Nexus

Nexus, Book #1

By Ramez Naam

ISBN#  9780857662934

Author’s Website:  http://rameznaam.com/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Sammy

*Beware of possible spoilers*

Synopsis:

Mankind gets an upgrade.

In the near future, the experimental nano-drug Nexus can link humans together, mind to mind. There are some who want to improve it. There are some who want to eradicate it. And there are others who just want to exploit it.

When a young scientist is caught improving Nexus, he’s thrust over his head into a world of danger and international espionage – for there is far more at stake than anyone realizes.

From the halls of academe to the halls of power, from the headquarters of an elite US agency in Washington DC to a secret lab beneath a top university in Shanghai, from the underground parties of San Francisco to the illegal biotech markets of Bangkok, from an international neuroscience conference to a remote monastery in the mountains of Thailand – Nexus is a thrill ride through a future on the brink of explosion. (Goodreads)

Review:

Nexus was a wild ride the whole way through the book. I enjoyed this book and loved the Buddhist philosophy threaded throughout the storyline. This book is labeled as Sci-fi but should have other labels as well, political intrigue, military strategy, action adventure last but not least mystery.

Kade was an extremely naive young man especially for being so smart with technology. I would have thought when touching others minds it wouldn’t all be the hippie fun, flowers, and love, but that you would be able to see and feel some of the not so pleasant thoughts and petty feelings. As for Sam she had turned into what she was fighting for and didn’t realize it, talk about hiding from yourself, she was not a very likeable character for me, until almost at the end of the story, then the author let us see a part of her that helped us understand a bit more of where she was coming from.

I gave the book a lower star rating because the religious aspect was not authentic.  The author wrote Buddhists want the Nexus for “everyone”. To become a Buddhist you have to a certain level of intelligence and make a conscious decision to practice Buddhism. You must be able to study and meditate. In “real life” this missed the mark.

I think what I enjoyed the most about this story was as a reader I wasn’t sure who the good guys were or where the next bomb was going to drop. By bomb I mean the next group wanting the technology or who the people were affiliated with. Also, the quotes and references were wonderful.

This story is for anyone that enjoys a action packed sci-fi  thriller with things that could be possible in the near future. I recommend this for  the mature young adult because of violence and the descriptive way the author writes about how people die. (it’s awesome) This will be a series and I will definitely keep an eye out for the next book in the series!