Amped (Vintage Contemporaries)

I loved Robocalypse, so I bought Amped and it was pretty good. I didn't totally believe the fight scenes at the end but I was able to enjoy them for what they were - a climatic part of the story. I liked that it didn't have an over the top romance angle, mainly cos I like my sci-fi with tech aspects and not romantic aspects, it was enough that I could tell that he was a 29 year old male, but he also had a mission. A good read.

Daniel H. Wilson spins a riveting tale in Amped! The question: is it science fiction or prophecy of our near future?

Medical science has developed a breakthrough implant device to augment brain function, control seizures, and prosthetic limbs. Some might even call it a pacemaker for the brain. Those recipients of these implants were dubbed "Amped." While the "Amped" individuals were still a minor population, their mental and physical advantages became well-known to the point where the normal population felt that the "Amped" had an unfair advantage over them. Ultimately, there was a national backlash with legalized discrimination directed at the "Amped."

The strife created by the self-serving politicians and others contribute to a Hatfield/McCoy type national feud.

The reader will not want to put this fast-paced book down. Discovering the resolution makes great storytelling by the author creating a gripping thriller.

Pretty amazing. I love the concept and the story was flawlessly written. It was almost like an apocalyptic future. Where regular humans are still themselves, but can enhance their abilities. They take the place of the social (minorities)and have become persecuted. Which side to take? The all mighty vigilante anti govnerment side? Or the passive get dead or at least beat up and treated badly side? There is an intense inner conflict also for the main character I really enjoyed it.

So, this is my second book by Mr. Wilson; Robopocaplyse was the first and I kind of enjoyed that book, but not really cause I read it back to back with 'World war Z.' The thing I like about these books is his well rounded writing and great introductions, it's like being on a roller coaster going up and down from fast past to tedious and slow. The thing that I dislike is that they can be slow moving and overly convaluted with metaphors, "Zenith" mode is like Neo of the matrix, but I won't complain to much about that. In this case i found many of them to be annoying and slow, I mean I was struggling to read through all of it like walking through a swamp. I did enjoy the characters, Lyle and Nick are standouts for me, though many of the characters including the protagonist were underdeveloped.

Overall it's ok.

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I wanted to like this dystopian novel, but ultimately the story was poorly developed. Two plot lines that would have improved the story were abandoned in favor of an often boring Prince Valiant narrative.

One interesting subplot was the medical experimentation, supported by the US government, performed on marginalized groups through out the country. The US has a long, disturbing history of eugenics and it would have great to have this explored in more detail. Another subplot more interesting than the main story is how the media played a crucial part in creating an environment ripe for violence.

Instead, the reader is shackled with a lackluster hero and an ending that is more in tune with a tired movie-of-the-week rehash. The story is the standard evil guy must be killed and magically all the problems disaapear trope. Disappointing, especially because Robopocalypse (a prior work) is such a nuanced and interesting tale.

Excellent novel for fans of the genre, complete with action, technology, and musings on the nature of humanity.

What impressed me, however, was one significant editorial contrast to the early novel, Robopocalypse. In the prior effort, Dr. Wilson tolerated a snarky affectation that has been sneaking into the genre, a convention that strikes a significant portion of the readers as a gratuitous slap in the face. When I do not feel that matters of ultimate concern to me are callously, carelessly, and casually denigrated, it is much easier for me to enjoy, and recommend, a novel.

I mentioned my concern on Dr. Wilson's fan page -- and he fixed it. Thanks, author! A respect for your readers turns them into fans, and advocates!

Having never read Robopocalypse, I came into Amped knowing nothing about the author or his previous works.

============THE PLOT===============

In the not too distant future, the human race has taken a technological leap forward - human brains can now be rewired with an implant to increase concentration on mental and physical tasks. These people have become known as "Amps", and they have surpassed all expectations.

While admirable, their successes have caused tension with non-amplified humans. One senator, Jason Vaughn, cries out for separation and outright obliteration of this technology, fueled by his followers: the "Pure Human Citizens Council".

Our protagonist, Owen Gray, had a medical amp installed by his father years ago to treat his epilepsy. He finds out it's not just a medical amp, it's something extra...consent based architecture. Owen has to flee from his pursuers, find help to harness his amp's abilities, and use it to put a stop to Senator Vaughn's plans.

