[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Tor Teen in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
In book one, The Dark Intercept, readers learn that Old Earth has been left to the poor and the criminals while New Earth exists above it. The population is controlled by the Intercept, a computer program that takes and logs emotions and emotional memories. When someone gets out of control, the Intercept triggers a mental replay of the strongest emotional memories until the individual is reduced to an emotional basketcase. It’s a brutal system, but it works. Through a series of events in the book, though, the Intercept is destroyed…. mostly.
A few years later, Violet is working as a private detective, but she’s barely getting by. Then she gets a new case. A well-adjusted, happy teen with plans for the future dies after throwing herself from a train. Her family doesn’t believe it was suicide. There are no indications it was anything else, but she was too happy and too focused on her future to kill herself. Violet is pretty sure it was suicide, but she needs the work so she takes the case. This case is only the first, though, of a rash of suicides with young victims. How could someone cause these seemingly random people to take their own lives? And could the Intercept have something to do with it?
Review
This is a dark story. I’d give this a severe Trigger Warning (TW) for suicide. The scenes where characters take their own lives include inner thoughts that are depressing and discouraging. While the character initially knows the thoughts aren’t coming from their own psyches, they eventually give into the despair.
I think readers need to read these books in order to really understand the story, especially the pieces about the Intercept and the relationships of the characters. The science fiction world building for the series is decent, although I think it is stronger in book one. I had hoped the world building would be more thoroughly developed in this book, but it feels like the author thought what was already in place from book one was sufficient.
I’m trying to figure out if the author wants to make a statement with these books about emotions. The Intercept pieces of the stories are all about emotions – overwhelming emotions (positive and negative), controlling emotions, emotional freedom, self-regulation, etc. But it’s not clear if it’s just an interesting plot point or if she has a higher purpose or message in it all.
Based on the first two books, I’d be okay not continuing with the series. I found this story too dark for my preferences. And I don’t care for any of the characters in a way that would keep me coming back for more. I had hoped for more character development in this book, too, but the off-plot pieces that might have been character development didn’t grab my attention or draw me in. I often skimmed past them. That being said, the title of book 3 grabs my attention because of something that happened in this book that was sad and upsetting. I might have to see if book 3 really ties into that event or if the title is referencing something different. If there’s a tie in, I might check it out to see if something in the third book redeems the sadness of this one. (Trigger Warning: suicide)