Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT #Scifi The Happy Chip by Dennis Meredith @explainresearch

Today’s team review is from Terry, she blogs here http://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Terry has been reading The Happy Chip by Dennis Meredith

THE HAPPY CHIP by Dennis Meredith

3.5 stars

Freelance writer Brad Davis has been employed at no small cost by scientific genius Marty Fallon to write his autobiography.  Fallon is the inventor of ‘the Happy Chip’, a device injected into the body that works alongside an app to determine which products, sensations, sights and just about everything else give the individual the most pleasure; it’s the ultimate in the pursuit of happiness.  In order to qualify for his big pay day, Brad must have the chip inserted himself.  However, Brad is unaware that he has been given a new prototype that contains a GPS tracker, with more control afforded to NeoHappy, the company that produces the chip.

The idea of this story is most original, and also feasible; I imagine that if the Happy Chip hasn’t already been invented, it soon will be – and yes, I should think that if/when it is, millions will flock to use it, never suspecting that such a development can be used to control the mindset of the population.  It is so very sinister because it is plausible.

Brad is 50% a-bit-naïve-ordinary-guy and 50% sceptical investigative journalist.  After only a couple of days, he suspects he is not being given the full story, which bothers him not least of all because he is anxious to produce a credible biography.  He discovers that (surprise, surprise), the pleasure ratings of some products are tampered with to favour large corporations.

I was up and down about this book all the way through.  It’s a great premise, the plot is fairly well thought out, the pace is good, and the science/techno side is interesting and clearly well-researched, though I did feel it could do with a tighter edit.  There were a bit too many happy coincidences (like Brad just happening to have interviewed a magician who showed him how to escape when one’s adversary has bound one’s wrists with plastic zip ties).  Most characters talk in much the same way (for instance, every character prefaces sentences with ‘Jesus’ to denote emphasis or shock), aside from Lundgren, who is such a text book villian he practically twirls his moustache and laughs in a sinister fashion before delivering his body blows, and the cartoon-like Russian, Gregor Kalinsky.  But… Brad is likable and much of it is highly readable.  And I kept coming back to one thing ~ the basic story is right up my street, so I wanted to carry on reading to see what happened.

I think this would work well as a 24-type thriller series or a film, for which the viewer knows there will need to be a certain amount of belief-suspension; it didn’t quite tick my personal reading boxes, but I am sure it will be enjoyed by those who love plot-centred thrillers of this type.

You feel ecstatic! Until you kill yourself.

The Happy Chip is the latest nanoengineering wonder from the high-flying tech company, NeoHappy, Inc.

Hundreds of millions of people have had the revolutionary chip injected into their bodies to monitor their hormonal happiness and guide them to life choices, from foods to sex partners.

Given the nanochip’s stunning success, struggling science writer Brad Davis is thrilled when he is hired to co-author the biography of its inventor, billionaire tech genius Marty Fallon.

That is, until Davis learns that rogue company scientists are secretly testing horrifying new control chips with “side effects”—suicidal depression, uncontrollable lust, murderous rage, remote-controlled death, and ultimately, global subjugation.

His discovery threatens not only his life, but that of his wife Annie and their children. Only with the help of Russian master hacker Gregor Kalinsky and his gang can they hope to survive the perilous adventure that takes them from Boston to Beijing.

The Happy Chip, an edge-of-your-seat thriller, spins a cautionary tale of unchecked nanotechnology spawning insidious devices that could enslave us. It dramatically portrays how we must control our “nanofuture” before it’s too late.

Dennis Meredith brings to his novels an expertise in science from his career as a science communicator at some of the country’s leading research universities, including MIT, Caltech, Cornell, Duke and the University of Wisconsin. He has worked with science journalists at all the nation’s major newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV networks and has written well over a thousand news releases and magazine articles on science and engineering over his career.

Goodreads | AmazonUK | AmazonUS | Twitter

 

Rosie’s #BookReview Team #RBRT #SciFi The Happy Chip by Dennis Meredith @explainresearch

Today’s team review is from Judith W, she blogs here https://readandreview2016.wordpress.com/

Judith has been reading The Happy Chip by Dennis Meredith

The Happy Chip is a story about a revolutionary nano-chip which allows people to monitor their physical health and emotional well-being; it can even guide life choices and personal preferences.  However, writer Brad Davis begins working for the company responsible, and soon learns they have plans to create new chips – this time with more horrific side effects including suicidal tendencies, monstrous rage, and instant death.

When choosing a book to review for Rosie’s Book Review Team, the tagline and premise of The Happy Chip immediately caught my eye.

The beginning was shocking and instantly places the reader in the midst of this dystopian technology, forcing you to work things out for yourself. I liked this – not everything needs explaining straightaway.

