4 stars

Synopsis: Matty wakes up from a cryogenic state 99 years in the future. He doesn't remember his life before he went in to cryo, or how he came to be in New York when he is Australian. The world has changed a lot from what he remembers: there was an Event that caused everyone to have to live underground. Everyone knows that going to the surface is a death sentence. Matty thinks that it might be worth the risk, since the world that he has awakened to is not one that he wants to live in.
As his memories return, Matty realizes that he was part of an elite group who was trying to stop the world population from being annihilated. They were betrayed, though, and several members are killed in the attempted execution of their plan. There was one man in particular that Matty was interested in, and when he is released in to the general population of the colony, he meets up with some of the members of his group again.
One of the members who has been brought out of cryo is Arkady, who Matty was forming a relationship with before they were frozen. Most of the other members who have been released from cryo want to continue their mission...after they find out what happened to their families and friends. In order to do that, though, they will have to leave the colony.

What I liked: the world building. I liked Matty figuring out what happened and slowly regaining his memories, and how frustrated he was with the process. The camaraderie between the team members was nice to see. The characters were all clearly drawn, and it was nice to see some characters outside of the norm, and being accepted and respected without their loved ones wanting to change them, or expecting them to change. I enjoyed the process of trying to figure out who the traitor is.

What I didn't like: there was a lot of world building and exposition, which made it a little difficult to get to know the characters, and therefore relate to them.

Overall impression: very intrigued with how the story will continue and what the end result will be with regards to the traitors and what was really going on behind the scenes.

*I received a copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Ah. Well, I'm not quite sure how to approach this one.

On the one hand, the premise was absolutely genius. A spy who was working to prevent the end of the world as he knows it wakes up 99 years later behind something like the Iron Curtain.

You get a person--highly skilled--who knows how to create a cover, knows how to find intelligence and subvert it, understands how to survive, how to blend in. There are so many ways this can go! Add this to the fact the team he was with, for the most part, ends up in the same place.

But the execution...

There was little to no tension. Any build up was resolved instantly. The resolutions were too pat. The characters were hardly challenged and given no room to struggle.

Ultimately, an ambitious idea that wasn't developed to it's potential.