Sweet Harmony

By: Claire North

Narrated by: Lucy Rayner

From the bestselling and award-winning author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and 84K, a darkly inventive novella about the dangers of pursuing perfection.
Harmony is tired. Tired of working so hard, tired of the way she looks, tired of being average.
But all that changes when she decides to splash out and upgrade her nanos. And why not? Everyone's doing it now. With a simple in-app purchase, you can update the tech in your bloodstream to transform yourself - get enhanced brain power, the perfect body or a dazzling smile. Suddenly, everything starts going right for her. She's finally becoming the person she always wanted to be.
But as Harmony will find out, there's a limit to how many upgrades a body can take . . .
Previous books by Claire North:The First Fifteen Lives of Harry AugustTouchThe Sudden Appearance of HopeThe End of the Day84K
By the same author, writing as Kate Griffin:A Madness of AngelsThe Midnight MayorThe Neon CourtThe Minority CouncilThe Glass GodStray Souls

great writing, depressing world

This is a very odd book - or well novella, I suppose. The sci-fi parts - all the bits about the nanos (biological nanotechnology) and what they do to Harmony's body are extremely well thought out. North does an excellent job of thinking about how this technology would effect society. From health care, to job prospects, to finding partners. It's depressing, sure, but it's well done. (Her use of advertisements was especially eerie at times.)

Honestly, it's the main character Harmony who bothers me. It sounds terrible to say, since horrible things happen to her, but I didn't find her a sympathetic protagonist. I don't think she is meant to be - North has a habit of flawed main characters, but there is something somehow simultaneously self-centered and passive about Harmony that I found off-putting.

Overall the changes to the world you see the edges of in these nearly four hours is both dreadful and fascinating. Claire North is an excellent story teller and has a way with words. Even if Harmony is not the best conduit, in my opinion, I would still recommend this to anyone who isn't squeamish about body horror (bad things happen when nanos are turned off, to say more would be spoilers).