Yet when explanations are needed, some of the scientific jargon surrounding the biology and nano-chip technology was somewhat overwhelming and in places not particularly clear. Meredith is a science communicator and has worked with science journalists and written various pieces himself, so it is natural the scientific language would be detailed. However, overly scientific jargon can easily become confusing to the “average” reader.

Furthermore, there was a lot of gun terminology that was lost on me. As a reader from the UK, guns are not a part of everyday life; I don’t know anything about them and so specific details regarding models and rounds were seemingly unnecessary to me.

I liked the concept of monitoring and altering emotions and choices at will, as it is reminiscent of other works such as Brave New World and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and raises classic dystopian questions such as “What is free will?” and “What makes us human?”.

The new chips – engineered for different outcomes whether implanted in males or females – was an effective, if not a little stereotypical, threat.

I enjoyed the subtle manipulation of people (although wouldn’t in real life!) However, some of the descriptions of characters’ emotional states could have been developed further as they weren’t very detailed.

Pacing was also something I felt could have been improved. Halfway through The Happy Chip, it felt like I was at the climax of the novel. Perhaps the narrative would have been better split into two shorter stories, although this is just my personal preference.

Overall, I did enjoy The Happy Chip, although Meredith’s storytelling techniques could be improved.

Star Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

You feel ecstatic! Until you kill yourself.

The Happy Chip is the latest nanoengineering wonder from the high-flying tech company, NeoHappy, Inc.

Hundreds of millions of people have had the revolutionary chip injected into their bodies to monitor their hormonal happiness and guide them to life choices, from foods to sex partners.

Given the nanochip’s stunning success, struggling science writer Brad Davis is thrilled when he is hired to co-author the biography of its inventor, billionaire tech genius Marty Fallon.

That is, until Davis learns that rogue company scientists are secretly testing horrifying new control chips with “side effects”—suicidal depression, uncontrollable lust, murderous rage, remote-controlled death, and ultimately, global subjugation.

His discovery threatens not only his life, but that of his wife Annie and their children. Only with the help of Russian master hacker Gregor Kalinsky and his gang can they hope to survive the perilous adventure that takes them from Boston to Beijing.

The Happy Chip, an edge-of-your-seat thriller, spins a cautionary tale of unchecked nanotechnology spawning insidious devices that could enslave us. It dramatically portrays how we must control our “nanofuture” before it’s too late.

Dennis Meredith brings to his novels an expertise in science from his career as a science communicator at some of the country’s leading research universities, including MIT, Caltech, Cornell, Duke and the University of Wisconsin. He has worked with science journalists at all the nation’s major newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV networks and has written well over a thousand news releases and magazine articles on science and engineering over his career.

Goodreads | AmazonUK | AmazonUS | Twitter

 

Rosie’s #BookReview Team #RBRT #scifi The Happy Chip by Dennis Meredith @explainresearch

Today’s team review is from Lilyn, she blogs here http://www.scifiandscary.com/

Lilyn has been reading The Happy Chip by Dennis Meredith

Dennis Meredith is a solid writer who has turned his talent to near-future, on-Earth science fiction instead of reaching for the stars as so many writers do. I have previously read his book Wormholes and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I was quite happy to pick up The Happy Chip.

The Happy Chip is an interesting, thought-provoking book simply because you could see something like the Happy Chip getting very popular, very fast. The benefits of it sound fantastic, but when you stop to think about it at all, you see how easily it could go sideways. The love of money and control will always encourage people to do horrible things. Some more so than others.

Luckily, the main character and his wife are willing to do whatever is necessary to put a stop to things in The Happy Chip . Speaking of the pair, I loved Brad and Annie. While the implications of the Happy Chip technology is enough to pique your interest and get you to pay attention, it’s the relationship between the husband and wife that really cemented my interest in the book. I loved how they worked together as a team and trusted each other implicitly. I want more characters like these in books, please!

The pacing of The Happy Chip was perfect. The action was constantly going. The science is not unbelievable at all (which makes it scary). There’s a lot of good things to say about this novel, and I recommend it for fans of near-future science fiction scenarios. However, there are some minor problems. I noticed it in Wormholes, I believe, and I saw it in this book as well. While his beginnings and middles are excellent, the end of the stories are a bit weak, and the dialogue during action-packed times can be a little too dramatic. Not enough to turn me off, by any means, but it is an area that feels like it needs some improvement in.

Overall, this was a good, entertaining read from an author who knows how to spin stories that feel like they could happen just a few months from now. If you like Earth-based and/or near future science fiction at all, you should definitely check out The Happy Chip from Dennis Meredith.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for review consideration as part of Rosie’s Book Review Team.

You feel ecstatic! Until you kill yourself.

The Happy Chip is the latest nanoengineering wonder from the high-flying tech company, NeoHappy, Inc.

