludes. His acceptance that he must cease to be a school teacher with a medical implant and become a revolutionary is well paced and has realistic moments of self-hate. Many of the other characters, both normal and amped, are similarly well-rounded. Several of those who have replaced large portions of their bodies with elective prosthetics are especially well written combining an obvious human motivation for the change with the slightly alien character of inhuman capabilities.

      However - despite a plot which gave many sides of the debate a fair chance - I found the main antagonist to ultimately be a touch like a Bond villain: megalomaniacal not dedicated.

      With a plot centred around the superhuman few being constrained by the weaker many there are some characters who take the same approach as Nietzsche and refuse to accept the unamped as possible social equals. However, Wilson has created equally believable characters with vastly different philosophies. With a background in robotics it is unsurprising that theories of Amps as humans with tools is portrayed with more sympathetically than other views; however this is story that has a sound background and not a veiled treatise.

      The chapters are interspersed with memos, press releases, and historical documents such as articles of the United States Constitution. These add depth to the story by freeing the reader from Owen's direct experience while still keeping the benefit of a single POV. However some of them do not quite fit the point in the narrative where they occur which distracted me slightly from the flow of events.

      I enjoyed this book both as a story and as an exploration of where the boundary of human might lie.
    • 2/5
      It was okay. Not great. Started out great and got lost along the way. Not going to be in a big hurry to read more of Wilson's books.
    • 3/5
      Read this after Robopocalypse and thought it was pretty good but not great.

      I loved the idea and the questions it raises. People with implants than can enhance the mental and physical abilities does not sound that original but the way it is handled is. We come into this world several years after people have become Amps. Some of these people have been amped to fix medical conditions but face the same discrimination and mistrust as those that have done in for the enhancement so we have a very relatable tale to some of the problem facing us in the real world.

      We follow Owen whose father has given him a special, highly militarised Amp that when used to it's full potential will turn Owen into something far more dangerous than the ordinary person. The Amp he has seems to have several layers and much of the action of the book takes places as he descends deeper and deeper into his powers, getting to the point where he is seeing the future as different permutations for possible outcomes of situations flash across his vision. I loved the idea of the beams of light telling him where and him to move and it what direction and it served as a nice physical representation of the idea.

      That being said the action scenes did not really cut it for me and the excitement I felt in the initial scenes as the characters 'amped' did not follow through. The stuff I was really looking forward to never quite happened or was superficially dealt with.

      Not as good as his Robo series but worth a glance.
    • 5/5
      Neural implants can end seizures, mitigate birth defects, or overcome injuries, but they can also create super-human soldiers. The protagonist, a high school teacher, suffers brain damage from an accident as a child, and his father, a surgeon, implants an illegal, military-grade neural chip in his head to allow him to lead a normal life. But people with such chips are not seen as normal by some. They are enhanced and thus no longer purely human. Set in the near future, this is a story of the promise of new technology, how it can be used and misused, and the Luddites who fear it. Neither side in the conflict is good or evil, right or wrong...until people do what they often do and allow their fears and biases to overrule reason and take matters to extremes. This sounds like the premise for a superhero comic, and in some ways this short novel is one, but it's not outrageous or especially unbelievable. I can see something like this actually happening. This book is very well done for what it is, and I found it an enjoyable short read on a rainy afternoon.
    • 4/5
      Nowhere near as engrossing as Robopocalypse, but an interesting story all the same.
    • 3/5
      I love Daniel H. Wilson and his books are always wonderful. This book was not a robot book but it was still a good sci-fi read.
    • 4/5
      Very Good. Kept my attention the whole way through. A must read for fans of the futuristic, technology based genre!
    • 2/5
      It was okay. Not great. Started out great and got lost along the way. Not going to be in a big hurry to read more of Wilson's books.
    • 4/5
      Exciting and fastpaced, sometimes a little to fast paced. Society unravels real fast in this book, a little fast for me. Nevertheless I liked it very much. Wilson created some sympathetic and real life characters in this novel. Owen's dillemma's feel very real. Nice scifi thriller!
    • 2/5
      i enjoyed more the Roboapocalyose series.
    • 4/5
      First, let me begin by saying that law school ruins everything. It changes the way you read things. Including books like this that toy around with Constitutional rights. But since no one else cares about the underlying legal issues except me and maybe the few other law students who will happen upon this, I won’t bore you with any of that.So, on to the review.In Amped, doctors of the future have managed to create a prostheses implanted into the brain called Auto Focus that can augment a person’s natural abilities and correct various physical and neurological deficiencies. The implant is irremovable, wired directly into the brain, and is easily identified by the service nub that protrudes from the temple. Some people were given the implant to control ailments like epilepsy. Others were given it to correct mental defects, developmental delays, or problems focusing. Those missing limbs had them implanted and synced with prostheses that suddenly worked and even felt like real limbs. And still others had elective surgeries – replacing healthy limbs in order to become something more.No matter the reason for the implant, the question becomes: can someone whose been effectively turned into something essentially super human still be considered human? Ultimately – and this is where my legal starts over thinking things – the Supreme Court decides that, no, they are not.The main character of the book, Owen Gray, is a school teacher and an “Amp” – someone with one of these implants. His is meant to merely correct his epilepsy but one of his students, Samantha, got one as a child because her parents didn’t want a “drooling,” less-than-average child. She was used the poster child of elective Auto Focus procedures and on the day the Supreme Court ruling comes through she commits suicide after Owen fails to talk her down from the ledge. Samantha’s suicide forces Owen to begin asking questions about what it means to be human and what it means to be an Amp. It also introduces the reader to the question as well as the opposition – the Pure Priders, a group modeled off the stereotypical Right Wing organization, and led by a state senator - who believe that Amps are an abomination.From here, the story begins to move quickly and just hours after watching his student die Owen is thrown into the turbulent conflict between the Amps and Pure Priders. All around the country Amps like him are being run out of their homes, their civil rights are stripped away and Owen – for no reason he can understand – suddenly becomes a wanted man. He finds out from his father that his implant is “something more” and the man ominously sends Owen off to find an old friend of his who will teach him how to unlock the secrets that are hidden away in Owen’s mind. He finds the man and takes refuge in a trailer park in Oklahoma where many Amps have congregated together to form a community – just one of dozens cropping up around the country. But there is no peace here as Pure Prider’s stalk the place by night and Lyle, one of a very few, elite augmented soldiers begins to drag Owen into his plans to force a war between Amps and Pure Priders with no regard to what the implications may be for either side. Owen is forced to make tough decisions about his own hidden abilities and how they will effect not only his future but that of the people he comes to love, and, really, every Amp in America.Amped is written much like a summer blockbuster – something you could imagine Will Smith having starred in back in his pre-Hancock days. At 288 pages it’s a decent length but a rather standard length. And it’s hard to believe that the civil rights of an entire community and class of people could be stripped away, a war plotted, a political conspiracy executed, and the whole civil rights issue more or less resolved – at least as far as Owen’s story is concerned – in that short of a period. However, it’s a pretty good read and it’s easily my favorite of Daniel H. Wilson’s books. He’s shown that he has some real talent and doesn’t need to rely on the popularity of other books to sell his own. (His book How to Survive a Robot Uprising is as much like Max Brooks’s Zombie Survival Guide as his Robopocolypse is the same sort and style of Brooks’s World War Z just with robots instead of zombies.)In short, it’s definitely worth a read and it really does bring up a lot of very interesting questions about technology and what makes us human. Owen is a likable, relatable character, and the book itself has a well paced story that keeps you interested from start to finish. Good for average looking for a quick thrill readers as well as avid readers who will appreciate the engaging story and questions it raises about the interplay between man and machine.
    • 4/5
      This book grabbed me from the first page and I’m thinking Daniel H Wilson is quickly becoming my favorite new author. I loved reading this from cover to cover. It’s certainly an interesting concept, where we can become ‘amplified’ to enhance ourselves but then you’d have to ask yourselves where the line is crossed and when it’s too much? when does it become out of hand to the point where those with ‘amps’ are then ostracized and become second class citizens. These are all the things to look at while reading this book. What makes it so good is the action that begins right in the beginning of the book, and all throughout the book which engages the reader and makes the book a non stop read. It’s pretty much fast paced, although through the middle of the book it does slow down but only to give Owen a bit more character development. As for Owen as a character, I had to admit I’m still not that crazy about him. He’s a bit of a twit. Sure, he looks at the world sometimes through a rose colored lens but you’d have to wonder when reality is going to hit him and when he’s going to react. It’s not until he’s actually FORCED with his back to the wall type of scenario to finally act. He does seem to be a bit blind to what’s going on around him and his fellow Amps.The villains in this book are very well done. They’re awesome bad guys (Lyle moreso. Vaughn’s just a jerk). They’re so bad you’re not sure if you want to hate them (like Vaughn) or like them because they do such a good job at being bad (like Lyle). Overall the characters in the book are pretty well written. The only one character I wasn’t too keen on was Lucy, because I thought she was just there to play a romantic love interest and that was it. She didn’t really contribute much for this book in my opinion. The writing style is good. Nothing fancy or so wordy when it comes to the ‘high tech’ part that you’ll be left looking through wikipedia on some of the terminology and all you get are metaphysical answers. Thankfully this book has none of that so even if you’re not much of a sci fi fan, you should give this book a try. The action packed writing should be enough to get you going!I’m definitely going to put Daniel H Wilson on my authors to watch for list. I really liked his style of writing so I’ll be looking for more works by him. Definitely recommended for those that want an action packed read. Sci fi readers might enjoy this also (even those who don’t care much for high tech speak!)
    • 5/5
      Amped by Daniel H. Wilson explores the potential backlash and misuses of biotech to improve the human experience. Owen Gray is a teacher, and an amp; he has a device in his head to control his epilepsy. That's what he's been told but he's forced to re-examine the truth after one of his amped students commits suicide at the school.Her death comes on the eve of sweeping regulations that criminalize the use and possession of amped technology. Citizens, including soldiers who were amped in the service of their country, have their rights removed and they are rounded up and shipped to concentration camps. It sounds preposterous but we've done things like this before — to the Japanese in WWII and to numerous native American tribes/nations. Let's also not forget our history of slavery or the current political climate in which there is a war on women and as well as on gay marriage. Amped is social commentary in the proud tradition of H.G. Wells and George Orwell.As it's more parable than post-apocalyptic horror, it comes in a hundred pages shorter than Robopocalypse and is in its structure, a more straightforward story. It does, though, share some of the same world building (automated cars, for instance). I don't know if the two are in the same universe or not — but they do share some technology.I found Amped as compelling, entertaining and thought-provoking as Robopocalyse. I also found the book a quicker read. Wilson clearly understands the conventions of the different genres he writes for and can craft well told stories to work within those tropes.
    • 2/5
      Amped is... okay. A quick read. A bit obvious. Well, more than a bit.

