Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin (2018), 448 pages
Description
Cat thought the Hydra epidemic was over, but when new cases arise, she must team up with an enemy to fix the vaccine before the virus spirals out of control.
User reviews
LibraryThing member lostinalibrary
In a future where everyone has technology embedded in them, a virus had wiped out much of the population. A vaccine had been discovered to stop it but now the virus has mutated. Eighteen-year old Catarina (Cat), a brilliant coder, and her friends are in a race to find a permanent solution to the
This Cruel Design by Emily Suvada is one unputdownable YA scifi read. It’s a well-written well-plotted tale with a breakneck pace that rarely slows to give the reader breathing space and it kept me glued to the page from start to finish. Every time I thought I should put it down to do something else like, oh, get some sleep, it was just one more sentence, one more page, one more chapter. I didn’t realize when I started that this was the second book in a series but it didn’t affect my enjoyment. And now the first, This Mortal Coil, has already been added to my TBR list and I will be waiting impatiently for future book(s) by this author.. I would recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys a well-written series with an intriguing premise, fascinating technology, interesting characters, and a compelling story. Loved it!
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
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virus before a powerful organization enacts its own solution.This Cruel Design by Emily Suvada is one unputdownable YA scifi read. It’s a well-written well-plotted tale with a breakneck pace that rarely slows to give the reader breathing space and it kept me glued to the page from start to finish. Every time I thought I should put it down to do something else like, oh, get some sleep, it was just one more sentence, one more page, one more chapter. I didn’t realize when I started that this was the second book in a series but it didn’t affect my enjoyment. And now the first, This Mortal Coil, has already been added to my TBR list and I will be waiting impatiently for future book(s) by this author.. I would recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys a well-written series with an intriguing premise, fascinating technology, interesting characters, and a compelling story. Loved it!
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
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LibraryThing member jmchshannon
Initial Thoughts: “I found I had to reread This Mortal Coil before I could start This Cruel Design because the one picks up right after the end of the other with no exposition to explain what happened. I did not mind because it is such an excellent story. In this sequel, it is as if Ms. Suvada
Now: Can I give a shout-out to whoever designed these covers? Not only are they spectacularly eye-catching, but they capture such a crucial piece of the story. They are so simple but so damn beautiful and speak volumes once you read the novels. Kudos to the design team!
A great novel always makes me feel a little drunk when I am reading it. I get giddy and overly emotional. The line between reality and fantasy blurs. I forget where I am; when a novel is particularly fantastic, I even forget who I am for a brief moment. I finished This Cruel Design four days ago, and I still feel just a little bit drunk. The story and its many twists make me feel like I am participating in a UFC fight, but it is the characters that make me the giddiest. Everything about Cat hits every empathy button I own, and her fledgling relationship with Cole makes me feel like it is my first love, complete with fluttering butterflies in the stomach. I am still reeling from the final scenes of the novel. They hit me like a sucker punch to the throat, a punch to the gut, and a box to my ears all at the same time. I want to crawl under the covers and wail even though I want more. I want to read both novels over and over again to feel those same emotions. I want to search for clues as to how the series might end. I want to bask in Cat’s and Cole’s relationship. I want to learn as much as I can about coding and DNA and genetics. I am like a junkie, looking for her next fix, except my next fix does not even have a publication date yet. I will survive because somehow I always do in these situations. It does not make the wait any easier, and given that ending, this wait is going to be particularly interminable.
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ripped my heart from my chest and tore it into little pieces in front of my eyes. If you think the first novel has plenty of twists and turns, Ms. Suvada ups the ante to make a story that is impossible to set down for real life. This ode to girl power and coding is such an adrenaline rush that I want to read the two novels all over again. Considering the gut punch of an ending, I might have to do just that while I wait for the finale.”Now: Can I give a shout-out to whoever designed these covers? Not only are they spectacularly eye-catching, but they capture such a crucial piece of the story. They are so simple but so damn beautiful and speak volumes once you read the novels. Kudos to the design team!
