Centricity

by Nathaniel Henderson

In a condemned hotel, an intelligence operation to retrieve a DNA-altering bioweapon goes horribly wrong, sparking a scandal that could bring down an agency ... and a city along with it.

Adasha Denali resolves disputes for Naion—using words, not weapons. But with her agency under fire and her mentor fed to the wolves, she’ll have to get her hands dirty. Racing to discover who’s undermining Naion’s security and why, Adasha runs headlong into corporate mercs, an engineered spy, and a man losing his mind to a new form of intelligence.

Meanwhile, the once-great immersion hacker Neon Nik is on the ugly side of broke, struggling to pay off circling loan sharks. When he inherits a piece of advanced tech that throws him into Adasha’s path, threats of dismemberment become the least of his problems. Now he’s got a vortex of hired killers on his heels and a decision to make: sell out or suit up.

388 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 20, 2020

About the author

As a kid, my appetite for reading eclipsed even my love of deep-dish pizza. Books by authors including Michael Crichton, Ray Bradbury, and John Gresham all disappeared into the gullet of my imagination. This inspired my first attempts at writing, which involved way too many alien invasions: Aliens vs. The Muscle Car Gang, Aliens vs. The Roman Legion, Aliens vs. Logic.

When high school dragged its feet across the finish line, I sought universities as far afield as possible, landing in the postcard-worthy Santa Cruz, California, where I studied computer science among the trees. This major, while interesting, turned out to be a little too “hard sci-fi” for me, so I transferred to an art university in San Francisco.

San Fran was and is a consciousness-expanding city. The overflow of creativity, diversity (and even the overt homelessness) helped to shape me. Within this catalyzing environment, which was its own microcosmic melting pot, both socially and academically, I explored computer animation, art history, film editing, acting, and screenplay writing.

Life, however, rarely travels in a straight line. A series of zigzags propelled me to Tokyo, Japan, where I now teach English at schools, companies, and government agencies.

When not working or writing, I enjoy traveling (21 countries so far!), books, merry-making, gaming, sports, movies, and socializing.

Reviews

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ecopy from Reedsy Discovery in exchange for an honest review.

In a condemned hotel, an intelligence operation to retrieve a DNA-altering bioweapon goes horribly wrong, sparking a scandal that could bring down an agency... and a city along with it. Adasha Denali resolves disputes for Naion—using words, not weapons. But with her agency under fire and her mentor fed to the wolves, she’ll have to get her hands dirty. Racing to discover who’s undermining Naion’s security and why, Adasha runs headlong into corporate mercs, an engineered spy, and a man losing his mind to a new form of intelligence. Meanwhile, the once-great immersion hacker Neon Nik is on the ugly side of broke, struggling to pay off circling loan sharks. When he inherits a piece of advanced tech that throws him into Adasha’s path, threats of dismemberment become the least of his problems. Now he’s got a vortex of hired killers on his heels and a decision to make: sell out or suit up.

I'm glad I took the chance on Centricity (Centricity Cycle #1) by Nathaniel Henderson when I saw it appear on Reedsy Discovery. I am always on the look out for a good new science fiction novel and this cyberpunk series opener really hit the spot for me. It easily earned a full five star rating from me and it is now on the list of my favorite reads of 2020. Nathaniel Henderson does a brilliant job of mixing some of my best elements of cyberpunk, thriller, and even spy-fi. I don't often have the opportunity to read from the spy-fi subgenre, but this book really helped remind me just how much I enjoy it when I get that chance because it is so full of possibilities.

There's so much to like about this novel since it has a little bit of something for everyone. My favorite aspect by far, though, is the world that Henderson created for this novel. His impressive brand of world-building is entirely captivating and during my reading experience I felt like I could have stepped right into the world his characters inhabit. I also greatly appreciated that the story is a complex and fast paced read that really makes you think. The author also does a marvelous job of writing all of the action sequences. It's an intense read that keeps you right on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next. Luckily for me, it was not at all predictable and it really keeps you guessing with many unexpected twists and turns.

