The Sentient

by Nadia Afifi

Amira Valdez is a brilliant neuroscientist trying to put her past on a religious compound behind her. But when she’s assigned to a controversial cloning project, her dreams of working in space are placed in jeopardy. Using her talents as a reader of memories, Amira uncovers a conspiracy to stop the creation of the first human clone – at all costs.
As she unravels the mystery, Amira navigates a dangerous world populated by anti-cloning militants, scientists with hidden agendas, and a mysterious New Age movement. In the process, Amira uncovers an even darker secret, one that forces her to confront her own past.

FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery, Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Adult, Science Fiction Fantasy

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2020

Reviews

[Nadia Afifi]

I'm biased, since this is my first novel, but I'll just say that I hope you enjoy this story about clones, cults, consciousness and coming to terms with the past. I wanted to write a suspenseful science fiction mystery, full of dramatic cityscapes and complex characters, but also one that wrestled with big ideas about religion, reproductive politics and the lengths we will go to fight our sense of mortality. I also wanted to throw in a space prison and a creepy house in the desert, because why not?

While this book is personal in many ways, I hope everyone who reads it gets something out of it. Thanks and happy reading!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow....this book has a lot going on! Cults, cloning, space, memory reading, conspiracies.....it has a bit of everything! Amira is a neuroscientist who finds herself in the middle of a very controversial human cloning project. Two test subjects have died....and there are people conspiring to make sure the third does not birth the cloned baby she is carrying. Amira comes in to investigate the deaths and to protect the third test subject and discovers much deeper issues.

This story packs in a lot of story elements and action. It's definitely never boring....I was glued to the page the entire time I was reading this book. So many interesting concepts and characters...and always something going on. At times the story did get a bit bogged down in everything it was trying to accomplish....just so much packed into one story -- religious cults and their effects on former members, the ethics of cloning humans, how strongly religious sects react to science....lots of big topics. But even with so much packed into one tale, the author manages to pull it off for the most part. I couldn't stop reading!

Awesome debut novel! I'm definitely looking forward to more by this new author!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Flame Tree Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually wasn’t exactly in the mood for science fiction when I started the book, but it drew me in. Strong female character, a compelling plot, very credible world building…sure, I’m in. Sometimes in the 2220s the future has made plenty of advances, but cloning is still not a thing. It’s about to become a thing, two trial subjects have died but the third one is striving in her pregnancy, albeit under a severe mental duress. Amira, our main character, arrives to mitigate this duress and promptly becomes involved with a conspiracy to prevent the clone’s birth at all costs. Amira and the pregnant girl are both from the Compounds, a backward misogynistic cults with warped agendas…or, in other words, cults. They share a certain affinity, but it’s basically on Amira to solve the mystery, uncover the plot and save the day/the clone. It all sounds pretty good, but after a while the execution faulters. Not sure if it’s debut jitters or the author just got overexcited and decided to cram too many things in one book, but essentially she managed to overwhelm her own plot with too much action, too many characters and just too much going on. Somewhere midway through the coherency of the plot gets overpowered by all the players and all their games. It’s a shame really, because the novel gets so much right otherwise and is actually quite impressive for a science fiction debut until it gets in its own way. With some narrative streamlining, this would have been really good and as it it’s more along the lines of pretty good at times. After a while, for me it just dragged and actually read surprisingly slowly for the page count. Just kind of got tired of it after a while. Obviously I finished it, since I did want to know the outcome and also I do finish all books like a proper completist, but the end result was fairly underwhelming. Very promising potential, though, to finish this on a positive note. So there’s that. Thanks Netgalley.

[Honey Badger Has Opinions · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why you should read this review (or not)
You can read other reviews for spoilers or read the inside cover or description to get a feel for it. Read this review if you want to hear thoughts about the work as a whole.

tl;dr if you appreciate believable and unique sci-fi worlds with some deep characters and a story that touches on many issues we face today, check it out.

World-building
Let's start this off by saying that one of the biggest problems I see in sci-fi is the lazy and unimaginative world-building that seems to plague a huge percentage of books on the shelves. You see it everywhere:
- A space station that rotates to create gravity
- An opera singer in space
- Aliens that look and act mostly human
- Techno-babble that never gets explained and disorientates you from start to finish
- A post-apocalyptic world that the writer pulled off the shelf and painted it Lunar Grey instead of Martian red
- The list goes on and on

Luckily for you, dear reader, this book suffers from none of the tropes. The author created a lively and believable world where you can easily take our current events and draw a line into the future to end up exactly where this story takes place. If you think otherwise, I suggest you explore a bit more about the world you live in and its current events.

Yes, there are robots, futuristic vehicles, and even synthetic meat. But, to name a few of the more exciting things in this world, there's a new way people interact with the future-version of the Internet, the controversial use of robots (and their impact on society). There's also a religious compound that has walled itself off and rejects the world and a new science-based religion at odds with everyone. This combination of elements (and I've only named a few) makes the world feel alive and real. Oh, yeah, and the main character is a therapist and gets into people's heads with fancy technology and finesse—those parts of the story are powerful and leave you with a bit of a Lathe of Heaven feeling (in a good way.)

On the Writing Style, Prose, Dialogue
There are some books that you read and see the words on the page. And then there are others that you put in front of your face and see everything that is happening as if it were a movie, or maybe you dropped some acid and are hallucinating while staring at pressed, dead trees. This book is the hallucinate-style. Whether you are hallucinating a movie to yourself while staring at e-ink or paper, you'll enjoy hallucinating in your own home.