Hundreds of millions of people have had the revolutionary chip injected into their bodies to monitor their hormonal happiness and guide them to life choices, from foods to sex partners.

Given the nanochip’s stunning success, struggling science writer Brad Davis is thrilled when he is hired to co-author the biography of its inventor, billionaire tech genius Marty Fallon.

That is, until Davis learns that rogue company scientists are secretly testing horrifying new control chips with “side effects”—suicidal depression, uncontrollable lust, murderous rage, remote-controlled death, and ultimately, global subjugation.

His discovery threatens not only his life, but that of his wife Annie and their children. Only with the help of Russian master hacker Gregor Kalinsky and his gang can they hope to survive the perilous adventure that takes them from Boston to Beijing.

The Happy Chip, an edge-of-your-seat thriller, spins a cautionary tale of unchecked nanotechnology spawning insidious devices that could enslave us. It dramatically portrays how we must control our “nanofuture” before it’s too late.

Dennis Meredith brings to his novels an expertise in science from his career as a science communicator at some of the country’s leading research universities, including MIT, Caltech, Cornell, Duke and the University of Wisconsin. He has worked with science journalists at all the nation’s major newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV networks and has written well over a thousand news releases and magazine articles on science and engineering over his career.

Goodreads | AmazonUK | AmazonUS | Twitter

 

Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT #SciFi The Happy Chip by Dennis Meredith @explainresearch

Today’s team review is from Sean, he blogs here http://ebookwormssite.wordpress.com

Sean has been reading The Happy Chip by Dennis Meredith

This book started with a bang, and the pace didn’t let up all the way through. This is a real sci-fi thriller book, emphasis on the sci. There is no Magic, no hi-tech cars becoming submarines or jet fighters, the only way time travels is either forward, or in parallel with the rest of the story. The sci is all about nanotechnology, something that most people (and definitely the readers of this genre) have heard about, and its application (happ-lication??) to enhancing the human life experience. It’s a believable base for a storyline, then you add in  the “if something seems too good to be true, then it usually is” plotline.

There is quite a cast of characters on show here, from the bad Corporate multi-millionaire who just wants more, to the giant Russian and his crony army who plays both ends against the middle (at least initially), the CIA and local police show up, China and its underground criminal scene, and a potentially damaging international crisis. The main character, freelance writer Brad Davis, is the quintessential good guy, dedicated family man struggling to pay the bills, but supported by a loving wife. They both have ex-Afghanistan military experience, which comes in useful later on!

Essentially, Brad gets a big break to write the memoir of the guy who brought nanotechnology to the masses, the technology being the eponymous Happy Chip. Through various meetings and encounters, he gets his journalistic 6^th sense telling him something is “off”, he does some initial sleuthing, and the game in on!

The pace of the book is fast, the read enjoyable, even though I found the characterisation a bit too predictable, and some things just seemed to happen/turn up at just the right time. However, it is fiction of course so its allowed.

It is an entertaining read about something that could happen in the near-future, it is completely escapist, definitely movie-material, and you can easily see Meredith aiming to become the Dan Brown of the genre.

Overall, a three-star, for while the premise is good, the writing fluid, for me it is not a riveting, stay-up-all-night-to-finish read, which draws me to this genre. Its an enjoyable piece of holiday escapism.

You feel ecstatic! Until you kill yourself.

The Happy Chip is the latest nanoengineering wonder from the high-flying tech company, NeoHappy, Inc.

Hundreds of millions of people have had the revolutionary chip injected into their bodies to monitor their hormonal happiness and guide them to life choices, from foods to sex partners.

Given the nanochip’s stunning success, struggling science writer Brad Davis is thrilled when he is hired to co-author the biography of its inventor, billionaire tech genius Marty Fallon.

That is, until Davis learns that rogue company scientists are secretly testing horrifying new control chips with “side effects”—suicidal depression, uncontrollable lust, murderous rage, remote-controlled death, and ultimately, global subjugation.

His discovery threatens not only his life, but that of his wife Annie and their children. Only with the help of Russian master hacker Gregor Kalinsky and his gang can they hope to survive the perilous adventure that takes them from Boston to Beijing.

The Happy Chip, an edge-of-your-seat thriller, spins a cautionary tale of unchecked nanotechnology spawning insidious devices that could enslave us. It dramatically portrays how we must control our “nanofuture” before it’s too late.

Dennis Meredith brings to his novels an expertise in science from his career as a science communicator at some of the country’s leading research universities, including MIT, Caltech, Cornell, Duke and the University of Wisconsin. He has worked with science journalists at all the nation’s major newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV networks and has written well over a thousand news releases and magazine articles on science and engineering over his career.

Goodreads | AmazonUK | AmazonUS | Twitter