Overall, Centricity (Centricity Cycle #1) by Nathaniel Henderson has a lot to wrap your mind around but it is well worth your time. It also has a little bit of something for everyone from fantastic world-building, an intriguing cast, imaginative sci-fi elements, to great action. I bet you'll feel right at home in the world of Centricity if you're a fan of Blade Runner and Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I can't wait to see more from this series in the future and I'm looking forward to whatever else this author decides to write.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

A large chunk of cyberpunk is dystopian with hints of massive disasters that have pushed humanity down to the ground (or just the wear and tear of capitalism). Nathaniel Henderson has created a vibrant and fascinating world of complicated legal, government, corporate, and religious politics. The world has been devastated multiple times and no longer resembles the one we came to know. Well, in terms of nation-states and recognizable organizations. It's still driven by greed, lies, war, and information control.

After a priest is murdered under suspicious circumstances, a variety of individuals soon find themselves embroiled in the conspiracy that threatens to destroy the security of Naion (I presume it's pronounced "Neon"). The characters are a complicated mixture of good, bad, and indifferent with cynicism driving the majority of their actions.

I am a huge cyberpunk fan and I very much enjoyed this book. It is a deep dive mystery with many moving parts and mulltiple POVs. I think you'll enjoy it if you enjoy complex socio-political thrillers or dystopian scifi worldbuilding.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

8/27/278, Naion Strait. Post Foundation. Civil Protection & Compliance Agency (Capca) had offered Reiat Ekram a job.
Whitfield (bioterror cell head) gave him/ Yiju Gainen (aka Girl; tac) their instructions.
Meet the sellers, & verify the package was what it was supposed to be: a gene-altering virus.
District Rylum. Reiat would make delivery near Ferry Terminal South-2.
The address was in a condemned hotel.
There was Balaclava & 3 Heritage Invicta’s: 1 female & 2 males.
Girl (guinea pig) got the dosage from a syringe.

Things didn’t go as planned for the 2 of them.
10/5, Ministry of Defense. Adasha Denali (Capca, Interagency Coordinator, visitor # 85HC3) informed Holt (Interagency Coordination Management Group ICMG) she had a meeting with Colonel Anmaf Regalus.

Border Protection had caught a man attempting to leave the city under a false name/profile. Both X-I (Capca’s External Intelligence Directorate) & the army’s Covert Operations Group (COG) wanted dibs/credit for capturing the prisoner.
Hale breather bar. Tender (owner/P/T operator) wanted Neon Nik (29, Ministry of Communication’s Nebula reengineer, IT freelancer, hacker) to try his newest concoction.
How about we call it Tears of a Lady.
Agent Turig (Civil Protection & Compliance Agency) & Agent Rosh (Criminal Investigation Directorate) arrived & informed Kannik Amlin (aka Neon Nik) that he was a person of interest in a crime against the sphere. Daal Omande (Temple of Tamen administrator) had been murdered in the Icanos alley (Sanphor SW corner).
The 2 of them began with Kannik’s surface search: locally stored geotracking (29, self-employed IT specialist, Zaotian, Block 5, Morim Apartment Complex resident), payment history, ID verification, & entry/exit public transportation timestamps.
10/20, What was Kannik “Nik” Amlin (former MoCom/NSSC Reengineer, freelance IT tech) up to?
Nik navigated through INNER-2 (Little Sister).

X-I kidnapped of Yiju Gainen.
I do not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing free books from publishers & authors. Therefore, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one.

An awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very professionally written futuristic bio-tech thriller book. It was extremely easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a huge description list of unique characters, settings, facts etc. to keep track of. This could also make another great futuristic bio-tech thriller movie, or better yet a mini TV series. I’m not sure I understood the full story content so I will only rate it at 3/5 stars.

Thank you for the free author; ARC; BookFunnel; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; ARC book.
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Michael Leon · Rating 5 out of 5]

CENTRICITY by Nathaniel Henderson: supercharged spy-fi that delivers a real tango in your temple!

CENTRICITY is an immersive and atmospheric novel that blends sci-fi, espionage and thriller elements. Henderson’s world-building is particularly impressive, providing vivid descriptions of a society coping with unchecked exponential technological growth and rampant global environmental deterioration. His masterful wordcraft adds an authenticity to how life would feel in a future world where augmented reality technology is omnipotent.

