Complex

Complex
By: A.D. Enderly

Not super stoked about this book— mainly because if this had a movie rating it would be rated R and I just think that's unnecessary. Mostly for language- Very rarely did a character speak or think without swearing. There was some sexual content and gore but nothing really graphic. Considering the setting of the book is dystopian and within that setting a lot of the story takes place in the depraved sectors of the city, some of the content is understandable in order to portray said depravity, but it can be done in a better way.

This book leaves you on a cliffhanger (a second book fairly likely) however, because of everything just mentioned I'm sad to have to leave the story. It really was an interesting premise- A futuristic dystopian Midwest settlement where people are divided between Complex, Legacy, or Arc living depending on their wealth, social scoring, or desperation. Val and Kat are eking out a living in Legacy after their dad dies when Kat is kidnapped. The sisters' paths become entangled with other characters as Val tries to find Kat amidst increasing violence in their home sector and the entrance of a potential pandemic-sized virus.

As others have said, it does take a minute to get your bearings as we aren't given much background as to the 'why' the world is the way it is. Some of it is hard to picture, though I would bet if it was cinematized it would be reminiscent of Total Recall mixed with Maze Runner. It is told from several different POVs. They are each introduced at the beginning in their own story. Seemingly disjointed, they all eventually come together at some point in the story. I did make a few notes on each one to help me keep everyone straight since the book is long and I would be reading it off and on. I had a hard time distinguishing between the character's own thoughts and the voice of the AI, but since I was reading an ARC, I'm assuming the published version will differentiate that better... and also fix the grammatical errors I kept finding.

I would assume part of the author's intent was to make some sort of political/economic statement. What one would give up for comfort and security. What one would endure for freedom. How it's hard to move up in the world. The manipulation and oppression of the poor. The psychological benefits of having work or something to accomplish. The scoring of a person's behavior and choices to incentivize a particular end result. The consequences of lack of law enforcement. I could see a college class analyzing those components of the story.

Though Enderly had no qualms with profanity, to his credit, he wrote suspense successfully. There is a lot of plot movement and action in the story. He is not afraid to kill off or injure his characters, so you never know what will happen.

[SPOILER!!]

BUT- I knew as soon as there was AI in people's heads that the AI was gonna go rogue. Because based on literally every depiction of AI, their overtaking of humanity is inevitable. It's a bit of a tired premise, but if there are still people out there who are still trying to probe the depths of AI/human combinations, then I suppose we need more books and movies showing how stupid of an idea that is.

[SPOILER OVER!!!]

Looking back on the book as I write this review, I think this book had a lot of potential, but I just think all the things that would make it rated R just really overshadows the good parts for me. I hate when authors include so much of that. A good story shouldn't need it. If that stuff doesn't bother you and you love a good sci-fi, futuristic, dystopian action story, then this is for you.

Sidenote: Lots of authors end up overusing certain words in their books that I like to point out. In this book, it was the word 'effluence.’