Review: The Siege

Book two of The Six
By Mark Alpert
Available now from Sourcebooks Fire
Review copy

In THE SIX, six disabled, terminally ill teens chose to have their bodies destroyed and their minds uploaded into robots.  There was a second cost for the Pioneers (as they're known) as well: they must fight Sigma, a rogue AI.

Their first encounter resulted in the death of one of the Pioneers.  All too soon, their military command are replacing her with another girl.  But what's worse is the task given to Adam: find the traitor.  Recent missions have made it clear that one of the Pioneers is in league with Sigma.  One of the main suspects is there do to her own suspicion; the other due to an act of cowardice.  I certainly hoped it wasn't Zia since she's the only girl not in love with Adam.

In THE SIEGE, Sigma progresses to biological warfare to draw out his enemies.  There was some horror in the first book when the protagonists first transferred to their new bodies.  THE SIEGE ramps up the body horror quite a bit as Sigma retaliates by forming humanity in his own image.  It makes for some intense scenes.

This series isn't my favorite, but I find the action scenes are well done and appreciate that Alpert is writing some rare protagonists.  (In addition to all being initially disabled, not all of them are white.)  They are free of disabled bodies by the end of the first book and throughout the second, but Alpert gives weight to their decision to take such a drastic cure, and they're allowed to have moments of regret for the things they gave up in spite of what they've gained. 

THE SIX and THE SIEGE are recommended for readers looking for fast-paced science fiction with wicked cool robots and a male protagonist.