Mindwalker

"Do not surrender control." - Mindwalker (Kate Dylan)

Sil Sarrah is an 18 year old who knows she has 12 months or less left to live before the CIP grafted to her brain stem, kills her. She's known this would be her life since she was 8 years old accepted the position offered to her by the Syntex Corporation. She has been Syntex's perfect Walker for 10 years, rescuing every agent with no loss of life. And Sil is committed to keeping her perfect score. But when she is placed in an impossible mission, she goes against protocol and the outcome of the mission forces Sil to flee the only place she has friends and a "family."

While on the run, Sil Sarrah will find allies, enemies, and ultimately the truth. But with time running out and her system hardware deteriorating every day, will she have the time and ability to bring that truth to life?

I read this ARC of "Mindwalker," by Kate Dylan in one sitting, and I am blown away! This story gripped me IMMEDIATELY, entered my brain and took me on the ride of my life! I wanted to read this again as soon as I finished it. Definitely a top 5 standalone book of all time for me.

This book was like if parts of the "Uglies" Trilogy, mixed with parts of the "Matched" Trilogy, then added some Marvel-like advanced tech and spit out the absolute perfect Sci-Fi for today's world! The dystopian aspect was right on track with what could happen to the US if 💩 (crap) hits the fan. It was very easy to fully immerse myself into the dark city streets and the corrupted big companies alongside Sil.

The narrator of this audiobook was awesome! She had a great way of putting emotion into her voice that pulled me in to the story fully.

Forever a fan of Kate Dylan! Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this fast-paced post apocalyptic, sci-fi, action-packed story; which has likeable, bad-ass characters and a hint of romance to boot. It is different enough to what I normally read to feel truly unique. This new-to-me Author has a writing style which is easy to understand and which makes the book a joy to read. Lovers of books such as Hunger Games or Divergent series (as well as romance lovers looking for something different) will most likely enjoy this novel. Overall this book is a big win for me and I thank NetGallery and Hodder & Stoughton Audio for introducing me to this Author - I will definitely be looking for other books by her, and although it does't look like this will be a series, I'm hoping the book is popular enough to warrant a series....

Besides the story itself, I do like the audiobook version. The narrator is great for the story.

Story:

I loved how the story progresses. I kinda feel Murderbot vibes and Deviant by Jay Kristoff. There are some parts that quite stretch in the story but nonetheless, I didn't see how the ending happened. The revelation is astounding. Knowing that the story is quite generic for the plot but the author manages to make it insteresting and engaging.

Mindwalker is such a fun, sci-fi YA read!

This book grabbed me right from the start, with fast paced action and an intriguing set up. I loved the concept of the Mindwalker programme and how this was used to explore consent and the dominance of tech corporations. The world building was also very well done, slowly unfolding the wider world and it’s history. Technology takes centre stage in this world but it’s written in an accessible way,

Sil, the main character, is a brilliant main character, she’s strong, talented and determined. Sil has a great character arc as she questions all of her previous beliefs about the world she lives in. The secondary characters aren’t as well developed as Sil but I had enough interest in them that I wanted to know more. In particular, there’s a dreamy love interest and some strong relationships between characters, including friendships and reluctant allies.

I will say the twists weren’t entirely unexpected but the story is packed full of action, keeping me engaged and entertained the whole time.

I listened to the audiobook which was a great way to take in a story with such a great imagery. The narrator’s voice wasn’t my favourite but that was more to do with me personal preference and she did a good job of distinguishing each characters voice.

Thank you so much Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

Mindwalker is a fast paced, adventurous and thrilling sci-fi fantasy/ dystopian novel that will keep you holding your breath until the very end. The story is so captivating and deeply dynamic that I felt emotionally and physically connected to it - I could not get it out my mind (pun slightly intended).

I really enjoyed the brilliant, well paced narrative and fantastic characters that Kate Dylan introduced us to in Sil’s world (including Jarvis). Truly incredible and definitely a must read for fans of books like Cinder by Marissa Meyer and Skyward by Brandon Sanderson. This story has all the vibes and more!

4.8 stars ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Hodderscape for my audiobook arc. The narrator was great.

This is an entertaining, fast paced, futuristic book for any YA or adult Sci-fi fan; I really enjoyed listening to the audio version. Sil Sarah is a Mindwalker, has been from a very young age. With a perfect record of entering the minds of her charges and bringing them home from life threatening situations. She is proud of her perfect 600+ success rescue rate. But things are about to go south. The mindwalking program isn’t all she thinks it is. She will have to use all her skills physical, mental and on point humour/sarcasm to get herself out of trouble and get to the bottom of who is mindjacking without permission - something that should be impossible. And the stakes couldn’t be hirer, Sail’s own life is on the line. Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given

This is a great young adult book, giving xmen/ the darkest minds vibes. It's a dystopian world with all kinds of new technology, it has some good twists and I can definitely see a series coming

Christ that was.... predictable, but enjoyable.

