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The Empathy Code #2
Stop Looking
Killing for his country is his job. Killing for his psychopathic boss – that’s murder.
Philip Templeton in on the run in New Zealand after releasing a military robotics project to the public. He’s left behind his career, his identity and his girlfriend, Mishra McKenzie. Mishra travels to NZ to search for Philip - but she isn’t sure he wants to be found. Flight Lieutenant Brett Nielsen is sent to silence Philip using the military’s newest technology – a robotic swarm. Brett’s unconvinced about the need for such drastic action.
The man seeking sanctuary, the woman who wants to save him, and the agent sent to silence him. Follow Philip, Mishra and Brett in this provocative sequel to The Empathy Code.
Philip Templeton in on the run in New Zealand after releasing a military robotics project to the public. He’s left behind his career, his identity and his girlfriend, Mishra McKenzie. Mishra travels to NZ to search for Philip - but she isn’t sure he wants to be found. Flight Lieutenant Brett Nielsen is sent to silence Philip using the military’s newest technology – a robotic swarm. Brett’s unconvinced about the need for such drastic action.
The man seeking sanctuary, the woman who wants to save him, and the agent sent to silence him. Follow Philip, Mishra and Brett in this provocative sequel to The Empathy Code.
287 pages, Paperback
Published August 30, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 30, 2020
Stop Looking is the sequel to The Empathy Code, which was published in 2018; the author is a friend of a friend, who lent me the first book, then I bought this last year. You definitely need to read these in order to understand the characters and for the plot to make sense. They are thought-provoking intelligent thrillers featuring near-future technology with potential for good and evil, and the different ways people react to it.
Set a few weeks after the events of the first book, this has Australian psychology lecturer Mishra McKenzie travelling to New Zealand to look for her new boyfriend, robotics engineer Philip Templeton, who had deliberately leaked the code for his secret project when he discovered that the military were intent on using his artificial bees - intended for pollination use - as part of a Lethal Autonomous Weapons System - Killer Bees - then fled the country. Helped by her friends from Adelaide, who had roped her into the campaign against the bees, Mishra can’t understand why Philip would be hiding from her, but he’s also being hunted by his former flatmate Brett - who has orders to eliminate him.
I enjoyed the New Zealand setting - beautiful Northland then meteorologically-challenged Wellington - I can say that, I live here. The vivid descriptions of stunning scenery had me longing to take a holiday up North, then it was fun to follow Mishra around the Capital and into the Wairarapa countryside, which don’t often feature in mystery thrillers.
The early scenes featuring Rawinia’s family feature a lot of Maori words which might be confusing for International readers - as they are for Mishra - there’s always google.
I’m not a fan of amnesia plot lines - especially when used as a device to recap previous events and keep the protagonists apart. Poor Philip stumbles around trying to work out why he jumped ship and what happened to the last two months, fearful of everyone. Some plot aspects were perhaps too subtle for me - like what did happen between Ra and Rex - and I was confused by the ending - I hope that there will be at least one more instalment to wrap the characters’ fates up more satisfactorily and clarify their intentions - like Sauers. I did like the shades of grey of some characters, like Brett, who is at least conflicted about his mission to kill a non-combatant in a friendly country - but is too committed to his career to refuse to do it.
Overall I would recommend these books as a different kind of thriller with an ethical and psychological focus - but not in the sense commonly used by the term these days - interesting characters, and unusual locales.
Set a few weeks after the events of the first book, this has Australian psychology lecturer Mishra McKenzie travelling to New Zealand to look for her new boyfriend, robotics engineer Philip Templeton, who had deliberately leaked the code for his secret project when he discovered that the military were intent on using his artificial bees - intended for pollination use - as part of a Lethal Autonomous Weapons System - Killer Bees - then fled the country. Helped by her friends from Adelaide, who had roped her into the campaign against the bees, Mishra can’t understand why Philip would be hiding from her, but he’s also being hunted by his former flatmate Brett - who has orders to eliminate him.
I enjoyed the New Zealand setting - beautiful Northland then meteorologically-challenged Wellington - I can say that, I live here. The vivid descriptions of stunning scenery had me longing to take a holiday up North, then it was fun to follow Mishra around the Capital and into the Wairarapa countryside, which don’t often feature in mystery thrillers.
The early scenes featuring Rawinia’s family feature a lot of Maori words which might be confusing for International readers - as they are for Mishra - there’s always google.
I’m not a fan of amnesia plot lines - especially when used as a device to recap previous events and keep the protagonists apart. Poor Philip stumbles around trying to work out why he jumped ship and what happened to the last two months, fearful of everyone. Some plot aspects were perhaps too subtle for me - like what did happen between Ra and Rex - and I was confused by the ending - I hope that there will be at least one more instalment to wrap the characters’ fates up more satisfactorily and clarify their intentions - like Sauers. I did like the shades of grey of some characters, like Brett, who is at least conflicted about his mission to kill a non-combatant in a friendly country - but is too committed to his career to refuse to do it.
Overall I would recommend these books as a different kind of thriller with an ethical and psychological focus - but not in the sense commonly used by the term these days - interesting characters, and unusual locales.
September 15, 2019
Stop Looking is the sequel to 2018's The Empathy Code. It is a true sequel in that you really need to read the first one to gain a full appreciation for what's going on.
I won't summarise the story, that's what the blurb is for.
This is a cleverly written book, with a lot happening, so it's important to pay attention as Praat weaves three threads into one plot line. Praat is in her element when describing settings, with remote beaches, vineyards, and busy city streets all vividly coming to life in her words. The characters have developed since the first book and seem more fleshed out, and although Mishra still irritates me sometimes that is more a testament to the author's writing that I feel such a way about a character.
I look forward to further tales from A C Praat.
I won't summarise the story, that's what the blurb is for.
This is a cleverly written book, with a lot happening, so it's important to pay attention as Praat weaves three threads into one plot line. Praat is in her element when describing settings, with remote beaches, vineyards, and busy city streets all vividly coming to life in her words. The characters have developed since the first book and seem more fleshed out, and although Mishra still irritates me sometimes that is more a testament to the author's writing that I feel such a way about a character.
I look forward to further tales from A C Praat.
September 15, 2019
I loved this second book in the series. It manages to be both exciting and vitally important in the issues it discusses. The writing is vivid, fresh and compelling. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews