I am so sorry that I just didn't enjoy this book. I found it hard to relate to and just didn't get into the story ..I hope others like it more.

I have reviewed The Chosen Twelve for LoveReading.co.uk. This title will be one of my Liz Robinson Picks of the Month for January.

‘To humanity in general. There couldn’t be a dystopian future without you.’

The dedication for The Chosen Twelve really sets the tone for the rest of the novel. It’s a sci-fi dystopian thriller which had me chuckling out-loud from before the first page all the way through to its surprisingly heart-felt ending. This was the first 2022 ARC I read and my goodness, it really sets the bar high for the rest of the year.

The setting is gloriously creepy, and the world-building is deep and interesting which creates a chilling atmosphere. The twenty-two last-chances for humankind live aboard a crumbling spaceship, surrounded by ‘digitals’ who are slowly getting more corrupted as the years tick by. The colony ship is ‘safe’ (to a certain extent) but the outer halls are patrolled by digitals gone wrong. They are either inhabited by mad ‘ghosts’ with a grudge (think med-bots who hate you, are unwilling to treat you and want to murder you instead) or are ‘zots’ – a kind of zombie bot who will do their intended purpose regardless of anything stopping them. The children aboard have been educated by the bots and are constantly running simulations to prove that they will be able to conquer the planet below them and re-start the human race (and, more importantly, restart the digital race alongside them). The idea of being stranded on a space-station with machines slowly degrading and going mad around you is a great one and although this book is a fantastic example of a compelling stand-alone sci-fi, I would really love to read more based in a setting like this. I also liked the idea of ‘The Table’ where the simulations are run which gave the book a very ‘Enders Game’ feel.

The characters are interesting, and humans and digitals alike all feel very real and well-defined. My only criticisms for this book would be that 22 characters does feel like a lot in places, and I found it hard to keep them all straight in my head, particularly at the beginning. We do have two main characters to focus on though – Delta and Gamma and they are both unique and bold. I must give a shout-out to another special character – Spencer the vacuum-bot who was a cute addition to the character list. My only other criticism would be that all the children are 12 years old, (although they have had their aging stopped), but 12 seemed like a very young age and I struggled to picture them properly. I think had they been 14/15 this would have felt more realistic.

The wit and humour of the writing was a joy to read and continued throughout the novel. The ending really ramped up the pace and the story turned into a gory and intense thriller which showcased the darker parts of human nature. Although a few reviewers have been asking about a sequel, I actually think the ending was perfect for a stand-alone novel – it gives the reader enough to come up with their own conclusions about what might have happened next. That being said, if another book emerges in the future, I will be queuing up to get myself a copy!

Overall, The Chosen Twelve was my first book read for a 2022 publishing date and has gained a Kindig Gem. A fantastically creepy sci-fi in a brilliant setting, with wit and humour laced throughout – highly recommended! Thank you to NetGalley & Rebellion – Solaris for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A story of immortal children coming to terms with having to decide who to trust and how to survive.
In the future, humanity has failed, repeatedly, to save itself. A group of children who should have never existed are raised by robots to prepare for recolonizing a dead planet. As the story unfolds, more and more secrets are revealed. Secrets like "what happened to the humans who used to live on the planet?" and "what happened to those two kids who used to live with us?" and "Why have I been twelve years old for over 40 years?".
Like Lord of the Flies meets the Hunger Games, the children eventually learn that only some of them (oh, twelve of them, the title makes so much sense now) will be sent on the ship to the planet. They must compete to see who is the best qualified at different tasks (the best doctor, the best leader, etc) to see who is best prepared to help restart humanity. Everything goes to shit, of course.
The humor of this book is excellent. If you've read Breakwell's other books, you know what to expect; if you haven't, the jokes are subtle, almost throwaway lines that stand out like diamonds. The publisher's blurb compares the humor to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and I agree, its a similar style.
I loved the characters, I loved the stakes (from personal "do you love me?" to world-ending "can we save literally all of humanity?"), I loved the world-building.
I did not love the characters' motivations and the timeline. It's hinted for some characters that as their world falls apart that they're looking for anything to hold on to (one character explicitly tells people to "Let me have this." when they are questioning something) and maybe this is supposed to apply to all the characters? I just couldn't believe that some of the more heavy-handed character decisions are believable. The previous sentence sounds stupid, but it's meaning is clear so I'm leaving it.
Overall, the book is excellent. I liked the POV changes between chapters, it sacrifices some emotional bonding between reader and character but it opens up the world and shows us more of each character.
Recommended.
**I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I could not decide what I thought of this book - I did struggle to get into it which is unusual for me as I enjoy science fantasy books. I did enjoy the second half of the book more but was a tad disappointed with the ending.

