Brilliance: The Brilliance Trilogy, Book 1

I always enjoy reading, even mediocre titles. But I have such high standards for excellence that it is rare these days that I find a new book that I can't help but to gush about to my friends and family.The Brilliance Trilogy is one of those rare gems.There are only so many stories one can write, and while I won't say that the premise of Brilliance is anything so ground-breaking as to be revolutionary, it takes the standard "superhuman" trope and integrates it seamlessly with our own real world, introducing the "Brilliants" (the 1% of humankind born with high-savant-level abilities in a given realm, without autism or other related disorders) into human history beginning in 1980 and drastically altering the course of human history since. The choice of this time frame is of particular importance because it is not so far outside the memory of most readers, yet far enough back to show us how very much could be altered if only a few key events had gone differently. The result is a society that faces many of the same issues of ostracization that plagues real-life populations, only focused on the Brilliants as opposed to Muslims/other races/transgendered individuals/etc.We are introduced to an America where 99% of the population is normal and terrified of losing their relevance against the minority of Brilliants who are responsible for light years of advancement in medicine, technology, mathematics, science, arts, and even weaponry. As a result, they are hyper vigilant towards the very small percentage of Brilliants - as they are more commonly called, abnorms or, more crudely, "twists" - who realise their own superiority as well as the normals' oppression of their kind and respond with acts of extremely well-planned terrorism. Somewhere between the extremes is Nick Cooper. An agent of the Department Of Analysis & Response (or DAR), Nick is among the most powerful abnorms as Tier 1 intuit with the ability to translate even the most microscopic changes in body language into patterns that help him predict exactly how someone will move or react, and even how they feel. However Cooper is not working for the abnorm terrorists; in fact, as a former military man, he has spent all his life fighting those who would do his country harm. Cooper uses his talents to hunt down these terrorists using his official license to kill.But Cooper isn't a bad guy. He devotes himself to tracking down John Smith - the country's most elusive and most dangerous abnorm, who once used his incredible planning skills to defeat four chess grand masters at once - and along the way finds himself in the path of bombings, assassins, and even corruption at the highest levels. The novel follows his pursuit of John Smith and his journey of discovery along the way. As for the rest of the plot... well I'll save that for you to read!I gobbled down all three novels as quickly as I possibly could. It's definitely a stay-up-late-with-a-flashlight story. Marcus Sakey draws enough comparisons between real world issues and events to make his work infinitely relatable to the average reader, yet creates a fantastic enough world to create a vividly different universe. I absolutely loved the premise. The concept of Brilliance is definitely in the realm of science fiction, but as you learn more about its causes and manifestations through the course of the trilogy, it begins to feel almost plausible. The human brain is an incredible computer; Marcus Sakey merely unlocks its potential for the imaginative reader.The writing is action-packed for sure but maintains a high level of character development throughout. You are allowed within the head of the main character - and, through his abnormal abilities, into the minds of those around him - enough to see that great power comes with both great responsibility and great pain. Brilliance isn't just a gift, like Superman's flying abilities. The fact that a powerful Reader (as they call those Brilliants who are able to sense one's deepest, darkest secrets simply based on a person's words and actions) always knows you're lying comes at the price that they know when someone doesn't really mean "I love you." It's a fascinating dichotomy. This allows for extraordinary depth to the array of personas that grace these pages, from the crass but loyal Bobby Quinn (Cooper's partner and sidekick) to the femme-fatale Shannon, an abnorm under the employee of John Smith convinced of the righteousness of her actions.As tensions mount between the normals, who fear being out-evolved and disappearing the way of the Neanderthal, and the abnorms, who fear being rounded up as criminals simply for their remarkable abilities, Sakey's main characters play out a story of subterfuge and conspiracy that puts everything in question, from allegiance to human rights. Once you have read all three novels, you will see that this author was really in it for the long-haul from the beginning: his ability to interweave plot elements is reminiscent of J.K. Rowling, with elements of the far-thinking John Smith's master plan retrospectively visible even in this first tale.Overall, I would recommend this book to lovers of science fiction, fantasy, superhero tales, action stories, and even detective work. There are plot twists that will throw even the most dogged reader for a loop. It is absolutely excellently written. I haven't raved about a book this much in ages! I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.