A great novel always makes me feel a little drunk when I am reading it. I get giddy and overly emotional. The line between reality and fantasy blurs. I forget where I am; when a novel is particularly fantastic, I even forget who I am for a brief moment. I finished This Cruel Design four days ago, and I still feel just a little bit drunk. The story and its many twists make me feel like I am participating in a UFC fight, but it is the characters that make me the giddiest. Everything about Cat hits every empathy button I own, and her fledgling relationship with Cole makes me feel like it is my first love, complete with fluttering butterflies in the stomach. I am still reeling from the final scenes of the novel. They hit me like a sucker punch to the throat, a punch to the gut, and a box to my ears all at the same time. I want to crawl under the covers and wail even though I want more. I want to read both novels over and over again to feel those same emotions. I want to search for clues as to how the series might end. I want to bask in Cat’s and Cole’s relationship. I want to learn as much as I can about coding and DNA and genetics. I am like a junkie, looking for her next fix, except my next fix does not even have a publication date yet. I will survive because somehow I always do in these situations. It does not make the wait any easier, and given that ending, this wait is going to be particularly interminable.
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LibraryThing member redheadedfemme
There aren't many authors who can level up the second book in a trilogy and make it better than the first. Emily Suvada is one of them. This second book in the Mortal Coil series has smoothed out the bumps from the first: strengthening the characterizations, de-emphasizing the romance (it's still
I particularly enjoyed the characterizations. All the characters are given fascinating shades of gray, and even those who might be classified as villains have believable backstories and motivations. That doesn't make what they're doing right, which is also addressed, and the protagonist struggles with her situation and what she needs to do to protect others. No one's hands are clean in this. This book is naturally doing double duty in setting up the story for the final volume, and the last chapter ends with a twist guaranteed to set the reader's teeth on edge for the next book.
As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best YA series out there, and you're missing out if you don't read it.
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there, but there simply isn't time to dwell on it for very long), deepening the worldbuilding (I appreciate that the author has a degree in mathematics and has worked as a data scientist; this makes her world feel that much more grounded), upping the stakes and keeping the breakneck pacing. There are twists galore in this book, but they fit into the context of the series as a whole. (In fact, that's the only quibble I have--this book won't make sense if you haven't read the first, as it takes up the story only days later.)I particularly enjoyed the characterizations. All the characters are given fascinating shades of gray, and even those who might be classified as villains have believable backstories and motivations. That doesn't make what they're doing right, which is also addressed, and the protagonist struggles with her situation and what she needs to do to protect others. No one's hands are clean in this. This book is naturally doing double duty in setting up the story for the final volume, and the last chapter ends with a twist guaranteed to set the reader's teeth on edge for the next book.
As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best YA series out there, and you're missing out if you don't read it.
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LibraryThing member ShellyPYA
Cat thought the Hydra epidemic was over, but when new cases pop up, Cat must team up with an enemy to fix the vaccine before the virus spirals out of control. The nightmare of the outbreak is finally over, but Cat's fight has only just begun. Exhausted, wounded, and reeling from revelations that
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have shaken her to her core, Cat is at a breaking point. Camped in the woods with Cole and Leoben, she's working day and night, desperate to find a way to stop Lachlan's plan to reprogram humanity. But she's failing-Cat can't even control her newly regrown panel, and try as she might to ignore them, she keeps seeing glitching visions from her past everywhere she turns. When news arrives that the Hydra virus might not be as dead as they'd thought, the group is pushed into an uneasy alliance with Cartaxus to hunt down Lachlan and fix the vaccine. Their search takes them to Entropia, a city of genehackers hidden deep in the desert that could also hold the answers about Cat's past that she's been searching for. But when confronted with lies and betrayals, Cat is forced to question everything she knows and everyone she trusts. And while Lachlan is always two steps ahead, the biggest threat to Cat may be the secrets buried in her own mind. Show Less
Original language
English
Physical description
448 p.; 5.08 inches
ISBN
0141379286 / 9780141379289
Local notes
After laying everything on the line to decrypt the vaccine, Cat realises that Lachlan's daemon code is in the panel of every person on the planet. With it, he can reprogram humanity. She, Cole and Leoben set out to stop him, but they're on a timer. Cartaxus - the shadowy corporation that's both helped and hindered them - has a deadly end game in play. The virus is evolving, the vaccine is dying, and if Cat can't find Lachlan in three days, they'll use lethal code to wipe out everyone.
Broken DNA helix stencilled sprayed edges.
Broken DNA helix stencilled sprayed edges.