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Complex
Perdita Sands lost her father to Cobalt.
Now she's bringing back the man he died for.
Chicago, 2047. An explosion destroys a building and forever changes Perdita's life. Her mother moves them to Valencia where a locked box holds the answers Perdita desperately needs.
Years later, the box is opened and gives her two names: Cobalt, the powerful company her father worked for, and Cole Delivre, the man who killed him.
Perdita spends the next several decades working her way back to Cobalt so she can revive her father's old project and restore the collapsing biosphere.
But the Board demands results, and not everyone at the company wants to see Perdita succeed.
As the countdown to the end of all life shifts from years to months, the race for humanity's survival begins.
Now she's bringing back the man he died for.
Chicago, 2047. An explosion destroys a building and forever changes Perdita's life. Her mother moves them to Valencia where a locked box holds the answers Perdita desperately needs.
Years later, the box is opened and gives her two names: Cobalt, the powerful company her father worked for, and Cole Delivre, the man who killed him.
Perdita spends the next several decades working her way back to Cobalt so she can revive her father's old project and restore the collapsing biosphere.
But the Board demands results, and not everyone at the company wants to see Perdita succeed.
As the countdown to the end of all life shifts from years to months, the race for humanity's survival begins.
Paperback
Published October 30, 2026
About the author
Laurens Dubuisson
2 books11 followersLaurens at your service, here to spill all the secrets behind my twisty literary thoughts. You know the drill: alternate timelines, doomsday scenarios, and deeply flawed characters (art imitates life, aye).
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
Complex is a strong sequel that opens up the world without getting lost in it. Perdita steps into MC shoes as she tries to right wrongs, while we get to know what happened back in 2046 through Cole's eyes as he struggles to fit into a role he never asked for. The two beats come together nicely, and the anomaly interludes add a layer of unease that keeps you flipping pages.
What stood out for me was how Complex answers the questions Savior left unanswered while throwing new and fresh ones at me. There's real payoff, with a tense, character-driven thriller story that reminded me of Dark and Westworld.
What stood out for me was how Complex answers the questions Savior left unanswered while throwing new and fresh ones at me. There's real payoff, with a tense, character-driven thriller story that reminded me of Dark and Westworld.
November 2, 2026
Complex is an ambitious piece of writing that I think shows the writer's maturity really well. With Savior I was only learning about Cole's story. Now with Complex, Laurens Dubuisson has given us not only alternate histories, but dual POVs and timelines to explore.
The scope is way bigger this time. There are also three cities pushed to the brink of collapse: Chicago, Valencia and Paris. Each one shaped by a world in climate crisis. Some threads are left dangling on purpose, and it all culminates in another cliffhanger ending, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this wild ride.
The scope is way bigger this time. There are also three cities pushed to the brink of collapse: Chicago, Valencia and Paris. Each one shaped by a world in climate crisis. Some threads are left dangling on purpose, and it all culminates in another cliffhanger ending, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this wild ride.
Review of advance copy received from Author
The first half is the best thing about it. Alternating a kid in Valencia with a dead man waking up in a room with no doors shouldn't work as well as it does, but the chapters keep handing off to each other. And by chapter 10, the one where Cole's days collapse into the same schedule over and over until the words start breaking apart I read that twice. "Wake up, baby. Time to go end the world." I actually put the book down for a minute.
The Spire chapter delivers. I knew roughly what was coming from book one and it still landed, mostly because Lionel is right there on the other side of the glass being a decent man about eight years too late.
Here's my problem. Cole goes unconscious at the end of chapter 13 and doesn't wake up until chapter 21. That's a big chunk of the book where the guy on the cover is a body on a table. The Anomaly interludes are the right idea, but they're impressions, not scenes and I somehow can't worry about a man who's only a voice. Meanwhile Perdita gets a Board meeting, an ozone breach, nine weeks of ethics interviews and a museum trip. The Board meeting is genuinely great, by the way, real corporate knife-fight stuff, and Mr. Hale is a better antagonist than Underby because he's just doing his job properly. But somewhere around the Ethics sessions I noticed I was reading about meetings.
Then the ending happens and it's brutal and earned, and I turned the page ready for the fallout... but got a flashback to Underby recruiting Adrian months earlier. Good scene. Wrong place. I wanted to know what the man kneeling on that floor does next, and instead I got homework for book three.
Still: two books in and I'm here for the third one. Just stop knocking Cole unconscious.
The Spire chapter delivers. I knew roughly what was coming from book one and it still landed, mostly because Lionel is right there on the other side of the glass being a decent man about eight years too late.
Here's my problem. Cole goes unconscious at the end of chapter 13 and doesn't wake up until chapter 21. That's a big chunk of the book where the guy on the cover is a body on a table. The Anomaly interludes are the right idea, but they're impressions, not scenes and I somehow can't worry about a man who's only a voice. Meanwhile Perdita gets a Board meeting, an ozone breach, nine weeks of ethics interviews and a museum trip. The Board meeting is genuinely great, by the way, real corporate knife-fight stuff, and Mr. Hale is a better antagonist than Underby because he's just doing his job properly. But somewhere around the Ethics sessions I noticed I was reading about meetings.
Then the ending happens and it's brutal and earned, and I turned the page ready for the fallout... but got a flashback to Underby recruiting Adrian months earlier. Good scene. Wrong place. I wanted to know what the man kneeling on that floor does next, and instead I got homework for book three.
