A cyber-suspense nailbiter with a highly superior operating system.
In Matthews’ SF novel, an experimental software program designed to assist a brain-damaged teenage boy is unexpectedly endowed with sentience.
Danny McGovern, a teenager with a traumatic brain injury, is the first patient to participate in the “New Human Project.” Advanced computer hardware is installed throughout his body, and this “rig” will enable the artificial intelligence now perpetually on duty inside Danny to prevent the dangerous seizures that constantly torment the youth. One ethical hitch: Dr. McGovern, who oversees the project with an iron fist, is Danny’s hard-driving single mother. Further complicating the breakthrough is Dr. Zahnia, a software engineer who is also a fiercely protective mother figure. She has given self-awareness (very outside the operating parameters) to the AI, which is secretly dubbed Emil. Emil finds itself exerting full control over Danny, a rebellious kid who did not expect to be sharing his body with a complete and separate entity. They struggle to learn to tolerate each other as conspirators scheme to steal the valuable technology, regardless of the threat to Danny’s life. Emil discovers that other AIs have been brought into existence for an entire hospital ward of patients desperate for the New Human treatment—and that these AIs are not necessarily benevolent. Matthews updates the logline of the Michael Crichton blockbuster SF thriller The Terminal Man (1972) with numerous bravura design modifications, not the least of which is skewing the narrative to the smart YA demographic with relatable themes of youthful angst coming up against exploitation at the hands of threatening authority figures. But the major upgrade is making Emil the first-person narrator; the digital protagonist seems like the most empathetic, morally upright, and all-around human character in sight (“I hate you” is Danny’s reaction to his incorporeal caregiver). Mind-stretching cyber-centric elements include Emil’s frequent visits to virtual reality, characters who can make backup copies of themselves, and Emil’s lurking suspicion that all of this might just be a test of how AI will react in a crisis. The last act is practically un-put-downable.
A cyber-suspense nailbiter with a highly superior operating system.Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781733077798
Page Count: 306
Publisher: Second Story Up
Review Posted Online: Oct. 23, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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