The true power of The Sequence lies in the middle of the book. Between 20% and 65% I simply could not put it down. What has Kit discovered? Who is trying to acquire her discovery, and killing all these people to do it? I came to care about the characters — so much so that the author succeeded in creating powerful conflicting emotions in me about one of them. I can’t remember the last time a book gave me feelings this strongly. I cared about these people and this story.
I did not experience the ending in the same way I did the middle. Characters and tech crucial to the ending are only hinted at, or not introduced at all until the last act.
The Sequence presents a fascinating world, probably 100-ish years into the future. There are three protagonists/antagonists, who work both for and against each other in fascinating ways. One is a detective with the Hong Kong Police named Johnny Woo, a genuinely good character who I liked and wanted to see succeed. The second is a smuggler for the criminal underworld named Dallas, who does most of his smuggling at the helm of a stealth jet.
And then we have Kit McKee. Kit is a genetic engineer who has discovered something for which people are willing to kill, and kill in large numbers, and kill gruesomely. If you look in the dictionary under antihero, you will find Kit McKee.
Pros:
- A compelling mystery, made more compelling by the horrifying revelations about genetic engineering uncovered by the Hong Kong police in the course of trying to solve it. The mystery pulled me in like a tractor beam.
- A character who’s at the same time easy to relate to and easy to abhor. I rarely experience fascination and disgust in such equal measure for a fictional character.
- A likable detective, very relatable. Every other character in this book is either evil or morally gray, but Johnny Woo is the bright, shining hero. I kept hoping for another Woo section of the book, so I could feel clean again.
- A vividly imagined world, including a criminal underworld that feels terrifyingly real and a genetic engineering profession that I dearly wish was not as realistic as I think it probably is.
Cons:
- Significant characters were barely hinted at, or not introduced at all, until the last quarter of the book.
- Dallas’s connections make a lot of challenges fall too easily.
- Moves very slow at the start.
My opinion: Very very strong writing, characterization and world building made weaker by the ending.
Before you read The Sequence, you should know that the means by which Kit and the other genetic engineers in this book advance their work are gruesome and horrifying. Many people may not have a strong enough stomach for it. I almost didn’t. Take that into account before you buy. Check it out at this link.