Cynetic Wolf

By: Matt Ward

Narrated by: David Akiva Klionsky

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

It's 2096, 60 years after 90 percent died from a man-made Bioplague. Humanity has splintered into four unequal subspecies: Immortals, cyborgs, enhancers, and subservient half-human, half-animal hybrids.

The world is anything but equal. Hybrids everywhere are suffering, but 16year-old Raek Mekorian, a wolfish with a nose for trouble, doesn’t see an alternative. Except the Resistance, who don’t stand a chance against the world government. His mom always said, “Keep your head down”.

And he does, until his sister is murdered by a pair of cyborgs. Overnight, his simple life is shattered, fracturing the rigid governmental caste as he is thrust into the dangerous world of superhuman hit squads, Resistance uprisings, and secrets better left unsaid.

With only built-in blasters and the advice of a mysterious professor, Raek must navigate crushing betrayal, self-doubt, and a limitless enemy whose evil knows no bounds.

The fate of mankind may rest in his hands.

Cynetic Wolf is best-selling author Matt Ward's YA dystopian sci-fi debut and features bloody immortality, post-apocalyptic progress, and gene editing that splinters the very fabric of society. If you like dark technothrillers, fast-paced adventure, and surprising sci-fi, are a fan of Divergent, Red Rising, or the Hunger Games, or love dystopia classics like the Handmaid’s Tale, Brave New World, and Ender’s Game, you’ll love this speculative fiction thriller.

©2020 Myrmani LLC (P)2020 Myrmani LLC

Critic Reviews

"A dystopian thrill ride that ratchets up the action with each page and begs the question - who can claim humanity?" (Jacqui Castle, best-selling author of The Seclusion)

"[A]ction packed and so fast paced, it will leave you breathless. A
fantastic mix of characters, creatures and even cyborgs. Brilliantly
entertaining." (The Bookwormery)

"The Setting: Intriguingly Dystopian. The Plot: Explosive. Overall: Action
Packed!" (The Lily Cafe)

Locked & Loaded

Matt Ward has written an interesting and dystopic novel in which the action is pretty much non-stop throughout the whole book. I found the world that he created to be innovative and imaginative. On the whole, I was entertained by the story line of how Raek Mekorian goes from being an average teenager to a member of a resistance movement; however, there were times when Raek's decisions and actions were things that I would expect from someone older than sixteen. In spite of that, I recommend this book to those who love this genre and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. David Akiva Klionsky's narration was great as he provided different voices for the various characters. I requested this audiobook from Audiobooks Unleashed and have voluntarily left this review.

Gripping

Very much enjoyed this fast-paced story and the world it's set in--an interesting dystopian society with different races up against one another. I was gripped pretty much right from the beginning, all the way to the end and I'd be happy to read a sequel to this too!

How could a wolfish boy also be a cynetic? Impossible!

CYNETIC WOLF
By Matt Ward
A YA Dystopian Novel

In the mid-21st Century, technical and biological advancements came at dizzying speed. Cyborgs first, then microminiature components made it possible to implant newborns, simplifying the process and changing the name from cyborgs to cynetics. A small group discovered how to encrypt and back up a person’s soul, personality, being, and achieve a sort of immortality by rebooting the back up into a new body. The enhanced took a biological direction to increase size, strength, senses.

And the most horrible experiments of all, hybrids, mostly human, but the genes taken from animals lent their characteristics. Bearish were big and strong and mostly brown furred. Lizardish were always cold, with greenish skin scales. Rabbitish were nervous and quick, with big ears. Etc, etc, etc. and our hero, Raek, is wolfish. He has excellent hearing and smell, he’s a great tracker and hunter, and smarter than most other hybrids.

But Raek was different. Raek was special. Not only was he wolfish, he also was cynetic. He was smart. He could hook directly into the internet or read a whole book in just a few minutes. And he had blasters inside his hands. When the war started, both sides wanted this special boy. The rebels wanted him to lead them, the government wanted to take him apart to see how a wolfish could be part cynetic.

