The Diabolic by S J Kincaid

The Diabolic by S J Kincaid
Buy The Diabolic by S J Kincaid at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Olivia Tierney
Summary: Futuristic sci-fi teen novel with incredibly memorable characters and an outstanding plot. Highly recommended, make sure to add this to your list of books to read – you won't regret it!
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 403	Date: November 2016
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1471147142
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This would not happen to me. I would not just disappear into a void as though I'd never existed. I would not accept that I was less than these people just because they'd designed me that way.

Nemesis is a Diabolic, a girl genetically engineered to bond with one specific person and whose sole purpose is to protect that one person at any cost. Bred in a pen and trained to kill, Nemesis is introduced and bonded to Sidonia Impyrean, the heir of a senator of the galactic empire. The galactic empire in question is built on the Helios religion, where the Cosmos is the all-powerful entity, and as a consequence education in science and technology has been banned in all corners of the galaxy. When Sidonia's father is found transferring technological information, in direct violation of the Emperor's commands, to the Excess living on nearby planets, the Emperor summons his only daughter to Imperial Court as punishment.

Fearing for Sidonia's safety Nemesis volunteers to go in her place and enters the heart of Imperial Court under the close scrutiny of the Emperor. Whilst there she must uncover secrets to navigate and survive the Domitrian family's dangerous court, meanwhile keeping her own hidden from all those around her. In the brutal environment of court, can Nemesis trust the Emperor's mad nephew, an alliance with whom could result in the collapse of the entire empire…

The Diabolic is brilliantly jam packed with political manoeuvrings and intrigue. It's fast paced with action at every turn so the reader is never bored; it can be quite brutal and graphic in parts but those incidences give the story a dark edge and seriousness which I really enjoyed. Despite that so much is fit into so few pages, the story is well constructed and never feels rushed. As a result, Kincaid has created a great piece of fiction keeping the reader guessing and fully engrossed in the story throughout.

The characters are definitely the best thing about the book. While the world building is interesting and futuristic with great features like zero gravity dances, Nemesis and Tyrus are fantastic characters at the heart of the story which readers can really connect with. In particular Nemesis, the protagonist, is strong, bold and unstoppable in her quest to protect Sidonia and her interests. She's flawed and morally conflicted but as the story progresses we get to see her grow in confidence and become her own person. Tyrus is also a great character who never failed to make me laugh out loud and the reader gets to delve deeper into his past which adds another element to the story. I would have loved more detail and description about The Diabolic world but I still really, really enjoyed reading the book. I think the story is perfect as a standalone rather than a series and the author deserves a lot of praise for writting such a masterful story.

A huge thank you to the publishers for providing BookBag with a copy to review!

In terms of further reading, These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner is a fantastic sci-fi novel about survival with equally great characters and an exciting plot.

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Diabolic by S J Kincaid at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Diabolic by S J Kincaid at Amazon.com.

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