Title: Merged
Author: Jim and Stephanie Kroepfl
Publisher: Month9 Books
Publication date: September 17th, 2019
300 pages
4/5 stars
Goodreads Synopsis
Seven of our country’s most gifted teens will become Nobels, hosts for the implantation of brilliant Mentor minds, in an effort to accelerate human progress.
But as the line between what’s possible and what’s right, draws ever blurrier, the teens discover everything has a cost.
Scientists have created an evolved form of living known as Merged Consciousness, and sixteen-year-old Lake finds herself unable to merge with her Mentor.
Lake, the Nobel for Chemistry and Orfyn, the Nobel for Art, are two from among the inaugural class of Nobels, and with the best intent and motivation. But when Stryker, the Nobel for Peace, makes them question the motivation of the scientists behind the program, their world begins to unravel.
As the Nobels work to uncover the dark secrets of the program’s origins, everyone’s a suspect and no one can be trusted, not even the other Nobels.
As the Mentors begin to take over the bodies and minds of the Nobels, Lake and Orfyn must find a way to regain control before they lose all semblance or memory of their former selves.
Review
**Thank you to Month9 Books, Jim Kroepfl, and Stephanie Kroepfl for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**
Merged is a new novel by the author duo, who also happen to be husband and wife, Jim and Stephanie Kroepfl. Merged is about a futuristic world where scientists have discovered how to “merge” one consciousness with another. Mostly, they want to put brilliant individuals of various disciplines into 16 year olds (Nobels) with a proclivity for their topics of expertise. The merged consciousness will be able to communicate with their Nobel in their dreams. The Nobel would then continue the work left behind by the deceased genius.
Lake and Orfyn are two Nobels, Chemistry and Art respectively. They begin to notice that not everything is as it seems with the organization that has started this experiment. When other Nobels begin to suffer negative effects from the merged consciousness, they begin to investigate and unravel the plans of adults with far more power than they have.
I really enjoyed reading Merged, and I thought the plot was well conceived and well executed. Chapters are told from 3 different Nobels points of view, and then also from the Darwinians (the organization running the experiment). It was really interesting to be able to have the insider information provided by the Darwinian chapters, especially as it coincided with what the Nobels were experiencing.
My only critique is that I want MORE. No spoilers, but that ending doesn’t seem to wrap up the book well, and I desperately want to know what happens to Lake, Orfyn, and Stryker after the fact. If you are interested in science fiction, definitely go check out Merged!
Happy reading, book friends! 🙂
Baltimore Bibliophile 