Amped

A Novel

By: Daniel H. Wilson

Narrated by: Robbie Daymond

Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Technology makes them superhuman. But mere mortals want them kept in their place. The New York Times best-selling author of Robopocalypse creates a stunning, near-future world where technology and humanity clash in surprising ways. The result? The perfect summer blockbuster.

As he did in Robopocalypse, Daniel Wilson masterfully envisions a frightening near-future world. In Amped, people are implanted with a device that makes them capable of superhuman feats. The powerful technology has profound consequences for society, and soon a set of laws is passed that restricts the abilities - and rights - of "amplified" humans.

On the day that the Supreme Court passes the first of these laws, 29-year-old Owen Gray joins the ranks of a new persecuted underclass known as "amps." Owen is forced to go on the run, desperate to reach an outpost in Oklahoma where, it is rumored, a group of the most enhanced amps may be about to change the world - or destroy it.

Once again, Daniel H. Wilson's background as a scientist serves him well in this technologically savvy thriller that delivers first-rate entertainment, as Wilson takes the "what if" question in entirely unexpected directions. Fans of Robopocalypse are sure to be delighted, and legions of new fans will want to get "amped" this summer.

©2012 Daniel H. Wilson (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

Raves for the New York Times Best seller Robopocalypse:"An ingenious, instantly visual story of war between humans and robots." (Janet Maslin, The New York Times)

"Terrific page-turning fun." (Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly)

" Robopocalypse reminded me of Michael Crichton when he was young and the best in the business. This novel is brilliant, beautifully conceived, beautifully written (high-five, Dr. Wilson)...but what makes it is the humanity. Wilson doesn't waste his time writing about 'things', he's writing about human beings, fear, love, courage, hope. I loved it." (Robert Crais, number-one New York Times best-selling author)

Not worth listening to ... even at double speed

This story may have been drafted by someone with a good imagination, but certainly not a good writer. It's tolerable if you just want a good premise ... but not if you also want characters that you like and care about, feel invested in, grieve for, etc. It was interminably long, and yet there were many holes in the story. Told in the first person, I found I didn't care if our "hero" was writing from the grave. There was just no emotional investment and I trudged through it, finally finishing up by playing it at double speed. This is one of those books that made me regret wasting my credits and/or dollars.

Pretty Generic and Lame Dialog

What could Daniel H. Wilson have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The dialog and narraration was a bit over-dramatic at times. Story was a bit hard to accept. The military has advanced brain devices for soldiers and elects to stop using them? Yeah right.

Would you be willing to try another one of Robbie Daymond’s performances?

Probably not.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Amped?

It wasn't the story so much as the dialog/narraration.

Power Outage

'Amped??? certainly sounds awesome and the cover art looks like a button begging to be pressed. In the end though, this book falls victim to an uninspired hero who is almost hopelessly incapable of action. I believe the book ACTUALLY begins at 4 hours and 37 minutes in, when the character finally turns on his amp.

The book focuses more on the notion of second-class citizenship, rather than amplified human abilities. Daniel H. Wilson???s future society is rather thin and hovers on the periphery; it never comes up close. It never immerses you. Don???t get me wrong, the concept is excellent. The slang in the book is pretty cool and the word "amp" or "amped" really worked. Each chapter also has a pseudo- snippet of future news that I thought complimented the story very well, but it just wasn???t enough. Conflicts are half-hearted and confrontations just stop in the middle too many times, as if the characters themselves weren???t really motivated to resolve anything.

Finally, the author???s metaphors and similes become very distracting. There were too many uncalled for descriptions that I couldn???t relate to. ???Like a Martian cyclone,??? or ???like a barbed wire blanket,??? or ???fists like neutron stars.??? What? Some of the metaphors either didn???t make sense or were overwritten??????bruised teeth,??? or ???a rust-kissed screen,??? or ???a yawning doorway.???

The lead character, Owen Gray, best described my reading experience when he said it???s ???like watching someone else???s life, seeing events unfold precisely according to a plan that nobody told you.???

Some redeeming qualities. But...

Not a bad book. Some characters I liked and rooted for. And some interesting plot twists and turns. The big problem with this book is the premise and the underlying technological argument. It's just terribly hard to believe that society would shun hundred of thousands of citizens who have performance-enhancing implants. The voice in my head kept saying, "That could/would never happen..." And it spoiled the book for me. The premise behind the X-Men story is essentially the same as this book, but because having mutant power is so outside the realm of our experience, and having implants isn't, this book's assertions don't get past the brain's ability to match text with known facts.

Disapointed

Would you try another book from Daniel H. Wilson and/or Robbie Daymond?

The idea has a lot going for it, but I felt overall it was rushed and not a lot of thought went into the process.

What could Daniel H. Wilson have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

More research and editing.

How could the performance have been better?

With what he had to work with, not much.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Amped?

To many to list.

Any additional comments?

This book could be a winner with more polish and research.

If you liked Robopocalypse...save your credit

Would you try another book from Daniel H. Wilson and/or Robbie Daymond?

After this one.... now I have my doubts

Would you ever listen to anything by Daniel H. Wilson again?

Possibly, but only after strong recommendations from other listeners.

What aspect of Robbie Daymond???s performance would you have changed?

Performance was fine, the content of the book just did not deliver.

What character would you cut from Amped?

They all need work.....

Any additional comments?

I was a fan of Wilson's Robopocalypse so I was expecting more of the same action and interesting story-line. This book simply did not deliver. I found it boring, predictable, and was very disappointed.

Disappointed

I never got into this book. The story was anti-climactic throughout for me. In order for a book to be good (IMO) you have to feel a connection to the characters. That just never happened for me. The story line was interesting enough but did not keep my interest. I think the narrator was handicapped by the prose in this book.

Amateur hour on both writing and reading

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

More suited for young adults or even pre-teens.

Would you ever listen to anything by Daniel H. Wilson again?

No.

How could the performance have been better?

The reader was too earnest and with too much inflection in the voice. He was over acting the parts.

What character would you cut from Amped?

all of them. :-)

Step back from robopocalypse

Would you try another book from Daniel H. Wilson and/or Robbie Daymond?

Yes but this was dissappointing - story felt it was written in a few sessions there was very little to it and many possibilities were left unexplored or missed entirely.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Cool concept with the different levels of the zenith

Any additional comments?

Not worth the $ I used vs using a credit.