The writing is lovely—the best kind. It doesn't get in the way of experiencing the story; it's not too flowery, not overly descriptive, the characters don't "juke" or "dash" this way and that ad nauseam. There are no descriptions of doors that take 15 pages. It is modern, easy to read, and places the story front-and-center for you.

The author made the dialogue seamless. It fits perfectly within the action, and there are no awkward phrases or stiff conversations. You also won't confront pages upon pages of dialogue where a villain explains in excruciating detail why they are evil. It's refreshing to see this.

Current & Prescient Issues
So, if you're reading this sometime in 2020, you might have heard there's a lot of things going on this year: viral pandemic, police straight-up murdering people, climate change that's going to kill us all, maybe even aliens on Venus. As 2020 progresses, I'm more and more convinced that perhaps there IS something to this whole Nazis-on-the-moon thing. Who knows? If you're reading this after 2020, you may be the lucky future-bastard who isn't dealing with all of this #$*@ that your unfortunate past-humans had to deal with. Congratulations.

But for all of us who ended up in this horrific Berenstain world line instead of our sane Berenstein world line, you may find the issues addressed in this book timely and pertinent. Cloning? A woman's sovereignty of her own body? Religious nut jobs rejecting science? The Patriarchy with a capital P? Climate change? Maybe you or someone you know had a traumatic upbringing and are trying to break away from it? These things, and more, are packed into the book. Please give us more, dear author; the story must continue. El. Psy. Congroo.

Why 4 of 5 Stars? WHAT SUCKS ABOUT IT??
I hate to disappoint you if you read these reviews looking for someone to trash it. Overall, it's a great book. I hope that the author will make this into a series. I would love to read more.

If you're really reading this to see what I don't like about it, you're pretty dedicated. Here's the full list:
- It starts slow
- The pacing seems off at times
- There's a lot of characters packed into such a short read
- There was a lot there happening at the end
- Set a bit too far in the future for the tech
- It's unrealistic that the children all lived

These are all minor complaints. If you made it this far in my review, just pick it up and read it. It's approachable sci-fi and a fun read.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fast-paced, engaging read about cloning, religion, and memory. My favorite part was the world building - the near-future world in this book was memorable and fascinating, and I just wanted to know more about it. The details of the world were laid out in a seamless way, woven into the story. Would definitely recommend.

[Traveling Cloak · Rating 4 out of 5]

2020 is working out to be the quite a year for futuristic science fiction books with a focus on advancing technology, as I have already read quite a few. With The Sentient, the reader gets an interesting take on cloning, and I have not quite seen it done this way. Nadia Afifi spins an interesting tale of science and technology while at the time wondering about the morality of it all.

That being said, The Sentient is a relatively fresh take, as I had not read a good clone story in a while. Lately in sci-fi there has been a lot of space opera-type books and books about the future of AI; neither of which I mind, but I was happy to read a book about a future that involves clones. And the best part? It is not like this book starts and the world is already populated with clones. It is more of a genesis story, which I really enjoy reading.

Don’t get it twisted, though, this was very much a character-driven novel, as the decisions and interactions of the characters are the driving force behind the narrative. Amira is the main protagonist, and her character was quite unique. Many of the people in this book possess special powers, and hers is the ability to read memories by placing her targets in a dreamlike-state. One can see the obvious uses for this, but in this instance her task is to find out everything she can about the woman they have in the facility who is pregnant with a clone. If the woman makes it full term and gives birth, it will be the first live clone in the history world. At first Amira thinks it would be great to be a part of history, but as the story goes along she begins to question the motives of others involved in the cloning project. Many of the seem very shady, and Amira is not sure who she can trust.

That brings me to the other protagonist (and sometimes antagonist?) character, Hadrian. He brings the tension to the table, as Amira is not sure she can trust him. Hadrian is a detective who runs his own safe place for kids fleeing from their shitty lives in the Compounds (as far as I understand, the Compounds are different communities spread out in rural areas where the people are often poor and there is a lot of violence). He is investigating the cloning project and seeks information from Amira. They begin a sort of quid-pro-quo working relationship, but Amira is unsure of his motives. In my opinion, the exchanges between Amira and Hadrian oftentimes pulled the story along.

The one thing I wish this book had done more of was explaining the science better. It is really unclear to me why the cloned embryo had to gestate inside a womb; whereas, very often in clone stories they just grow in a lab (sometimes you see them in those vertical tanks). I do not necessarily mind this, as I said, I am down for some differing takes. I just wish the science and decision-making behind it would have been explored in detail. Obviously, I have my own thoughts and theories behind this decision, but in a book like this I do not think such a thing should be left ambiguous.

I found the pacing to be quite slow at first, as the story builds up to the main storyline; but, once it hits the pace picks up rather quickly. There were times where I had wished it would get going a little faster, but it was definitely worth the wait as the last 40% or so of the book definitely takes the reader for a ride.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Sentient. I like the take on cloning, as it was a unique road to go down. Afifi’s writing style is definitely appealing, as well, with the way the author wrote the characters leading the way in this one. This book gets my recommendation for fans of sci-fi, and particularly those who enjoy stories about cloning.

