Nexus - Review

Ramez Naam's Nexus is a near-future thriller where human biology has been programmed to receive cognitive upgrades. Post-humans are being altered by a drug called Nexus where the brain is networked to receive and transmit knowledge and experiences in a whole new way. Kade is a progressive scientist who finds himself caught up in an international struggle to control the proliferation of the Nexus drug. His breakthrough work, developing a new version of the drug, garners the attention of powerful combatants on the world stage. Kade must choose how to harness his knowledge and establish the legacy of his work, and the future of humanity. Naam does a good job painting a picture of a near-future world that is both thoughtful and realistic. His creativity and scientific grounding is always interesting and never distracting. The characters he creates seem to be well grounded in the ethical dilemmas presented in this action novel. The story moves around the world but seems to stall at a few locals with slow moving distractions and over-deliberate setup.

A near future world that is thoughtful and realistic.

I would not recommend reading this book. It is a fine read but not a great read. I enjoyed it but wasn't provoked to thought by much of the content. I understand that this is meant to be an entertaining work of fiction and I was entertained... on some levels. The ethical dilemma is the interesting but played second to the action of the text. Naam has created an interesting work for more Nexus drama and I would give part two a second chance. I only hope that the world of Nexus becomes as compelling as the action of our heroes.