SEER by Ryan Beck

One Could Almost Imagine It Happening…

While I enjoy the genre, I don’t read science fiction as often as I would like. I am continually on the lookout at my favorite book review sites for novels that I think will be interesting. I tend to like full-out space opera, humorous sci-fi romance, or technology-driven dystopian urban fantasy that is just a click or two off of our own capabilities. Yes, that is an odd grab bag of sub-genres to like, but what can I say? This story is one of the third variety. In this novel’s world, there is a ubiquitous technology that seems to anticipate an individual’s every want and need. This creates such a pleasant environment for people that they do not think about all the data that is being collected and what is being done with it. Having had some fairly recent scandals about what big companies do with our data, this particular plot seemed very on-point and applicable to our world. The author has added levels of technological complexity to it, compared to our world. (But I could totally see this kind of technology happening; it actually does in some limited applications.) The book focuses on one young woman who becomes a part of the rebel movement, though she does have some qualms about it. For a science fiction story, I thought that the characters were well drawn. Aside from the fascinating technology and modern relevance, I thought the author did an exceptional job with the plotting. The pacing was just right, with all the reveals and action seeming to happen at the precise time in the story to keep you turning the pages. I quite enjoyed this book, and if you like technology-driven dystopian sci-fi, you will most likely find it an engrossing read.