[Peter Baran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Near future sci-fi is often difficult to get right, often because the moment you extrapolate from is moving by the time the book comes out. There is a central political idea in The Sentient, the development of tolerated massive orthodox religious compounds in the US which seemed plausibly inevitable in the mid noughties that now seems off the table (not because this level of fundamentalism has gone away, but rather its been superseded by more scary stuff). The Sentient is a story about human cloning, and how religion might take that. Its also a story of survivors of those camps and how the rest of the world (or USA here) might belittle someone who has escaped.

The name of the book is a bit of a misnomer however, and I was thoroughly expecting some AI style novel. Instead its a psychological mystery about what is killing experimental clone mothers, which develops into a somewhat breathless (perhaps too breathless) chase an rescue in the last half. The adventure tropes somewhat overwhelm the science ideas being played with and it only really drops its big ideas in the last couple of chapters, which is a pity because the epistemological consequences of these ideas don't just explain a bit more why the religious were so interested, but are genuinely intriguing ideas in themselves.

The Sentient is most successful when it engages with the trauma of survival, and how assimilation into a different society is not as easy as you might hope, and discusses this from a number of angles. SO while it goes through a number of well worn YA tropes (there is a "sorting hat", a mysterious man, our heroine is special), it does manage to root it in an experiential truth. I just wish it had broken some of its big ideas earlier instead of a race in space.

Review as a Netgalley ARC

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sentient includes a lot of heavy themes - cloning and medical/research ethics, religious coercion and patriarchal cults, trauma, memory, class disparities, reproductive justice - within the context of a coherent plot set in a relatively believable near-future setting with an interesting protagonist POV. In other words, I like a lot about this and I think it's a really solid debut. I feel like the characters were mostly well developed even though there were quite a lot of them, and it felt like a fresh take on the subject matter. What didn't quite work for me is some of the pacing toward the end; there were perhaps one or two too many things going on, and the technology got a bit convoluted and less believable. I also felt like in a few places it skewed YA (which isn't my thing) though I wouldn't say it reads as YA overall. Overall, though, I liked this and I'd happily read more from Nadia Afifi.

Content warnings: sexual abuse, sexual assault, forcible confinement, misogyny, sexism, heterosexism, homophobia, gender based violence, intimate partner violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, medical content, medical abuse, violence, gun violence, injury detail, religious bigotry, blood & minor gore

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good first novel with a strong female protagonist and a story that moved along and kept me interested. I could see this being the first in a series but I don’t know if that’s what the author has in mind. I did get a little tired of some repeated words and phrases such as a male lead calling the female lead “love” every time he spoke to her. Scattered in it would work but it became too noticeable and annoying.

[Jiji · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, are you looking for a book with cults, cloning and complex ideas? Do you want to read about a woman who escapes a cult in the 2200's to become a mind reader on a cloning project? Have you ever wanted to read about a mystery that is dripping with technological terms?

Then this is the book for you!

The Sentient by Nadia Afifi follows Amira Valdez, a neuroscientist who escapes a cult at a young age. She dreams of going into space and working there, but her plan is derailed when she is assigned on the Pandora project- that is aiming to create the first human clone through pregnancy. But of course, some people in the world aren't happy about this (the cults duh) and aim to stop these efforts...no matter what...

The writing was great! It was descriptive and engaging, keeping me hooked on the action. And yes, there was quite a lot of action going down in this book! My favourite aspect of this story was the world-building. It was done so fantastically, from the cults in their secluded areas, to elevators that shipped cargo to space, and even the great Academy, where Amira graduated from. Amira as a character is very strong. She is morally grey, but overall she's just trying to do what's best for everyone. Her development with Rozene (the woman who is due to give birth to her clone, and also escaped from a cult), was very well-written. They related to each other in their experiences, and as their relationship becomes a great friendship, it really helps the story become something more.

In terms of pacing, I think this story could've been slightly better. Halfway through we have some information dumps that made me put this book down. But overall, it is a veery entertaining read! There are a lot of complex ideas explored, such as the impact of cloning on the male-female dynamics, how cloning is like playing at being creator, the impact of the 'perfect child' on a family, and transferring memory from the primary subject to a clone.

Overall, I think speculative fiction is not my thing, but I’m glad I read this. The sci-fi elements really appealed to me. I'm curious to see what the author does next! This comes out September 8th!

Thank you to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for an ARC to review. I am so grateful!

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

How fantastic to read a thrilling sci-fi !

Everything about this book is attractive : the presence of several compounds living a cult-like life, a top-notch science city, a girl between both those worlds, scientific space stations, mysterious projects in labs, cloning tests, etc. I mean, if that's not impressive, what is ?
Still, it could have been a huge mess, but fortunately, it wasn't !

Amira grew up in the compounds, forced to live a cult-like life until she manages to escape to the city and study psychology and holomency, to see people's memories. After graduating, Amira finds herself enrolled in the Pandora cloning projects, and is tasked to help the mother of the future clone, while several enemies try to bring the project down and stop the immorality that cloning represents.

There was so much action in The Sentient, yet, the author always lets us catch our breath before going at it again, making the whole thing well-balanced, which can be difficult to achieve. For that I'm grateful. I loved the world the story is set in, the intricate connections between all the places and people in the book. The cloning topic is also a great one to bring up, as it is one that has been rising in our own real world these few last years, which makes this book a really decent dystopia, quite realistic even. More than the action, I really enjoyed the background topics and challenges.