============MY THOUGHTS============

Daniel H. Wilson had a lot of ground to cover in "Amped" in less than 300 pages. Because of this, I felt some plot elements were given only a cursory glance.

The neo-fascist plans of Senator Vaughn felt very rushed, and I would have enjoyed being given a deeper backstory on exactly why the nation was so quick to jump on his bandwagon. After a scant 23 pages, amps had no rights and "pure humans" were turning a blind eye to their plight.

I also felt the technology of the amps was distilled too much, with only Owen's "Zenith" amp getting a full description. While a few amps were explored, such as "The Brain", I was hungry for more detailed descriptions on the different types of amps, how they worked, and how this instilled fear/hatred from their "pure human" counterparts.

For example: Owen comes across a character, Jim Howard, an old man who works heavy construction with an amp and an exoskeleton. I found this part of the book fascinating because it showed a reversal in the workforce of this "not too distant" future - elderly workers could combine their years of experience with their amps and robotic exoskeletons. Dementia doesn't exist, youthful strength is harnessed, so the young (and inexperienced) workers lost their jobs. This could have been explored in other areas, and would have added to the story.

Finally, I felt the danger of Owen and his potential loss of morals was very watered down. He was warned that going to deeper levels of the Zenith made it increasingly harder to retain his own code of ethics. We learned what each level down felt like, but the descriptions coming back weren't fully explored. I was never convinced that Owen was 1 step away from going permanently "Ampsh*t" like Lyle Crosby.

All this being said...I enjoyed this book. I read it cover to cover in just 2 days. Even though the plot felt a little paint-by-numbers at times, it kept me turning page after page because I felt a connection to the characters, I was fascinated by the technology, and I wanted to know how the story resolved itself.

Daniel H. Wilson has a PhD in robotics, so he clearly has more technological thrillers up his sleeve. This thriller had a few bumps, but do I consent to learn more? Yes.

=========FURTHER READING=========

After finishing Amped, I read Daniel H. Wilson's 2005 thesis on Assistive Intelligent Environments For Automatic Health Monitoring, which was an EXCELLENT read. It's a study on improving technology for the elderly to live safely and independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

Some of the caregiver participants feared increased technology might lead to a loss of jobs...and this shows how the seeds of "Amped" were sown.

Owen Gray finds himself in trouble after the government passes a ruling that all amplified "Amp" humans inserted with a neural autofocus MK-4 brain implant chip are not considered to be protected humans. Owne learns from his father that he is considered to be an Amp. Years ago, Owen was in a bad accident one that Owen's father had no other choice but to insert Owen with a chip or lose his son forever. Now, Owen's father tells Owen to head to a trailer park called Eden in Eastern Oklahoma. There he will find others like Owen.

I was very excited to check out this book. After seeing a friend rave about Mr. Wilson's first novel, Robopocalypse, I knew I had to check our Mr. Wilson and Amped. Also, I have recently gotten into this genre. Ok, so sadly, I was not as impressed by this book as I had hoped to be. The concept was intriguing and would have worked if I had felt anything for the characters. It was like watching a remake of the Terminator, where the viewer or in this case the reader is suppose to cheer for the Amps as they are just as human as the rest of us and they have rights. So what if they have super human abilities. First in order to get someone to like or even to cheer for them, you have to make that person have a personality and second they have to have likability. In the case of this book, I never worked up to either case on a full scale. On the other hand, Lyle the leader of the Amps were one scary dude that I would not want to mess with. The Amps in this story were just as bad of guys as the humans. They picked on the humans and they thought they were above the govenment and could get away with anything. Also, the chapters read a bit choppy. There were many times that I put this book down and had no problems walking away from it. Although, I do have to say that on a positive note, there was some glimmer of brilliance. Enough that I would consider checking out Mr. Wilson's prior novel, Robopocalypse.

Daniel Wilson's "Amped" does a great job of presenting a fast paced read about a very interesting topic (at least to me). At the core of "Amped", is the concept of brain augmentation. In the near future, humans invent a way to amplify the way we think. By focusing our thoughts and tampering with the brain, the amped person is able to overcome epilepsy or fetal alcohol syndrome. The amped individual also thinks faster and clearer than the non-Amped individual.

