The Ten Percent Thief

LoveReading Says

This fabulously addictive mosaic novel pokes a stick into the nest of the future before running like hell with a multitude of stories pursuing it. Bangalore is now known as Apex City, you either live inside the Virtual city under the SunShield obeying the rules of Bell Corp, or outside in the Analog World with no electricity or running water.

The top Twenty Percent live a charmed life, but if you fall into the bottom Ten Percent you are deported to the Analogs or worse the farm. This is the debut from award-winning author Lavanya Lakshminarayan, she spent ten years as a game designer, and this shows in her ability to create the most perfectly contained story within each chapter.

Each piece of the mosaic connects to form a vividly realised and vibrant whole. As the world builds, as the overall story grows, I found myself openmouthed and wide-eyed in appreciation. The plot forms around a revolution, yet wider themes include class systems, environmental and climate catastrophes, technological issues, greed and avarice, hope and love.

I mourned as I left each individual story behind, before becoming completely absorbed in the next. A few characters appear in other chapters, otherwise you are viewing a city and its populace on an epic scale, within the intimacy of the individual. This is shrewdly smart, with beautifully wise writing that has the ability to affect thoughts and feelings. The Ten Percent Thief thoroughly deserves its inclusion as a LoveReading Star Book, and comes as highly recommended by our team. 

Reviewed by Liz Robinson
Liz has been an Editorial Expert writing reviews for LoveReading since 2014.
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About The Ten Percent Thief

Nothing has happened. Not yet, anyway. This is how all things begin.

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