Amira is a good main character, and she has many layered, which I absolutely loved. The duality she has regarding both parts of her life (compound and city) really gives her depth, and is a key point to the story, which I loved. Her relationship with Rozene, the cloning subject was my favorite here, and the way they connect and evolve throughout the timeline was well brought, when the author could have easily rushed the whole thing. Actually, all the characters and their relationships to each other are well thought. None of them has only one main trait of character. They're not here only to serve a distinct purpose. They have several layers, deal with relatable dilemmas, and are overall just very human. I truly enjoyed how real they are and are more than tools to keep the plot going.

Although I was disappointed not to see more of the space stations mentionned, I truly enjoyed reading this. We have a great dystopian world, a fascinating main topic, interesting characters and a meaningful background reminding us that this kind of action could be closer than we think, and that the questions raised here might deserve to be thought about. I never got bored while reading, and I never got overwhelmed by all the informations, and that alone deserves my attention and praise.

As it's halfway between a YA and adult sci-fi, I'm fairly certain all of you who love this genre will, if not love it, enjoy it !

[Berglind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, the world building, plot and character creation is really good! The plot keeps you on your toes and in suspense ... until the last third part of the book. Then I felt the plot and characters became unnecessary complicated and too much like a long action scene (which is always the part I like the least of action movies). But I still really like the book and concepts and encourage every sci-fi (and other readers) to check out. I'm really looking forward to read more from Nadia Afifi!!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid sci fi book about cloning and other topics. Well-developed female characters which I appreciated.

[MasterSal]

New author - debut novel looks interesting so 🤞🤞🤞

[Ayah Bazian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great debut!!!

[Briar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I requested The Sentient by Nadia Afifi from Netgalley because the description hit several of my sweet spots: “Amira Valdez is a brilliant neuroscientist trying to put her past on a religious compound behind her. But when she’s assigned to a controversial cloning project, her dreams of working in space are placed in jeopardy. Using her talents as a reader of memories…”

It’s always a bit of a risk to request a book you’ve never heard of by an author you’ve never heard of, when there aren’t any other reviews to look at and reading new books stresses you out all too easily – but I’m so glad I took the risk on this occasion! The Sentient was such a fun, pacey, sometimes crunchy, satisfying book to read. I want the sequel now, actually, even though this one isn’t out until September!

I’ll mention the single thing that I didn’t like first: there’s a trans intersex character (yay!) who is a sex worker (bit of a trope, can be dodgy) and who is deadnamed when her history is being related (absolutely not okay). HOWEVER, Nadia Afifi has responded incredibly graciously to this criticism and is requesting an edit before the book is published. I would 100% add another star just for this because it's so reassuring (makes you feel a little safer and happier reading an author's books when you know they're that kind of person, you know?) but I already gave it five. So I'll just say that it deserves them!

Aside from that, most of the characters were excellently written, especially Amira, the main character. I thought it was an excellent decision to make her a bit of an outsider – she grew up in a cult and escaped a few years before our story begins, so although she’s mostly integrated (and very successfully), the way she thinks and many of her opinions and assumptions are still heavily influenced by that. It’s a very good way of helping us get used to a world that’s set two hundred years in the future.

In addition, Amira’s just a really interesting character. I liked how confident in her own skills she is, and how that’s one trait of hers that is constant throughout the book. No matter what happens, when she’s looking into someone’s mind she has this quiet but absolute confidence which was delightful. But a lot of her other assumptions and beliefs get challenged: the fact that she, as an escapee from the fundamentalist compounds, has integrated well and been successful, has made her think of her new life as a kind of utopia where everything’s wonderful, and she soon starts learning that that’s not the case. I was fascinated and compelled by her whole journey.

There are some great supporting characters too. Hadrian, of course, is an interesting one whom I definitely want to learn more about. Valerie Singh, too, was fascinating and I just wish we got more of her throughout the story – of course, as an author you can’t put in every single thing about a person, but I just ate her up! Even Alistair Parrish, who seemed pretty straightforward and perhaps a tad bland at first, became more complex as the story developed.

My absolute favourite was Rozene, who starts out appearing to be a meek little victim but very quickly shows herself to be a lot more than that. I loved her and I hope there will be lots more of her in the sequel. I also loved her relationship with Amira, the way they challenged and helped one another and became confidantes in a way that most of the other characters in the story couldn’t understand.

The plot was exciting and fast-moving. I confess that by the end of the book I wasn’t entirely sure what the villains’ endgame actually was, which was a bit frustrating. I’m assuming that all will be revealed in the sequel, but I think I’d rather have ended by knowing exactly what Amira was up against – or perhaps even with Amira thinking that she knew (and therefore the readers thinking that we knew!) what was going on, even if further information is to be revealed later. Having said that, I have every intention of reading the sequel, so clearly Nadia Afifi’s doing something right!

All in all, I really enjoyed The Sentient. It had some good characters and was a lot of fun to read. Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reading copy – The Sentient is published on the 8th of September 2020.

See all my reviews on my blog https://thewearybookcase.home.blog/

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right from the start the book is action packed and creates quite the visual scenes. I could see the book playing out. I like the take on cloning and the characters interaction with each other. Hadrian's dialect and sense of humor amused me. I hope there is more to come because I can't wait to to read more. Nadia has an excellent way with words!! Not just for fans of sci-fi, for fans of good reads!!

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE SENTIENT is among those too rare exceptional novels that leave me simultaneously mentally speechless and emotionally breathless. With its setting in the 23rd century, on Western North America and in Space, this Feminist Diverse Speculative science fiction is breathtaking in scope and range. Immediately involving, the tension, philosophy, metaphysics, suspense, are inclusive and inimitable. Terror lurks at every turn, like a timeless nightmare in which the monster draws ever nearer, but the monster is concealed. Is the danger from the religious compounds? From sociopathic Scientists? From the power-hungry wealthy enclave? A diverse female protagonist, survivor of compound brutality and now brilliant scientist maintaining a heart of compassion, must now navigate a world turned topsy-turvy. Who, if any, can be trusted? What is the "Truth" about Reality? Where does Psychology give way to Cosmic Metaphysics? Who can and will survive?

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC :)

[Hunter Fieseler · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't usually write reviews but I felt the need to note that Nadia clearly had GOOD INTENTIONS with her LGBT characters but ended up writing her trans character in a way that may make some trans readers uncomfortable. The trans character is an intersex transwoman, Maxime, who is sex worker, and is misgendered by a character that knows her relatively well as a way to introduce the fact that she is trans. It's a slip-up on his behalf, and he corrected himself immediately, but it was still extremely clumsy and unnecessary due to the information provided in the same paragraph (which I am not going to quote in order to avoid giving spoilers).

When Amira meets her, she describes her as follows: "Amira searched her heavily made up features for any trace of her former masculinity, but found none. Maxime's frame was narrow and delicate, strategically pneumatic in the appropriate areas, though her shoulders and collarbone jutted out prominently, the final remnants of awkward adolescence. Few Westport natives took advantage of the latest sex-transitioning procedures, due to early screenings for genetic variations and less rigid gender roles, but compound refugees were known to request transitions when they arrived in the cities." (Page 195) I understand the author's intent behind this-- Amira is a scientist, as well as a compound refugee, so of course she would focus on science and compound refugees-- but it honestly felt like rehashing of the things transphobes think and say in order to invalidate and dehumanize transgender people. I found it wholly unnecessary, even if it was meant to play into Amira's character and highlight the eugenicist practices obviously present in their society. TBH though even the argument that she's trying to highlight how the society is participating in eugenics feels off because the book spends time explaining how people are worried that the cloning project the story is based around will lead to eugenics-based selection of traits and whatever becoming commonplace. (granted, this is not a core part of the in-universe discourse surrounding the cloning project)

I also think the whole "omg cloning will lead to eugenics" argument feels baseless in this society already because we've had no indication that IV fertilization has been banned there. We stopped IV fertilization from progressing into a eugenicist's wet dream simply by saying "even if we develop the tech to do so, you can't genetically alter the cells you're smashing together" so I feel like a blanket ban would just work the same way there? Or perhaps I missed something and skimmed a part where the author describes how IVF didn't lead to any sort of trait-based selection of embryos but cloning for sure will for some reason. Either way, it feels contrived and I've had enough conversations in my life where I've had to defend my own existence (I was an IVF baby) that the debate seems unnecessary because you can just say "no we're not going to do eugenics :)". HOWEVER the religious extremism angle of cloning was interesting to me, which is why I picked up the book in the first place. As an IVF baby, I have also had to prove that I have a soul and that I'm actually a person to a lot of very religious people. The book touches upon this, but ultimately doesn't add anything new to the conversation. I digressed a lot from the point of this review lol. So anyway, I thought the premise was interesting, LOVED the character carrying the cloned child and her interactions with Amira (who is a very clinical person, allowing for some nice contrast with this other character from the same background & a very different approach to life). If I wanted to write an actual, thought out review with spoilers and all, I would definitely go into detail about their interactions and the kinds of people they and the other compound refugees represent (and represent without the judgement present in many peoples' depictions of those ppl) but that's honestly where my praise begins and ends. The plot is very contrived, and there's a lot that's thrown in toward the end that's strongly hinted at early on but still feels out of nowhere, and it distracts from where the book really shines. It feels like it's trying to take on too much at once and be a big sci-fi adventure that questions the nature of existence when the core of the plot is very down-to-earth. But that's just my opinion.

TL;DR: I was going to give 3 stars but had to stop myself from giving 1 after a very sloppy depiction of a trans character that, in my opinion, depersonalized her in an unnecessary way. I certainly don't think it was intentional, and based on what I've seen she's definitely an ally, which is why I DIDN'T rate it 1 star. I feel like Afifi was just trying to make it so even the dullest reader would know that Maxime is trans, rather than write something offensive, but it just came off wrong. I do like that she made the attempt to include a trans character, especially since I was wondering what it would be like for LGBT people at/after escaping the compounds. It's still a good read regardless, but I think that it could potentially trigger or upset someone unintentionally (especially because, at least in my copy of the book, Maxime was deadnamed) and idk if anyone else mentioned it here so I thought I would.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author, Flame Tree Press, and NetGalley for providing a review copy.

Every once in a while, I'll pick up a book without really having an idea of what to expect. It'll be because I like the cover or the description appeals to me, or because I've been hearing about the author but haven't read any of their work yet. And more often than not I'm pleasantly surprised. I can find at least a few things to like about most forms of media (books, movies, games etc.) I consume but in general I've found that exploring outside of establishes voices and genres is incredibly rewarding.