I did not feel that it should be compared with the Hunger Games as for me it did not have the same level of suspense or thrills.

The concept was interesting - the last organics being trained to colonise the world for the benefit of the digitals. It asked interesting questions about the relationship between AI and humans and what makes humans ‘human’ and of value.

An interesting read but not as captivating as I hoped.

What do you think when you read the cover of this book? This has got to be a Sci-Fi version of The Hunger Games, right? Well, we surely get that, and I think maybe a bit too much.

This book is about 22 kids that are living aboard a colony ship that contains the last of humanity, and their mission is to save humankind. For that, they are prepared through a simulation using neural helmets to fight the monsters lurking on the planet below until someone - or something - deems they are fit to go on a lander that they soon discover only sits twelve of them. Now they have to choose, but will they make the right choice?

The book was fun. I had a great time reading it and despite having so many characters to keep up with, they were pretty easy to follow. They had very distinct personalities and, although they could be pretty dense sometimes, I found myself laughing reading some of their interactions and thoughts. I thought this could be a solid four-star read until I got to the last few chapters and couldn't really understand what was going on. I didn't particularly enjoy how it all ended and I'm left wondering, is there a second book coming out? Because if the answer is not, how could it end like this??

The blurb for this book does not hold back when it comes to mixing up names. It says that The Hunger Games meets Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy here, and it also mentions Lord of the Flies and Philip K. Dick. That's quite an interesting mixup, and since I've read the Hitchhiker, the Hunger Games, Lord of the flies and quite a few books of PKD (ubiq being one of my favorites), I felt well prepared.

And was instantly surprised when I've met one of our the Protagonist, a rather old twelve year old (he's been twelve for at least 4000 days now) who's trying his best not to be killed by a door on his way to visit God, who apparently lives in a coffee machine. (Strange enough, I find that last part highly believable, coffee addict that I am.) And this really sets the tone on the humour that's going to be used throughout the book.

There's more to this than crude humour, but there's an abundance of it. Some of it is more philosophical, some is just nonsense (the funny kind). And with this apocalyptical setting, it is there to counter the darker notes, hinting at some dystopian futures. Sadly, those two things at times clash. Because some of the stuff is so nonsensical that it's easy to miss the point when the story wants you to take it in earnest again. It's like, are you still joking or is this for real now? I think that balance is not well maintained throughout the story.

"We formed the union of polar warrior monks riding diarrhea elephants."
― Another day in the simulation

So the humour is where the Hitchhiker blends in. And the fact that they are dappling in simulations had me questioning if those events where truly happening at all, or if we were already looking into a simulation. Since Philip K. Dick was mentioned in the blurb: If you've read A Maze of Death, you probably know what I'm talking about.

Hunger Games are easy to spot, too, because there is a lander primed to go down to the planet with twelve seats - and twentytwo people wanting in. Lord of the flies is a different matter, though. There are at some point two factions, but it's probably not the same group dynamic as in Golding's classic.

― Hunger Games: ✅
― Hitchhiker: ✅
― Philip K. Dick: ☑️ (in spirit)
― Lord of the Flies: ☑️ (in spirit)

Philip K. Dick might be present in spirit (it's that "questioning of reality" vibe), and so is Lord of the Flies. Then again you could almost use it as a reference every time you see one group of people splitting into two factions.

If you're really needing another reference to pop culture, then I would point you to Stanley Kubrick and his Space Odyssey. Because I'm almost certain the digitales (what we would call artificial intelligences) in this book can trace their direct ancestry back to HAL. Wouldn't be surprised, honestly.

*****

So, what's the final verdict? The story is interesting, but the fact that the view point switches rather often makes it hard for the story to grip you. And the humour that is really needed to counter the overall apocalyptical feeling is either inexistent on times, or totally nonsensical over the top. It is, sadly, lacking balance.

On the plus side is the inventiveness of the story, the really interesting setting and the ending. (No, I'm not going to spoiler here - but it felt fitting.) That brings me to 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars on sites that don't support half stars.

Disclaimer: I've received a free Advanced Reader's Copy and are leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was ok, well a bit more than ok.
It kept me engaged to the end but it wasn’t one of those books that I couldn’t put down.
A very different story, very quirky with dark humour and a lot of dying.
But worth reading.

This was a bit confusing at first, but I think I got to grips with it towards the end.

It was a bit long winded. It took a while for the ‘survival thriller’ aspect to actually kick in. For a lot of the book we were leaning about the characters and about how they need to learn to conquer the surface in order to survive, and then the survival aspect kicked in just over half way through when they were told only 12 would be going.

I think my issue with this was that I didn’t feel much for any of the characters. I wasn’t fussed about who made it and who didn’t because I spent most of the book trying to figure out who was who. I did end up with a favourite character at the end, I think.

