Amped, by Daniel Wilson

Back in December, I read Daniel Wilson's Robopocalypse, an enjoyable sci-fi disaster novel.  I was particularly excited when I read about his new novel, Amped.  The set-up intrigued me: in the very near future, many people with physical and neurological disabilities are "amped."  They have artificial implants which give them full functionality, and, in some cases, super-human abilities.  However, a social-political movement has arisen, giving the "amps" second-class status, stripping them of basic rights.

What I thought would be an interesting treatise on disability rights turned out to be a standard story in sci-fi, the "supers" versus "normals" story played out in X-Men, Heroes, and elsewhere.  Faced with segregation and persecution, a group of amps begins a revolution.  The hero, Owen Gray, whose father developed some of the amp technology, gets caught up in the rebellion.  As the rebellion spreads, Wilson never adequately conveys the scope or implications of the movement.  I wasn't convinced that the events of the book really had a broader impact on the nation.  By contrast, in Robopocalypse Wilson skillfully placed the characters' stories within the context of the world-wide events.

Amped wasn't a bad book.  I was disappointed that Wilson did not develop the problems related to amping.  The persecution on amps did not seem logical, especially since most amps were truly disabled people whose lives are improved by technology.  I know we see rare cases in which people with prosthetics may face societal resistance, such as Oscar Pistorius's struggle to be included in the Olympics.  But I don't see that expanding to full fledged persecution; even though some did not think he should have been allowed to race because of his mechanical advantage, no one was clamoring for his citizenship to be taken away or his human rights to be denied.



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