The action is based in the city-sphere of ’Naion’, a self-sustaining arcology protected from an environmentally damaged Earth. Humans possess immersive technology, ‘synts’, a brain-machine interface linked to the ‘Nebula’ file system, heightening their capacity to investigate, interrogate or flee.

Characters are thrust into a complex narrative that make for a challenging read. The dialogue, often amusing and witty, offsets the evocative technical discourse on Naion’s vanguard technology. There's action too, in the fight and flee scenes, described in exquisite detail and incorporating a heady mix of the senses - taste, touch, sight, sound and synt. This is a necessarily long novel as the main characters, Nik, Adasha, Voros and Rown methodically untangle the facts and sift through multi-layered leads.

In short, CENTRICITY has something for everyone.

It's by no means an easy read as the author develops multiple plot lines and multiple POVs in a world of spies and their unwitting targets. For me, this made for a rewarding experience, although a more comprehensive index of characters and organisations than the one offered would have assisted.

I strongly recommend this engrossing dystopian tale of the future. Readers of cyberpunk novels such as Gibson’s Neuromancer should thoroughly enjoy CENTRICITY. 5 Stars

[François Pominville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping, intense, action-packed, Centricity will be as welcome to fans of SF and the cyberpunk genre as a top-shelf combat neural-link upgrade from your trusted local body shop. Delve into a web of high-tech intrigue, where the recyked air inside the city dome reeks of cheap carbon filters and sizzles with the static discharge of mag-accelerated high-velocity rounds, where a fistful of creds on the right street buys you a round of hallucinogenic luxury cocktails or replacement synth-organs, where bliss is a soothing VR meditation routine and neural-hacking is a lethal bloodsport, where the shadows waiting for you in back alleys are intelligence black-ops teams packing needle-guns and signed termination warrants or twitchy trigger-fingered syndicate goons high on combat-augment drugs. Though this maelstrom of altered flesh, futuristic decadence and sculpted steel, Henderson weaves a tale of investigation, betrayal and conspiracy, filled with terrific characters as whip-smart as they are deadly. Centricity is not to be read but experienced. Just make sure your brainware is running the latest security patches, and hold on tight.

[Michael Krebs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed Centricity, and am hungry for the next installment in the series. A skillful mix of cyberpunk, spy fiction, and action, it retains the essential flavor of the cyberpunk classics and holds a place with the works of Gibson and Stephenson. Henderson is a promising author and I look forward to his future novels.  

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping journey of a sci-fi novel. It takes you down a rabbit hole of high paced adventure into a futuristic Blade Runner/ Scanner Darkly-esque world where nothing is what it seems and unpredictable events lie around every corner. The author’s imaginative narrative and fantastic description of future technology and quirky characters will especially appeal to sci-fi lovers. A talented upcoming author with a style of his own.

[Santiago Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just by looking at the cover I supposed it was going to be a good read for me, and I wasn’t wrong. The story was quite suspenseful and had a fast pace that made me read it almost non stop. It is not a short read, so it was not that I read it in a couple of days, but I found it quite entertaining.
Although I found some loose sentences, the narrative is good and the author wrote it with a style that is attractive.
I liked characters and how they developed from beginning to end. I would recommend this novel.

[John Laakso · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gritty sci-fi read with espionage and adventure in the mix.
The author's words sculpt a living but ailing city that is fighting for each breath to carry on. Henderson evokes a world where science has advanced, but human nature is definitely still a work in progress.
If you like a good heaping dose of grit in your sci-fi this might be just the thing.

[Julie Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoilers: Nathaniel Henderson's Centricity is a very complicated Science Fiction novel. It's expansive, involved, is filled with technological and scientific jargon, and has various characters and plots. It's the type of book that forces you to pay attention, sometimes read and reread various chapters to understand character motives and actions. However, that's what makes it a great novel. Because of this complexity, it is a book in which the Reader not so much reads but dives into and submerges themselves into. Thus creating an almost immersive experience.

