I received this book from netgalley I don't have to much to say unfortunately, I don't usually like syfi books but this one caught my attention the cover and story are unique and creative but just not for me. I think it's a good book but just not as great as I had hoped.

Voiceless
Voiceless Duology, #1

by E.G. Wilson
Atthis Arts, LLCz


Sci Fi & Fantasy , Teens & YA

Pub Date 11 Jul 2017

I am reviewing a copy of Voiceless through At this Arts, LLC and Netgalley:
When Adelaide is thirteen Maunga Richards steals her voice. When her Mother asks her what's wrong she can't even answer her.
Addy is plunged into silence when Maunga (a high school bully) inflicts her with Von Pox an incurable disease that leaves her mute.
About a year and a half after she is infected with Vox Pox her brother is as well.

Will Addy and her brother be able to get their voice back?
I give Voiceless five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!!!

I love books that really get into your heart! This book was amazing!

Sounds pretty cool doesn’t it? I’ve been gradually trying to dip my toe into the waters of science fiction and I think this was a really good place to dip. There wasn’t too much science babble to confuse me but there were elements of futuristic-ness that made the whole thing seem very exciting. I get why people read this genre, I mean fantasy is my first and only true love but I’m coming round to the idea of science fiction.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I thought that the way Wilson conveys the change of suddenly losing one’s voice and also one’s creativity was handled well. I think this kind of thing is always a bit tricky and you can sort of feel the author wanting to get on to the meat of the story, but they don’t shy away from conveying the difficult emotions that come from being totally isolated from the life you once lived.

Addy is a pretty cool main character. She managed to deal with her condition without becoming aggressively whiney and nor does she feel unrealistically brave. She does what she does because she has to, not because she is the saviour of mankind or anything.

Let’s talk about the ‘psychoreality’, this is kind of therapy crossed with inception. There are dream-like elements to the way things work but it all comes down to some kind of science in the end. Maybe I have a tendency to skim read detail or maybe this just isn’t explained as you’re meant to understand as much as Addy would have understood. At any rate, the science isn’t the most important part, the story is.

This is a story that touches on many themes, defying adversity, the threat of medical advancement, siblings, enmities and overcoming enmities, the whole nine. They’re all woven together into an enjoyable story that will have you anxiously flipping the pages to find out what happens next.

I’m interested to see where the story will go in the second part of the duology and I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled.

My rating 3.5/5 stars, this isn’t precisely my cup of tea but it was an enjoyable read.

By the way, I received a digital advanced review copy of Voiceless from the publisher (Atthis Arts, LLC) in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I wouldn’t recommend things unless I genuinely thought you would enjoy them!

A girl is attacked at 13, losing her voice and talents to the injection of man-made plague known as the Vox Pox. In 3 years, having regained the basic ability to write, she watches as her brother succumbs to the same illness. So, for convoluted and unclear reasons, she finally drums up the courage to face her attacker in a virtual reality world, which is supposed to help heal broken minds and unstable emotions.

This short synopsis tells you the meat of the book, but what it (and others like it) can't mention is that this is not another in a line of "dangerous contest with teenage romance abound" novels, but one that is much more focused on the repercussions of having something taken from you and the feeling it leaves. Wilson is less concerned with the complex inner workings of the VR in which Addy, our protagonist, spends the bulk of the novel, letting it be as wild as possible, with Escherian houses, impossible time/distance stretching and compressing, favouring simplicity of action to hard sci-fi explanations of every minute detail. As Adelaide traverses the dangerous landscape of this reality in search of her foe, a hefty chunk of the writing is devoted to her feelings of uncertainty, depression, and being lost (literally and figuratively). And, as a bigger threat is revealed, the perspective shifts, changing the ongoing thought narrative from "How could one be so vile as to do this?" to "Could I be evil enough?". It's a welcome change of pace, giving the last third of the book something more to chew on, and the events that it defines and leads to should make for a rather engaging sequel.

The book also has two big pluses in the absolute absence of a romantic storyline and a sizeable helping of New Zealand/Maori culture, with words and turns of phrase thrown in casually, looking quite organic and giving an unusual "colour" to the story. It's almost kind of a fantasy vibe, if I may be forgiven for such preposterous words. The NZ culture is completely unknown to me, so seeing these new words, these new terms, it's akin to opening a sword & magic novel with all of its Grothk the Great and "frak it!" and whatnot. It's not the biggest defining trait of the book, but it's a stellar choice, one that brings a lot of character to the novel and making it stand out even in sequences which would be standard otherwise. The inclusion of Maori sayings and identity is welcome and truly refreshing.

I'm struggling to call the book amazing because some of the plot turns and character motivations are baffling and unconvicingly convenient, but I have no qualms in calling this a pleasant, engrossing read that has me eagerly waiting for the sequel. And if E. G. Wilson ever decides to write some books about NZ/Maori culture or folklore, I'll be in line to get it.

Wow, what a mind trip this book was! Once I got about half way through, I could not put it down. Even though I won't be purchasing for my elementary library, I will recommend this to my teen librarian friend so she can push it with her age group. Will be anxiously awaiting the sequel!

I feel let down with this book. The idea was interesting, and the book could have been so much more than it was; if only it were executed better.

The world building was non-existent. I'm assuming it was set in the future in New Zealand.... Mostly because they talk of using Holo's (some kind of tablet/device?), and NZ is mentioned, but.... thats about it.

Within a chapter or two we jump straight into Addy contracting Vox Pox. The pacing felt rushed to me.

This is when things started getting confusing for me. The book would leap forward in time by months or years at a time, and it would take a little while for me to realise that it was suddenly 2 or even 3 years past when Addy contracted Vox Pox.

I did like the interaction between Addy and her brother Theo, it was probably the main highlight for me in this book.

Overall this book left me feeling underwhelmed. A shame, because it was an interesting idea.

To start off, this book kept me wondering till the very last page. The plot was amazing and the touch of Maori was just topped everything.
Addy is a brave girl, fighting hard to find her place in this society. People judge us every freaking day and they label us according to what we do to them. But is that all? Are we just what they say we are? No, we are more than people's perceptions. We are ourselves.
The whole theme behind the book is that. Finding who you really are. It is not your Voice or your skills that define you, you are you. Nothing tangible can ever define you exactly!
The book was just wonderful. I kept wanting more. The holo and keypad with lots of cool gadgets really set my mood to finish the book. More over Maunga's character was very important and complex to comprehend. She did steal Addy's voice but she did for a reason. She did because she had to. She did not enjoy any part of it.
Seth is just charming. I felt very bad when I realized who Seth actually loves. But yeah I can bear with it.
The virtual reality world is mind boggling. So many twists and so many incomprehensible things going around. One minute you are awed by the floating stair case in the other you will be dumbstruck by ocean in the middle of the house. In way it resembled WestWorld. I really enjoyed reading the first part. I want to read the second part as soon as possible!!!