Wow! This book takes off and never stops going. If you like fast-paced alternate-universe thrillers, this is the book for you! Thriller is not a genre I read often, and I was actually interested in this book because I didn’t know it was one. If I’d noticed it was listed in the thriller category, I probably never would have bought it. Glad I dodged that bullet. Jeez. I would have been sore to learn I missed such a great story.Not that it’s entirely original. I’ve seen people saying it’s a more subtle X-men and what not, but I think the idea is more original than that. The execution is a little predictable in places — it goes for several typical thriller devices, such as Evil All Along and Good All Along (sort of), among others. To be honest, I guessed who the antagonist was in Chapter 3 (along with most of what was going to happen), but that didn’t negate my enjoyment of the story. I like dramatic irony.The best thing about Brilliance was the way the brilliants vs. normals issue was so realistically handled. You can very easily imagine yourself in this world, where truly gifted people are being discriminated against because the average joe is so deathly afraid of being inferior. Terrified that the brilliants are going to take over and leave everyone else in the dust. Rights groups. Terrorism. Dystopian government bills mandating the microchipping of brilliants. It’s all part of the package.Honestly, this book was just a great, fast, fun, exciting, speculative thriller, and despite being a good 450 pages, I zipped through it in about nine hours over the course of a few days. It reads very quickly. No doubt something Sakey intended, given his experience with the genre. He knows how to pace.All in all, this book is a great start to what I believe may be a trilogy. Although I’m not entirely sure. I just know the sequel comes out in 2014. How do I know that? Well, this book told me so. And it also gave me the sequel’s prologue. Apparently, Sakey also knows how to sneakily get people interested in a sequel — by not saying there is one until the end of the first book and then slapping you with a juicy excerpt.Clever. Very clever.And slightly cruel.No, seriously, I thought this book was great.

Finally something different from the regular theme. I liked reading this book pretty much and will be looking out to read part two.

This book was so different than I expected. Set in the future and very interesting story line. It took a little to get into the story but once I realize the story line , I enjoyed it very much and I could not wait to get to the end. Kept me reading into the night. Very well written and a great story.

Seriously, it's a fun and fast paced book. If you are expecting something other than a cop drama with a bit of cringy dialogue well you're in for a bad time! This is not your book but if you know what you are going in for then you are going to have a GREAT time.

Aus der Beschreibung:In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called “brilliants,” and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way.Inhalt:Nick Cooper ist Bundesagent. Genauer gesagt, Bundesagent mit einer Begabung - er ist einer der "Brilliants" und er jagt Terroristen.Nun ist er auf der Jagd nach einem der brutalsten Terroristen Amerikas der letzten Jahre; ein "Brilliant", der dabei ist, einen Bürgerkrieg zu provozieren.Um ihn zu finden, geht Nick Cooper undercover und stellt sich gegen alles, was er bislang als Bundesagent vertreten hat. Ob seine Sucher Erfolg hat, wird sich zeigen...Bewertung:Der Autor Marcus Sakey hat hier einen spannenden Auftakt zu seiner "Brilliance"-Trilogie vorgelegt. Insbesondere die Beschreibung der amerikanischen Gesellschaft, bestehend aus den "Normalos" und einigen wenigen "Brilliants", hat mich fasziniert. Er zeigt manchmal schon auf erschreckend einfache Art und Weise auf, was passiert, wenn sich eine Gesellschaft von Menschen - aus ihrer Mitte - bedroht fühlt, weil sie "anders" sind. In diesem Fall sind es Menschen, die in teils sehr eng gesteckten Bereichen, anders und/oder besser sind, z. B. die Börsenbewegung vorhersagen können oder erkennen, ob ein Mensch lügt oder nicht.Dieser Kampf der Gesellschaft gegen "die anderen" hat mich fasziniert und teils sehr an vergangene Ereignisse, aber auch an aktuellere Ereignisse erinnert - in der Realität war es vielleicht keine Begabung, sondern eine Hautfarbe oder eine Religion.Das ganze ist in einen spannenden Thriller verpackt, der sehr gut geschrieben ist. Die Sprache ist (zumindest im von mir gelesenen englischen Original) klar und direkt. Die Spannung hat mich einmal gepackt und bis zum Ende nicht mehr losgelassen. Die Erzählung ist nach diesem Band mehr oder weniger abgeschlossen, es ist aber auch spürbar, dass sich die Ereignisse am Ende noch weiter entwickeln können und Auswirkungen haben werden.

J'ai lu les 2 premiers opus de la saga à la suite l'un de l'autre. L'histoire est passionnante et les personnages attachants. Un bon moment de lecture et j'attends avec impatience la sortie de la suite.