Review: Double trouble.......
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 14, 2014
This review is a double review in that I have read both "Freak of Nature" and "Fractured Innocence", the first two books in the IFICS series by Julia Crane.The cyborg concept in sci fi is not a new one but Julia Crane has taken a tack that I personally found very intriguing.  Just what body part contains the essence of our humanity?  Can it be removed, or replaced so that we are a "living tissue" housing for robotic machinery? That is part of the conundrum facing Kaitlyn and Lucas in volume one.  I will not spoil your enjoyment by giving away plot lines because the story was just too good to treat that way.  The moment I completed it I hurried to buy the second volume.Once again Ms. Crane tackles damage to the human body, but this time it is the strength of the mind of a victim that is put on display.  We alternate between Kaitlyn trying to learn to seamlessly integrate socially with humans without in any way raising notice as being "different", and Aaliyah trying to survive the inhuman abyss into which she has been pulled without warning or fault of her own.  The intersection of their lives and the interaction of their characters makes this a heart wrenching but ultimately satisfying read.I wanted to give this review more stars....six, eight, for  the way Ms Crane not only engaged me in both books, but in how she managed to deal with a very real ugly problem in our society today, but I must also stay true to myself and what I as a reader demand from an author ........ and her team.  Many, many times in book two, more so than in book one, tenses  are incorrect, and like sounding words are incorrectly used: site for sight as an example.  While it disturbs me in a poorly written book, such errors devastate me when contained in a superb book that I am truly engrossed in.  Each error disrupts the smooth flow of the narrative just enough to annoy.I still encourage everyone to read these two books for they truly are exceptional, but I also hope Ms. Crane and her helpers will strive a little harder to remove these blemishes from otherwise faultless pages.