In this story a new virus has infected large portions of the human race. The virus causes some people to have locked in syndrome, where they are aware and conscious but cannot move in any way. Technology has developed to allow these people to take control of robots, which then effectively become their bodies. There is also another group of people who were infected, but did not become locked in. These people can become “integrators”, which means that they can allow sufferers to take control of their body. This allows the sufferers to have a more direct experience.
I thought the premise and ideas were interesting, but the characters were shallow. The book is a sci-fi crime drama with the main character being a new recruit to the FBI. It was frankly ridiculous at points, including taking a recently deceased body to place in a sufferer’s bed so that an attacker would stab that instead. Large parts of the dialogue were pretty bad, sometimes coming across like a Scooby-Doo episode. It’s a little disappointing that the craft isn’t quite there for this book. In the hands of someone like Philip K. Dick this could have been an absolutely fascinating read. There is a sequel to this book apparently, “Head On”. Although the premise is interesting and the book has several thought-provoking ideas I don’t think it was enough for me to want to read more.