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My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Many thanks to the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

At a time when one of the largest democracies in the world is struggling to hold to its socialism and equality to all, this book came across as more than an eye-opener. Here I am, reading about a corporation headed by a megalomaniac named Thorne intent on milking the psychic powers of young children, exploiting them and torturing them for his own benefit and a young girl Natalia fighting against the injustice of everything around her, in reality a young activist was being arrested or more like abducted from her hometown for her courage to speak up in our country.

Knight In Paper Armor is exemplary just coz it is so much rooted in the reality of NOW that parallels can be drawn from each incident happening in the story. Billy Jakobek tugs at one’s heartstrings for going thru the atrocity that is inflicted on him but still managing to retain an essence of goodness. Each and every character in the story has a charm that makes them endearing. Be it the 2 grandmothers, Natalia’s friend Felix, even Roseanna who is manipulated into things which she had no idea about, each of them plays a crucial role in taking the story forward.

The narrative shifts between Roseanna, Thorne, Billy and Natalia which gives the reader a clear picture of the turmoil and obsession that decides the fate of all. I am terribly impressed by Nicholas Conley’s writing as he has used actual incidents from the past and the present weaving a story in the fantasy dystopian genre but the highlight of the story is its YOUTH. In spite of the terrible hardships faced by the youngsters, there’s a sense of hope and belief amongst them in their strength and unity. For them, there’s no inequality based on any criteria, there’s no caste, no creed, no color that separates their thinking and it is this fact that remains in a reader’s mind after the final chapter is done.

Kudos for the brilliant writing.

Billy Jakobek has always been different. Born with strange and powerful psychic abilities, he has grown up in the laboratories of Thorne Century, a ruthless megacorporation that economically, socially, and politically dominates American society. Every day, Billy absorbs the emotional energies, dreams, and traumas of everyone he meets—from his grandmother’s memories of the Holocaust, to the terror his sheer existence inflicts upon his captors—and he yearns to break free, so he can use his powers to help others.

Natalia Gonzalez, a rebellious artist and daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, lives in Heaven’s Hole, an industrial town built inside a meteor crater, where the poverty-stricken population struggles to survive the nightmarish working conditions of the local Thorne Century factory. Natalia takes care of her ailing mother, her grandmother, and her two younger brothers, and while she dreams of escape, she knows she cannot leave her family behind.

When Billy is transferred to Heaven’s Hole, his chance encounter with Natalia sends shockwaves rippling across the blighted landscape. The two outsiders are pitted against the all-powerful monopoly, while Billy experiences visions of an otherworldly figure known as the Shape, which prophesizes an apocalyptic future that could decimate the world they know.

AMAZON INDIA

GOODREADS

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