In this book we follow a girl called Sil Sarrah that has a very high-tech supercomputer grafted to her brain. This special computer with its accompanying AI Jarvis, allows her to see and analyze the world around her in seconds. A necessary skill needed to perform her job as a Walker for the Syntex corporation, which means to rescue their field agents by entering their minds and taking control of their bodies. And Sil is the best they’ve ever seen. There’s only one problem, Walkers don’t live past 19 and Sil’s time’s running out. And when she’s framed and branded a traitor, she runs for her life, determined to prove she’s innocent. But when she uncovers a secret that threatens to destroy everything she’s ever worked for, she’s forced to decide where her allegiances lie.

So, I listened to this as an audiobook, and I have to say I’m happily surprised. This book was really good and filled with tension and action, and I really enjoyed listening to it.

This story is set in a future America, and I think it was described very nicely with enough details that I could picture the setting as I was listening. The character felt complex and real and was far from one-dimensional. And the plot was solid and was interesting to follow from start to finish. Sure, the plot is kind of predictable and standard in a way, as was the romance and twists. I can’t say I was surprised by anything that happened in this book, but as long as I’m entertained, I don’t mind.

I love the tech that’s described and how it is described in a way that makes me think that it’s real. I can imagine these things being real, and as a tech freak myself, I would really love to see all of these things this world has to offer.

I don’t really have a lot of negative things to say here, but there was one thing that drove me nuts while listening. The characters keep repeating the phrase “Christ that was” like three thousand times per chapter (at least that’s how it felt). It’s too much, and it should have been used for just one character and not all the time. It’s annoying. Especially in an audiobook.

Second thing that I didn’t really like was how the narrator did the male voices in dialogue. The boys here are 18 years old, but the narrator makes them sound like they’d be in their fifties or something. It’s odd and strange and when this weird dark “grandpa”-voice she uses are supposed to be the romantic interest of our 18-year-old lead, it just gives me the creeps. That, however, isn’t the writer’s fault so that’s not impacting my rating at all obviously.

But all in all, this is a good book, and I can’t do much more than recommend it to all of you who like a fast-paced and easy to read sci-fi.

5/5 stars.

this audiobook of Mindwalker is amazing. Stephanie Cannon is definitely a perfect actress to narrating this book. I loved how her voice were like flowing with the words, she knew perfectly how to play the roles, especially for Ryder and Aja. Loved everything about the audiobook.

This was not my usual type of read as I tend to be more into the fantasy rather than sci fi but I have to say this book was amazing. To hooked me immediately and kept me guessing all through. The characters were well written and I felt their journey play out and found myself rooting for them. The plot was incredibly well written with enough depth and twists to have me loving every second. Five stars well deserved.

Mind-Blowingly Good

🧡 Please take this review in the spirit in which it is intended, which entails me hyperventilating as I fan-girl scream at you to Get. This. Audiobook. It simply has everything you - yes you - want from a dystopian tech-thriller. There are teens controlling the minds of secret agents, dark tech, sinister conspiracies and just a smidge of reluctant romance. It’s snarky, it’s fast-paced and, quite frankly, fun.

💚 If I had to compare this to other works - and let’s face it, I have to - I’d say it’s got the revolutionary undertone of Hunger Games (and more than a bit of Katniss in main character Sil Sarrah), a Minority-Report-ish vibe to the plot and just a smidge of the 1995 cult classic, Hackers.
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🎧 Everything about this audiobook simply works. It’s easy to follow without sacrificing on thrills. The dialogue shines in its sarcastic glory and Stephanie Cannon’s interpretation of Sil Sarrah is so vivid and authentic. She comes across as formidable and fiery yet likeable. Zero complaints.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton Audio for providing me with an ALC in return for an honest review.

Mindwalker is one of the best debuts I’ve read in the past several years: smooth writing, sharp dialogue, compelling characters, and world building that combines my favorite parts of science fiction and dystopia: interesting and original, but not so complex that we lose sight of the story trying to find our way, and creepily futuristic but not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

The story gets going right away, but the narrative thread emerges quickly so we can keep up with the action without effort — and there’s a lot of action to keep up with in this novel! Normally I’d complain that it leaves no space for proper characterization, but here that criticism wouldn’t hold any water: our MCs are *made* for constant action and it makes sense for the story to move at such a fast clip.

I love that like the best dystopian fiction, this story brings up some moral quandaries and makes you think — it’ll definitely stay with me for a while. I also love that it does include romance, but it’s less a sappy takeover and more a case of unexpectedly finding a trusted partner to face really challenging and dangerous situations with. It strikes the perfect balance.

