Twinmaker audiobook

3.5 starsThis ARC was given to me through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.So in the future there's this thing called the D-mat. Think: Star Trek Teleporter. Beam me up, Scotty!Almost everyone all over the world uses it to travel anywhere they want to all across the globe. So if you live in Denver you can go to school or work in Amsterdam. Very cool, right? I say almost everyone uses it, because there is (of course) a group of granola crunchers (Abstainers) who refuse to step inside the D-mat for fear of...well, all kinds of conspiracy theory reasons. You know, like the people who go on and on about eating organic because all of the chemicals pumped into things. Except, now that all kinds of diseases are on the rise, they don't sound quite as crazy anymore...do they?Well, Clair stumbles into into the same sort of realization when she inadvertently uncovers some very unusual things happening to her best friend. Libby is Clair's popular cool counterpart, who hates the birthmark on her face. So she tries to improve herself via chain-mail like instructions that she found on the Air. The Air is basically the internet, and (most) everyone is connected to it continually through augmentations in their eyes and ears. After Libby announces that she's tried Improvement and it worked, she sort of stops communicating with anyone. Libby's disappearance coincides with Clair and Libby's boyfriend sharing a secret kiss, so Clair isn't sure if something bad has happened to her, or if she's somehow found out about their indiscretion. Soon, however, the messages that Clair does start getting from Libby point to something more strange and sinister than just hurt feelings.But the instructions for Improvement are just too goofy to be believed. Kind of like that crap on Facebook that someone always 'shares'. *Insert sentimental garbage here*Now make a wish and re-post to all of your friends.If you believe enough, your wish will come true.If you're not brave enough to re-post this...Horrific things will immediately begin to happen to you and those you love!!!!!!Nobody but crazy old ladies from church and my friends' little kids (who shouldn't have FB accounts to start with!) pass this stuff onto me. Why?Because everyone else in the world knows they're absolutely ridiculous. Same thing goes for this Improvement thing that Libby tried. It basically said that you write down what you want to change about yourself, then hop around from place to place in the D-mat. The letter (or some form of it) had been circulating the Air for a while, and the vast majority of people did exactly what I do with the dorky FB posts...they sighed and scrolled on past it.Since nobody believes Improvement is possible, that leaves very few people on the planet left for Clair to turn to for help. Hmmm. Who does Clair know that would believe a crazy conspiracy theory?Well, there's this one kid in her classes named Jessie that comes from a family of Abstainers (think: futuristic version of the Amish), who might be able to point her in the right direction. He's basically a social pariah, but desperate times call for desperate measures.And speaking of desperate measures...Clair decides to try Improvement for herself. Whether or not it has any effect on her is a question that plagues her for the rest of the book, and I'm not telling you what happens. So there!Trying Improvement and looking a bit deeper into the D-mat conspiracy leads her to meet a disembodied super-hacker with amnesia, who goes by the name Q. How does this person play into everything? Well, if you've read a lot of adult sci-fi, you'll probably be able to figure out Q's origin fairly quickly. But I think for a teen who's new to the genre it might come as more of a shock. In the beginning, there's lots of teen drama, but after Clair teams up with Q and Jessie the story takes a more exciting turn, and leaves most of the angst behind. As far as romance goes, there are two boys in the story that Clair likes, but (for reasons I can't go into) there is no actual love triangle. I thought the plot had an interesting concept, and there was also a well thought out world to back it up. It's a good young adult sci-fi story, but I'm not sure it translates into something that adults will fall in love with. I was totally entertained the entire time I was reading it, but if you're not a fan of YA you may find some of the things that happen to be a bit too predictable. A bonus point for the book is the body image theme that starts the story off. If I remember what it was like to be a teenager correctly (and I do! Smartass.), then this is definitely a theme worth having. Although, I have to admit that I still nit-pick my imperfections...even at such an advanced age. About one day every month I feel bad about the way I look, and decide to try some sketchy rejuvenating cream/tool that I've seen on tv.I usually come to my senses before I manage to give the operator my credit card number. I mean, can something really change your life for only 29.95 a month for four months?Eh. Probably not.Besides, part of the beauty of surviving adolescence is the knowledge that it perfection is overrated.This review and other cool stuff can be found athttp://www.addicted2heroines.com/2013...

