This sequel was really very very good!
The full review comes close to the release date.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder&Stoughton for providing me with this ARC!

I really enjoyed Mindwalker so was looking forward to reading Mindbreaker. This isn't so much a sequel but another story set in the same world. With a host of new characters, Indra as the FMC, we are reintroduced to the old ones as secondary characterd. It was a quick enjoyable read, but something just fell that little bit short to the first one.

Unfortunately, I did not read Mindwalker, so maybe my opinion is not as founded as other people's.

I found the worldbuilding very enganging, and who wouldn't - it's not for nothing that fantasy&scifi are the genres to go to nowadays for decent criticism of the state of the world - an evil tech company is more realistic now than ever.
I am a bit conflicted about Indra's lack of autonomy. It's always a bit problematic to depict a female character as object rather than agent of her life or plat; however, with this book, it was so well done and it is so much part of the plot, that it is ok.

Thanks for this read; will definitely check out the prequel, too!

Mindbreaker by Kate Dylan
Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐

Special thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC via Netgalley!

First things first, I'd recommend reading Mindwalker before diving into Mindbreaker—it's not a prerequisite, but it does give you a more rounded understanding of the world in which these novels are set.

Mindbreaker is not just a sequel—it's a step up. It takes the familiar territory of a dystopian future with omnipotent corporations from Mindwalker and ramps it up, portraying the bleakness and brutality of corporate greed in raw detail. It's a stark contrast to the slow reveal in Mindwalker and there's no hiding from it here.

The main character, Indra, is a force to be reckoned with, more 'Hulk' than 'Black Widow' if we're speaking in Marvel terms. Her struggle with becoming more robot than human is tangible and draws you in, creating a stark contrast to the more discreet approach of Sil in Mindwalker. Yet, each character's unique approach adds a distinct flavor to their respective books.

But what really surprised me was the subplot romance which I found myself truly enjoying—a rarity for me, indeed! The book was also loaded with twists—some I saw coming, others took me by surprise, but each added another layer of intrigue to the storyline.

Dylan's writing style is fantastic, akin to the fast-paced, action-packed thrill of an action movie. It's engaging, easy to read, and keeps you turning pages at lightning speed.

On the world-building front, while it's less focused on in this book compared to Mindwalker, it's still sufficiently detailed. However, new readers might find it a bit confusing without the background knowledge provided in the first book.

Overall, Mindbreaker is a thrilling read that I'd love to see on the big screen one day. It's popcorn worthy and just an amazing sequel. I can't wait to see what Dylan comes up with next!

Oh my goodness, I adore this book in every way. I don't know what to say; all I know is that I can't wait for it to be out and read by everyone, especially those of you who enjoyed the previous book. Thank you Netgalley and Hodder for the arc!

4.5 stars

I have always been of the opinion that we need more YA science fiction books. I have always been a fan of this genre and it's a shame that it's not popular. My love for the genre was what led me to discover Kate Dylan's Mindwalker last year. I loved it so much which is why when Mindbreaker was announced, I could not wait to read it. Just like the previous book, Mindbreaker is a thrilling book with moments that will leave your heart-racing. One thing that I really liked about this book is how different the protagonist is from Sil in the first book. Kate Dylan did a fantastic job creating a protagonist coming from a restricting religion (a cult, to be closer to the book) and who is faced with choices that go against everything she has ever known.

Mindbreaker is a thrilling ride from start to the finish. If you are a fan of YA sci-fi, then you should definitely read this!

This one wasn’t as good as Mindbreaker, unfortunately. We are no longer focused on Sil, but a new character with a very different background and story. The story itself is interesting, the transference of consciousness to a new, robot body. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the new characters very much and found myself missing the characters from Mindbreaker, who only play supporting roles in this book.

I will still read anything else Kate Dylan writes, but this book paled in comparison to its predecessor.

This series is just so much fun! Cyberpunk SCIFI at its best!!
This world has some interesting takes on our technology, evil cirporations, and health ecosystem.
While the first book dealth with this at crazy high skill in the authors debut novel, my only fear was repetition... which why did I bother of course this was above that!
Mindbreaker is Ghost in the Shell meets Battle Angel Alita as our main character Indra was turned into a "cybot" to safe her life after nearly dying.
This techbology is fairly new, no one is aware of this new big tech pilot. But Indra's new hard drive for a brain might not be 100% under her control as she is having strange black outs and scary murderous dreams.
I honestly flew through this book as not only the mystery element gripped me but the character development and background (Indra is from a crazy religious cult) was really good. I loved the relationships and how this book while standing perfectingly on its own seemlessly weaved in our crew and objectives from book 1!
Please pick up this book in September it is totally worth the ride🩵

I downloaded this book before a 4 hour Amtrak ride and devoured the entire thing before reaching my final destination, which I think goes to show just how compelling a story Mindbreaker is.