It's against this back drop that our hero emerges, Owen Gray. Owen has been amped by his father because he suffers from epilepsy. The novel is told between legal / news documents concerning legislation or news stories impacting amps and our hero. The public outcry is started by a senator who challenges the amped and declares that being amped puts regular humans at a disadvantage. Owen, who has an amp simply keeping his epilepsy in check, is caught up in the public outcry against amps. After amps are declared to be non-citizens by the Supreme Court, Owen is on the run, trying to find a sense of self and purpose. I'd rather not give away more of the plot than that.

I would say that the Daniel Wilson does a great job of bringing up a very interesting point. It will not be that much longer before brain amps are more commonplace. The future that he describes is one in which we can only ask when, not if. And the ethics and morals of should we or should we not augment people will become a much bigger issue.

That being said, I plowed through this book in less than four hours. It was enjoyable, caught my attention and was entertaining. I've seen a few other comments that he could have gone into more details on things but it would have detracted from the tight pacing IMO.

This book reminded me very much of a movie, where some parts felt extremely rushed and you were forced to just accept that. It also had the feel of a movie that would have been better if it were rated R, but instead it was rated PG to appeal to a larger audience.

The main character Owen, to me, started off as likeable, but eventually turned predictable and almost annoying. Dropping a love story into the plot was so uncomfortable based on the fact that it went from meeting twice to an overpowerfully strong bond.

I really don't like to criticize books too much because everyone has different taste, but I feel that if you enjoyed Robopocalypse you would share some of my feelings.

There are more detailed reviews, but the bottom line is, I wish I didn't waste my time.

Amped is a very interesting concept that ends up bogged down in moralizing. The question of artificial categories of people being discriminated against is compelling, but the characterization is slow and makes it hard to relate to the protagonist. The reason behind the primary antagonist is also really flimsy, when I hit that point the only thing I could ask myself is if that's all there was to it. There are some interesting twists and a lot of potential that seems to need a better first-reader to realize the full range of the story.

A slight spoiler, but I found it very heavy-handed in that all of the primary members of Pure Humanity (the ones the protagonist interacts with in any way) are white. With a technological solution serving as the premise for the prejudice, it would be much more likely for a mix of the population to be on both sides. Instead we got the KKK as the villains (right down to a Senator as the leader).

Even in this genre of rehashes, this book stands out as defiantly derivative. Wilson acts like he's on to something new, with earnest, stilted, and repetitive assertions that technology has a price, that humans are fallible, that prejudice is bad. This has been done before, better, and more subtly by Dick, Gibson, and dozens of others. Oh, what does it mean to be human? Argh!

Having failed on the theme front, Wilson gives us cardboard characters, including the precocious kid, the sweet, available, sacrificing, wise, sexy mom, the troubled vet, the conniving politician, the crusty old guy, the flawed father, the hillbilly sheriff. The main character is simply an unfunny Holden Caulfield.

Worst of all is the plot. I don't think it's a spoiler when I say it has some twists. Both are telegraphed from a mile away. You would have to have had your neural implant removed with pliers not to see the MAJOR SHOCKING PLOT TWIST from a mile away.

Beyond all that, the writing is dreadful and cliche-ridden.

So...the issue I have is that the underlying premise makes little sense.

A chip that makes you a genius is going to be so hot a seller that I suspect you'd have seen many millions of people wanting it well before we got to the point of the kind of sharp resistance the novel describes. If the technology were inexpensive, it would have spread faster than smart phones. If it were expensive, only the wealthy would have it, and then there would have been little chance of this plot happening.

Sure, there would have been brisk opposition, but as we've seen, when money wants something, money gets it. Money would be behind this technology, as it would see a vast market for enhanced human capacity. Had the author dealt with these issues, the story had a good chance to succeed, as the writing is crisp and flows well.

The other flaw is even more glaring. So, say we get past the notion that Americans would not embrace this technology. Say that worked, and we put a bunch of amplified humans in concentration camps. We'd quickly have found ourselves to be a tenth rate nation behind European and Asian nations who embraced it. Would our national security apparatus allow us to fall behind China or Europe to that level? I seriously doubt that it would. This is addressed at the very end of the novel, but only for a paragraph, and not fully explored. It bothered me all the way through. Wouldn't Americans be put at a fatal position of weakness by not embracing amp technology?

That simply would not be allowed, period.