This is a superbly clever book. This is a riveting adventure of epic proportions. This is a disturbing future. This is Jump, the first book of Sean Williams' Twinmaker series.Instant gratification. That's the premise if this book. You can instantly transport yourself anywhere in the world. You can fabricate anything you want immediately through a "fabber". It's fun, it's free, and it sounds amazing. But if people are taken apart and put back together at their destination, how do we determine if they are unchanged through the process? What about the soul? And thinking further: what if you changed things about yourself using the d-mat? Clair struggles with all these questions and more as she tries to save her best friend Libby from the devastating effects of Improvement. She has a week to save Libby: other victims of the Improvement have died within seven days.The relationship between Clair and Jesse is really interesting, because of the vast differences in their outlooks. The only analogue we have today if someone told us something as permeative as the Internet is unsafe, and they live their lives without it. For the most part it sounds crazy, and we'd be inclined to scoff at it. Thus Clair has believable reactions Jesse's views about the evils of d-mat - she spends a long time being sceptical and humouring Jesse and his like-minded acquaintances. I like Clair - I admire her determination and ability to take new situations in stride. I like how she is uncomfortable with violence, doesn't want to fire a weapon, and gets hurt the first time she's physically violent. Clair brings other things to the table, and uses them instead of violence to achieve her goals. However, I initially identified with Jesse rather than Clair because his lifestyle is more what I am used to. His family has a kitchen and cooks, presumably does laundry, grows vegetables and produces things with their hands. Clair's family just fabricates everything they need and I found it quite alien at first.A small disclaimer: I almost did my PhD in Quantum Mechanics, so I flatter myself that I understand the basics of the technology at play in Jump. I thought the world building immensely clever. Williams tells us briefly about the runaway affects of global warming, the water wars, and how the invention of the d-mat changed the world. There's no need for money in a world where everyone can create whatever they want, there aren't any resource shortages and everyone basically has a hobby career. School is for learning to interact with other people, not necessarily for teaching kids other skills they'll need in the future. I think the two AI's who control the d-mat system are very interesting, and the more we found out about them - through the somewhat clumsy metaphor of a bus with a driver and conductor - the more I wanted to know.The other character of import in the book is the mysterious Q, who contacts Clair via the Air (like the Internet, but way better) with information about the Improvement. I'd pegged what Q was from the very first time we met her, and then had to wait until Clair figured it out right at the end. This annoyed me a little - it was so blindingly obvious to me: in the syntax of how she spoke, in the way she acted. I also thought that Clair relied on Q too often and too readily: Q took a lot of Clair's agency from her. I think it was easy for Williams to have Q do anything that Clair couldn't - hack into computers, drive complicated machinery, etc. but it meant that Clair basically did nothing for the middle part of the book except run around and get betrayed a few times.The set-up of this novel has all the signs of a romance-centric story with a bit of dystopia thrown in for fun. However, after Libby is exposed to Improvement, the trajectory of the story very quickly morphs into something more action-filled and, to be honest, more worthwhile. However, this means that some readers may despair at how important the romance seems to be at first, and perhaps stop reading. Which would be a shame because this is an amazing book where the romantic plot-line is pushed into the background (which is not to say I didn't enjoy it, because the two times  it cropped up, I went all mushy).I like the world of Jump. I'm invested in the characters, and I love the way Sean Williams tells this story. I think it's the perfect book for those looking to read a science fiction story with a little dystopia thrown in, with an awesome cast of characters and interesting science. I can't wait for the next two books, entitled Crash and Fall.Jump. Crash. Fall. Isn't that clever?A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic .

http://abooktopia.weebly.com Twinmaker: Jump is a high action packed science fiction that will remind you that not everything is what it seems... – Abooktopia Clair lives in a world revolutionised by d-mat, a global teleport system that allows you to transport yourself anywhere across the world simultaneously. When a new meme known as improvement surfaces, the tables start to turn. You write a code on a piece of paper and list all the things you’d like to have changed, and take the note with you through d-mat, and supposedly it happens. You can make yourself prettier, smarter, taller, whatever. Do it enough times and you’ll be… Improved. Clair thinks it’s too good to be true, but her best friend Libby is more than determined to give it a try if it means that she can finally remove her hideous birthmark, that no one else seems notice but her. But something goes askew. Libby’s not herself. With the help of the mysterious Q, who contacts Clair through the Air (an advance technology based on the internet) and Jesse, a stainer who doesn’t trust d-mat, Clair must stop improvement from spreading worldwide, and save her best friend from losing herself. Soon Clair is chased around the world in a race against time. Clair Larhonda Hill truly cares about her best friend Libby, and would do anything to save her from Improvement. I really enjoyed how Clair and Jesse’s friendship began to grow, as they combined their differences together. One of the main differences between both their characters is that Clair has always grown up to rely on d-mat, whilst Jesse has been taught to despise the system. Jesse’s lifestyle is very different from Clair’s. Where Clair can fabricate anything she wants, Jesse has to work hard to earn what he has. For those of you who hate sappy romances that take over the entire plot, this is the perfect novel for you! Romance was realistically non-existent. The novel was reasonably slow paced, and an enjoyable read, whilst the subject matter was entertaining, and well thought out. The only downside was the lack of character development, which will hopefully improve in the next two installments. ***I received a copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review***

When I started out with this book, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. It seemed to lean a bit heavily on the young adult plot with the love triangle aspect and the whole wanting to be Internet famous subplot. But it turned out those were just there to introduce the reader to the world and provide some stakes for our main character. The book quickly becomes a techno-thriller that can stand up there with the adult techno-thrillers I've enjoyed in the past. In fact, the reason for my fast pace on this book was because once it got going I was just unable to meet any of my self-imposed sleep deadlines. Kept telling myself, "just one more chapter". And the chapter are really short (according to my Kobo, an average of 5 pages per chapter). If you don't mind reading YA, once this book gets going - it's hard to put down. (view spoiler)[I was able to predict who Q was, but otherwise, the rest of the plot had the right surprise per page ratio (hide spoiler)]

Jump, called Twinmaker in the US, is Sean Williams’ foray into teen science fiction, he’s well known as a NY Times bestselling novelist of adult scifi and he’s also done a great children's series in conjunction with another Australian author Garth Nix - Troubletwisters.In the world of Jump we have solved our environmental and power problems, we can teleport from anywhere on the face of the planet to anywhere else there is a D-mat booth. We can fabricate and recycle the goods that we need. It’s a post scarcity world. Fully connected through the Air (an outgrowth of the Internet). You can live in Switzerland and go to school in California. It wasn’t all smooth sailing to get here though, there were the water wars, global warming has submerged islands and Manhattan’s streets lie underwater. But the world is safer.Or so our protagonist believes.Clair and Libby are best friends, Libby is the go getter, the popular girl. Clair is the plodder, together they balance each other. Libby rushes headlong into things and Clair picks up the pieces. Then there’s Zed the jock who is going out with Libby but harbours feelings for Clair, feelings that Clair thinks she shares.And here the reader might pause and think – this sounds familiar. Two friends fall out over a boy and we have a novel about mean girls ripping each other to shreds over him. I must admit that not being a heavy reader of fiction marketed at Teens, even I raised an eyebrow at this setup. Indeed I am aware that some readers walked away at this point thinking that the novel might deteriorate into a form of slut shaming where Libby would blame Clair for any intimate action with Zed and Zed would get off scot-free.Note this next section of the review discusses character motivations and why I think you should read on if you are getting the impression alluded to above. So I have hidden it behind spoiler tags. I wouldn't consider it a spoiler but it is discussing action about 10-15% into the novel.(view spoiler)[Clair and Zed kiss and she realises it’s a mistake, a betrayal of friendship (we never quite get to hear his thoughts due to the novel’s point of view) but before they can both talk to Libby,(secretly unhappy with her appearance) she chooses to try out Improvement - a spam message that promises she can change what she dislikes about herself.And from this point we are led on an adventure as Clair, Zed and a host of outcasts try to undo the damage Libby has done to herself. In the process they discover the world and technologies that they thought were safe, aren’t.Other reviews have expressed concerned or have been unsure about the cheating (the kiss) mentioned above. It’s a very real scenario, people cheat. What’s important here is the character’s reaction. The reader can experience that reaction vicariously and be aware of what it might be like to cheat on someone or be cheated on, they can begin to develop empathy in that regard. Not all teens learn, nor should they learn from first hand experience. I would have though that’s one of the great advantages of storytelling in any format.I don’t want to say anymore. (hide spoiler)] Williams plays with reader expectations to good effect, I think the setup above is necessary for him to surprise the reader in the rest of the novel. A novel that is more about growing up, accepting consequences and discovering the meaning of true friendship. It’s about the complexity of growing into adulthood with the added bonus and pressure of having to save the planet. Big stakes emotionally and physically.What I like about Clair is her growing self confidence, along side her introspection. There’s a tendency in some fiction to present strong women in terms of what it means for men to be strong i.e. they have to be able to kick ass and take names, carry a sword or a gun. While Clair does carry a gun she’s never comfortable about it and her first thought is to use her smarts. When she does attempt physical conflict, even when she wins, she hurts herself - as an untrained teen would do. She feels very real to me.With that story at its core the wonderfully envisaged future world is icing on the cake. Williams does a great job of extrapolating current technologies, trends and social behaviours to give us a familiar yet exciting future. The text is sprinkled with a dusting of ideas that hint at a fully realised world. And for much older readers I am pretty sure that there’s a Devo reference somewhere around page sixty.Jump is a well paced action adventure with a great female protagonist. I eagerly await more books in the series. This review is based on an ARC bearing the American cover.