I didn't realize until honestly just now that Mindbreaker is the second novel set in this world by Kate Dylan because for the most part, it works perfectly well as a standalone novel. I do think any potential feelings I had in the beginning of the book about how quickly I felt thrown into such a complicated and fascinating world are now answered by the realization that this is not the first in the series. But even having said that, I do think the incredible first person narrative voice helps compensate and break up some early parts of the story where a lot of world-building information gets thrown at the reader quite quickly.

Mindbreaker follows a teenage girl who has grown up as part of an anti-technology, religious cult in a world dominated by advanced tech, who, in order to have her life saved, is sold to one of the leading tech companies as Intellectual Property and has her mind uploaded into a proprietary "cybot" body. The book was not just full of compelling twists and turns, as well as interesting characters, but dealt throughout with some very real and interesting questions about what it means to be human, what it means to be a society, what obligations we have to one another, and what it might mean to see technology taken too far. I also enjoyed the way the author portrayed the cult that the MC was raised in. I felt that rather than rely on the reader's expectations of what a cult should be, it asked us to pause and consider that perhaps, in this world she has created, their positions weren't entirely unreasonable. Certainly there was more nuance to that issue than I was expecting from the back cover summary, and I enjoyed that a lot.

Having read Mindbreaker, I am very much looking forward to going back and reading the first world in this universe.

*** This is the second installment in the Mindwalker Series. While Mindbreaker definitely can be read as a standalone, I’d highly recommend reading Mindwalker first. Not only is it an amazing book but in that way you’ll appreciate Mindbreaker even more. ***

Mindbreaker is the action-filled and much awaited sequel to Mindwalker - a fantastically electrifying adventure full of riveting action, brand-new tech, chilling secrets and hair-raising discoveries.

Set in the same world as Mindwalker - in a future were the world both looks and functions different but the greed of man, and the evil creations and actions thereof, remains a constant - Mindbreaker takes everything to a new level.

I expected this book to be similar to Mindwalker but it really isn’t. Sure, it’s the same world and several familiar characters returns but when it all comes down to it, this is a completely different story. It comes forth as so much more raw and brutal in my opinion. More terrifying than I ever thought Mindwalker was.

I think this is one of those books that will grow on me. Because while I might not have thought it a 5-star at first, it’s utterly brilliant and I’m sure I’ll reread it sooner rather than later.

Definitely recommend this book, especially if you enjoy reading sci-fi, strong-willed young women and terrifying mind-bending technology.

Mindbreaker does not disappoint! If you loved Kate Dylan's first book Mindwalker then this will be right up your street. I snapped this book up in just a couple of days (a sign of a great book for me). It's full of action, sarcastic characters that we love and is well-paced.

Mindbreaker is set in the same world as Mindwalker, but follows a new character. A person could easily pick up Mindbreaker before Mindwalker and not feel like they're missing out and read it as a standalone. There are references to the first book, which is nice for those that have read Mindwalker. It's set a few years on from the events of the first book and follows Indra, a girl from the outer sectors with not a lot of tech knowledge and is thrown in to the world. I loved her narrative voice and while she still had some great sarcastic lines, she felt distinctively different to Sil from Mindwalker. Indra felt authentic, she was limited in her knowledge of the main sector and made decisions that felt befitting to her background. The character development was 10/10 very authentic and made sense.

I loved the twists and turns of this book and I just couldn't put it down. I honestly don't want to give out more because it would spoil it. I've already preordered this. Kate is becoming one of my Must Buy authors ! :) If you love sci-fi, with the whole what is it to be human theme, seriously pick this up.

After reading Mindwalker, Kate Dylan’s debut YA cyberpunk Sci-Fi, injected full of fast pacing, vivid world building, solid themes involving our technological world, and fleshed out characters, I knew I had to pick up the follow up companion book, Mindbreaker, and dive back in this world. And I got to indulge in it before release, and it delivered as much as I expected to, with much of the same, world expansion, but fresh enough to keep me engaged from start to finish.