There are various things going on so Centricity is something of a chore to summarize, but I shall try my best to recount the various plots and subplots. The setting is a place called Naion in the distant future. (Historical information reveals that this is future Earth and that Naion itself might be a newly formed North America, but nothing is officially confirmed. Their timeline is even set in 278, past a time called the Foundation.)
A courier called Ekram is caught in the middle of the kidnapping of Yiju Gainen, an ambassador's daughter when both he and the girl are killed in a struggle between corporate representatives. The media has portrayed Ekram as a ruthless psychopath, but there are hints that there is a bigger conspiracy and authorities are content with laying the blame solely on Ekram.(The first chapter reveals that he was a naive patsy in over his head and didn't even know that the "package" that he was hired to transport was a young girl before he saw her for the first time.)
This case among others are being investigated by the Civil Protection and Compliance Agency (CAPCA), particularly Interagency Coordination Manager, Adasha Denali. Adasha is not only investigating what went wrong with the kidnapping, but also the circumstances surrounding the death of her mentor and possible lover, Gabriel Bachsare. Her investigation into Gabriel's tracks reveals that he may be hiding a felonious past.
Fellow CAPCA agent, Tenu Rown, is the sole survivor of an attack that left his regiment dead or in the case of his lover, Maria Salvatore, captured and tortured by Scott Voros, a sinister mercenary for a giant corporate entity, Alkanost Security.
Meanwhile, reengineer and drug addict, Kannik "Nik '' Amlin learns that his surrogate father, Daal Ormonde, is dead and he is brutally interrogated for Daal's death. While trying to earn some money, take drugs, and learn who killed Daal, Nik finds himself the target of sinister figures who track him through cyberspace. These various investigations reveal the existence of an important piece of hardware called the Acorn, which is very valuable and very dangerous. Like I said, it's a complex book.

Centricity is the type of Science Fiction novel that great care went into world building including Naion's history, economics, government, social standings, technology, and culture. Naion is a world of a strict hierarchy with the 1 percenters living on top in high rises and the rest living down below. Corporate control divided parts of the world so many of the government workers are in charge in name only with CEO's making the final say. Unemployment, poverty, and violence are regular events so many of the impoverished numb themselves with drugs and more violence, doing any illegal activity for pay and these corporate reps will pay. While CAPCA is considered law enforcement, the "white suits" are generally mistrusted and resort to sometimes brutal means to obtain information.
What is paramount in Naion's society is that everyone has cyber implants, called nimphs, connected to their brains. Information can be downloaded and appear right in front of the user. One user can have a public conversation with one person and a private separate one with another as Adasha shows in one passage. (Though there are implications that these conversations are not as private as initially believed.) If a character wants to get away, they can experience a total augmented reality with all five senses as Nik does in a vibrant almost hallucinatory chapter. This augmented reality can become an addiction and the book does not skimp on the comparison. Naoin's technology is like social media/VR times 1,000.

It's clear that Henderson was inspired by the cyberpunk works of Phillip K. Dick and William Gibson, particularly Blade Runner and Neuromancer. Henderson took those works and gave them a 21st century outlook making futuristic comparisons to this current life of income inequality, corporate control, and the over abundance and saturation of technology. The difference between Henderson and his forebears is that people like Dick and Gibson had to imagine that world to come. Henderson only has to read the news and tweak it a little to fit his futuristic setting.

Besides Henderson's impressive world building, he also gives memorable characters to inhabit Naion. His two best characters are Adasha and Nik. They reveal the huge gulf between characters on opposite ends of the socioeconomic divide. Indeed, their particular stories don't even really converge until late in the book when they are at the same location and even then, they don't see each other or share a word of dialogue between them.
Adasha represents the people on top. She is wealthy with an important title in which she worked hard to obtain. Her family is well connected and includes a sister who is a rising politician. When she gives orders and asks questions, she gets answers.
Adasha sometimes questions the strict regulations that CAPCA has over them and tries to investigate within the perimeters. However, sometimes she has to bend and break the rules when she learns about the various cover ups. Her discoveries cause her to question the people around her and to travel incognito to find out what she needs without interference. Adasha is a highly intelligent, rational, strong woman who fights with brain and muscles. She will research a problem and fight anyone who gets in her way.

