"Partials" by Dan Wells

First I should say that the Dystopian genre is my favourite and this book did not disappoint. "Partials" by Dan Wells was everything I love in a good read. Right off the bat the captivating cover grabbed my attention and the blurb on the back cover had me pulling out my wallet. I couldn't wait to get home and hear that wonderful cracking sound that happens when you open a brand new book.

Partials is set in the year 2076 where a deadly virus has wiped out most of mankind. Then to make matters worse powerful robots that were made to look, sound and act like humans and which were originally built to help fight wars, have evolved and banned together and are taking over the world. The real humans have become an endangered species and no new babies have lived for more than a couple days in the past fourteen years. Sixteen year old Kira Walker works as a trainee in the maternity ward at the hospital and is trying to find a cure for the virus, before her best friend gives birth to her unborn child.

Ok I'm going to show a little unfairness here and say that in general I prefer female writers in the dystopian genre because I've found that they usually include a bit of romance and don't get too violent and gruesome. Having said that, I have to say that Dan Wells surprised me and did a very good job with Partials. He has created an unpredictable, action packed story filled with multilayered, interesting characters and he even had a little romance. He has a wonderful way of capturing just the right amount of detail in his magical world building to draw the reader in and keep their attention to the last page.

If rumours are correct (and I really hope they are) we can expect a book two called 'Failsafe' to be published in 2013.

My rating