I just finished this book. There is a lot of cool tech and great adventure. I couldn't put it down once i settled in.This book has so many popular Sci fi themes woven into this utterly unique and new story. Masterful job and great fun even if not a sci fi buff. Fine adventure!I had to consult my younger nephew to get up to date on what memes and trolls are in internet land to get myself up to date more on the lingo which was fun too.

When I first started this book, I was throughly confused. It took getting through the first couple of chapters until I understood what exactly was going on and what exactly they were talking about. After that, I was engrossed and sped through the rest of the it.Mr. William’s created a futuristic world and put a little twist on things. The premise is that of a teen girl (Clair) living in a world where they can actually travel through ports. Not really to different times but to other places. For instance, Clair lives in Maine but goes to school in California. She has a port in her apartment building and steps in every morning and heads off to school like our kids would get the bus. I thought this world seemed really exciting! They could have friends all over the world and just visit them, no problem! They also have an eye piece which to me seemed kind of like what we consider the world wide web. But they are always connected.So what happens when someone finds a way to produce a special code that can change a persons genetic make up when they travel through a port? This is exactly what happens when Clair’s superficial best friend receives an email stating that she could change anything about herself. But Clair notices a change in Libby and sets out on the most dangerous hunt of her life to find answers and try to save her best friend.I wasn’t really sure about this book, but like I said, the more I read, the more I just needed to find out how it all ends! My favorite character was Clair. She seemed so delicate and weak in the beginning of the book and I love to see how much a character changes through a sequence of events. By the end, she was ready to take on the whole world. And really did!The ending seemed a little flat to me, but I felt that it wrapped up nicely. It did seem a little open ended to where there could possibly be another book in our future…maybe??? I would recommend this book to any sci-fi futuristic lover. I really enjoyed it myself and I do not really have a love of these types of books.

Loved this book! It's the first of a trilogy and the story is so engaging I was hooked from start to finish. The story flowed effortlessly-I couldn't put it down. Sean Williams had me spellbound by his strong female lead, Clare, and I enjoyed being taken along with Clare & Jesse's adventures. Great YA Sci-fi read and I highly recommend it.

TWINMAKER was an amazing science fiction story. Clair is a pretty ordinary 17-year-old. She lives in Maine, goes to school in California, has a best friend who lives somewhere in Sweden, and has a crush on a boy who lives in Shanghai. All of this is possible because in Clair's world transportation is handled by the d-mat which moves people all over the world in minutes. The water wars are over; energy is generated in space and is virtually limitless; everyone is rich because everything they could want comes from the fabbers in everyone's home.But when Clair's best friend Libby hears about a meme called Improvement, she becomes determined to change herself and succeeds in a way that frightens Clair. Clair is determined to get her friend back and soon finds herself in the world of Stainers who abstain from using the d-mats because they feel that it turns people into zombies. She also finds herself running from dupes, duplicates of people who are dead, who want to keep her from telling people about the dangers of Improvement.One of those who help Clair is Q who seems to live only in the virtual world of information called Air that everyone is connected to. Q seems child-like at first but grows in ability as she spends more time with Clair. They become friends. Clair also becomes friends with a Stainer boy named Jesse who has gone to school with her since they were young but who had always been an outsider. The story is filled with action as Clair is on the run trying to get away from numerous enemies. She doesn't know who she can trust. There are lots of hidden plots under the surface of Clair's previously perfect life. She has to do some major plotting and planning herself if she wants to save those she loves. I enjoyed this story and recommend it to fans of science fiction.