There are many layers to this story, from the ethics of genetic experimentation, class structure, and slavery, to the horrors of war and political intrigue.

Matt Ward is a wordsmith of great talent, his characters are real and three dimensional. And David Akiva Klionsky is the perfect narrator, with a wide vocal range, and as Raek he is a typical naive teenage boy.

Don’t miss it.

Future World, Same Issues!

What is our world going to look like in the future? Matt Ward envisions a society where 90% of the population was destroyed in 2096 by a man-made plague and science has allowed us to create hybrids by splitting together human and animal genes with interesting results.

The hero of the story is a Raek, a 16-year-old human/wolf hybrid referred to as being wolfish. In this future world sadly it seems we haven’t learned from our past, racism still exists, humanity is made up cyborgs, immortals, enhancers and hybrids. The lower level of this future world is made up of hybrids, they are in desperate need of a leader to stand up for them… enter Raek.

After Raek witnesses the murder of a loved one by cynetics he becomes the hunted and is forced to go on the run with the aid of his professor. During their harrowing escape Raek discovers that he has additional abilities that he must learn to use fast in order to keep them both alive. It seems that his cynetic abilities are important to a lot of people including the resistance who came to his aid during his time of need. This YA dystopian sci-fi story is full of action and humanity.

David Klionsky’s narration is excellent, he has a mastery of voices which made Matt Ward’s future vision come alive. I do not know who designed the cover art, but it is great… in this case you can judge a book by its cover. Matt Ward has put together the full audiobook package with an excellent story, great narration and an incredible cover. This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Mixed thoughts about this one

First, in all honesty, I'm slowly turning into a cranky old woman. So take the following with that in mind. :D
Originally, I picked this up in kindle form because I really liked the idea of it all. However, I didn't read more than a chapter or two and simply couldn't get into it. Not sure why. Wanting to give it another shot, I picked up a review copy of the audible version.

It was a lot easier to get into the story and world with the audiobook. I'm about half way in now. Raek is a believably confused teen boy who has discovered that not only is he wolfish, but somehow he's also cynetic. I enjoy watching him discover what this means and how to access this new ability. Matt Ward has created a rich and full world that is well thought out and makes sense.
The old woman part of me rears its head in one fact. Give the poor kid at least one friend that doesn't die. Maybe that's still coming, but half way in everything seems so hopeless that I don't want to continue. Even the 'good guys' (still remains to be seen) are led by a vicious kiler intent on her goals regardless of right or wrong. When she kills the one person capable of helping Raek find his way I put the book down. Only time will tell if I go back. I've done this before with other stories and eventually returned to enjoy the book as a whole. I'll update when and if I do so.

For the moment, I'm giving the story a 3.5 because the writing is clean, the world building awesome, the concept intriguing, but I don't know if I'm going to finish. (rounded up to a 4)

Now, for the narrator. He did a great job drawing me into the story with his animation. His voice matches well with what I associate with the teen boys in my house. However, at some point a couple hours in, I started to notice his clicks where he's swallowing. Once I heard it, it became a focus point. Sounded like he had too much saliva to deal with. It isn't loud, but it's there.

I guess I need to come up with a scale for narrators before I do another audible review. Today I'm thinking 3.5 as well because he sounds great, but needs to figure out how not to swish spit after every other word.

1-5 scale and what it means:
1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad
2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing
3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive
3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love
4: Solid mind candy / worth reading
4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read
5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure

Excellent story!

This was a first for me by this author. It was action packed and will pull at your heartstrings. So much for one person to handle at a young age but he prevailed and did what he had to do. Can’t wait to see what becomes of him. It did take me a few chapters to adjust to the narrator but overall he did a good job.

Awesome Story!

Any fan of science fiction or fantasy will love this one. The writing and narration are both excellent.

