Implanted by Lauren C. Teffeau
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From the get-go I was reminded of a direct mix of Nexus and Europe in Autumn.

This isn't a bad thing. I love neurotech and transhumanist stories and love spy fiction couched as Courriers. So based on nothing more than the blurb and a Netgalley interest, I tore through this book and quite enjoyed it.

Who doesn't like to do clandestine data handoffs through their blood, become invisible to all sensors, or otherwise erase your identity in favor of being a hardcore member of a spy network in a futuristic Earth city under a dome with archeological layers of city life within? You know, with the poor down below and the rich up above?

Uh, right. That doesn't sound too good, even if direct mind-to mind linking is possible and it encourages a level of intimacy unheard of except among full telepaths. Or the wild virtual games that are better than life. Unfortunately, the haves and the have-nots take up the crux of the novel.

I thought it was going to be more about intimacy avoidance and layers of consciousness and identity, and there was a lot of that, but most of it revolved around economics, re-terraforming our own planet, and other dystopian stuff. I liked the early spy stuff quite a bit more than the later stuff. :)

All in all, it was a very enjoyable mix of tech and the future vision of dystopia with a bit of romance, rebellion, and funky spy-stuff. :) Quite decent for what it is: some fluff, some angst, great tech, and an overarching idea. :)

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