This Mortal Coil (This Mortal Coil #1) by Emily Suvada
In the future we have learned to change things to our DNA like appearances as well as enhance our bodies through technology implanted into our bodies. Not only that, but through the DNA recoding they have been able to cure diseases and viruses such as flus. Until they come across one that literally has people exploding.
This Mortal Coil follows the story of Cat, the daughter of reknowned gene hacker and a talented one herself. Unfortunately she is essentially allergic to the gene hacking and can’t really do anything to herself that would make her a better looking, more efficient, and more skilled human being.
When her dad is taken by a company called Cartaxus, his last warning to her is to stay away from them. So that’s what she does. She survives for 2 years while the world falls to crap around her. That is, until a Cartaxus soldier shows up on her doorstep.
The Story
I’m not going to lie. I picked up this book because of the pretty cover. I took my chances and wasn’t really let down either. TMC reads very quickly. From start to finish there is pretty much non stop intensity as we follow Cat around in her survival. Let me sum this up for you. It’s basically post-apocalyptic slash dystopian slash zombie slash sci-fi futuristic slash YA romance. You might think that that’s way too much really going on, but it somehow works. Unfortunately, I don’t know exactly how to categorize it in my head, but I don’t really care. What I do know is that by the end there were enough twists that I just had to know what happens next. Not only that, but somehow I started to care if the characters were going to make it.
The World Building
Genetic coding was such a great concept to use and having technology is the type of thing that could very much become a thing. I mean most of us can barely function without our phone nearby. The idea of the coding plus the virus brought this typical YA dystopian story uniqueness. I think the best part was how violent the virus was. It’s not just the fact that they explode when they reach the peak of sickness, but what people do to survive.
The Characters
I wanted to dislike Cat throughout the book, but this poor girl gets the short end of the stick on so many things. I mean, to start, how awful to have the best coder in the world for a dad, yet you can’t even use any of the technology he creates. Lame.
I really liked how Cole’s character developed and how his role was explained as the story progressed. He became a much more complicated character and I just want to put him in my pocket and shield him from the world.
The Soundtrack
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – No No No
