Synapse

4. 5 stars. Thirty years in the future, the world is filled with Naturals (humans with no enhancements), Plussers (humans with some enhancements such as robotic arms), and Artificials (robots with advanced AI that could almost pass as humans). Kestrel, a Christian minister grieving the death of her baby, has never wanted to own an Artificial, especially as a police model was responsible for murdering her parents due to a false positive. Her brother Trevor gifts her an Artificial called Jordan, but he is so much more than she expected. \\n\\nAgent Nick Vernon is sent to investigate a terrorist attack and finds himself drawn to Kestrel. However, bigger plans are afoot. Will they be able to stop the terrorists from their ultimate plot? Can an Artificial receive forgiveness? Can AI be so advanced that it supercedes what it means to be human?\\n\\nI really enjoyed this book. The main characters are likable and the romance has a slow simmer. The terrorism plot had lots of twists and turns, with fast-paced action. However, the novel also provides a lot of food for thought regarding faith and humanity. \\n\\nMy only reservation was the dizzying number of POV characters in the last third of the novel. \\n\\nOverall I enjoyed this story and would read more by this author. If you like fast-paced sci-fi with suspense, a conscience, and a touch of romance, this book could be for you. \\n\\nThank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Synapse is a difficult novel to review. Parts were excellent. Parts were not excellent. And parts were downright weird. \\n\\nThere are some big questions around artificial life forms in this novel, and Synapse addresses them all in a natural way. Is salvation only for humans? I'd always thought so, but I don't live in a world with sentient artificial life forms. If a computer were sentient, would it have a soul? Would it have eternal soul? These are the tough questions Steven James addresses in Synapse. \\n\\nBut that's not the plot. The basic plot is more mundane-there's a bombing, our heroine is one of the first on the scene, and that naturally brings her to the attention of the investigating officers. Predictably, one is single (well, divorced) and interested in her (but has to get past his own issues first), and the other is a dirty cop. Yawn. Sorry, but that's one plot line I'm kind of over. However, I did enjoy the occasional touch of humour. \\n\\nOverall, Synapse is a futuristic whodunit that uses enough common tropes to make it familiar despite the futuristic setting. While I didn't wholeheartedly enjoy Synapse, it was a fascinating concept that asked some serious questions about the nature of God, humanity, and salvation. \\n\\nRecommended for science fiction fans. Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.