The premise of this book is extremely intriguing. We have the last 24 humans being ruled by AI intelligence which come in the form of laundry carts, coffee pots and the like.

It’s definitely an entertaining read once you get to grips with everything. And the book is left on a cliffhanger, so once you understand this book I think the next (if there is one) should be easier to follow.

First of all, thank you for the chance to read this book. But sorry I got half way through and had to give up. The premise of the last (known) sentient beings in the universe striving (and failing due to lack of interest was great but getting my head around most of them living as ghosts in doors, vacuums and catering trolleys just started to annoy me. The 'children ' being incredibly educated and stupid at the same time (not being able to count the years but knowing every type of maths to postgraduate level ?) was difficult to process. They were totally disinterested (unless they were playing simulations like a crazy role play game) until it became a competition to get to the surface .

These days a lot of young adult fiction skews into fantasy. I really appreciate a science fiction heavy option and this book delivered. The books deals with the near annihilation of the human race and the rise of artificial intelligence. But the remaining humans are trapped in the bodies of children and the AI intelligences have been forced to live in laundry carts, vacuums, and coffee pots. on a space station that is humanity - and artificial intelligence's last hope. The human children struggle to find meaning in their existence as the robots control their daily lives. When the reckoning finally comes it is exciting. The book ends on a cliffhanger, so I eagerly await the next installment.

This was a huge surprise for me. I read the premise of this book and found it interesting but didn't have very high expectations since I didn't know anything about the author.
We follow 22 kids who were born inside a space station, raised solely by A.I. robots. The conditions inside the station are not ideal and the bots seem to have their own agenda, which doesn't always include what's best for the children. When the decision to finally abandon the station and attempt to land on a nearby planet is made, there is one small problem. There are only 12 seats for the 22 children...
Ok this is not a long book but it manages to tackle a lot of themes. A.I. intelligence, humanity, friendship, alienation and many more. And it does all that pretty successfully in my opinion, mixing humor, action and drama in appropriate doses. The children names are taken from the greek alphabet and I was worried that, not giving them real names, might prevent me from getting attached to them, but the author did a great job of making every child distinct from the next and by the end I was fully engaged with their struggles.
This book will make you smile, will make you care, get angry and through some great allegories will trouble you and make you think.
I believe The Chosen Twelve is a great book that everyone from a teenager and above will find inside something to enjoy.
Thanks to NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for this ARC

This is one of those books where I had no idea what was going on at first, but still was 100% on board from the first few sentences.

The story stars a bunch of twelve-year-olds who have been raised in an empty, slowly-falling-apart space station by a cabal of loosely-allied AIs with their own agenda. The kids are as odd as you would imagine given these circumstances, and when the AI in charge decides only 12 of them will live to start a new human colony, a horrible survival of the fittest situation is created.

At first, the book is funny and quirky. The AIs are hilarious. The kids are hilarious. The whole situation is off the wall and never fails to be interesting. The further it goes, the deeper it descends into violence and borderline insanity.

This book was never one for character development. Fully half of the kids are reduced to one single personality trait, even if the narrative is weirdly self-aware about this. There are a few we do get to know, but mostly it's about the plot. And it is a very interesting plot. I was hooked the whole time, and though the ending climax left me feeling a little unpleasantly hungover, I would call this a wholly engrossing and unique read.

I've been a fan of Breakwell's for a while now (his Twitter account is so hilarious that it's worth an immediate follow). I was suspicious when I saw he'd written a science fiction novel, but I needn't have worried. I loved, loved, loved this book. It's funny, suspenseful, and full of action and intrigue. It's almost uncategorizable, but all I can say is that it seamlessly blends elements from a whole lot of genres to make one glorious whole. If you like some humor and action and even hard science in your sci-fi, buy this immediately. And the next book he writes, and the next, and the next...and so on.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy of this book. This was a great read, especially for middle school aged children. From experience as an ELA teacher, I know this book has the amount of humor and action that really appeal to kids. The plot was original and moved at a great speed. The only thing that took away from the book for me was the characters being named after Greek letters. Sometimes they could get a bit mixed up. I won't stop that from recommending this book to my students when it comes out however. I can think of a bunch of students who will want to read about a group of forever 12 year olds battling robots on a space station to save the human race.

I loved the concept of this book so much. However I feel like this was a case of right book wrong time. It was a slower pace then I was expecting but I liked the characters and the plot once I changed my expectations was good.

This was an interesting twist and I was intrigued by this book because it is advertised as the hunger games mate the hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy which I think is a strange combination but I did like both of these books separately so I thought I would enjoy this book coming in I’m reading and it didn’t disappoint I thought this was very well thought out the characters were great I love the eventual and the dystopian world building it was amazing I love the monsters and overall amazing