Gripping

Very much enjoyed this fast-paced story and the world it's set in--an interesting dystopian society with different races up against one another. I was gripped pretty much right from the beginning, all the way to the end and I'd be happy to read a sequel to this too!

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How could a wolfish boy also be a cynetic? Impossible!

CYNETIC WOLF
By Matt Ward
A YA Dystopian Novel

In the mid-21st Century, technical and biological advancements came at dizzying speed. Cyborgs first, then microminiature components made it possible to implant newborns, simplifying the process and changing the name from cyborgs to cynetics. A small group discovered how to encrypt and back up a person’s soul, personality, being, and achieve a sort of immortality by rebooting the back up into a new body. The enhanced took a biological direction to increase size, strength, senses.

And the most horrible experiments of all, hybrids, mostly human, but the genes taken from animals lent their characteristics. Bearish were big and strong and mostly brown furred. Lizardish were always cold, with greenish skin scales. Rabbitish were nervous and quick, with big ears. Etc, etc, etc. and our hero, Raek, is wolfish. He has excellent hearing and smell, he’s a great tracker and hunter, and smarter than most other hybrids.

But Raek was different. Raek was special. Not only was he wolfish, he also was cynetic. He was smart. He could hook directly into the internet or read a whole book in just a few minutes. And he had blasters inside his hands. When the war started, both sides wanted this special boy. The rebels wanted him to lead them, the government wanted to take him apart to see how a wolfish could be part cynetic.

There are many layers to this story, from the ethics of genetic experimentation, class structure, and slavery, to the horrors of war and political intrigue.

Matt Ward is a wordsmith of great talent, his characters are real and three dimensional. And David Akiva Klionsky is the perfect narrator, with a wide vocal range, and as Raek he is a typical naive teenage boy.

Don’t miss it.

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Future World, Same Issues!

What is our world going to look like in the future? Matt Ward envisions a society where 90% of the population was destroyed in 2096 by a man-made plague and science has allowed us to create hybrids by splitting together human and animal genes with interesting results.

The hero of the story is a Raek, a 16-year-old human/wolf hybrid referred to as being wolfish. In this future world sadly it seems we haven’t learned from our past, racism still exists, humanity is made up cyborgs, immortals, enhancers and hybrids. The lower level of this future world is made up of hybrids, they are in desperate need of a leader to stand up for them… enter Raek.

After Raek witnesses the murder of a loved one by cynetics he becomes the hunted and is forced to go on the run with the aid of his professor. During their harrowing escape Raek discovers that he has additional abilities that he must learn to use fast in order to keep them both alive. It seems that his cynetic abilities are important to a lot of people including the resistance who came to his aid during his time of need. This YA dystopian sci-fi story is full of action and humanity.

David Klionsky’s narration is excellent, he has a mastery of voices which made Matt Ward’s future vision come alive. I do not know who designed the cover art, but it is great… in this case you can judge a book by its cover. Matt Ward has put together the full audiobook package with an excellent story, great narration and an incredible cover. This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

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Mixed thoughts about this one

First, in all honesty, I'm slowly turning into a cranky old woman. So take the following with that in mind. :D
Originally, I picked this up in kindle form because I really liked the idea of it all. However, I didn't read more than a chapter or two and simply couldn't get into it. Not sure why. Wanting to give it another shot, I picked up a review copy of the audible version.

It was a lot easier to get into the story and world with the audiobook. I'm about half way in now. Raek is a believably confused teen boy who has discovered that not only is he wolfish, but somehow he's also cynetic. I enjoy watching him discover what this means and how to access this new ability. Matt Ward has created a rich and full world that is well thought out and makes sense.
The old woman part of me rears its head in one fact. Give the poor kid at least one friend that doesn't die. Maybe that's still coming, but half way in everything seems so hopeless that I don't want to continue. Even the 'good guys' (still remains to be seen) are led by a vicious kiler intent on her goals regardless of right or wrong. When she kills the one person capable of helping Raek find his way I put the book down. Only time will tell if I go back. I've done this before with other stories and eventually returned to enjoy the book as a whole. I'll update when and if I do so.

For the moment, I'm giving the story a 3.5 because the writing is clean, the world building awesome, the concept intriguing, but I don't know if I'm going to finish. (rounded up to a 4)

Now, for the narrator. He did a great job drawing me into the story with his animation. His voice matches well with what I associate with the teen boys in my house. However, at some point a couple hours in, I started to notice his clicks where he's swallowing. Once I heard it, it became a focus point. Sounded like he had too much saliva to deal with. It isn't loud, but it's there.

I guess I need to come up with a scale for narrators before I do another audible review. Today I'm thinking 3.5 as well because he sounds great, but needs to figure out how not to swish spit after every other word.

1-5 scale and what it means:
1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad
2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing
3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive
3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love
4: Solid mind candy / worth reading
4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read
5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure

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Excellent story!

This was a first for me by this author. It was action packed and will pull at your heartstrings. So much for one person to handle at a young age but he prevailed and did what he had to do. Can’t wait to see what becomes of him. It did take me a few chapters to adjust to the narrator but overall he did a good job.

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Awesome Story!

Any fan of science fiction or fantasy will love this one. The writing and narration are both excellent.

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Excellent story for young men

Excellent book for young men. Action packed dystopian science fiction. Original story with nonstop excitement. I received a free review copy of the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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A 16 yr old boy pushed to be a Revolutionary

This young boy/man has no idea how his whole life is going to change with the 3 different groups in this world. I feel sorry for this main character he is put in a position he does not want and he has so much self recrimination for all the deaths that happen because of this..

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Wow

Wow! This has everything, violence, racism, love and grief. The action starts in the first chapter and keeps on going throughout the whole book. I hate the ending; I wish it could have gone another way. I would consider getting the next book when it comes to audiobook. This book has a fantastic story and is well written, the narration left a little to be desired. I would recommend this book to others, it is a bit long but I liked it. That is just my opinion.

I received this book for free from the author on storyorigin for an honest review.

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creative futuristic writing

wow!!! what an amazing imagination this author has to really bring the characters to life. a must read.
Gene mutation, futuristic and creative adventure writing.