Still: two books in and I'm here for the third one. Just stop knocking Cole unconscious.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Just when I thought I had a feel for the world of Savior, Complex goes and opens up an entirely new can of worms. Getting to explore more of Paris and Valencia added so much to the story, and I loved seeing how the world has evolved beyond what we already knew. It makes everything feel bigger, richer, and honestly, even more unsettling.
The dual POV was another highlight for me. Getting different perspectives gave the story so much more depth, and I loved how the pieces slowly started coming together. Of course, that also meant I was constantly trying to connect the dots, second-guessing my theories, and wondering what the heck was really going on.
And THEN THAT PLOT TWIST. UHM, EXCUSE ME?! I genuinely did not see that coming, and I love when a book manages to pull the rug out from under me like that. Suddenly, everything hits differently, and I was left replaying things in my head and questioning what I thought I knew.
Complex takes what made Savior so intriguing and expands it in all the right ways. More worldbuilding, more perspectives, more questions, and a twist that had me absolutely losing it. I need to talk to someone about that ending! What have you done to me Laurens Dubuisson xD
The dual POV was another highlight for me. Getting different perspectives gave the story so much more depth, and I loved how the pieces slowly started coming together. Of course, that also meant I was constantly trying to connect the dots, second-guessing my theories, and wondering what the heck was really going on.
And THEN THAT PLOT TWIST. UHM, EXCUSE ME?! I genuinely did not see that coming, and I love when a book manages to pull the rug out from under me like that. Suddenly, everything hits differently, and I was left replaying things in my head and questioning what I thought I knew.
Complex takes what made Savior so intriguing and expands it in all the right ways. More worldbuilding, more perspectives, more questions, and a twist that had me absolutely losing it. I need to talk to someone about that ending! What have you done to me Laurens Dubuisson xD
Review of advance copy received from Autor
Después de leer la primera parte de esta saga, SAVIOR , y crearte preguntas e intrigas sin resolver, en COMPLEX encontrarás muchas de las respuestas que Cole necesita saber. El tiempo sigue corriendo en su contra y , nuevamente, a través de los saltos temporales, entiendes la realidad y la historia de cada personaje, de como y porque actúan cada uno de ellos ante problema que tienen delante. Nuevas respuestas pero también nuevas preguntas, es una historia que engancha desde el primer momento. En COMPLEX, descubriras el rol de muchos personajes que pasaron desapercibidos en la primera entrega, y que son partícipes de darle más aún si cabe, la intriga que tiene está historia.
Una frase a resaltar " Nunca hieras lo que no puedes matar".
Enhorabuena al autor
Una frase a resaltar " Nunca hieras lo que no puedes matar".
Enhorabuena al autor
Review of advance copy received from Author
Here are my honest thoughts after reading the ARC.
The strongest idea here isn't the time jump. it's that Cole is just an asset, assigned to Lionel whose literal job it is to "manage" him by feeding him curated fragments of his old life so he stays coherent enough to work.
Bold move to shift the perspective over to Perdita and how often it steps away from Cole. Those switches are a refreshing break from his confusion and they also deepen the lore considerably, showing Cobalt's corporate machinery, boardroom politics and the 2047 disaster the whole project is meant to get right.
The middle section leans a bit too heavily on exposition, but the third act had me catching my breath a couple of times!
The strongest idea here isn't the time jump. it's that Cole is just an asset, assigned to Lionel whose literal job it is to "manage" him by feeding him curated fragments of his old life so he stays coherent enough to work.
Bold move to shift the perspective over to Perdita and how often it steps away from Cole. Those switches are a refreshing break from his confusion and they also deepen the lore considerably, showing Cobalt's corporate machinery, boardroom politics and the 2047 disaster the whole project is meant to get right.
The middle section leans a bit too heavily on exposition, but the third act had me catching my breath a couple of times!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Thank you Laurens Dubuisson for the gifted advance reader copy.
I really needed to continue to read the story and know more. This second book was as good as the first one. I finished reading it so quickly that I was almost upset it wasn't longer. In the second book, you get to know even more about the characters, their feelings, their motivations.. and of course many plot twists to keep you wanting more. I absolutely recommend it!
I really needed to continue to read the story and know more. This second book was as good as the first one. I finished reading it so quickly that I was almost upset it wasn't longer. In the second book, you get to know even more about the characters, their feelings, their motivations.. and of course many plot twists to keep you wanting more. I absolutely recommend it!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Jag har läst ett förhandsexemplar (ARC).
Stort tack till författaren!
Uppföljaren flyttar tyngdpunkten till Perdita Sands. Samtidigt börjar Cole ifrågasätta själva världen han ska rädda — och det är en betydligt mer obekväm bok för honom än den första.
Jag vill inte avslöja för mycket, mer än att jag dras med i historien och får mersmak av de karaktärer som jag fastnade för i första boken.
De korta "Anomaly"-avsnitten är bokens bästa idé; de får något som i Savior kändes avklarat att öppna sig på nytt.
Detta är en stark uppföljare!
Stort tack till författaren!
Uppföljaren flyttar tyngdpunkten till Perdita Sands. Samtidigt börjar Cole ifrågasätta själva världen han ska rädda — och det är en betydligt mer obekväm bok för honom än den första.
Jag vill inte avslöja för mycket, mer än att jag dras med i historien och får mersmak av de karaktärer som jag fastnade för i första boken.
De korta "Anomaly"-avsnitten är bokens bästa idé; de får något som i Savior kändes avklarat att öppna sig på nytt.
Detta är en stark uppföljare!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews