Augmented

LoveReading Says

Winner of the inaugural Imagined Futures Prize for YA eco science fiction, this gripping novel, by architect turned author Kenechi Udogu, is an all too plausible apocalyptic vision of a London suffering extreme weather conditions. The heat is so intense that people can only venture outside in special suits, and almost all plant life has been destroyed. Every sixteen-year-old must go through an Augmentation procedure to enhance an ability they have been studying and practicing, for the greater good of humanity.

Having spent years training to be a coder, Akaego, from a close knit British Nigerian family, has just been identified as a potential Mechsim. Someone who had the vocal ability to emit sound waves that will enhance plant growth. Plants were so essential to the survival of humanity and the planet that she was transferred to a Music school despite being only 133 days away from Augmentation. (Each chapter heading counts down- adding to the dramatic tension) Akaego’s ability is almost frighteningly strong and she wonders if she could do more harm than good. She has also been receiving strange messages and warnings from the Freestakers – rebels against the enhancement process and against the way society is so rigidly controlled with inequalities in terms of access to food and the climate controlled biodomes.

The world building and the premise of Mechsims are both fascinating and entirely credible. The author’s professional interest in designing eco-buildings has obviously contributed to this vision of the future where mankind has been able to ingeniously survive extreme conditions. But inevitably it seems power always corrupts and as our heroine learns more about the dangers presented by her rare talent and about the ways in which the rulers want to exploit her, she is drawn more to the rebel’s cause. This is complicated by the feelings she has begun to develop for the mayor’s son. Can he be trusted and can they find a way to prevent disaster on Augmentation day? There is a real emotional depth to these characters and it is especially good that they are from under represented ethnic backgrounds.

A tense eco thriller which has been so rare in a genre such as science fiction. Altogether a brilliant and gripping exploration of climate change, technology and survival as well as the necessity to constantly battle the system to pursue equality and social justice.

Joy Court

Find This Book In