If Adasha represents the upper class, Nik represents the lower. He scrambles to do technological work for pay and can't afford to turn anyone down. These jobs often get him involved in some dangerous, painful, and potentially fatal situations such as looking for the missing friend of the woman that he loves. He is just one of the many cogs drifting along in clubs and augmented reality to soothe their hunger, homelessness, and aimless lives. The only family that he has are a mentally ill mother and some men, including Daal, who were friends of his late father's. He is alone in the world and senses that if he disappeared, no one would care. Nik loses himself in drugs and simulations because his real life is so meaningless and terrible.
While Adasha has her name and prominence to speak for her, Nik has only his technological skills. He searches multiple networks, bypassing and hacking his way through firewalls and fail-safes, to find the right nugget of information. Unfortunately, these searches take a great toll on his health and safety. In one chapter, he is overwhelmed by the information that almost causes his nimph to burn out. In another chapter, he downloads something directly into his nimph and his demeanor afterwards suggests that he will be overcome by mental illness from his inability to handle what he learned.
In their different ways and experiences, Nik and Adasha reveal a troubled society that is on the verge of tyranny and collapse and requires some to challenge and rebel against it. Maybe Nik and Adasha are those rebels.

Centricity leaves some questions unanswered and some plot points unresolved leaving those outcomes for future volumes in the series. It may be hard to top Book #1. Centricity is a total immersive complex experience that results in the best Science Fiction novel of the year so far.

[Ian Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I confess I could not really engage with this book. It has good points, but just about every one of them has an associated bad point. It has an enormous canvas, and seriously impressive world building, yet it is not clear what this world is. There are about 34 main characters but it is not clear what they are. My assumption was they are people with implants that links them to computers, but . . . One of them falls through a roof, then through three floors, and finds a rocket below him. How did that get there? And all this falling seems to do no material damage. This is not helped by the use of metaphor. One character has his guts sweep to the floor – then continues as if nothing happened. The problem with this is it is hard to work out what is real and what is not. It has over 70 chapters and a new character is the subject of the last one, but nothing he does seems to be relevant to the rest. The story appears to be a quest for "The Acorn", but the characters do not seem to know what it is, nor, for that matter, did I as a reader. However, for most of the book, this acorn is not mentioned, so I do not really know what the story is about. There is no conclusion.
My feeling is there are quite a few stories tangled up together. Maybe the author is exploring a genre where there is no coherent objective, but is merely exploring how technology interfaces, or does not. The description says it is a SciFi espionage thriller. The espionage counts if you consider hacking into other cyber-stuff, but a thriller requires more than violent action; it involves purpose, where the reader feels for the characters. I couldn't.

[Nancy Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take my review with the idea that a novel containing this amount of complexity isn't for my brain type. From the get-go, the reader is taken into a future world of intrigue, artificial intelligence, computer interfacing, and an apparent kidnap of a five-year-old girl. That got my interest, and I wanted to know more. But for me, there was A LOT more to know, with dozens of characters, numerous subplots and scene locations, and mysteries happening in a matter of weeks. For those used to mapping out and noting characters (their titles, purposes and interlinking), locations, computer jargon, and what's real and not as you read, you've got plenty to keep your mind busy in this novel. I don't have that type of brain, and my goal was to understand the main plot and some of the important subplots. I may have accomplished that to some extent.

The author is definitely skilled at world building and character development, and has detailed his characters and the world at the end. It would probably have helped me more had it been at the beginning, as I usually don't take note of the table of contents. Still, should this be made into a movie, I would bank on a lot of fans initiating a countdown for its opening.

