She was raised to fear them. But now she's become her own worst enemy…
America, 2055. Cass is equal parts excited and nervous to leave her Sapiens Movement enclave. Stepping away from her technologically-conservative family for the first time, she sets off for college with dreams of saving humanity. But as the Sapiens girl falls for her cybernetically-enhanced roommate, her deeply programmed beliefs begin to glitch…
Confused in a world that no longer makes sense, Cass barely registers the horrific accident that leaves her near death. When she wakes up, she discovers the same technology she's always hated is the only thing keeping her alive. No longer purely human, Cass questions everything she thought she knew about good and evil.
As tensions between man and machine head for a meltdown, Cass must choose a side before the conflict turns deadly…
Cyber's Change is the first book in the heartfelt Sapiens Run cyberpunk trilogy. If you like strong female characters, dystopian futures, and exploring what it means to be human, then you’ll love Jamie Davis’s thought-provoking novel.
Jamie Davis is a nurse, retired paramedic, author, and nationally recognized medical educator who began teaching new emergency responders as a training officer for his local EMS program. He loves everything fantasy and sci-fi and especially the places where stories intersect with his love of medicine or gaming.
Jamie lives in a home in the woods in Maryland with his wife, three children, and dog. He is an avid gamer, preferring historical and fantasy miniature gaming, as well as tabletop games. He writes LitRPG, GameLit, urban, and contemporary paranormal fantasy stories, among other things. His Future Race Game rules were written to satisfy a desire to play a version of the pod races from Star Wars episode 1.
He loves hearing from readers and going to cons and events where he meets up with fans. Reach out and say "hi.” Visit JamieDavisBooks.com for more books, free offers and more!
Daaaang! This was hectic AF. It's racism, homophobia, sexism and everything else in between... only it's focused on AI enhancements. The world is dangerous 'cause people are so blind and ignorant. This book was bloody good.
I have been avoiding YA/NA lately because I just have a hard time reading it, mostly, I think, because I have two teens at the moment who are driving me crazy. However, since I really like this author, I went ahead and read this. I am glad I did. Not only is it a very interesting read, but the book’s events are similar (parallel) to what is happening today. And, I can really see something very similar happening in the future. Cass is very realistic in her struggles to understand everything she’s led to believe might be wrong, and her girlfriend Shelby is probably more patient than I would be while Cass deals with this. The plot does take a little bit to get going, but this is only because there is quite a bit of backstory that needs established. Once the meat of the plot gets going, the reader is grabbed by the throat and never let loose. I didn’t like the ending but not because of bad writing or anything, but because I wanted to yell at the characters! LOL! I am now very anxious to see what is going to happen next and how they will fix what is going on. I highly recommend this book and was provided a copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
This had so much potential, but every single aspect of it needed to be so much more flashed out. I mainly like the actual science aspect in SciFi books, and not so much the more political themes those books often have, and this one was too heavy on the latter for me personally. At the same time there was potential for it to go so much deeper with its themes, but disapppointingly it was all quite surface level. I also wish we had gotten more detail on the actual technology behind everything, but again that's just my personal reading preference since I'm really into science. I liked the f/f relationship (I didn't know much about the book going into it and I'm always here for some unexpected sapphic rep), I just wish we had seen more of the actual relationship development. The weeks when the characters started to be roomates and fell in love with one another were completely skipped over and the reader was just told they were together now. However, there were still a number of quite beautiful scenes between the couple after that. In the end this book didn't do too much for me, which is especially frustrating since I can see how it easily could have been great had it been longer and more detailed.
I read the book with Audible and I really enjoyed the story. I wish it was a bit longer as I now have to wait for the next part that is due "hopefully" by the end of June. The characters were engaging and the story was well executed. I like the fact it has lesbian characters as the protagonists but the story is not totally focused on that fact but rather the prejudice against the augmented humans. Having read a few similar stories I really enjoyed the the take on the situation of this story. I was surprised how the accident that caused the main character to be augmented happened. I thought it was going to be a terrorist attack that would have later been revealed to have been either caused by or been related to her family. A simple accident while on vacation that changed her whole life was really even better. I hope series is out on Audible as soon as possible.
