This Mortal Coil Book One
Written by Emily Suvada
Science Fiction, Dystopian
448 Pages
Thank you to Penguin Teen Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★★
When a lone soldier, Cole, arrives with news of Lachlan Agatta's death, all hope seems lost for Catarina. Her father was the world's leading geneticist, and humanity's best hope of beating a devastating virus.
Then, hidden beneath Cole's genehacked enhancements she finds a message of hope.
Lachlan created a vaccine.
Only she can find and decrypt it, if she can unravel the clues he left for her. The closer she gets, the more she finds herself at risk from Cartaxus, a shadowy organization with a stranglehold on the world's genetic tech. But it's too late to turn back.
There are three billion lives at stake, two people who can save them, and one final secret that Cat must unlock. A secret that will change everything.
To celebrate the release of This Vicious Cure, the conclusion to the This Mortal Coil Trilogy by Emily Suvada, I'll take you on a journey to explore the desolate wasteland, the plague decimating the population and the technology and characters who are entrusted to salvage humanity.
The Characters
Protagionist Catarina Agatta is an intelligent and resourceful young woman evading Cartaxus capture. Catarina is the seventeen year old daughter of the renowned geneticist Lachlan Agatta, a former Cartaxus programmer and genetic engineer, now recaptured along with his assistant to manufacture an antidote for the contagion decimating the country. Surviving within the isolated Black Hills and diagnosed with Hypergenesis, Catarina remains genetically unenhanced, relying upon her intellect and perception to survive.
Lieutenant Cole Franklin is an enhanced Cartaxus agent, the organisation who is holding her father captive in addition to his programming assistant. Cole has deflected and been assigned by Lachlan Agatta to protect Catarina and although she's malnourished, isolated and her only companion an elderly neighbour, is determined to become her own saviour. Cole is an interesting character and although he remains an agent of Cartaxus, he was raised within the confines of a laboratory and endured invasive experimentation under the guise of genetic manipulation.
The children, now adolescents of the genetic program have escaped the Cartaxus corporation, the remainder enlisted as soldiers. Leoben, Ziana, Cole, Anna and Jun Bei, children who endured torture and experimentation of consumer technology and programming under the guidance of Lachlan Agatta. Each character is tangible, created distinctly and introduced throughout the series.
World Building
The series is created within a desolate and American dystopian. The virus has ravaged the land and communities are living underground within Cartaxus bunkers. Those who remain on the surface live in isolation or in communities established with fortresses to protect the living from those effected by the virus. Throughout the series, several characters are collaborating on the coding that may inoculate the population, currently the only method of protection is to consume the flesh of the effected before they detonate vaporising into a mist and infecting those in the vicinity.
Entropia is an independent genehacker community, those living above ground protesting the invasiveness of the Cartaxus corporation and their militant methods. Throughout the series, Entropia becomes an important aspect of the narrative, introducing influential characters and emerging confrontations.
The Technology
Our lives are consumed by programming. Through a panel located on your forearm, applications are downloaded to change your appearance, regenerate our bodies, our senses, programming to create superior beings. The essence of This Mortal Coil is genetic manipulation and biotechnology, developed by Lachlan Agatta and administered to infants as nanotechnology. It allows programmers to create applications that download directly into the body, collaborating with our human genetics. Cartaxus monopolises the genetic applications, with the ability to deny survivors essential health enhancements.
Why You Need This Series in Your Life
Emily Suvada has studied mathematics and astrophysics, she's created a world where females are thriving as programmers, as soldiers and survivalists. Strong, remarkable women as heroines, villains and the morally ambiguous surviving against all odds. An airborne virus morphing formerly healthy individuals into bloodthirsty monsters and an all encompassing corporation determined to regulate and manipulate the civilian population as opposed by a community of genehackers. A science fiction thriller blending friendship, romance and a revolution of mammoth proportions.
The This Mortal Coil Trilogy is an intelligent, captivating and atmospheric science fiction dystopian. Absolutely phenomenal.
This Cruel Design
This Mortal Coil Book Two
Written by Emily Suvada
Science Fiction, Dystopian, Survival
448 Pages
Thank you to Penguin Teen Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★★
Catarina thought they'd stopped the Hydra virus. She was wrong.
After laying everything on the line to decrypt the vaccine, Cat realises that Lachlan's daemon code is in the panel of every person on the planet's surface. With it, he can reprogram humanity.
She, Cole and Leoben set out to stop him, but they're on a timer. Cartaxus, the shadowy corporation that's both helped and hindered them, has a deadly end game in play. The virus is evolving, the vaccine is dying, and if Cat can't find Lachlan in three days, they'll use lethal code to wipe out every person on the planet.
Their path takes them to Entropia, an underground city deep in the desert and home to the most extreme gene hackers, run by the queen of coding, Regina.
Struggling with the revelations about her past, and plagued by strange visions, what Cat finds in Entropia is more than just a trail to Lachlan. Because in the vaulted chambers of Regina's kingdom, Cat is forced to question everything she knows and everyone she trusts, and discovers that the biggest threat of all may be buried in her own mind.
This Vicious Cure
This Mortal Coil Book Three
Written by Emily Suvada
Science Fiction, Dystopian, Survival
400 Pages
Thanks to Penguin Teen Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★★
Two factions at war.A plague that can't be stopped. A cure that could destroy them all.Cat's hacking skills weren't enough to keep her from losing everything, her identity, her past, and now her freedom.Meanwhile, the person who's stolen everything from her is close to realising a hacker's dream, the solution to humanity's problems in gene form. Or so she thinks.But now a new threat has emerged, a threat that could bring the world to the brink of a devastating war.Both sides will stop at nothing to seize control of humanity's future, and that the centre of this war is Cat, and a race against the clock save millions of lives.
Thanks for the recommendation, it sounds very good.
ReplyDeleteIt's a most excellent series, absolutely loved it!
DeleteI've heard really great things about this one but I haven't read dystopia in a while so I haven't gotten to it. The world sounds like something I could easily lose myself in!
ReplyDeleteIt's magnificent and one of those series that's fully immersive. You'll love this one, I can't wait to see what you think of it!
DeleteIt’s been a long time since I read a dystopian. It sounds like the world building is really well done here!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing Tanya! The series is so multilayered, it's beyond a dystopian with incredible world building, the characters as so wonderfully developed as well. You'll love this one!
DeleteThat tagline on the first one is amazing, and this sounds like a great dytopian. I need to read these!
ReplyDeleteI love that cover for This vicious Cure!
This is a series I know you'll enjoy, it's so well written and intelligent. It's brilliant to see girls in positions that are usually male dominated in young adult reads. Can't wait to see what she's working on next!
DeleteI remember my daughter reading this series, I know she definitely read the first one, and she really enjoyed it. Though it's not quite my thing, I love hearing about books that elevate female characters, and , you know I like to science. By the way - this is quite a comprehensive guide to the series. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThanks Samantha, really appreciate your kind words! How old is your daughter? It's definitely one of those series that'll appeal to a wide range of readers. Give the first book a try, I think the intensity will really surprise you!
DeleteI've never heard of this series before, but I think the concept is really interesting! I haven't read any books centered around an epidemic before and I think there's a lot of room to explore how people would respond in that kind of situation. The heroine also sounds awesome!
ReplyDeleteclaire @ clairefy
It's fitting too, given the current state of the world. That's one of the reasons I enjoy dystopian novels, characters facing adversity and often through disasters, it's interesting how characters react to the same situation. Such a brilliant series, would love to see what you think of it!
Delete