October 28, 2013
Emotional involvement powers this absorbing gothic thriller in science fiction trappings. After the narrator awakens from a period of unconsciousness, she is taught that she is Emma Burke, beloved wife of a dashing tycoon. Her husband, Declan, encourages her to depend absolutely on him for protection against the terrorists who brutally attacked her. However, her dreams (and a sardonic interior voice Emma simply calls “Her”) insinuate images of her personally rebelling against an oppressive society that treats women as property. Emma vacillates between genuine love for Declan and passion for another fighter in the resistance, whom she sees, or perhaps remembers, in her dreams. The novel follows a familiar emotional pattern—a woman’s initial need for safety and love, recognition of betrayal, and painful declaration of independence—but it works better than it should because of debut author Waters’s commitment to Emma’s struggle. The second half of the story, Prototype, will be published in late 2014.
October 15, 2013
Waters' debut novel explores a future in which fertile women have devolved into a scarce and precious commodity. This is the first of a two-part story arc. The sequel, Prototype, will be released six months after this book is published. Emma knows she was in an accident, but no one will tell her exactly what that accident was or how she ended up in a hospital with her memory wiped clean. All she knows is what she's been told: That she is the beloved wife of a man named Declan. Handsome and successful, Declan seems devoted to her, but Emma keeps having odd and off-putting flashbacks that take her to places she vaguely remembers, even though she's positive she's never been to any of them before. And she can't shake that voice inside her, the one that keeps telling her things aren't what they seem. When, after weeks of preparation, Emma is finally allowed out of the hospital in which she resides, she discovers that the truth about her previous life is very different from the one that Declan and the doctor want her to believe. Ultimately, the person she turns out to be isn't one that anyone, including Emma, could have ever anticipated. She also discovers that she lives in a country divided by civil war and very different ideas of what is acceptable and what is not. Waters' premise and ensuing storyline is interesting, and she competently creates a future where the social order is knocked upside down. However, the novel is hampered by the odd, stilted voice she uses when writing about Emma and Declan, and writing in the present tense only emphasizes the awkwardness of the prose. The first few chapters are also a tough read; the author made a deliberate decision to obfuscate Emma's circumstances in order to gin up the tension, and while the story ultimately works, it's difficult to maintain interest early on. Starts slow but eventually picks up steam.
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Starred review from November 15, 2013
Emma has no recollection of her past when she wakes up in a hospital in Waters's stellar debut. The man who claims to be her husband is loving and patient with her, but she begins to have nightmares that contradict what her doctors and husband have been telling her. Is she the wife of a prominent businessman, or is she a rebel who trained other women to fight back against the establishment? And why does she have vivid dreams about a man named Noah and being trapped in a water-filled glass tank? VERDICT Waters takes a cliched premise--a woman wakes up with no memories--and transforms it into an original and compelling thriller that takes a look at a possible and terrifying future. Comparisons to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and S.J. Watson's Before I Go To Sleep are justified. Readers looking for a great thriller with a strong female protagonist mixed with a hint of science fiction should pick this up immediately. The second book in the series, Prototype, will be published in July 2014. [See Prepub Alert, 8/26/13.]--Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.
Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
December 15, 2013
Set in a futuristic dystopia where women are scarcefertile women, especiallyWaters' debut thriller opens as Emma wakes up in a hospital, unsure of who she is or why she is there. The handsome man at her bedside assures her that he is her husband, and she lets him fill her head with details of their life together. But Emma has terrible nightmares in which she is trapped, as if she is being prepped for some bizarre experiment. The dreams intensify, as do daytime flashes of memory, and she is haunted by images of being held in some sort of camp or training ground where women are bred to be wives. Back in reality, Emma is slowly realizing the truth about the world around her, where wives are bought and branded and treated like property. What do her dreams have to do with realityand which is the more frightening scenario? Waters has created a fascinating world in this well-plotted tale. A sequel, Prototype, is set to follow in less than a year. Definitely a writer to watch.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)