[Chris Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nathaniel Henderson's Centricity is exactly the kind of science fiction thriller that rewards patient, engaged readers. Set in a post-post-apocalyptic world where humanity has rebuilt itself into gleaming domed cities, the novel weaves together espionage, corporate intrigue, and cutting-edge technology into a narrative that feels both ambitious and assured.
The book's greatest strength lies in its trio of protagonists. Adasha Denali brings cerebral intensity to her investigation of a diplomatic crisis. Nik, the down-on-his-luck hacker haunted by past glory, provides both heart and humor as he stumbles into possession of world-changing technology. Their converging storylines create momentum that makes the book genuinely difficult to put down.
Henderson's world-building deserves special praise. Rather than pausing for lengthy exposition, he immerses readers directly into a future where synthetic intelligences communicate through neural implants and reality itself can be digitally overlaid. The Kirkus comparison to cyberpunk classics is well-earned.
For fans of Neuromancer, Altered Carbon, or anyone craving intelligent science fiction with genuine stakes, Centricity delivers. This is cyberpunk evolved.

[Eric · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not finish and I don't want to. About 20% in. There's a large number of unknown terms that are thrown at the reader that they will not know about. You do not get a coherent sense of what is possible in the world. Note that I also rated Neuromancer by William Gibson low. The author mentions this novel in his preface. So I should have realized I'm not the target audience.

I tried to like this book. The first chapter seemed cool. But spoiler, everyone dies. So okay I can move on... There's the 'Acorn' which is just a MacGuffin, fine I can move on. I kind of liked Neon Nick, he seemed cool, but there are so many other people, and I needed to jump to the "Principle Characters." It all comes down to this, if I could take three hours and read a huge chunk of the book in one sitting it would probably be great, but I can't in my life right now. Too much else going on.

A glossary would have helped. To the Author's credit he did put a Principle Characters section of his book, which it needed. (Author I'm sorry about leaving a 1 star, please keep on writing because you do awesome work, I'm just not the target audience and this review is for other readers).

[H.R. Kemp · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast-paced complex read

I don't usually read Sci-fi and haven't delved into the steampunk genre before, so this was a different kind of book for me. I was attracted to the socio-political plot lines - that's my thing.

I was impressed with the complex and intricate world-building. The different elements are not explained but woven into the fabric of the prose. The book launches the reader into a fast-paced terminology-packed storyline with lots of interesting characters and numerous subplots.

For me that meant overload. I needed a notebook to keep track of the characters and the different elements of the story. In the end, I think it's just not my style of read and my struggle is about personal preference, not the writing.

This is a great example of detailed world-building, which remains consistent and intense; fast-paced storytelling which juggles many subplots and characters; and a complex storyline. The characters are entertaining and well-developed.

This novel has a lot going for it, but I found it hard to stay focused enough to follow the twists and turns.

[Guy Wheatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

First warning- this is the first in a series, so doesn’t reach resolution in this book.
The prose is elegant and descriptive. It borders on over-flowery, but manages to stay on the good side of it.
This is a long book with a lot of moving parts and a complex story line. We don’t follow a single protagonist, but rather jump from person to person as the plot builds. Often we can feel that these people are on a collision course, other times it’s not as obvious. It builds on the corruption of power and greed. It is a detailed look at the motivations of the characters. Some balance more to the good, other to the bad.
There were some formatting issues, though I don’t ding for them. Speech was sometimes denoted with quotation marks, other times angle brackets. I tried to see if there was a pattern, such as brackets used only on AI, but failed to find it. It was a bit distracting, but not enough to derail the story line.

[Pearl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nathaniel Henderson's Centricity is the kind of book that attracts me and always takes my attention. The moment I've read the synopsis, I already had a lot of expectations-- and those expectations were met. The author did a great job in creating a plotline that is unique in a science fiction. In this book we are introduced to the main character Intelligence Officer Adasha Denali and her quest towards investigating corruption in the government.

The story is not just an ordinary science fiction because it involves religious and government aspects as well. I love the conflict of the story, the setting, and the whole plot. It was very creative. The author also had a great writing style. You can tell that he really put an effort in coming up with this novel. I was even awed when I saw the beginning part that has the map of Naion. It was complex yet easy to follow, as a whole. A must-read for sci-fi fans!

