Saturday, December 1, 2012

Seth's review of Flash Point by Nancy Kress


Synopsis:
Reality TV meets a chillingly realistic version of America—and the fame game is on!

Amy had dreams of going to college, until the Collapse destroyed the economy and her future. Now she is desperate for any job that will help support her terminally ill grandmother and rebellious younger sister. When she finds herself in the running for a slot on a new reality TV show, she signs on the dotted line, despite her misgivings. And she’s right to have them. TLN’s Who Knows People, Baby—You? has an irresistible premise: correctly predict what the teenage cast will do in a crisis and win millions. But the network has pulled strings to make it work, using everything from 24/7 hidden cameras to life-threatening technology to flat-out rigging. Worse, every time the ratings slip, TLN ups the ante. Soon Amy is fighting for her life—on and off camera.

Seth's Thoughts:

What can I say about this book? I mean, I read it maybe a few weeks ago in a fit of boredom to help my wife with her ever growing pile of books to review. I figured it would be a slow crawl through. The pages looked intimidating. This is a thick book. I mean, I might be able to bludgeon someone to death with it if I really wanted to. 

To my surprise and delight, the book actually went by fairly quickly. I don’t know what it was but I had to find out what happened to Amy and her sister and grandmother, even the other contestants in the game. 
I have a minor quibble I had with the book that sort of impacted the flow of the story. When the view point changes from the main character to another there is no definite break and it leads to confusion. It hops from Amy to Myra from one sentence to the next. A minor flaw that only slightly detracts from the story but it bothered my ocd a bit.

I recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of books where it’s not quite a dystopia but not quite real world. Not quite sure what to call label it if I were to label it myself. 

Seth gives Flash Point: 3.5/5.

Want to know more about the author?
Website: http://www.sff.net/people/nankress/
Blog: http://nancykress.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nancykress
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21158.Nancy_Kress

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Neither Seth nor I were compensated in anyway for this review.

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