What really would have happened is that we'd have all adopted it very quickly. If you follow modern technology patterns, think what has happened with computers, smart phones, and tablets. While not exactly the same thing, amps would probably follow that pattern. In fact, governments would likely subsidize it.

Owen Gray is an "amplified" human, meaning he has a technological implant meant to control his epilepsy. Or so he had been told. Turns out this implant gives him special abilities, which, in turn, subjects him to suspicion, bigotry, and danger. He goes underground in search of a safe place to live among other "amps", but the bigots are after him and everyone like him.

A not-so-subtle examination of the fear of the "other". Fast-paced and superficial, but fun. A quick guilty-pleasure read.

In near future America, approximately half a million adults and children are amped. One short procedure, one little machine in your head, and you're practically a whole new person. The amps can cure bipolar disorder, ADHD, PTSD, alcoholism, epilepsy. And they aren't just medical. Some of the amps make you faster, smarter. And the regular humans aren't happy about being outclassed. A faction known as Pure Pride, led by Senator Joseph Vaughn, pushes through legislation and legal decisions degrading the amps' human rights.

The beginning of AMPED seems extremely unbelievable. Things are happening too fast and people abruptly treat the amps like third-class citizens without even thinking about the behavior. But protagonist Owen repeatedly emphasizes that he was ignoring the political situation. He believed nothing would apply to him, since he had a purely medical implant. But even medical amps face discrimination

Then Owen's father confesses that his amp isn't purely medical. It's something more and he needs to go to Jim in Oklahoma for help. Quickly, because the government knows about Owen's amp and they're going to come for him.

In the Eden Trailer Park of Oklahoma, Owen meets a wide variety of amps and Lucy, the one pure human living among the amps. Most importantly, he meets Lyle, who used to be part of an amped Special Forces Squad. He decides to follow Lyle, despite the fact Lyle is clearly nuts. As a couple of characters point out, Owen ain't the brightest.

There's a philosophical underpinning to AMPED. What makes us human? How far can technology take us and where to we draw the line? But AMPED isn't really interested in exploring those questions. They add some depth to the story, but that isn't the point. AMPED is not a character-driven exploration of existentialism. It's a conspiracy thriller with a science fiction twist.

And as a conspiracy thriller, AMPED delivers. There's lots of action and there's several twists, although most of them are pretty predictable. It's quick, it's fun, and fortunately not dumb. Just don't read it expecting Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep??

"Amped" by Daniel Wilson is stimulating look into a possible future where human disabilities are enhanced by advances in science, specifically those disabilities related to brain function. It is also a future where those advances can cause fear and discrimination.

Wilson returns once again to the theme of merging modern technology with human biology. In "Robopocalypse" the plot involved the merging of humans and machines into cyborgs which became more capable and powerful than either of its parts. In "Amped" (amplified human) Wilson concentrates more on the amplification of the human brain through the use of implants for people who have disabilities such as autism, epilepsy, and hearing or sight disorders. In both cases Wilson's imagination is based not just on conjecture, in reality both novels present scenarios that are just a step beyond our present capabilities (look at artificial hearts, arms, legs etc.).

In "Amped" electronic devises implanted into the brains of humans are not only helping those whose disabilities are related to the brain, they are enhancing them beyond normal human abilities. The enhanced or "Amped" humans are now perceived as a threat to humanity by the ranting of a powerful Senator and a group known as Pure Pride. Backed by a recent Supreme Court ruling stripping "Amped" persons of all legal rights those who are enhanced find themselves fighting for their lives.

Wilson story is faced paced and full of action and the novel will leave you thinking of the possibilities that may exist in the near future. Today combat veterans returning home with traumatic loss of limbs are being fitted with mechanical replacements far superior to any from previous wars. Neuroscientists recently demonstrated that parts of the brain circuits normally dedicated to learning motor skills can be engaged to master random mental tasks so patients may soon be able to control prosthetics using thoughts only.

Wilson's book does bring to the forefront the uncomfortable feelings that humans harbor when confronted by those who may appear or be different and the inherent discrimination that follows from such feelings in our society.

I recommend this book and rate it at 4 stars. If you have not read "Robopocalypse" I suggest you check it out or read my or any other fine reviews on the store.

I completely enjoy Daniel Wilson's writing. I find his stories interesting from the start. Like good fiction a way to step away from the day. Like good science fiction it has imagination and ideas that entertain beyond the last page.

