Review of Precisely Terminated

Precisely Terminated is the debut book and first in the Cantral Chronicles, a dystopian trilogy, by Amanda Davis.  In a world where slavery is rampant and all people are controlled by cruel, heartless nobles by means of microchips implanted into the skull, there is only one person who is capable of saving them. Monica is a noble who evaded implantation of the microchip after escaping an extermination of her family and city. Now, as a sixteen year old, she must act as a slave and constantly watch her back and trick the system as she searches for a way to decimate the computers that control the slaves' lives. Aided by a mysterious, demanding council and self-sacrificing fellow slaves, Monica is the only person who could ever shut down the computers as she is the only person to have ever beat the system and avoided a chip. But time is running out.

The hints of rebellion are spreading to the nobles, and in their unfeeling condition, they will exterminate all of the slaves with little thought. Monica has little time to act, but her task will demand more of her than she ever thought.

It's rare for an debut published author to have a writing style that can be read easily. This author already has a clear voice that smoothly carries the story. The setting is the shining star of this novel. A dystopian setting is new to me, but I loved the whole eeriness of it all.  A feeling of ohmygoodnessthiscouldhappen! is what I like to see in books. The mechanicalized culture of this novel obviously has a lot of thought behind it, and it is so refreshingly unique. Realistic but fiction enough to be enjoyable. The descriptions aren't as heavy as I'd imagine in such an abstract book, but they are sufficient enough to allow for the reader's imagination to fill in the gaps. This is really one of the best settings I have ever read. There's also an excellent amount of danger throughout the story that helps keep the reader's attention.

That said, I had a very hard time getting into this book. The first few chapters are vital in attracting interest, and although I got an excellent backdrop to the story, I just wasn't "wowed". The theme continues for approximately two-thirds of the book. Monica goes back and forth and meets new people and while it does develop the setting and characters, the plot just dragged on. It wasn't until the last part that all of the pieces fell together and I really started enjoying the story. The only reasons I kept with this book until the end were a) to give an honest opinion, I must fully read the books I am to review and b) I could really see the potential of the story and it only really became evident in the last part of the book. Also, it was hard to relate to the characters, even Monica, although she was the most personable. Granted, this is the first in a series and a first for an author, so I am eager to see the improvement of plot and characters in future books.

All in all, I rate this book four out of five stars.

Specifics (from amazon.com):
~ Paperback: 464 pages
~ Publisher: Living Ink Books; None edition (September 12, 2011)

Note: Thanks to GlassroadPR for providing me with a free copy of this book for reviewing purposes. 

Blessings,
~Prism~