The Duality Bridge (Singularity #2)
by Susan Kaye Quinn
Blurb:
What does it mean to be human?Elijah Brighton is the face of the Human Resistance Movement. He’s the Olympic-level painter who refused an offer of immortality from the ascenders—the human/machine hybrids who run the world—in solidarity with the legacy humans who will never get a chance to live forever.
Too bad it’s all a complicated web of lies.
Worse, Eli’s not even entirely human. Few know about the ascenders’ genetic experiments that left him… different. Fewer know about the unearthly fugue state that creates his transcendent art—as well as a bridge that lets him speak to the dead. But the Resistance is the one place he can hide from the ascender who knows everything the fugue can do. Because if Marcus finds him, he’ll either use Eli for his own nefarious purposes… or destroy him once and for all.
The Duality Bridge is the second book in the Singularity series and the sequel to The Legacy Human. This thrilling new young adult science fiction series explores the intersection of mind, body, and soul in a post-Singularity world.
My Review:
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I love The Legacy Human, so I was eager to dive into The Duality Bridge. The Duality Bridge is a great sequel, although I did enjoy it less than the first book. The Duality Bridge takes the story into a different direction, while the first book focussed more on the fugue state and creating art and this book focussed more on the fugue and what it really means and what Eli can do with it. More focussed on the power, the spirituality, religious implications and even some philosophy. And for me that was just a bit too far out there at times. I wasn’t a fan of the religious/ spiritual and philosophical direction the story took. It just went a bit too far into unbelievable territory for me, there are some topics I prefer to leave in fantasy as in sci-fi as in sci-fi I have a hard time wrapping my mind around it. There’s a lot of talk of souls, the afterlife, gods, religion, spirituality and such and I could’ve done with less of that and more focus on other elements. And there was a plot line towards the end that was a bit too far-fetched in my opinion. However there was also enough that I did enjoy. It’s very well written and the pace is steady with enough going on. So even though I didn’t enjoy all aspects of the story I still enjoyed the way it was written.
Everyone wants to own or control Eli and while getting captured and escaped Eli tries to find out what exactly the fugue state is and what he is capable of. And I have the feeling he still only scratches the surface in this book. He’s a bit overpowered when you realize what he is capable of. The story and world is very interesting. And I liked seeing where the author took the story. The ending upped the pace and when the dust settles I am not sure what all these events will mean for the characters. The title really fits the book and the word bridge is true of Eli in so many different ways.
The characters is one of the things I like most about the book, the characters are very interesting and we see more sides of everyone in this book. No one is what they seem and there’s more depth to some of the characters than I expected. It was interesting to see how some character turned out to be different than I thought. Especially Lenora and Marcus surprised me in this book. Marcus still does some bad things, but I actually liked him more in this book and could better understand his actions. And I also liked seeing Eli grow in this book, he’s just a legacy human who can paint well in the first book, but in this book he becomes so much more. I also admired Kamali even more in this book, she believes without proof and I thought it was amazing how she stood by Eli.
There is some hint towards romance and even a love triangle almost, but the focus isn’t on the romance. I wouldn’t have minded a bit more focus on the romance though. I really like the romance that is present in this book, Eli has feelings for both Kamali and Lenora and I feel that in this book he works through his feelings for both of them and while there is no real decision, it never was a real love triangle either. I do think Eli has made his decision at the end of the book, so that’s good. I really liked seeing him and Kamali together as I think they make a great couple.
When it comes to world building this book adds a lot, it changes a lot and gives the world a different feeling as more is revealed and unlocked. I feel like this book really gives a feel of what this world is around, the fugue state, the question of having a soul, the ascender, ascender tech and Orion. We learn more about it all and things make more sense and fall in it’s place. It almost feels like the first book was a bit of an introduction, showing the mostly human side of the world and in this book we really get a feel for the more sci-fi and futuristic elements of this world. It really sets the stage for the rest of the books in this series I think. I did like how Susan build on the world building and expanded it without it being too overwhelming. It was a bit much to take in and understand at times, but I think Susan did a good job with the world building.
To summarize: This as a great sequel! Although it wasn’t as good as the first book in my opinion. I wasn’t a fan of the more religious/ spiritual direction the story takes and a few things are a bit too far fetched or out there for me. I did like the writing style and the pace and the story progresses nicely. There’s a lot more we learn about the world and the characters in this book and there’s a bit of romance that’s also dealt with. It was an enjoyable book even though I didn’t like all aspects of the story I still enjoyed it and am curious what will happen next.
Other books I read and reviewed by this author:
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Delirium (Debt Collector #1) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Agony (Debt Collector #2) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Ecstasy (Debt Collector #3) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Broken (Debt Collector #4) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Driven (Debt Collector #5) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Fallen (Debt Collector #6) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Promise (Debt Collector #7) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Ruthless (Debt Collector #8) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Passion (Debt Collector #9) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Debt Collector Season One (Debt Collector #1-9) – 5 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Wraith (Debt Collector #10) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Specter (Debt Collector #11) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Menace (Debt Colector #12) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Temptation (Debt Colector #13) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Shattered (Debt Colector #14) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Penance (Debt Colector #15) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Judgment (Debt Colector #16) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Corruption (Debt Colector #17) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Atonement (Debt Colector #18) – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Debt Collector Season Two (Debt Collector #10-18) – 5 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Faery Swap – 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Free Souls (Mindjack Trilogy #3) – 5 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – The Locksmith (MIndjack Trilogy #3.5)- 4 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Third Daughter (The Dharian Affairs Trilogy #1) – 5 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – The Legacy Human (Singularity #1) – 5 stars
– Susan Kaye Quinn – Restore (Stories of Singularity #1) – 4 stars
I’m with you when it comes to religious or philosophical elements needing to be in balance so the story moves ahead.
The worldbuilding sounds amazing. I like what you said about the characters. I will get to this series eventually. I have the first one already after reading your review on it.
Sophia Rose recently posted…Only a Kiss by Mary Balogh #Review
Luckily there was enough other things going on that I still enjoyed the book, but I would’ve prefered little less religious or philosophical elements.
I am looking forward to hear what you think of these books once you get around to read them! The world building and characters really make this series shine!
Having good characters is very important to me since I’m such a character-driven reader. This sounds like a great series. I’ll have to look into the first book.
Christy recently posted…Sustained by Emma Chase
It’s a great series and lots of focus on the charaters, so I think you would enjoy that part.
Lola recently posted…Review: The Storm Behind Your Eyes by Alicia Kat Vancil
I’ve read the Legacy Singularity and thought it was really good. Stunning worldbuilding and strong characterisation. I thought it quite thought-provoking. The Duality Bridge is on my TRB list, but I have to admit that I’m slightly turned off at the thought of the spiritual/philosophical angle and light-touch romance. I usually need a strong romance subplot to keep my interest so I’m not sure if this will be my type of read, even though Susan is a superb writer, and I love her style of writing. I’ll have to reflect on it. Great review though, as always.
This book has those elements as well, good world building, characterisation and thought-provoking. The romance is quite the same amount as in the first book, there are hints and they dance around it, but it is a subplot. I wasn’t a fan of the spiritual/ philosophical angle, but luckily the rest of the book was good. I do wonder though which direction the rest of the series will go on.
I love Susan Kaye Quinn her writing style as well. If you like more focus on the romance her Dharian Trilogy might be something for you, it’s an indian themed steampunk series with more romance than her other books. I only have read the first book in that series so far, but I loved that one!
Lola recently posted…Review: The Storm Behind Your Eyes by Alicia Kat Vancil
It’s interesting that so much world building occurred in book #2. I like the thought-provoking nature of the themes but I agree there needs to be balance. I’m glad you enjoyed this sequel, Lola!
Bookworm Brandee recently posted…#COYER Review ~ On the Record ~ KA Linde
Yes lots of world building takes place in this book, maybe because it’s such a complicated world and the focus in the first book is more on the art and the artistic olympics, while here the focus is more on what the fugue really is and what he can do with it. It was very different than the first book, but at the same time a very good sequel as well.