The entire book takes place in Denver, in some year in the future where snow – and even rain – are rare. Most humans are “goners,” who have been trained to not think for themselves. They just watch “the show” on their slabs (tablets) all day, and are fed gruel by the powers-that-be. A select few actually get to participate in the show’s programming, for which they are housed within a secure building and have slightly better food and living conditions. This is as much as anyone can hope for.

And reading is illegal.

The events of the book start off on a day when it rains. This alone is enough to throw off the droids that run everything, as they have never heard thunder and don’t know how to interpret what is happening. The show is interrupted, power goes out in some areas, and everything is temporarily thrown into disarray.

On this day, one of our sequestered players sneaks out into the world, to see what’s left of it. He meets another character, who isn’t even from the area, and doesn’t understand the rules here. She even knows how to read!

We later meet another player who can read, as well. They become allies, and try to engineer other ways to make little field trips outside. They find new allies and intriguing characters out there, people who have richer lives than the “goners” – people who have gardens, bonfires, and even some old music.

About half way through the book, we lose one of our main characters. This is a seismic shift, of course, and also sets the others on a new path. During this second half, we come to learn how this world got the way it is.

By the epilogue, our remaining characters see their first snow.

If you want to know the dirty details, you’ll have to find this one! (I should mention that it is technically a YA book… but grown-ups can certainly indulge if they want.)

This was a really good book and some scenes are never going to leave my mind; so charged with emotions. I got chills during other moments and with great writing, a fantastic cast, this is truly a memorable book.

When I think of Dystopia or Cyberpunk, there will be humans suffering, but they're mostly aware of their own suffering. There may be fights, resistance groups, survival groups, you name it, but never have I read a dystopian that has so much human de-evolution as this. To see people, very much alive, roam like zombies, is such a horrible image to ponder over.

AI is a scary concept and this book does everything that I was hoping for. I enjoyed the overall feel to it and it worked with the characters and their world. John Be Lane has a strong concept for this type of book and glad I was able to read this.