This one has Ghost in the Shell and Battle Angel Alita vibes, considering that our protagonist, Indra Dyer, was converted into a “cybot” in order to save her life after nearly dying from a rare condition. She’s interested in technology to her almost death, despite her religious cult arguing against technology, but overall, she’s exploring who she is with her new status, and through a lot of revelations, she’s questioning aspects of herself, especially since saving her life required her to betray the basic tenants of her life. And some haunting realistic dreams she’s having as of late. She’s quite a mess, but a determined mess.

I really enjoyed Indra’s interactions with Nyx. It’s rare in YA to see a boy/girl relationship not turn romantic (both are gay), and it was so refreshing to see the two rub off each other in a platonic sense, the hacker boy and the good god girl. I also like how Indra interacted with Tian, her handler turned love interest, and how Tian herself grows as she realizes the truth about her company. The other characters, new and old, were interesting and fleshed out, with a few surprises that I will not spoil. I love the bonding of the cast as well, through all that they go through.

Once again, the pacing was brilliant, things were happening every chapter and none of it was filler, all of it exploring another aspect of Indra’s new status as a “cybot” with a hard drive for a brain instead of flesh and bone. There’s plenty of action sequences and they were all done well, feeling like an action thriller movie. Yet it has enough scenes to really get to know the characters and their situations. I couldn’t wait to see what kind of trouble she would get into next. Again, the prose is super smooth.

I love the world building of this cyberpunk world, and even if you read book 1, there’s plenty more to explore with new technology and the consequences of book 1’s events. The post apocalyptic world of cyberpunk New York is still interesting and I still want more of it. Even if sci-fi usually isn’t your thing, it’s not too heavy on the technology, and fairly easy to follow along, as most concepts are explained in the story itself.

The themes were fleshed out well, with the exploration of faith, finding your own path, rebellion, tech company control, and what makes someone human when you’re all metal. Made me think about the possibilities of the future, both good and bad, considering if we can even trust technology sometimes. No more quiet rebellions is practically an arc word for this book. I was really happy that religion wasn’t vilified; while the cult Indra was in wasn’t exactly a great place, religion wasn’t seen as evil by the protagonist, despite the rest of the world having moved on from it after the world ended centuries ago, believing that any god would have not allowed this to happen, with some of the creative swears.

There are callbacks, references, and characters from the first book, Mindwalker. While there’s enough information in this book to stand on it’s own, you will be spoiled for Mindwalker if you haven’t read it, so I highly suggest reading Mindwalker first. Also, there’s plenty of swearing, some graphic violence and some sensual content (nothing spicy), so be advised.

I’m really sad to find out that a third book in the Mindwalker world is unlikely (for now), but I’m really hoping for more stories in this universe, especially with a small ending hook. I will be on the lookout in what Kate Dylan has for us next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great sequel! I want more and really enjoyed this book!

Mindbreaker is a mind-blowing sci-fi read with an action-packed plot, an intriguing main-character faced with an unimaginable reality, and ground-breaking science mired in moral dilemma.

I read the book in one sitting, finishing in the early hours of the morning because I don't think I could have slept not knowing how it ends. Just like Mindwalker, it's the kind of sci-fi story that got me absolutely hooked.
The two novels are set in the same post-nuclear war New York, and while there are references to the events of Mindwalker, as well as some appearances from characters of the first novel, Mindbreaker could be read as a stand-alone. However, if you love a plot to bring down the evil tech corporations, then you'll enjoy both.

In Mindwalker, we followed Sil Sarrah as she brought down tech giant Syntex. In Mindbreaker, anti-tech cult girl Indra Dyer faces off against Glindell Technologies, whose cure for her terminal condition turned out not to be saving her body, but instead uploading her mind to a prototype MindDrive housed in a humanoid robotic shell. When news of an attack against Glindell's biggest rival coincide with Indra starting to experience memory lapses, she suspects the worst. Indra goes on the run to uncover the truth behind the procedure that saved her life, before Glindell’s new technology changes humanity forever.

This was an absolute thrill-ride: fast-paced, utterly compelling, and with the right balance of science and fiction. It’s Mindwalker technology on steroids, with a sapphic plot thrown in. The book threw up so many questions about how we value life, and what makes us human – it’s bound to stick in my mind for a long time, and I already look forward to finding out what Kate Dylan writes next.