This novel is set in the near future but events could be seen as what is happening today. Prejudice and politics play major roles, just like now. There’s a lot of tech involved and I can envision seeing it on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon. The main character is engaging and I truly encourage teens and adults to give this a read.
I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.
Oh Jamie Davis, you utterly confuse me! I do not like dystopian takes. Really! Yet somehow I adored Cyber's Change, the first in your new Sapiens Run series. I should’ve known you’d get through my defenses - I mean, after all, I’ve loved every other book you’ve written so this should not have been a surprise. But still! I’m not supposed to enjoy dystopians. So what if it’s an utterly cool world you’ve created, with neat cyperpunk action (gotta admit I like cyberpunk) and a heck of a great lead in Cass (Ok, I admit that I love strong female characters), but still! If you can do this to me then just about everyone is gonna love this book (*Sigh*). But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.
I liked the story and the romance was refreshingly realistic in parts but one thing that ruined it for me was inconsistent world-building. Mentions of "racism" most of all were a piss-off. In a way it was mentioned, it was not racism, it was maybe "cyberism" or "cyberphobia" but not racism! As being a cyber is not a race, for Goddess sake! So, why was the world used? Was it so difficult to stay consistent, really? I don't believe this! I will be checking out the other 2 books in the series, yes. But my expectations are now lowered. The audiobook version was really good, with amazing voice work, but it still did not help with the over-preachiness of it all. If you are OK with being annoyed a lot while reading, go ahead, the story IS good. Just my thoughts...
I can easily see something very similar happening in the future. Cass struggles to understand and deal with everything that she’s been led to believe might be wrong.. The backstory slows the plot at first but then it takes off. I am now very excited to see what is going to happen next. I highly recommend this book and was provided an ARC for an honest review.
There were some things about this book that I really liked, and then others, not so much. On the one hand, the writing was clear and easy to read. The narrative voice flowed well and there weren’t any noticeable typos. For the most part, I enjoyed the plot and characters – but that isn’t to say there weren’t flaws.
The romance between Shelby and Cass didn’t feel genuine or even like a romance at all. Although I applaud the author in being progressive, it felt more like a gimmick than anything real. In a way, it served to showcase that the major struggle of the plot was really just a thinly veiled approximation of the LGBTQ+ struggle vs. conservative extremists. It may have been switched out to technology vs. the anti-technology groups, but it was very much the same battle. Having Shelby and Cass’s relationship throw into that dichotomy just made it obvious in a way I’m not sure did the plot any favors.
Overall, the book was okay. There were parts I liked, parts that nearly lost my interest, and parts I wish had more depth. If you enjoy science fiction, you may enjoy this.
While a bit intriguing, this book was written more on an amateur level. Lots of uninteresting, unnecessary details written in simple sentences. Not intrigued enough to read a sequel. I like books I can't put down. This isn't that.
Worldbuilding was extremely minimal, as was character development. This read like an early draft, like the author was rushing to get all the main points on the page and worry about details later. It is an interesting concept and cool cover, but it's lacking all over.