The Sentient by Nadia Afifi is one such novel. I chose it for review on a whim while I was just casually browsing. I liked the cover and the blurb sounded interesting, but Amira's story (of escaping and dealing with religious and associated physical and sexual persecution and injustices) are not fictional topics I generally tend to gravitate toward.

We're put into the shoes of Amira Valdez as she's trying to figure out life after being abused and exploited for most of it by a group of religious extremists she just barely managed to escape - having been assigned to assist with a controversial cloning project in a world a few hundred years removed from our own against a backdrop of near and not so near future technology in a typical yet refreshing take on institutionalized political and technological panopticons.

Put another way, all of the disparate elements in this story - the ideological fanaticism, the idea of cloning, the associated political machinations and power plays are ones which all take center stage in other novels, but the author takes the best of those and uses these pieces to tell a story which feels inherently unique and interesting, and which surpasses the sum of its familiar parts.

While again, its not what I would usually read, I really enjoyed the exploration of Amira's character and how her perspective and her past plays off of those of more traditionally progressive characters that seem to exist in every contemporary science fiction story where advanced technology gives rise to freedom of action and expression if not freedom from the strings invariably being pulled behind the curtain by the rich and powerful people of this world.

The overarching story is interesting as well. While the cloning storyline takes center stage it connects well with and informs the overarching power plays that affect the rest of the world the author has created. The novel starts off comparatively slowly with the rest of the book, introducing the reader to Amira's world and her perspective, but before long the story starts moving very quickly and doesn't let up from there to the end of the novel, which wraps up the immediate story well enough, but I wouldn't be surprised if the author has sequels planned as there are several plot threads left dangling seemingly deliberately so that they can be explored further later on.

Overall, it's a good story, especially if you're into this type of novel. (Meaning, the exploration of identity, purpose, and trauma and its after-effects in a sci-fi setting). Just so I can frame this a bit better, the themes and motifs lean toward the YA sphere at times with what the main and supporting characters go through, but this isn't a YA novel in the traditional sense. For one thing, it's pretty brutal at times, especially when it comes to detailing the physical and emotional abuse that's mainly inflicted on women in this world, and while it wasn't easy to read it did help to enhance the story and underscore the thematic points the author is imparting to the reader. I'll definitely look out a sequel, and future novels by this author.

[Ollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first thought upon reading the blurb for this book was that there was a lot going on here. It seemed to me that there were a number of seemingly disparate elements in this mix which might be difficult to successfully wrangle into a cohesive whole. Having finished it, was this fear unfounded?

Not wholly, no, but that isn’t to say there isn’t still plenty to enjoy here.

Considering how much plot there is to this story, the first two thirds are surprisingly sedate. It wouldn’t be fair to say that it’s plodding, as there are a number of interesting ideas here. But there is also a lot of backstory and exposition, particularly at the start. It’s something of a barrage of information in fact, not all of which seems all that relevant or interesting. Details such as the staff wearing different coloured lab coats according to their level of seniority or what the colours of different train lines are seem fussily overexplained, almost as if they’re intended to make up for world building deficiencies or inconsistencies in other areas. The prose itself is fine, so these extra, somewhat artless touches can get a little frustrating, slowing things down and providing far too much to think about in conjunction with the harder science fiction elements. It feels a lot like padding, and there are certainly a few chapters which could be a little leaner.

Once the info dumps are (mainly) out of the way, it’s clear that Afifi has some bold concepts to discuss. Theories and meditations on consciousness abound, which did make me stop and think about the implications of what was being discussed a couple of times. The questions posed by some of the later revelations were especially interesting. The ethics of cloning aren’t really picked over in any great detail, which feels like a missed opportunity; indeed, much of the treatment of prospective clone mother Rozene actually seems quite unethical. Whilst there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with this from a story perspective, it seems jarring when Amira - who is so often critical of the way the (bizarrely named) Pandora project have treated Rozene - is just as guilty of exploiting or manipulating her. Particular actions and decisions sometimes make it difficult to empathise with Amira as a main character, actions which seem at odds with the kind of respectful person she’s been shown to be previously.

This next point might sound like a bizarre criticism from someone who promotes and reviews mainly science fiction, but at times it seemed like this would have worked better if it wasn’t so futuristic. The central story around cloning could fairly easily have been set just ten or twenty years into the future rather than two hundred, given that it’s already theoretically possible to clone a human being, and in fact some of the other advanced technology in the novel feels like it causes more narrative problems than it solves. Some of it seems to exist solely to facilitate a particular plot point or scene too, which occasionally feels like a somewhat fast and loose approach to plotting.

In spite of the various issues I’ve outlined, I did still enjoy The Sentient, particularly when the pace picked up considerably (and suddenly) in the final third. I do wish it could have got going a little quicker than it did; much of the action later on is entertaining, if still slightly weighed down by a strangely slavish adherence to making everything about thirty percent more “science fictiony” than it really needs to be. It never feels like it drags though, even in those earlier chapters. Representing something of a grab bag of science fiction ideas but with some interesting and original ones underpinning it, The Sentient shows promise, and I’m interested to see what Nadia Afifi comes up with in the future.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Sentient" is a huge book in scope - near-future sci-fi with mind and dream-reading, cloning, space-elevators, extreme religious cults, and an action-packed plot with more twists than a headphone cable left in a handbag for three months. It's never boring, but struggles to balance all of the elements against each other - it might work better if some of the fascinating ideas were saved for a different novel.