[S.S. Saywack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cyberpunk SciFi is a new genre for me having been brought up traditionally on Arthur C Clarke and Issac Asimov - and of course, Philip K Dick. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the read. Perhaps, because it was new, initially I found it a difficult book to get into - so many characters and so many things happening – but I persevered, nevertheless. The plot was complex and seem to gravitate to the end, the jargon constant, and the action is substantial, as it presents a dystopia vision, many, many years in the future. It is a highly creative and imaginative book. On a personal note: This is the type of book I’d prefer to read as a print book, as I find going back and forth on a kindle, or computer reader, difficult. And I had to re-visit some parts to figure out what was meant. But a recommended read.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This is a nail-biting kind of reading experience; I read it at the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed this latest addition to Nathaniel Henderson books. I have read all of his titles and I have enjoyed every one of them.
This masterpiece, in particular, is really interesting, I found myself searching in the internet to learn about synthetic intelligences. I had read about that before, but this one inspired me to do more research.
I loved that there seemed to be different stories going on, and all intersected at the end; I really enjoyed action sequences and interesting characters, good and bad ones. Honestly, it’s hard to put it down once you get to the last 200 pages. I read it over two evenings and didn’t guess the big reveal at the end!

[Norman Turrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, true to the genre, presents you with a dense and jargon packed tale from the future, sporting everything you'd expect from that tech-filled-bastion. You're also invited into a complex future world. So, an absolute treat for CP-nerds, but not for the casual browser.

The author explains the locations and gadgetry of this sci-fi thriller in an imaginative and distinct style, but I was particularly impressed by the believable characters and characterisation. Be ready to take notes so you can keep track of the plot, and there's plenty of action to carry you along.

As I said earlier, I would only recommend this book to those ready and able to tackle this genre, but to those I say, grab an access code and enter Centricity.

[Ivana S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Nathaniel Henderson did an amazing job with this Sci-fi book because it has a lot of interesting details that make it a non-stoppable read. In fact, I finished it in only three sittings and that is something really unusual for me. “Centricity” is the first book of the “Centricity Cycle Book” series and I am highly interested in continuing with these books. The author pays attention to all the aspects that make a good story, such as well-built characters and an original idea.

This book would make a really good film, because it is such an exciting story with a lot of suspense and apocalyptic details that I would be glad to watch. I highly recommend it!

[Karen Inkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely different but good different!

This is the first cyberpunk/techno thriller SciFi book I've read that is so complex, with so much going on and so many characters. I found it a little hard to keep track of who's who and what their role in the story was. Having said that, the work put into this book is phenomenal. The author has created a world of artificial intelligence, politics, hackers, virus' and characters from both sides of the coin. Overall an enjoyable read.

[Mr Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A last a a sci-fi thriller I believe could happen

At last a futuristic spy thriller you believe could actually be a true story. I struggled sometimes to remember names of people and places so I had to go back a few times to read again. That’s not a criticism of the author. That’s down to my ability to concentrate on new worlds. I still have trouble with Star Wars and I’ve been watching them for 45 years.
I hope there is a sequel to Centricity. (Love the title.)

[C.C. Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sci-fi for the ages

I knew this book was going to be interesting when I was first introduced to a map. I knew the world building was going to be spectacular and it was. But that was just the world building, the plot was intricately woven and the highly detailed writing style really wowed me! Nik was a formidable character and overall, I this book has the potential to hit the big screen. Well done. My score is a 4.5 star but I could only click 4. 💕💕💕

[Tabitha Womack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

I love it when overachiever's speak nerd! Okay first of all this is a well thought out book that has an epic world built within it. It is the perfect mixture of story telling and dialog that allows you to become invested into the characters. I don't want to spoil on anything so that is all I should say. Read it! That's an order.

[Lucas W Mayberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant science fiction

To be honest I didn’t know what cyberpunk meant before I read this. Years ago though I went through a phase of reading the likes of Philip K Dick, Isaac Asimov and Charles Stross among others. This book is very reminiscent of them. I loved the world building and the slow burn action

[Lucas W Mayberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant science fiction

To be honest I didn’t know what cyberpunk meant before I read this. Years ago though I went through a phase of reading the likes of Philip K Dick, Isaac Asimov and Charles Stross among others. This book is very reminiscent of them. I loved the world building and the slow burn action