I love that is a sequel to mindwalker, but can also be read (and thoroughly enjoyed) as a standalone. All that sass and dry humour that I loved in the first one is seen here too, which allows that fantastic blend of dystopia and doom and gloom, but with light moments and showing that even when the world is a mess, people still just carry on and find a way as they must. I finished this book so quickly and loved every second. It didn’t feel clunky or too info-dumpy, however at no point I did I feel lost o confused. Everything just made sense! The characters are amazing, and I loved every one, even those I hated, I loved to hate them. I feel like I want to be part of some of the friendships and honestly, whether you’re new to sci-fi, or read it all the time. This is the book to pick up!

In some ways, Mindbreaker felt like a stronger book than its predecessor Mindbreaker. I didn't re-read the previous installment before starting this, and it worked as a stand-alone (although it was very fun to see the return of some familiar characters later in the book). The writing felt more cohesive, and less standard YA this time around. The characters also felt slightly more empathetic, and their development was both intriguing and logical. There was also some real intrigue, and I found myself really keen to delve deeper into this world. I would definitely read more books set in this universe - it makes for a fun, gripping read.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I absolutely adored Mindwalker, so I was jumping out of my seat to read Mindbreaker too. I was immediately sucked in, just as I had been with the first book set in this world. It's such accessible sci-fi, as action packed as any Marvel movie, so easy to read but very hard to put down.

There's an enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance, dangerous and evil corporations, cool tech, a fast-paced adventure plot and explosions! I'd recommend it to anyone who thinks Black Widow deserved better, and who loves the idea of a thrilling, hi-tech adventure in a neon, post-apocalyptic city.

This is the second book in this series. I was blown away by the first, and this book is equally as good, or maybe even better! Each book could be read as a stand alone, but, if you can, I think are better read in order. Action packed fantasy, with humour and gentle romance. Just a brilliantly entertaining read for YA and up. Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine freely given.

Firstly, thank you so much Kate, Hodder and the team for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of Mindbreaker!

As an avid fan of Mindwalker, I was excited to read the companion, but I can’t lie - I was apprehensive about a world I knew with new faces I might not love.
Reader, that apprehension was put to bed with Indra Dyer.

Mindbreaker brings the names we already know and love to the page alongside a fiery, unconventional new hero who was surprisingly easy to fall for. Written with realistic flaws despite the super-sci-fi landscape of her very existence, she was fun, gutsy and a fitting protagonist for a new cyber adventure.

Alongside her, companions (naming no names) are equally fun, although I’d have liked to see them fleshed out a little more - Indra shines but her supporting cast sometimes feel more like props. That’s not to say I didn’t love them too, but there’s a distinct distance there. Whether that’s due to some of Indra’s more unique features (…spoilers!) or not, you can be the judge.

Now, to the plot. Where Sil is a punchy, antagonistic warrior with a story she wants to control, Indra’s journey is somewhat undertaken FOR her - and the portrayal of this is great. The sensation of a lack of autonomy doesn’t make the book feel lesser; instead, it incensed me and left me with a particularly anti capitalistic feeling in my bones. (Be right back - off to troll a tech company or something, down with the system!)

Overall, Mindbreaker acts as a wonderful companion to Mindwalker and it’s every bit as enjoyable as its predecessor. Did I predict some twists? Sure. Did it matter? Not really. It’s another solid sci-fi adventure, and if Kate Dylan brings us more, I’ll happily devour that too.

Safe to say, if you enjoyed Mindwalker, I don’t think Mindbreaker will be a disappointment. Props, Ms. Dylan!

“No company deserves the right to trade in human lives.”

“Capitalism worships at the altar of crime.”

“People can be flawed and messy. Astound and disappoint you in unexpected ways.”

Kate Dylan has done it again: delivered a thrilling, punchy, feel-good feel-anxious script, packed full of action, verve, and characters you will love.

The narration is perfectly smooth, seating you in the heart of the action as you ride along with Indra, a girl who’s been transformed into a marvel of technology. But is she still… Indra?

Punctuated with sly, clever references, and sneaky Easter eggs for the observant, Dylan’s prose is a delight. She ramps up the tension and plays the speed skilfully, peppering the action with perfectly on-the-beat humour.

But it’s also thoughtful, probing at deeper questions we should be asking ourselves and society: when did we start valuing human lives in terms of money? How much can I change, and remain truly myself? Whom can we trust in an age of misinformation?

The answers are for us to find out: but there’s one thing we can be certain of:

“No more quiet rebellions.”

P.S. Someone make this into a film!!!

Featuring:
High speed chases!
Extremely dangerous stunts!
Heists going wrong!
A team coming together!
Cyborg angst!
Sapphic yearning!
Evil corporations!
Thrilling reveals!
and more…