Both Wired and Amped were well written, engrossing and technically advanced. I loved the romance back story and the heroine was polished perfectly. Wilson intersperses biochemistry, philosophy and physical skills better than anyone I've ever read. I was always guessing at what was going to happen next. Yes, it is really that much of a page turner.
This book will keep your interest and educate you. It's also a thrilling ride!

The new novel Amped is by Daniel Wilson, author of Robopocalypse. As with that previous book, Amped seems more like a movie screenplay than a novel, although maybe it would be for a "Direct to DVD" movie. It tells the story of Owen Gray, a school teacher who, as a young man, was implanted with an early prototype of a neural augment designed to block his severe seizures. It works, but now he finds himself caught up in a nationwide controversy. Besides those with neural implants (nicknamed "amps") put in for medical reasons, there have been many who got the amps to enhance their mental and/or physical abilities, and of course there are also military applications. Now, though, there are factions of "pure" humans who resent the amp-implanted (the people are also called amps), and are rallying to fight back. As all amps begin to suffer persecution, Owen heads to an isolated amp community in Oklahoma. (Spoiler Alert) Discovering his own amp is much more than just a medical device, he finds himself in the middle of a potential "pure" vs. "amp" war, forcing him to reassess his own morality and value system.

The book moved right along (fast paced), but I found it to be weak in several areas. Most importantly, the way Owen learns how to use and control the true power of his amp happens much too easily and suddenly. He essentially goes from a school teacher unaware he has extra powers to be being a fighting machine within the blink of an eye (only a slight exaggeration). Also, the relationships between Owen and two of the main secondary characters, Lyle and Lucy, are sketchily drawn, as if the action in Amped was much more important to Wilson than the characters. Finally, the major good-vs-evil confrontation scene near the end felt very forced and rote, and contained no real surprises to anyone who has seen or read this kind of story before. That's another thing -- the story ideas for this book seemed all too obviously borrowed from many ultra-familiar sources in movies and fiction. Not very original, in other words.

Set in a believable world, with believable and multifaceted characters, this book is a bit chilling. Any history student who remembers the government's treatment of Japanese Americans during World War Two will recognize Wilson's accurate depiction of media manipulation, mass paranoia and politics colliding to create a nightmare somewhere in the USA' s future. Terrific read.

Juvenile treatment of a serious question, though it does showcase the powerful undercurrent of sadism and hatred running through this country's populace.Replace "amped" with "black" and today's socio-political events immediately come into focus. Made-for-TV level of plot, with traditional "good-guy-gets-girl-after-mighty-struggle-that-he-wins-because-he's-special" core. Artificial plot twists, with no justifying character development. Perhaps viciousness and venality ARE that simple, but...

A good enough effort which falls short of a recommended reading mark.
The idea is very interesting, and is very appropriate to the current state of the world (see the debates regarding use of prosthetics in the Olympics). A bit of a stretch, to be sure, events escalate too quickly and poop hits the fan to much to soon to be taken seriously. But a good effort nonetheless.
What bothers me most about the story, is that it's another one of "regular guy realizes he's got a special talent/gizmo/magic spell which instantly makes him better at (insert talent here) than people who've been cultivating it all their life. It just feels like an easy way out of a more complex story line.

Nothing new here. Rehash of numerous novels, like Terminal Man. Further, the tense was really odd. Not really first person but more of a first person, third person present type of tense. Whatever it was, it made it difficult to get into the story. I really wanted to like this novel but poor writing and the funky tense made it difficult to follow or enjoy.

My comments are similar to others who have rated this novel low. The only thing I would add is that I felt the narraration and dialog where pretty overly dramatic. At some point, the narrarator says something along the lines "as I watched my blood return to the earth." Pretty cringeworthy and I found myself rolling my eyes quite a bit as the novel progressed.

Don't waste your time, nothing original here and the writing isn't excellent.

Daniel H. Wilson's "Amped" is much like his previous "Robopocalypse" in that he goes over what feels like familiar territory and in "Robopocalypse", I was okay with that because I felt the story was presented smoothly and entertainingly.

