Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I really enjoyed this ... it definitely wasn't perfect, there were plotlines I had trouble following, but I still really enjoyed it.

In this scifi, aliens have crashed to Earth in meteors and developed from smart bacteria. They created a dome in Africa, but before it was completed, some of their smart bacteria traveled through the air, outside of the dome, and made contact with humans, giving them the ability to access the xenosphere (something like a psychic internet). We follow Kaaro, who is one of these humans who came in contact with this alien bacteria and has become, what they call, a sensitive.

Kaaro - our protagonist - is not perfect, something I really love in protagonist. He is flawed and not always the best person or makes the best decisions. He is a thief and a self-proclaimed coward. He has morals, but when it comes to self-preservation, they vary. Kaaro works for a government organization called Section 45, who like to collect Sensitives and use their abilities. Kaaro is good at his job but doesn't really enjoy it, but he also doesn't always have a choice.

The story has two separate timelines. A present day (2066), and a past timeline, that starts from the beginning and progresses until it meets present day. In the present timeline, Kaaro begins a relationship with a woman with a shady past. Also, there are other Sensitives who begin dying off. And the past timeline, starts from Kaaros beginning: from discovering his abilities, life life life, to eventually being recruited by Section 45.

The writing in this book took me a little while to adjust to. It is almost entirely just straightforward, factual statements. "This is a book. I am holding it. This is what I want. I am thinking this." etc. Eventually though, I did adjust to the writing and it really did seem to fit with Kaaro - first person narrative. Even being straightforward, the story was very descriptive and I can totally imagine it! (almost like a James Cameron Avatar thing)

I really enjoyed the first 3rd of the book. It was jammed pack and super interesting and did a great job NOT being infodumpy and very organically painting this world. But then it hit a slump, and the middle of the book was very slow and where I kind of started to lose my way with some of the plotlines. I think, overall, I enjoyed Kaaro's past plotline better than the present. For the majority of the book (probably until the past 3rd) the present timeline didn't have much going on. But the past timeline was always something from the beginning, so I really liked that.

I'm excited to continue with the series. Again, it wasn't perfect, I definitely kind of struggled thinking this might be a 3-star, but after finishing and letting it marinate for a bit, my enjoyment was definitely big enough for this to be a 4-star. Definitely recommend!