How Much Would You Risk
to Get Your Mind Right?
It’s
hard to imagine me ignoring a book about a doctor who claimed to have “…an implant that can control” the human mind (author’s
synopsis). Yes, technothrillers are among
my favorites and Alterations involves
some amazing tech. In this first
installment in the trilogy of the same name, we are introduced to three women –
Gigi, Ellen, Lilly – each with problems that have dominated their lives. They want a change, they’re desperate for one. Enter Doctor Kite, who has something for each
of them. So, they roll the dice on a
shady doctor and an unproven implant.
Now, what could possibly go wrong in that scenario…?
I enjoyed the forward-looking nature of Alterations, because devices that allow us to share thoughts appear
to be in our near future. Could
replacing memories be far behind? But
author Suen doesn’t stop there. Rather, she
creates three variants to Kite’s implants – “one to cure illnesses and heal injuries, one
to re-sculpture and lose fat, and one to rejuvenate and reverse the aging
process.” And finally, add the fact that
these changes occur quickly – within moments in at least one case. Now, the forward-looking technology around
which the suspense and drama was to be built looks a bit farfetched, a bit of a
McGuffin. But it’s still interesting
food for thought.
The
pace of Alterations was good, with the
characters moving from problem, to hoped-for solution, to complication extremely
quickly in this 110-page book. But
character development paid the price. Flashbacks
help us understand the women’s desperation better. But most of these scenes are a retelling of a
memory, rather than having us live their pain.
And the mental anguish that must have occurred before any of them put
themselves in Kite’s hands is missing.
Having the reader feel rather than just read about the women’s suffering
and helplessness would have improved the suspense.
Overall,
Alterations is an interesting and
fast-paced look at the risks three women were willing to take to change their lives
based on the promise of a new technology.
A closer look into what drove these women would have improved the
suspense even more.
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