In "Amped", Wilson still has that smooth touch in his writing. Easy to read and follow. I don't mean that in a bad way either. It is actually a compliment in that there is no fuss to his writing and he can make the high-minded concepts very easy to understand. The way he premises his plot in explaining the brain chip implants and why it has become a problem is excellent. The gray area (excellent pun as well in that the main character is named Owen GRAY) is set up perfectly in that the implants that were designed to help those who had brain function issues have created an situation where those implant population, or Amped, now have a huge edge on the regular population.

It is a great premise. But the story itself is so rushed along and dry that it becomes a run-of-the-mill story. Not a bad one either as 3-stars equals "It is okay" but I did feel like, while reading it, that I'd read the story before.

Read Robopocalypse again instead.

Wilson's great premise isn't delivered on in the execution. A large portion of the book meanders in a single, uninteresting locale, leaving the reader to speculate what interesting things are going on in the outside world.

Wilson's a great writer, but this one just felt a bit rushed.

Daniel H. Wilson does it again. Robopocalypse was a great concept and well executed and AMP delivers again.

If anything, my only wish is that the story could have been drawn out a little more. The fast pace was compelling but there was more story to be told.
Still a great read.

Characters not as clearly developed as I would have liked and the book sort of ends with a Dios Ex Machina type ending. Sort building to a climax that falls kind of short. But having said, very entertaining and a quick read. A very good book, not great but good. Would recommend as a light reader.

This book was an excellent follow-up to his previous book "Robopocalyse". What I found so interesting about the premise for this book was how it comes directly from the news headlines. I recently heard a story on NPR about a project utilizing brain implants which allow disabled people to move prosthetic devices. Wilson's story takes this premise and ramps it up a notch or two, where the implants do this, as well as assist people with epilepsy, various types of brain damage, and of course - give policemen and soldiers additional capabilities.

The story begins with a Supreme Court ruling that essentially removes all legal protections from people with these devices. In addition, a canny politician has manipulated public fear about the capabilities of these "amps" - the term for people with capabilities that have been amplified. In many cases, these "amps" are just "normal people" who previously would have been disabled due to their cognitive or physical limitations, so they don't really present a threat to the average citizen. However there are some previously "normal" people who have received the devices (including the narrator), and this "amplifies" their abilities far beyond "normal".

Beyond the intriguing premise, the writing is excellent. The story moves along at a very brisk clip, and is one of those books that you find yourself saying "just one more chapter...". At the beginning of each chapter is a short "news article" or "court document" that helps to set the stage. I understand that can seem rather "gimmicky" sometimes, but it works in this case.

Overall I recommend this book without reservation.

I really enjoyed Robopocalypse, so I'm happy to say I quite enjoyed Amped as well. You might be tempted to dismiss the growing hysteria, prejudice and violence at first, but reflect on our history a bit, and suddenly it's not so far fetched.

When most books speak endless volumes of information for the sake of character development or self-florescence this book remembers a simple fact...readers want to be entertained. This is a thrill ride from page one to the end. The writing style is vivid and draws you into the the world and characters and keeps you strapped in to the final page. Finally someone remembered the reader and the reason someone picks up a thriller in the first place! Thank you, Mr. Wilson.

Humans implanted with computers is a great starting point for a story. Unfortunately this story never really gets going in any interesting way. In the novel implanted humans can do unbelievable things but they can also be beaten by people with rocks. The story has too many plot flaws. I liked the authors other novel, Robopocalypse, much better.

I believe that the subject of this book would inspire many levels of discussion within a classroom. There are deep questions here. From civil rights in the time of national unrest to the ethics of medical "marvels". So many slippery slopes and the technology is seductive. Is it fair for people who are medically enhanced through prosthetics or drugs to be judged in the same arena as those who aren't ? It was an excellent read one I would highly recommend.

Very thought-provoking narrative.
I felt like it was a bit hurried, and resolved rather simply. It seemed there was more story to be told.
Nevertheless, the story paints a likely future dilemma, and offers a believable scenario.

I read this because I read robopacolypse and I liked it. While I was reading this book, much like Mr.Wilson's first book, I thought that it would make a good movie. This was a decent read, not the best book I have ever read but I liked it.

It is pretty sad when, upon comparing "Amped" to "Robopocalypse," that the latter comes off as way more realistic. "Amped" is heavy-handed and preachy in a way that makes the book very difficult to read. This is too bad, because there's a really great theme to explore, the battle between 'superior' humans and the rest of us. The "X-Men" managed to do this well, but unfortunately, author Daniel Wilson fails here.