It's the 23rd century. The protagonist, Amira Valdez, is a college student specialising in neuroscience - and specifically holomentic reading, a new technology which allows the user to enter the memories and dreams of others. As part of her course, she's assigned a work placement on the Pandora project - the first human cloning project. Amira is devastated - the Pandora project is full of controversy and seems doomed to failure, and a blot on her CV could scupper her dreams to work in space.

Amira was a strong, fiesty character with an interesting past and a real determination to achieve her goals. I liked her - she was well-developed and had flaws as well as strengths, including a certain naivety which was frustrating but made her seem more real. Her relationship with Rozene was fantastic and I loved seeing how it developed. However, none of the other characters were as developed - the book kept an air of mystery at all times at the expense of fully fleshing out its cast. Valerie Singh was intriguing and had some brilliant feminist moments but felt more like a statement than a character. I also wanted to see more of Amira's relationship with D'Arcy and Julian.

The ideas behind this were brilliant. As someone with a neuroscience background, I was intrigued to see how the subjects of holomency and shared consciousness were tackled. Overall, this was more fantasy than grounded in science, and many of the wider ideas had more of a religious bent than a scientific one, but they were well-conceptualised and sounded plausible enough for a novel. The other advances in technology, like little computerised eyes and space-elevators, were also nice touches to build the near-future setting. (Although in a world of space-elevators, why is everyone still getting around by train?)

The contrast between the religious compounds, with their lack of modern technology and strict enforcement of rules around family life, and the science-world Amina worked in were stark. That being said, I'm not convinced that they weren't too different to be in the same novel. It was difficult to believe that the country functioned as a unit with such polar opposite societies in it. There was no real mention of higher, unifying government, and I found the contrast a little hard to believe.

The plot was the strongest part of this. It was intriguing, unpredictable, and made me root for Amira and Rozene throughout. I wasn't that fond of the ending, but the climax didn't disappoint.

Overall, I enjoyed this but I wonder if it would work better as a film than a book. Particularly in the second half, the structure felt more like scenes in a film than a standard novel, and I'd be fascinated to see the world depicted here on screen.

Three stars, for a gripping plot and imaginatively constructed world. For those who like fast-paced, plot-driven science fiction with a diverse cast.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC. This in no way affected my rating or the content of this review.*

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very excited by The Sentient by Nadia Afifi when I first read about it. It checked off so many boxes of things I am interested in; dystopian science fiction, first novel by an Arabic American author, female protagonist, dangerous religious cults, a science academy, and prominent feminist themes. Unfortunately, there was a lot of this book that disappointed me.

Let me deal with the complaints first so that I can shift to the positives. This book starts off after some type of civilization collapse. Unfortunately, other than some vague references, the cause of the dystopian future is left unspecified. There is also a lot of poor hard science. For example, while a person has survived a plane flight in a shipping container, the idea of someone making it into orbit that way defies all space science that I am familiar with. Computers hackers cracking quantum codes in minutes definitely is fictional fodder and the cast of villains seems overwhelming to the point that it feels like there are only about four good people in the world.

All of that aside, Afifi’s book touches on some very important ethical issues facing science and humanity. Largest is the long running patriarchal suppression of women by religions, followed closely by men trying to control childbirth. While I have long been a fan of science helping humanity, unfortunately many of the greatest inventions have been used by “the dark side”, as is the case in Afifi’s story.

A very interesting aspect of Afifi’s writing is that nearly every character is a mix of good and bad. Whether due to their tortured past, drug addition, or personality traits, nearly every character seems to be struggling with the question of whether or not the ends justify the means. This adds greatly to the depth of her characters.

Nadia Afifi’s website has the banner, “Sentient sequels are coming!” I will definitely try another book by Afifi.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

"'I'm going to show you something' he said. 'If you're going down the rabbit hole, you need to see what could bite you at the end of the tunnel'"

Amira Valdez is a scientific prodigy with a gift for holometric reading, viewing the memories of others. She lives on another planet 200 years into the future. Her world is drastically different from ours but yet somehow seems familiar. Amira is chosen to take part in the Pandora project, assigned to a division that is seeking to create the first successful human clone after several highly publicized attempts did not come to fruition. While she thinks she knows whats happening, she is shocked to uncover she is embroiled in a conspiracy. This develops throughout the story, along with flashbacks and history about the religious polygamist cult from Amira's youth. The plot will definitely keep you on your toes and wanting to find out more!

"The Pandora project, spearheaded by a team of elite Aldwych scientists, was really a collection of projects with one common theme- a desire to push the boundaries of science as far as law, budget and human understanding would allow"

The fact that this is a debut novel blows my mind! Nadia Afifi has an incredible talent for storytelling and I can definitely see her becoming one of my favorite authors. This story has so many layers to unpack, with themes that will continue to be thought provoking long after I've finished this book. I enjoyed the way in which Afifi handled the topics of cloning, religious extremism, grief, medicine, scientific ethics and more! If you're interested in science fiction, this is a must read for sure!

