CHIPLESS – KFIR LUZZATTO

In a post-apocalyptic, dystopian society, health authorities implant a chip in the brain of every infant to prevent the spread of disease. But the rulers exploit the chip to manipulate the population and to create a distorted vision of the world. When Kal, a young physicist, accidentally discovers the truth about the chip, his life is in danger.

In a secluded society directed by tyrannical officials and corrupt powers Kal has discovered all the answers which could free his people from their unwitting servitude.  Every citizen is implanted with a chip when they are young to regulate health and well being of the people and improve the running of the population.  But that isn't all it does.  When an experiment goes awry and Kal sees the world as it really is, not the illusion broadcast through the chip, he finds himself running for his life.  With the help of Amber, a girl who never got the chip, Kal races to get his information to the Chipless population fighting against the government.  He just hopes he can get there before time runs out for the world, and for him.

While the basis of the plot is intriguing and the story line fascinating, I couldn’t get into the story.  I never thought I’d say this, but there is too much happening in this book.  Every other chapter abandons a secondary character, picks up new one, creates another unwitting evil guy to defeat and another impossibly messy situation for them to be dragged out of.  

With the constant shift of characters of varying importance, I was often at a loss when it came to sympathy.  When a character was hurt or died I couldn’t bring myself to care.  I feel the author was too conscious of making readers feel at times, that he forgot to focus on developing connections between readers and characters and instead worked to destroy them in the most painful possible ways.  Characters flew by and had numerous pointless conversations and told unnecessary backstories.  

As for the main characters, I really liked their stories and how they developed.  Kal had to work hard to overcome his cold and distant conditioning and I loved watching him struggle with the lies of his past.  As for Amber, she is a strong female character who would jump into danger head first if given the choice.  I really liked Amber’s backstory and her efforts to save her father.  Kal and Amber as a couple however, fell a bit flat.  I didn’t feel that they had any connection romantically and all the romance felt a little forced and unnecessarily awkward. 

As for the writing, the dialogue is dry, but the world and concept of the story were stimulating.  I wish I could’ve had more details about all the different cities and the state of the outside world because I loved the society Luzzatto created for the City, Freeland and all the other surrounding areas.

While this book did have its faults, Chipless kept me reading and drew me in with an awesome main concept and unstoppable plot.  I’d love to know what you think of this book so let me know what you think!


Rating: 2.5/5

You can grab a Kindle version of this book at Amazon here.