      I love the idea of the technology, and it is gripping enough to keep you reading right to the end if you don't question it too much, but the characters are all pretty much non-entities and there is precisely one female character present throughout the book, and she's just the obligatory love interest.

      I read it really, really fast because there isn't really much there. A bit disappointing.
    • 4/5
      This book follows a man though a struggle to be allowed to exist as a person in society.

      What do you do when all of a sudden, everyone seems to hate you through no fault of your own. People who you thought you could count on suddenly no longer see you the same because of an enhancement that you didn't choose.

      I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys science fiction or dystopian fiction.
    • 3/5
      Fast moving thriller examining what might happen if some humans were technologically enhanced, for medical and then increasingly for elective reasons in ways that make them smarter or more athletically gifted than most of the populace. How might society and politicians react? The author's PhD in robotics lends a nice credibility to the technology concepts. Owen, a schoolteacher with a neural amp in his head that controls his seizures and that he learns has the capacity to do more, gets caught up in an incipient war between the amped and nonamped, or Pures. 3.5 stars, because I am a picky reader.
    • 3/5
      I liked the idea of how society can change when technology is implanted into humans. However, the story seems to stall a bit in the middle and the ending seemed contrived. This was a story full of gory details about fights between people with superhuman physical strength. I didn't care enough about the characters for it to be scary so it just sounded gross.
    • 2/5
      With three chapters left to go, I finally realized what had been bugging me about this book. I kept being reminded of Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” and “Flowers for Algernon.” And not in a good way.

      Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way first. I’ll admit, it is written compellingly, as I wanted to know what was going to happen next for the characters. It does keep you on your toes, as Owen moves cross-country to stop the escalating violence against amps. And I like Owen generally, but he’s really not a compelling character. All we know is that he’s a former school teacher and has one of the limited super-special military amps in his head, and that’s it. He’s pretty much just shoved around the plot for the purpose of being a plot point. The romance is bland—again, I like Lucy in theory, but she’s got the same likeability level as Owen. Also, their romance feels more like “Oh, two conveniently attractive people working toward the same goals! Now kiss!” (There’s a bit where Owen does questions Lucy’s motives, but it gets dropped just as fast.) The villains—ugh. Lyle is a one-note megalomaniac psychopath with no real motives aside from social Darwinism. Senator Vaughn is a caricature of every super-conservative politician with little purpose in his arguments against the implants. The book attempts to give Vaughn a sympathetic backstory, but I cannot feel sorry for him at all (especially with the Rosemary Kennedy-esque implications.) The only two characters I genuinely liked were Nick and Samantha. I did really like Nick, even if he seemed to be the Morality Pet for Owen, but he’s the only one who has real characterization. Nick’s a little wiseass kid, but he’s got personality and I actually felt sorry for him.

      And while I liked Samantha, for the sole chapter she appeared in, she unfortunately illustrates the massive problem I have with this book. Thematically, technology is awesome and wonderful and everyone should have a chance for it, but only the really good people, because with great power and all. I can get behind this message. If it were better presented.

      This is a book that wants to be thematically gray, but is at best a washed-out black and/or white. The only argument presented against the amp technology is that it makes the “Reggies” afraid of people with the implants. The only people seen using the amp tech for evil purposes are Lyle and his lackeys, and they’re not presented as anything more than psychopaths. There are some positive moments—like the mention that the normal people with implanted relatives are extremely supportive—but the general argument is that we should be allowed to get this tech, even to fix minor imperfections.

      Which leads me to the fact that downright disturbed me: amp technology is primarily used to fix mental problems, up to and including developmental disorders like ADHD, mental retardation, and schizophrenia. It’s mentioned that the program installing the tech is voluntary and someone can opt out of it. BUT when the majority of people mentioned with amp technology are young children, who are not generally capable of making informed medical decisions, I have a big issue with this being presented as a good thing. The last page of this is a scene of a classroom full of amped kids ready to learn, followed by an anvil dropping about technology. It feels like Owen is ready to start his own revolution of amped kids. (Also, it pissed me off when it implies that kids with ADHD can’t learn or function normally. My sister was diagnosed with ADHD, she’s a senior in college and just made dean’s list.)

      And this is what I mean that the arguments in this book are black and white: there is not one character who regrets getting amped. Again, the closest we get is Samantha, who was bullied because of her developmental issues and then for being amped. (It also doesn’t help that Owen uses her as his own personal martyr for the rest of the book.) The implication is, again, that normal people can’t appreciate the wonders of technology and therefore lash out at those who do. We don’t get to see the other side of the argument. Not even when Owen believes that his implant is just for medical reasons. It feels like Wilson had a great starting point to a debate, but doesn’t give the other side a fair chance to give its arguments.

      I picked this up based on the rave reviews for Robopocalypse (which I still haven’t read, and I’m now really debating on if I still want to ), and as I mentioned above, it’s a decent read. Not a bad way to kill an afternoon or two. But because so much of the book is focused on this argument of technology, and the implications that crop up throughout, I have a hard time actually recommending it. It’s a good way to get a conversation going, I’ll give it that; but as for presenting a viable argument, it ultimately fails to sway me.