I received an advanced reader copy of this ebook from the publisher, Flame Tree Press, via Netgalley; all opinions are my own.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

(review based on ARC provided by publisher through NetGalley)

When I read the description for this book, the premise hooked me in. Since this is a new author, I went in with the idea that the premise as promised in the description and the premise as delivered in the story could be different. This is one of the cases where that did not happen and I could not have been happier.

There is a lot about The Sentient to love. Amira Valdez as a protagonist is well fleshed out, and I was able to empathize with her throughout the course of the story. The cast of characters assembled around her feels well rounded - like they belong there without feeling extraneous or like their only purpose is to further the plot. And the story is well-detailed without bogging the reader down.

All that said... I wanted to love this one. But the pacing in the first half, while not slow, did not leave me prepared for the heavily action-packed second half. I may well have missed some of the signs pointing towards this shift, but the transition felt strange. On first read, I very much felt like the events that kicked off in the middle of the story were more appropriate for a climax with how the story had been built up to that point. Going back, I see better where things tied in, but it may still be a problem for some.

Please don't get me wrong - I really, really liked The Sentient. I just wanted to love it, but could not quite get there.

[Laura McToal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amira grew up in a horrifying religious cult but, she escaped – now she works as a neurological psychologist for a team who are hoping to complete pregnancy of what will be the birth of the first human clone. However, there is a group of people who will stop at nothing to prevent the birth of this cloned child. Amira is soon wrapped up in all the intrigue and drama whilst trying to save the pregnant mother.

This was quite a good read. I would have liked more from the characters in terms of how much I actually cared about them. I never once felt fully invested in them. I did care – just not as much as I’d have liked.

That being said, the atmosphere was well done. The fear that Amira feels when thinking of her past and that of her patient is rather good, especially the fear of her patient and how the almost ‘waking dream’ element is achieved is great.

The writing was fine, nothing ground-breaking or really original and while I was interested in the story I wasn’t exactly gripped at any point either. However, there was also nothing infuriating or overly derivative either, so that’s a good thing.

In terms of sci-fi stories, this is not a bad book. However, I have read some that are much better. If you are fairly new to sci-fi, this is a good place to start, but if you are someone who has read a lot of sci-fi then this might not meet your expectations.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[deep]

PW Starred: "Afifi’s staggering and un-put-downable debut offers a fresh and feminist-forward take on cloning. Scientist Amira Valdez was raised in the Children of the New Covenant religious compound, where women and girls were abused and treated as second-class citizens, but she escaped 10 years ago. Amira’s new life at the Academy in Greater Westport feels like a dream. Trained as a holomentic reader, “the latest breakthrough in thought-visualizing neuroscience,” Amira sets her sights on a placement on one of the Academy’s space stations—but her dream is dashed when she’s instead assigned to the highly controversial Pandora project working with human cloning. Rozene Hull, one of the Pandora project’s subjects who herself escaped from a different fundamentalist cult, causes panic when her emotional instability puts her life, and the life of her cloned baby, in danger. As Amira slowly embraces her new position and makes breakthroughs with Rozene, she unearths a shocking conspiracy. The story moves at light speed while still making room for nuanced explorations of religion, morality, and gender, without compromising scientific detail or character development. Amira’s emotions are raw and palpable, and readers will be touched by her obvious compassion for her characters. This riveting debut is a must-have for any sci-fi fan. Agent: Naomi Davis, Bookends Literary. (Sept.)"

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amira Valdez was raised in a religious compound that left her scarred both physically and mentally. She managed to escape the compound 10 years ago and has made a new life in the city. She has worked hard to get an education, and is now a holomentic reader about to be assigned her first job in her field of study. She is hoping for a job in space.

Instead, she gets assigned to the Pandora Project. Pandora is an extremely controversial attempt at cloning. There has already been two failures that resulted in the death of both mothers and babies. As no physical cause is found, Amira has been brought in to find out if the problem is somehow due to the patient's mental problems.

Rozene has to be kept sedated through the holomentic readings at first because her violent and severe reactions put her and her baby at risk. . Amira quickly discovers that Rozene's memory has been tampered with. The more she digs, the more questions she has. Who is the man who came into Rozene's room at night and what was he doing there? Is someone involved in the Pandora project trying to sabotage the project? How much danger is Rozene and her child in? How much danger is Amira in?

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. If you like dystopian Science fiction, I definitely recommend this book.

[Bicho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall: 3

Characters: 3
Story: 3
Plot: 2
Writing: 3
Setting: 4
Worldbuilding: 5
Enjoyment: 3

This is a truly creative SFF novel. I did find the pacing very slow as there is a lot of extraneous information, unnecessary scenes, and downtime (and maybe too much plot?). It took me so long to read, which is unusual for me, and by the end I was reading it quickly so I could stop reading it altogether. It also gets very action-heavy in the second half, which is not my thing (it was so heavy-handed that I started skimming it) and it didn't seem like that kind of book based on the first half. Had I known this, I wouldn't have read it. Another thing I don't love is when books equate dreams with memories. It happens often, but that's not how dreams work. Rarely do people dream in flashbacks and I wish authors would stop doing this. JUST DO FLASHBACKS! Why are authors so scared of flashbacks? Readers like them when done well. If you have an SF novel with mind-reading technology and you need to show a character's past, just cut out the unnecessary middle man (dreams) and dive into their memories. Ultimately though, I did enjoy the worldbuilding, which the book does a great job of immersing you into, the characters were well-crafted, and the mystery plot added a fun layer to the story.