Excellent story for young men

Excellent book for young men. Action packed dystopian science fiction. Original story with nonstop excitement. I received a free review copy of the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A 16 yr old boy pushed to be a Revolutionary

This young boy/man has no idea how his whole life is going to change with the 3 different groups in this world. I feel sorry for this main character he is put in a position he does not want and he has so much self recrimination for all the deaths that happen because of this..

Wow

Wow! This has everything, violence, racism, love and grief. The action starts in the first chapter and keeps on going throughout the whole book. I hate the ending; I wish it could have gone another way. I would consider getting the next book when it comes to audiobook. This book has a fantastic story and is well written, the narration left a little to be desired. I would recommend this book to others, it is a bit long but I liked it. That is just my opinion.

I received this book for free from the author on storyorigin for an honest review.

won me over.

At the start did not know were it was going.
By the end left me wanting more.

So different

I enjoyed listening to David Akiva Kilonsky, he made it a wonderful listen and I felt brought the characters and plot to life.

This book is different to any that I have listened to before. And I have to say I enjoyed it. Matt Wards's imagination is amazing.

We have a great story, full of strong and different range of characters. I found myself captivated and found the plot , kept me wanting to listening to.

I highly recommending this book.

Fun

I liked the story line and enjoyed the story, but it took me a while to warm to the narrator.
I would have liked more descriptions on characters to help visualise them. Otherwise it was an enjoyable read.

A deep, exciting and engrossing scifi adventure.

Dystopian settings and cyberpunk are very commonplace settings now and it is very hard to find anything new and original but with his hybrids Matt Ward has done it.

While I don't think it was every specifically explained how they came to be, it appears that during a bioplague over 50 years previously killed off the majority of the human race, humans created hybrids between man and animals as well as cybernetics to overcome the illness but this has led to many different species and the tale revolves around Raek, a half wolf cyborg who is one of the many lower-class hybrids relegated to the slums of the world.

Through matters beyond his control, he is drawn into an uprising against the status quo when those he loves are taken and this leads him to working with an assortment of different groups and the scope of the world's injustice is laid bare and the world-building is revealed in all its glory.

The problem is, mid-way through the tale, so many of the case start dying and we seem to stumble from one battle to another and it all becomes a little overbearing and I found it hard to care about the wider-cast as there was always the sense that they'd be killed in one of the many (frankly spectacular) action sequences.

With such a big cast, it was a little confusing at times keeping track of all the cast but David Akiva Klionsky did a fantastic job of bringing a sense of identity to them all and in particular Raek who, from his first scene to the end, I was captivated by.

Ending as it did I'm unsure if I will continue with the series but I am glad I read this and did enjoy it for the most part but whether I do or not I will remain impressed by the world Matt Ward has created.

Great action with deep thought

I started this book thinking it would be shallow. It quickly became a very exciting and thoughtful book. The young boy made many mistakes and was unsure of himself, but he was only 16 so that is understandable. He quickly had to learn to survive and to take responsibility not only for his actions but also for the results of those actions. He spends a lot of time learning and making connections with others in his attempt to provide his people with the dignity they deserve.

The narrator does an outstanding job making this book come to life.

I look forward to the following adventures.

This book was provided free of charge with the expectation of an honest review.

fantastic

Wow what a fantastic audiobook, a bit like the later books in the hungergames series. Really well written and narrated with brilliant characters xxxxxxxx

An interesting read

Thus book had a very interesting plot point however the narrator's accent was distracting at times and at some points led me to leaving the book on hold for a few days however the story was good enough that i could manage to bypass that.

Awesome

I loved this audio book brilliant storyline and amazing characters.
I highly recommend. The narrator is good too.
😰💖🥰

Action packed and fast paced

Wow I really enjoyed this story. A good writer with great imagination and world building. Thought provoking. Good young adult book, maybe a little gory for younger readers. It had me actually moved to tears at the end. Looking forward to the next instalment, but works well as a stand alone book also.