Synopsis:
Teenager Sam Lilly just wants to rescue his best friend, Grant—kidnapped during a T-SEC raid that tore apart the warehouse they called home. So, when a sharp-dressed stranger promises answers in exchange for a “simple” data heist, Sam doesn’t hesitate. He should have.
The job drops him straight into the hands of The Company, a rogue band of genetically modified savants searching for the truth behind the raids. And they are the last thing Sam expects—not just survivors, but a group dangerously close to a family. Among them is Trent, someone who sees Sam in a way no one else ever has. Including Grant.
For the first time in a while, Sam might not be alone. But he’s far from safe.
Hunted by a relentless assassin and shaken by developments in his own body that he can’t explain, Sam is pulled deeper into a fractured Corporate America of irradiated ruins, predatory governments, and brutal cartels. The closer he gets to the truth about Grant, the raids, and the secrets written in his DNA, the more dangerous the game becomes.
Trust is a risk. Attachment is worse. And everything is changing.
If Sam doesn’t find Grant soon, they may both become the very weapons everyone is fighting to claim.
Review:
Anamnesis has all the elements I really love in a good story: high stakes, excellent worldbuilding, and great characters. Throw some found family into the mix, and it made the book really difficult to put down.
The book is set in a future version of Earth that has been decimated by a nuclear war, triggered by a societal split between those who favored genetic modifications to become Savants and those who sought cybernetic mods (becoming Mechs.) Though the war is officially over, the rift remains, but Mechs are tolerated better. Savants are usually hunted, and often abducted for study or experimentation, since all of the documentation on how Savants were created was destroyed during the war. The world is no longer run by governments, but by corporations specializing in biotech. It’s a bleak and dangerous place.
While there are several main characters, Sam Lilly is the most prominent. He’s a teenager who has been living on the streets for some time, and believes he’s one of the few “true” humans left—he doesn’t have cybernetic mods and he doesn’t have a genetic Skill, which puts him at a big disadvantage. But he’s great with computers and can fix just about any machine, which is how he winds up working for the notorious “JR” in exchange for information that could help him find his missing friends. Sam has a tendency to keep things to himself and he doesn’t trust anyone, which lands him in trouble a few times.
Then there’s Trent, another teen who works for a band of mercenaries calling themselves “The Company.” Every member of The Company is a Savant with a genetically-encoded Skill. Of all the characters in this book, Trent was the sweetest. He generally likes everyone and he’s usually optimistic (which is much-needed after some parts of the story.) Trent and Sam eventually become friends, though they have some rocky moments now and then.
But my personal favorite character is Mara. She’s Trent’s legal guardian, a Savant whose power gives her inhuman strength and makes her almost indestructible, and she’s just a lot of fun. I particularly loved her disdain for dresses (I feel the same. They’re usually so impractical!) It’s also great to see a strong female character who can hold her own—and then some—against all of the men she works with. And she’s usually the one saving the others when a job goes bad.
Anamnesis is the kind of sci-fi book I really enjoy. And the way it ended makes it clear there’s going to be a sequel eventually—and I’ll be there for it.
Side note: Amazon has Anamnesis listed as book 2 in the series, but after speaking with the author, the “first” book is actually a prequel. Anamnesis is the start of Sam’s story and his mission to save his kidnapped friends.
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