by Joseph Carrabis
Reading is a personal experience. What touches one person may mean nothing to another. When I read a book, it is like the words come alive, I am surrounded by the scenery and the characters as the entire story unfolds around me and I am part of it. Reading to me becomes an all-encompassing sensory experience.
I did not get that experience with The Augmented Man by Joseph Carrabis.
I did, however, contemplate becoming a vegetarian.
The Augmented Man provides a glimpse into the brutal and not-impossible grim scenario of a future world where the government stops at nothing to create the ultimate weapon of war. With the backstory of the protagonist, and the mission of the story, Carrabis displays the effects of childhood trauma and PTSD and how people in power can extort that torment under the guise of the greater good, and the unintended, or not cared about, consequences of doing so.
His detailed descriptions, similar to the level of Tom Clancy at times, and comic bookish at others, reminded me of the narrative of a video game. Not necessarily a bad thing, but different. I wanted a creature of old that was violent but that my heart wept for. Instead I got a video game character, a lot of detail, a smattering of who the characters are, and a whole heap of violence. For me, that made it hard to empathize with the characters, and therefore embrace the story.
Admittedly, military sci-fi is not my favorite genre, nor am I a lover of video games. So, if you have a strong stomach, don’t mind graphic violence and enjoy any of these topics, this is the book for you. For me, The Augmented Man continues to stay with me as I continue to ponder what is going on in the mind of Joseph Carrabis. I hope to explore that a bit more in the future, as well as more of his books. If he can create this world, I am intrigued to see what else he can do.
The Augmented Man Review:
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