Cyber Change is one of those books that hits you with its incredible depth, the powerful emotions it brings up, and the fascinating insight the Author has into intolerance, discrimination, corruption, and through it all, love. The story is set in a future, 2055, and in this rather dystopian future, the world has taken a step forward with technological advances, allowing for people to have complex cybernetic implants in place of parts of their bodies. Unfortunately, the world has not matured as far as the concepts of tolerance and acceptance, as there is a very clear line dividing those with Cybernetic implants and those without. The story follows young Cass Armstrong, fresh from a ‘Sapiens Movement’ enclave, in which there are no cybernetic enhancements allowed, and, everyone is taught a healthy fear of not just the enhancements, but those that would use them. Cass has been taught her entire life that ‘Cybers’ or ‘Subs’ as they are known, as they are seen as being sub-human, having tainted themselves with machine parts, giving up their humanity and their souls. The Sapiens believe that those corrupted by cybernetics are no longer human, and are being controlled by ‘The Mantle’, the AI system that looks after a lot of the worlds computer systems. Anyone who is connected to it via an implant will be controlled by it to. It is with this healthy dose of fear, prejudice and mis-information that Cass turns up at her new College, ready to learn things, and eager to see the new world. Her room-mate however is a Cyber, with upgrades to allow her to connect to the Mantle, as well as a completely cybernetic arm, and several what are known as v-tats – tattoos that can change depending on the wearer’s mood. She is by every definition, one of the abominations from Cass’s nightmare scenarios according to the gospel as spoken by her parents, and the leaders of the enclave where she lives. But Cass has come to learn something different, and with an open mind, and chose a room and room-mate that was Cyber friendly, knowing she would have this opportunity. Shelby is a fascinating character, and after an incredibly explosive start to their relationship, Shelby comes to realise that Cass is not actually what she has been told comes from the Sapien movement either. And this is where the book quickly becomes very interesting as the two girls both discover that they actually have more in common than they think, even though they come from polar opposites of the social dynamic. One of the really brilliant things about this book, and I think it is one of my favourite things about a book I have read in the last year at least, is that both of the girls are gay. But this is not brought up in the book, it is not an issue, their relationship is not a thing, no one cares. It is utterly normal. Like it should be – this isn’t a LGBTQ book – it is a Sci-Fi story in which the two main characters (and their friends) are lesbians. Score one for the Author…. The main part of the story comes when Cass has a life-threatening accident and during surgery to save her, she is fitted with Cybernetics that are keeping her alive. From this point on, the story becomes one in which we see Cass having to battle her own stigma’s and perceptions, overcoming the hate, mis-information and discrimination that she has been brought up on, and into a world of Cyber enhanced people, where she realises that these people are not the hideous monsters she once believed, but instead, just normal people with a desire to express themselves. The book delves into some really deep issues of politically and socially driven discrimination, how the Media and the Political system can be used to generate incredible fear and terror in the general population, to the point where it grows a life of its own. The Author has done such an exceptional job with the writing of the dialogue, and the descriptions of various scenes to provide very realistic scenes in some circumstances, very powerful and emotive scenes, between characters, as they discuss the impacts of the discrimination that is tearing their world apart. This is a brilliant read on so many levels. The tech is really interesting, the Author has not let the fact that this is a Sci-Fi story that is heavy with dialogue and world building detract from the technology, with some brilliant bits of tech, and great descriptive work. The characters are beyond exceptional, bringing this story alive in ways you just don’t see coming. This combined with some wonderful world building, make for an exciting, well-paced story that is one of the best books I have written in a long time. This is a must-read story for anyone looking for a good read, it is just too good to miss, with brilliant characters, controversial storylines, and exceptional concepts and the dialogue to back it, you will not be disappointed!!
This was free from Amazon via Bookbub. Excellent start to a trilogy, and an interesting premise.
Our Mc start out pretty closed-minded and was raised on a steady diet of propaganda, leaves her family's compound to start studying at a school for everyone, not just "pure human beings" aka people without any cyber enhancements.
Here she meets her roommate who is a cyber-enhanced person and slowly she starts to see things from a different perspective and starts questioning more about what exactly is the truth and what it is she believes.
It's written well, I didn't notice any typo's and the writing slows along nicely. The characters are interesting and I would have liked to have known a little bit more about them then what we got, but that does not take away a lot from the story.
I will probably read the second book in this series when I'm in the mood for something like this.
I received this book for free from the author with the hope for an unbiased review. Cassie is off to college after being raised in a Sapiens compound all her life. The issue is that her family believes that anyone with technology implanted has automatically become a machine. In our day and age, this means they would reject pacemakers, cochlear implants and other parts. In the era of the story, they have an AI assisted technology that allows cyber implants to access data, follow news feeds or order coffee. The interactions between Sapiens and those with cyber tech are based on ignorance and fear of the unknown. Cassie is confronted with dealing with discrepancies between her ultraconservative upbringing and the world beyond the compound. The story raises issues for YA to consider presented within a well-written story. Good reading!
