Trigger warnings: Loss of limb, explosions

5/10, this was honestly another underwhelming science fiction novel and despite its low rating I was hoping to enjoy this novel but I did not. The worldbuilding was at best vague and at worst incomprehensible since there was an integral aspect of it known as d-mat but I don't know how they made it and whatever the Water Wars were but it might be some allusion to climate change; I don't know. This bothered me throughout the whole book as the main character Clair keeps using this teleportation system but I still have no idea how it works and I don't get the message of the story but it might be about the dangers of over-relying on technology and/or the government but the execution didn't work out and it felt kind of preachy and inorganic. The characters weren't much better either, as Clair wasn't even a strong protagonist rather she was just there to move the story along alongside some of the sacrificial characters whose names I forgot and d-mat/Improvement killed them, but I didn't care for them since they weren't developed and didn't have much time on the pages. The pacing was sluggish, with a few faster-paced scenes interspersed, but that wasn't enough to save this book from becoming a slog, I'm surprised that I got through it all without giving it a DNF, and the action was about blowing up an airship and teleporting to space however there was a duplicate Clary there, and they couldn't coexist so she asked her friend Q to crash the entire d-mat system, and it just ended in a cliffhanger which was a huge letdown however I would like to read the next two books in the series, but I doubt the library would get them considering this book is ten years old now. If you like science fiction books read this book however, there are better ones, like The Aurora Cycle by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff that you can read. ( )

Twinmaker drew me in as no book has in a very long time. I've read a lot of dystopian YA books, but very few have been as fast-paced as this one. Williams has created an absolutely fantastic world--it's very clear that every single detail has been hashed out in his mind. There's no time wasted with menial explanation of minor terms, but instead, we as readers pick up the terminology as we go.

Though initially the characters feel a little superficial, once the main conflict comes out, we're confronted with characters who are very three-dimensional. Clair, our main character, is faced with struggles that are given no obvious solution and is quite relatable. Though she's from a futuristic society that is quite dissimilar to ours, she's easy to relate to.

The world is about a hundred years from now, and as such, technology has vastly advanced, as has government. Despite this, the world fels realistic--we can see this happening in our society. We don't need to be computer geeks or tech whizzes to understand the way things are and how the world operates. Society is immensely different yet it still has the same basic fundamentals that mean we can easily put ourselves in the shoes of the characters.

And Twinmaker is far from just-another-one-of-those-dystopian-books. It raises moral and philosophical questions that seem to have no answer and have us thinking even when we're not reading.

However, I am a very frustrated reader right now, because I need the third book, and I need it now. ( )

I absolutely loved this book, it had me hooked right from the start. Clair seemed very real to me and I could understand her motivations to help her friends and discover what was going on. She remained skeptical and didn't take things at face value and so I loved her as a character.

Her romances were not overplayed and wasn't a major part of the plot, which made it so much more believable. Her feelings developed slowly and we're taken on that journey with her as she discovers herself and realises things for herself.

I can completely understand people wanting to improve themselves and I think it raises important moral and ethical dilemmas about how far we should be able to go in doing so. I liked seeing multiple sides to the debate, with most people blindly trusting the technology, but there also being people who rejected it or had been hurt by it, and people who were exploiting it.

I liked that heterosexuality was not always assumed, but I'm not sure if it's was just for queer-baiting purposes as nothing concrete seems to happen, and Clair only kisses men. I also exclaimed out loud in delight when gender reassignment was mentioned, because that is something rarely discussed in mainstream sci-fi so I was happy to see it get a mention. I'd love for this series to get more queer, but I don't have huge hopes for that happening. ( )

“The lucky jump was all the rage that year”, is how author Sean Williams starts his book. This is the first book of a trilogy. Readers are introduced to Clair and Libby. Libby is the risk taker and is all about going on adventures. Clair is a bit more reserved, but usually goes along with Libby’s plans. They travel all over the world by d-mat, which is a transporter. They can go to the South Pole and then end the evening in China. It’s through this d-mat system that they are looking for a party called a “crashlander ball”, which typically end up being all the rage. In addition to being transported through the d-mat system, most people wear lenses, which connect them to the Air (like the internet, but more advanced). After all this fun, the story starts to take a darker turn. The reader starts to learn about things like the Water Wars, every move is monitored by the government, a group called VIA monitors the d-mat system to make sure no one tampers with people’s patterns while they are transporting. There is a group called the Abstainers, who refuse to use the d-mat system because they don’t believe that once your molecules are disassembled, that they can be put back together exactly the same way. Clair has always considered them to be extremists, but now she is rethinking her viewpoint after a series of strange events in the d-mat. Libby wanted to be “improved” which is highly illegal and something that Clair though was even possible. One by one, people start to die. Soon Clair is on the run from VIA with her new abstainer friend Jesse. There is also a mysterious “q” that starts communicating with Clair. Q knows a lot, but no one knows how or why; just that she has the potential to be a very valuable commodity.
I chose this book because it is written by a male YA author. I am always on the lookout for books for teen boys. The cover does not quite reflect a gender neutral book, but I think the story will appeal to everyone. This is definitely a science fiction book. There is a lot of action, mystery, a little bit of romance. It really gets into looking at government corruption and how if someone gets too much power, bad things can happen in society. It explores the aspects of a transporter (for those Star Trek fans) and what happens if it is misused or if an accident happens. All the questions are actually good questions as we get closer to seeing this science fiction technology become reality. As a teacher, I found it especially interesting that students still attended a brick and mortar school. While all the information is available on the “air” you still need someone to facilitate instruction, explain things in person, have that interaction with your peers that is all part of our educational debate. This book will definitely become part of my high school library collection. I think it will engage students. It will be a great choice for a free read and can be put on science fiction, vacation reads and books for boys (and girls!) book displays. ( )

This is a book about friendship and what you would do to save your friend. It also
is about instant travel and the consequences that could happen. ( )