Ten Sigma
There is certainly a lot to like in Ten Sigma by A.W. Wang. The scenario and plot are well thought out and there is plenty of character development. The Protagonist / Antagonist dynamic is particularly satisfying. Though many of the twists and reveals were easy to anticipate, it still offered enough surprise and plausible change of direction to keep me entertained to the very end.
A mostly fast paced action thriller filled with slices of ‘American Ultra’, ‘Matrix’, ‘Ender’s Game’, ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘The Edge of tomorrow’, ‘Jumanji’ and even a kind of reverse ‘Bourne Identity’.
The Protagonist / Antagonist dynamic is particularly satisfying.
In order to escape death from an incurable illness in the real world, a woman is forced to leave behind family and memories to join an elite training program in a brutal computer generated virtual environment in this ‘race to the finish’ plot. Can she graduate and re-enter the real world before the relentless training and killing extinguish her humanity or will she finally die beneath the weight of the insurmountable odds stacked against her success?
The author made the very brave and commendable choice to voice this book in First person / Present Tense. Though this is my personal favourite in my own writing, I appreciate how unforgiving this narrative voice can be. Wang certainly uses it to great effect to bring the immediacy of the protagonist’s internal struggle into stark relief.
An action packed 4 out of 5 stars for A.W. Wang. Frustratingly, this book only just misses a perfect score for me. The (very) occasionally fluffy exposition, often clunky prose and the stilted narration just scuffed the shine off this otherwise well written and thoroughly entertaining story. I look forward to part 2.
If all this has sparked your interest, you should dive into this book straight away, but before you rush off to get your copy, please leave a short message to let me know you found my review helpfull, or at least interesting.
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