Brilliance

Stop me if you've heard this one: people can inherit a genetic mutation that makes them super human. For some insane reason this is not inherited truly as a Mendelian trait, but more like an...autosomal dominant trait with incomplete penetrance? (Or perhaps like a trait invented by someone with only the faintest idea of how genes work.) Despite being genetic its expression has an extreme amount of intrafamilial variability, such that the same gene can cause flying or invisibility or superhuman strength? And also the government wants to either control or eliminate these X-men, uh, Brilliants, because normal people will otherwise feel bad about themselves. Also, women exist to seduce the protagonist.

I mean, I also like watching the X-men movies and this is basically that: fast-paced, action-y, no character development, and about 5 minutes of thought put into the setting. But it's 2020 and there's much better spec fic out there. 2.5 stars.

Good, but wish it was clearer that this was volume one of a trilogy.

This was an very entertaining read with enough plot twists to keep it interesting, but many of the “punches” were telegraphed, so the plot twists were not always surprises. That being said, it was an entertaining read I would recommend to anyone who finds the idea of “gifted” people intriguing. (The Mutants in X-Men, Ender in Ender's Game, etc.)

This is a fast-paced techno-thriller type of book set in the near future or maybe more specifically a current “alternate” world. Brilliants are people who start being born with gifts of intelligence and at first they were just a little more frequent than they have been throughout history, but at some point, they became about 1% of births. Some had mild gifts, while others were so talented that they broke the financial system by exploiting the patterns there.

This story follows the struggle of Nick Cooper, agent in an elite force whose goal it is to track down terrorists in the brilliants community and not only to protect regular “humanity” but also hopefully prevent all-out war. He, too, is a brilliant, with the talent of being able to read body language so well that he not only is a human lie detector, but he can see the punch you're about to throw before you even start it.

This one is a fun romp. Somewhat reminiscent of the Jason Bourne novels, with action combined with just a touch of political intrigue. I enjoyed it tremendously. The characters are well-written (given the pacing, there isn't unlimited depth there) and the protagonist is likable as are the supporting cast. The situations are interesting and believable. Overall, this is a great summer read.

* This is also a Kindle Unlimited book with KU Audio included, which makes it a great choice if you subscribe to that service (as I do). Also, it is book 1 of a 3 book series (all are KU titles)

Thoroughly enjoyed this. While it's not a particularly original idea, it's well executed and the world that is created has stayed with me - looking forward to the other books.

Meh

This is a novel that I was somewhat torn on. I dug the premise of the novel- a group of gifted people are starting to appear in the US, and they must live with the normal members of society, but a gifted man does not agree with this philosophy, and decides to take matters into his own hands, causing terrorist attacks that kill many innocent people until the US government decides that the gifted people can live in their own sovereign nation. This sounds like something that is based on the X-men, but with more realistic powers.I also liked the variety of powers on display. The action was, at the very least, competently written. So what isn't to like?

For me, it was the plot. It was just so average and not very exciting. I guessed the twist and looked for the cliched ending to appear, and, sure enough, it did. The idea of Agent Cooper going on this mission could have been thrilling, but instead it was boring most of the time. Throughout the 2nd half of this book, I found myself going to do other things rather than reading, and that just isn't a good thing, especially for this being a thriller.

If you haven't read the X-men, or want something where the powers are more realistic, then this might be the book for you, other than that, I'd say skip this in favor of something else. I give it a two out of five.

Marcus Sakey's Brilliance reads like a mix between a James Bond and a superhero film. The story is set in an alternate Earth where a genius class of humans known as “brilliants” began to be born in 1980. No one boasts abilities like super strength or flight, though. All of the brilliants' abilities are mental, mostly focusing on pattern recognition. Some people can predict the stock market by seeing trends in data, others can visualize binary code in three dimensions.

Brilliance is really an action thriller thinly disguised as a book about people with superpowers–and there's nothing wrong with that. It was a quick, fun read, even if it did follow some of the typical “secret agent” tropes found in most spy movies. The characters were enjoyable and had believable emotions and motivations. I'd recommend this book if you are looking for a quick “popcorn” read.