Binary Storm | Christopher Hinz

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

100 years prior to the events in this book, Nick submitted himself for cryogenic freezing in the hopes of at least helping science learn from its mistakes if not actually being woken up in a more hopeful future. It turns out, the future isn't as bright as he'd hoped. There are constant bio-terrorist attacks wiping out hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives. There are also creatures called Binaries, entities that exist in two bodies and have superhuman speed, strength and intelligence. They consider themselves above the human race and are working towards destroying or enslaving the lesser creatures.

Review:

I was nervous about picking up this book as it is the prequel to an entire series. I was assured, however, that the book stands on it own and does not require you to have read any of the other books. For the most part, this is true.

Hinz does an incredible job of building the world and quickly establishing its problems through action rather than exposition. Yes, some of the disasters were news reports, but Annabel directly interacted with Doomers and Nick had to be saved from gangs in the sec region. The character development was also evidenced through actions and conversations, though could, at times, seem to jump with the time skips in the chapters. This is, genuinely, a good book that appeals to my love of sci-fi, intelligent characters and puns. Hinz was even able to give me a couple moments of genuine I-did-not-see-that-coming moments, that were not caused by plot holes but, rather, good writing. 

The one downside to this book is that I haven't read the rest of the series. There were several moments in this book where I thought "if I'd read the series, this [moment/name] would be more profound." There were a number of names, especially towards the end, that I felt would have impacted me more if I'd read even one of Hinz' previous books. Instead, I ended up finishing the book feeling like I was missing out on something. 

If you're a fan of the series, this is a great book for you. If you're interested in the series, I recommend you start with one of the original books. This was a good read, with a good story, but it's best if you know the series' history.3.5 hoots!

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