"Eyes are hard to grow.
You can't just order one like you would a liver or a new set of kidneys."
Book Title: Full Wire
Publishing Date: 26 January 2022
Social Medias: @cheshire_cactus @literallypr @indienovella
★★★★
With no connection to the wire, the pair are contacted by a mysterious fugitive criminal offering assistant, but the situation quickly deteriorates, and the three are caught in a race for survival against the police and the black market.
Having ended up in a brawl, high and drunk, the story really begins to take place after our two main characters were assaulted and tracked down by who they believe to be a wanted criminal. We follow them on a nail-biting path and running to save their lives.
What happens when your perception of love,
trust and reality suddenly changes?
Set in a time ahead of ours, this story follows our two main characters - Pierre and Jani in a really strange, dystopian London. With drug use being a norm, bodily upgrades at the click of a button and immersive implants that connect you to the world around you via holograms, this was a really dark, gritty and gripping read.
Being a completely different type of read for me, this book was really interesting to pick up and the first few sentences really pulled me in. It didn't beat around with easing you in, but rather dove you straight into the heart of this futuristic world, with talk of 'splicing' and augmentation right off the bat.
My favourite part was definitely the scene-setting, with descriptive pages full of world building elements such as the hologram-experiences that Pierre worked on, rocky train rides through graffiti-covered urban landscapes and even self-driving 'pods' and drones. The whole backdrop was a little unnerving and honestly left me on the edge of my seat, but somehow not too far from realistic in terms of where you could imagine the planet being in a tech-driven future.
Having ended up in a brawl, high and drunk, the story really begins to take place after our two main characters were assaulted and tracked down by who they believe to be a wanted criminal. We follow them on a nail-biting path and running to save their lives.
TW: It was at times quite graphic and touched heavily on drug-use and vivid descriptions of blood - something I struggled with a little but of course understand it is quite a pivotal part to the world we're reading about.
"I didn't want to ruin things, we were so close. It's considered inappropriate to declare romantic feelings for your T, your Platonski, your companion."
Pierre is our narrator and his voice is really easy to fall into, speaking in a way that's very natural and really lets us into his thoughts. It was really refreshing and a welcomed break from the dingy atmosphere to see the banter between our characters - Jani having some fantastic witty one-liners and her stubborn/antagonistic interactions with the drones being helping to solidify the 'independent/tough' persona of hers.
Aside from the technology and criminal activity, this story also lends itself to a heartbreaking tale of love and friendship. Our main character Pierre often battles thoughts and feelings towards Jani and not wanting to pursue it for fear of losing her. It is really nicely intertwined into the narrative, with his love for her growing ever apparent during the twists and dangers they find themselves in.
This was a really odd, yet immersive (mind the pun) and futuristic sci-fi - with a really beautiful cover, may I add!
* I was very kindly sent an ARC of this book in return for an honest review, a big thank you to LitPR, IndieNovella and J R McMenemie.
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