Rating: 5 out of 5

Genre: Sci-Fi / Fantasy, Ya, 5 Stars, 

People who should read this: If you like action packed sci-fi stories, a good twist, and believable technology. 

What a book to get me out of my reading slump. (Since writing this though, I’ve fallen back into the slump. Thank goodness I just got the next two books from the library.) 

It was a big slump. Why did I get myself into all these epic fantasy buddy reads? Why? Who was past Kait? (Again I’m still in it because I haven’t finished said epic fantasies. *eye roll*)

She was a girl trying to find something epic and she found it in a little book with a cloud of exploding blood. Yup, that’s what the cover is trying to mimic. It really changes your perspective. I’m also kidding, this book isn’t very small, but it never felt like too much either. 

Where epic fantasy just goes too in-depth with all things world building, This Mortal Coil had the perfect balance. Either that or I just liked the world a whole lot more. I could have stayed for a while, which will be the case soon when I get the next two books. I’m definitely going to be purchasing the whole series.

The other idea is that I really like sci-fi a lot more than fantasy. Maybe because it’s about things I find more tangible. Common… traveling in space is a lot more realistic than waving a wand and doing magic.

Which is why I think I loved This Mortal Coil so much. The story was very realistic. You could see the research Suvada put into the book. Yes, like every sci-fi fantasy book out there, there comes a point when you must suspend your belief. No one has computers in their arms, and the likelihood of such is slim at the moment, but the information on DNA in the book is as accurate as we know right now. 

My electrical engineering brain was totally geeking out the entire time I was reading it.

In every way This Mortal Coil was an action packed entertaining read, it was also a thought provoking book. It brought up important topics that are relevant to today’s climate like open source coding. Suvada did a great job weaving her thoughts into the story, and it’s the type of stuff that I love to see in YA books. Stuff that makes the younger generation pause and ponder. 

In all ways that This Mortal Coil was amazing, easily five stars for me, I really struggled to discuss it with my bookclub. They got caught up in how much the story left the world of reality. I get their point. The story starts out strong with an imaginative but believable virus and then it quickly goes down the path of super humans and knock-out genes. Why does every story have to stick with the believable though, especially with the title of sci-fi? Suvada foreshadows the reveals perfectly so that it wasn’t a shock when she pulled out the technology in the end. It made perfect sense in the world that she created. Maybe better ways could achieve the same results, but that in itself removes the story side of things. If we skip step two because it makes things more efficient, we would miss all the pieces of the story that came with step two. I’m sorry but I don’t want to miss a second of this story.

I mean, Suvada explained away insta-love. I really appreciate her effort even if I was still slightly rolling my eyes.

What is wrong with the book? I don’t know. My eyes glazed over all of them because I was so wrapped up in the story. I’m deprived of real immersive entertainment. Especially right now. Yes, I read this during Covid-19. I was so smart. Who knew the book club was picking something two months ahead of when we’d be locked up. Maybe we should be consulted for fortune telling. 

Happy Reading

Love Kait

Reading Challenge: 63/175