I could not put this book down, I read it in 2 sittings. It was so exciting and suspenseful at the end and was sorry it ended where it did. It definitely has a cliff hanger. I could relate to the characters; they seemed very real. I very much liked how the two characters were gay but that was not part of the story. This was accepted by the parents and everyone else as a non-issue, in a way I hope our world could be like soon. The book was well written and edited with no typos, which is a pet peeve of mine. Thank you for this wonderful story, can't wait to see what happens to Cass next, and if her family ever gets past their hatred of implants and accepts her for who she is.
Some good ideas (although not entirely original), but the story lacks a bit of depth to make it really interesting. What doesn't help is that I was not convinced of the Cyber movement, mainly because some reasons to have modifications were just dumb and stupid (having a perfectly fine arm removed so you can have a mechanical one that has extra storage for chewing gum and a swiss pocketknife in your fingers; or someone who replaced their feet with mechanical rollerskates to be able to compete with delivery robots). Or maybe that was all tongue-in-cheek and I missed the humor in there.
Still, I have added book 2 on my to-read list. One of these days, though.
Not my usual type of read, although I am into paranormals and aliens have not really read too many sci-fi AI type of books, nor lesbian relationships. Only read it because it was written by one of my favourite authors, and he sent it to me for free. I was not disappointed, it investigates prejudices that exist in our world now through people of the future. A very topical book. Loved that Jamie’s medical background comes through with very descriptive narration in regard to implants. Lost a bit of interest in the middle but caught me back before the end. Thought it was good enough that I bought it. Now need the next book to see what happens to Cass particularly.
I enjoyed a story with diversity and yet focused on a different aspect of the characters to center the conflict. Though it’s odd cause I want to actually help design what is seen as so bad. I mean this tech could help people walk, the blind to see, allow people to heal from brain injury or even if u had to take a tumor out u could replace that with something that’s capable of reforming similar connections. That one especially since I have serious doubts it’s actually possible but the prosthetics I think really are. It’s also weird when I recognize some of the counter arguments from various friends and family. A little scary too.
I have read (and loved) a few paranormal books by Jamie Davis but this one is very different. While it is a good storyline, the social commentary and violence were just not my preference. I recommend it to anyone that likes exploring where the science of cybernetic additions may take us in the future. I believe that will be a very troubled time for many if it becomes reality.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook from the author and this is my honest and freely given opinion.
This book is an interesting one. The characters are realistic, the things they go through are believable, scarily so in fact. You could change the main issue to something else and it still would be. It's somewhat controversial but not in itself but more how it makes you feel. I enjoyed reading this book, though some might not. Take this recommendation for what it is and try it.
I didn’t realize the lead characters in the book are gay. Usually I don’t read such books but I was more interested in the cyber story so I kept reading. It clearly illustrates prejudices between the two major groups in a way that should be enlightening to anyone. The story flowed fast and I couldn’t take a break except to go to the bathroom. I finished less than one day. It didn’t focus on sexual orientation which I thought was good. No explicit sexual scenes. Definitely a great read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Who would have that that in the future with cyberkinetics, there would still be discrimination. This story shows a young woman starting college and how her beliefs are changed by the people surrounding her. As sad as it sounds, death is still the result of discrimination. If you fear someone or something, kill it. Well written story.
Didn’t care for the MC or her girlfriend. Who was highly manipulative of the MC and expected her to see the world through her lense rather than trying to understand the MCs life experience. And then when life turned upside down the girlfriend kept pushing and pushing and then she left when the MCs world was truly in upheaval. And the MC never stood up for herself. Ever.
The writing is simple, the morals and parallels to the real world a bit heavy-handed, but this would be a great discussion book for adolescents. It's a quick read, too, if a bit stilted.
I enjoyed it enough that I think I'll read the sequel now. I'm kind of curious to see what happens with the main character.
It's a very original story from my point of view, it doesn't matter who you love as a gender, but actually matters how is the person you love and specifically how they look outside. This book is about the people who are hated and the people who hate, there is some love in the middle but it's not the main issue of this book. It's a good sci-fi book and I enjoyed reading it.
I really like this author’s work. The book is fun and easy to listen to. When it becomes apparent that a lust relationship is growing between the two main characters, it was disappointing. Such relationships arrogantly defy the God who created us and designed marriage and the rules of intimacy. I could not finish.