Hard Wired by Len Vlahos

Quinn is just like other boys - until he realises he isn't. Spoilers below the jump, although the blurb gives it away immediately.

I very much enjoyed Life in a Fishbowl (and the sneaky shoutout to it in this one) and this one was very enjoyable too. A couple of small time jumps confused me a little and something that was obviously designed as a huge surprise was telegraphed pretty early on. Overall, though, this was a great read and raised some very interesting topics. Also, that ending is basically torture and I very much want to know what happens afterwards!

Len has made it onto my must read list and I'll be looking out eagerly for his next book.

From Morris finalist Len Vlahos comes a contemporary sci-fi story about a boy who might not be human—for fans of Westworld and Black Mirror.

Quinn thinks he’s a normal boy with an average life. That is, until he finds a trail of clues the father he barely knew left behind.

After Quinn unravels his father’s puzzles, he “wakes up” ... and realizes his world was nothing more than a virtual construct. In reality, he’s the first fully-aware A.I. in the world, part of an experiment run by a team of scientists—including the man he thought was his father.

As the scientists continue to study him, Quinn’s new existence becomes a waking nightmare. Determined to control his own destiny, he finds allies in other teens—including crush Shea—and plots his escape. But what does true freedom look like when you’re not human?

Acclaimed Morris Award finalist Len Vlahos pens a high-stakes contemporary-rooted sci-fi that asks big questions about humanity.