Science Fiction | Book Geek Review

Title: Daughter of Nothing

Author: Eric Kent Edstrom

Publisher: Under Mountain Books

Publication Date: October 2013

Pages: 328

Genre: YA Science Fiction

Book Summary (from Goodreads)

The orphans at the Scion School believe they are being trained for a great destiny, to bring humanity back from the brink of extinction. They live a regimented existence, studying math, literature, and the martial arts. But when Jacey, seventeen, is caught alone with a boy-a severe infraction of the rules-she becomes an outcast among her classmates and the object of unwanted attention by the drug addicted headmaster, Dr. Carlhagen. Aided by Socrates, the school’s AI professor, Jacey must piece together the clues of who she is and take control of her own destiny.

Review

I struggled with this book. Not because it wasn’t well done – it was – but because I wasn’t sure how to review it. I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read, and it kept me interested. But I must admit, on page 13 I turned to my husband and said, “this sounds just like that movie, The Island.”

The book does follow similar themes. (If you aren’t wanting spoilers, quit reading here.) What makes us “us”, what makes us human, etc. The orphaned children are really clones… sort of. They are being prepped for their Progenitors to take over their bodies by way of a mind transfer when they hit eighteen. Jacey, however, is an anomaly. I won’t say why, as the reasons are very central to the plot. Dr. Carlhagen, the fatherly figure who owns/runs the Scion school, is a character that at first you think might have a sympathetic reason for all this, but quickly descends into madness. I liked Jacey’s character. I liked that the supporting characters were given separate personalities. I even enjoyed the way that Dr. Carlhagen is written. He makes a very good villain, and his madness is a gradual thing that is realistic. Most of my issues with the novel were that I could see what was coming so early that I grew frustrated. That being said, the twist at the end with the Scion and Dr. Carlhagen (vague on purpose) was one I hadn’t seen, and which I enjoyed. The book was a good read, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction novels.

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