The Digital Sea is an intriguing dystopian novel with sufficient
plot and character development to hook the reader within a few pages.
Those who like science fiction, mystery and/or techno-thrillers will
enjoy this novel. The Digital Sea is also the first novel of a
trilogy; this becomes very apparent at the end of the novel when the
story arc concludes but subtly suggests that soon there will be other
events to disrupt the normal life of Zel Aurora and her daughter.
The
characters are not all introduced together, but each is featured in
his/her own chapter at the beginning which also includes some backstory
for each member of the vast cast of this novel. This type of
construction makes the story difficult to follow in the beginning, but
perseverance is worthwhile. Readers having difficulty with the number
and mission(s) of the characters may wish to make a cheat sheet.
While
reading this novel, I noted that some of the transitions from one
chapter to the next were not as smoothly accomplished as I could have
wished. This is particularly true in the beginning, but I also noted a
similar effect between the last few chapters. It is less apparent in the
middle of the book. The rough transitions did not detract from my
over-all enjoyment of the book.
Note for those intending to read the next two novels in this series: Start with The Digial Sea, so that you will have sufficient indoctrination into this world to enjoy the followups.
This
review also appears on LibraryThing, and on Amazon.com as well
as any other appropriate place I may find to post it.
FTC
regulations require the following disclosure: This novel was received
free from the author in exchange for this review. Despite the above
statement, I want the reader to know the following as well: I chose to
read The Digital Sea because I wanted to read it. I was not
obligated in any way to accept the author's offer of the free copy. The
above review (excluding this paragraph) is worded exactly the same as it
would have been worded had I chosen to purchase my copy of this book.
Receiving a free copy of the novel has not altered my opinion of the
author's work. This review contains my honest opinion of the book, for
which I have received no financial compensation.