For me, the main flaw in the book was an unrealistic and simply fantastic (as in "fantasy-like" not "awesome") political and social background (or "world-building" if you prefer.) I am perfectly willing to grant authors, especially of science fiction, some liberty to stretch out current trends and imagine new ones, but some of the political events Wilson uses as the building-blocks for the novel don't meet the smell test, and furthermore, he manages to exaggerate them in ways that make no sense.

To take one example, the book starts with a Supreme Court ruling that Brown vs Board of Education doesn't apply to "amped" humans. As unlikely as such a ruling might be, anyone who has taken a college intro poli-sci class might extrapolate that this means that "amps" can be segregated into separate schools. But that's apparently not dramatic enough for the story, so the author, without really any explanation, just kind of randomly decides this means that "amps" somehow have their US citizenship simply stripped away, and also for good measure do not even have basic human rights (off to the camps!) He also invents cartoonish anti-amp political groups which operate with a lack of subtlety that even a 1920s Klansman would find embarrassing, and the book's concluding message of tolerance is delivered with the pedagogical force of an after-school special.

If somehow you are able to swallow the ridiculous political situation (perhaps with a "hey, a wizard did it!" attitude) and try to enjoy the story, you will probably get a bit of decent entertainment. The actions scenes are well done - in fact, they are very well done - this is Wilson's comfort zone, as anyone who read "Robopocalyse" can attest. Wilson's thoughts about how the "amp" neural interfaces works and how it might feel to have one active in your body, enhancing your senses, is entertaining, albeit scientifically implausible (the amp implants are supposed to enhance your existing senses and human potential, but he has them giving people the ability to dodge bullets a la Neo in the Matrix).

Wilson also does a poor job of developing the characters in "Amped." This is puzzling, because he showed, in "Robopocalypse" that he is capable of some subtle and engaging - and human - character development (and this in a novel about a robot uprising!) Here, when actually getting to know the individual humans and amps is key to the story, we get many one-dimensional cardboard characters ("the hero" "the villain" "the turncoat" "the great kid" and so forth)

I just can't recommend this book. If you haven't read "Robopocalypse" go read it instead. It was funny, smart, scary, and touching, told with the immediacy of an oral history of a terrible war just concluded. "Amped" just doesn't measure up, and I hope it is just a brief "sophomore slump" because I know Wilson has some great writing chops, they just are not on display in "Amped."

like so many books with an exciting premise, this one runs out of steam and never reaches its potential. the ending is abrupt and unsatisfying, almost as if the author just wanted to wrap it up quickly rather than take it farther toward where it could have gone.

So I am only half way through "Amped" but thought I would throw some support out there. "Robopocalypse" was really fun but I feel this is a better book in terms of characters. Both titles are quick, summer reads that remind me of Michael Crichton's early (less sloppy and bitter) work as well as A.E. van Vogt, Richard Matheson, and some of Ray Bradbury's pulp-level works. Seems like Daniel Wilson has a fine future as a writer.

Do yourself a favor....do not buy this book, unless of course your an adolescent boy. This is a very poorly written book with a thin plot and cookie cutter characters. My hat's off to the author's marketing people, slick cover, five star reviews on the store, but don't believe the hype. Another review noted that the book was written for 8th graders...I think that insults 8th graders. If I could give zero stars, I would.

Humans have solved some brain related issues. They have placed electronic devices in their heads to fix problems like epilepsy, autism, poor site, poor hearing, etc. But, people can also have devices implanted to make themselves better. These people are called "amps". Now the country is concerned, do they have an unfair over ordinary humans. Fear of this causes discrimination and new laws. The story follows one man who has such a device and runs into the discrimination. One other problem for him, apparently his device is not like all the rest. Are people after him because of this? And, what should he do with this different device.

Though this story is science fiction, it goes deeper into what makes a person human. Are those with artificial enhancements human? Do they have an advantage over the rest of society? Are they really technological mutants (shades of the X-Men movies)?

The author delves into this using a first person narrative and the thoughts of the one man who can affect how enhanced humans will be perceived.

I found the story well written. The action quick. I had limited time each day to read and had difficulty putting the book down. I wanted to keep reading. The author kept me thinking and wondering how I would treat the amps. It was very enjoyable and a recommended read.