I have read other books of Williams and enjoyed the strangeness which seemed, perhaps, to related to his Australian-ness. In the previous one, also set in the future, there was an element of teleportation I think (also), but the setting was stark, and in my mind, beautiful like the Australian coastline. Jump paints a rather more optimistic picture of the future world. Teleportation technology, energized by satellite deflected sunlight, has also removed excess CO2 and re-equilibrated the global climate. The early chapters had me worried, as adolescent introspection bought back memories, bad ones, of Twilight. (This was part of my commitment to reading what my teenage daughters were reading, a commitment which could not extend beyond book 1). Fortunately, this angst did not last long, although Clair retained an innocence throughout which maintained her youthful feel. Instead, the story takes a rapid ride across the world via new and old transport methods. This was fun to be doing while reading from my iPhone on the Santiago subway. New friendships are formed and others lost, the most interesting being with 'q' whose full identity may not have been completely revealed in the end. This is not a heavy read, but has echoes of Simmons's Hyperion, albeit as a kind of prequel, in the reliance on artificial intelligences to control instantaneous, universal travel. There is also the far simpler Divergent/Hunger Games element, as the unexpected hero unravels the disturbing truth behind the apparent utopia. Another free first-in-a-series from iBooks I was happy to download and devour.

After her friend's behaviour drastically changed and she 'disappeared', Clair uncovers secret and insidious plot that prays upon people's body image issues. What follows is an exciting globe spanning race against time to try to help her friend and save herself. The novel introduces such technology as a fabber, Dmat booth...things that would make life so much easier!The description of the book does not do it justice. It is not another teen book about body image and friends fighting. It is so much more. It is action packed. I was very reluctant to read it based on the title, description and the cover but very glad that I did and I was able to get my spouse to read it too!I really hope those three things are changed!

4.5 stars.What’s with all these male authors writing stories with young female heroines? Well, I really don’t care to be honest – because if the protagonist is as vocal, as intuitive, as tenacious as Clair is in Jump and the story as thrilling, as fun, as fast-moving… then why should it matter? Sean Williams, an accomplished sci-fi writer and author of such books as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed I and II and co-author of the children’s Troubletwisters series (with Garth Nix), has here an original and exciting three-part conspiracy-driven sci-fi series for young adults that will leave readers wanting to re-immerse themselves in the Twinmaker universe.Read the rest of this review at Book Probe.

Very cleverly written, Sean Williams draws the reader into a future world that is not to unsimilar to our own, only we have the power to teleport any where we wanted via booths. The majority of the populace believe that the booths are safe and nothing could possibly go wrong, but are they correct?Clare is a fascinating girl as we watch her grow up in a few days from being a normal girl interested in what is on the Air to a kick arse girl who is fighting for survival. The story is exciting and leaves you wanting to find out what happens when the unthinkable happens. Due to be released in Australia in November, this is a book you must read if you don't want to miss out on an adventure around the world.

This awesome multi-level read is the ultimate identity theft story. It is so full of action, suspense, and though provoking social commentary concerning hot botton issues such as: technological advances vs. personal prvicy; the definition of sentient; the plausiblity of self-governing AI. This is a new and very different direction for Ya, and a sure fire sleeper hit of a read.Full review to come.

This book is great! The author did a great job of making all of the chapters cliff hangers that leave you with questions and suspense. This book is a giant mystery! When you think you figure one thing out you learn you are wrong and end up being surprised with the outcome. Everyone of the chapters is full of action and suspense. I would recommend this book to people who like the genre mystery and who like action in their books!

This is an excellent YA thriller that really explores what a world with matter transmitters (like the Star Trek transporter) would actually be like. It's way more than a simple travel device. And the end of this book was nothing like I expected!