Between the action and the twists, this book really gets you hooked and keeps you on the edge of your seat; I did guess most of the twists but I still really enjoyed their execution and reveals, also because they made so much sense in the story.

My only complaint is that the ending felt slightly too tidy, whereas I was hoping for more to stay unresolved and for this to be the first in a series (a trilogy maybe?), but that’s not really something that would affect my rating so much considering it’s really the only thing I didn’t love. I still hope more books are coming though because I loved the side characters and need to hear more about them!

(A note about the audiobook: the narrator does a very good job. There are a couple of inconsistencies in the way she voices two of the characters on occasion, but they are barely noticeable and overall she interprets the characters really well and really brings the story to life quite skillfully.)

Many thanks to Hodder and Stoughton, the author, and NetGalley for my copy of the ALC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. LOVED it. Kate Dylan, you sure know how to write incredibly engaging characters and worlds!

I am a huge fan of sci-fi, which actually means that I'm let down far more often than not. All too often an author doesn't quite manage to suspend my disbelief, or fails to do proper world building in favour of dedicating time to other aspects of the story (such as romance, which I dislike). Dylan, however, absolutely hit the mark and ticked all of my personal boxes, giving me the sci-fi story I'm always craving.

Sil Sarrah is young Mindwalker—a person who can meld their mind with another and remotely control their body—and she is effortlessly fun. She's confident in her abilities, a perfectionist, and carries herself with a touch of justified arrogance at first. She's been with Syntex since the age of 8, conditioned and trained into her job, giving her family a life of utter luxury in return. Because the catch is this: the supercomputer in Sil's head that allows her to Mindwalk will experience a catastrophic failure before her 19th birthday. Without fail.

I love Sil. I love how she knows she's good at what she does, her inner voice, her faith she's placed in her friends and Syntex. Watching her grow as a person throughout the book as she learned the truth about the world she had always known was humbling, and very well written. Her cockiness doesn't die with her innocence, and she proves that, despite her own admission to being selfish, she is in fact good at heart with solid morals. The other characters were far less fleshed out and not particularly interesting, but this is written in first person from Sil's POV, so honestly, that's in keeping with the context.

Syntex's gradual decline in the eyes of Sil and the reader was 10/10. All these seemingly amazing companies that promote working for the good of ordinary people are nothing but pretty liars, we know this, but Mindwalker takes that hard truth to the next level.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm mad I didn't see the big reveal coming. I'm SO mad! Dylan did such a good job of (intentionally) writing one of the characters as unassuming that when I had doubts about them, I dismissed them and believed them just like Sil did. I actually suspected one of the others for a time, one of the people closest to her, but I was thankfully wrong.

The gradual world building is top notch and easy to slip into. I love my world building, but I also can't handle too much made up terminology thrown at me, so I'm personally glad I was able to keep up with everything in this book. Mindwalker takes place post-manmade apocalypse that honestly, yeah, I can see happening. The world factions were fascinating to me and I would love to see more stories set in this universe. The world in Mindwalker reminded me heavily of Hug Howey's Silo Series trilogy, which are one of my favourites ever, and so I greedily absorbed this terrifying new world.

Dylan's writing is fun and engaging, and the narrator, Stephanie Cannon, did a fantastic job, especially with Sil.

I follow Dylan on Instagram, eagerly awaiting her next work! Well done for smashing your debut outta the park!

I’m no longer surprised when I guess the plot twists way ahead of time, in the first few chapters, just from a mere off-hand remark. I believe, if a narrative follows a logical plot, the conclusion ought to flow seamlessly out of it. And if you know what to look for, you can spot the hints of old, familiar patterns even in a new, exciting story.

Mindwalker isn’t groundbreaking or revolutionary—it’s a story told a thousand times before. But Kate Dylan made it her own and, most importantly, she made if fun. From the scavenger hunt she set up for her ARC readers, to the technicolour world the characters inhabit—Mindwalker aims to entertain.

It was a fast-paced action adventure story, with a tight, engaging plot and solid themes. The book read very much like a movie—and that is both a compliment and feels deliberate. It’s a very visual-based story that is reminiscent of classic sci-fi films like Blade Runner and Gattaca.

Mindwalker delivers a lot of highs and adrenaline-packed punches—but one aspect it struggled with was fleshing-out its characters properly. They were not, per se, one-dimensional, but they did lack quite a bit in depth and complexity. But the author did say it’s a Marvel movie in book form, so as such, that might actually have been intentional. 👀🙊

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, the story was involved and well crafted. I read this on my lunch break at work and proceeded to sulk when I had to go back to work! I felt the upcoming twist in the story but I didn’t estimate what would happen!