Book Review: The Disruptors by Joseph Darlington

In an alternative 2016, celebrities are going missing...

Mysterious inventor, Zane Lund, has created a device capable of shrinking objects down to the molecular level, or infinitely growing them. Sammy Habib, a plucky and rebellious Internet journalist, is looking for the story that will make her career. Alongside unwitting accomplice John Barton, a lonely farmhand, she embarks on a series of bizarre adventures as they try to uncover the truth behind these stories.

As the technology takes off globally, a collective of governments sign an agreement to regulate how it can be used. Naturally, a seedy criminal underworld emerges as those with the knowhow start using the powers for nefarious purposes. Anything is possible for the right price...

The Disruptors is a comedically dark satire of technology and it’s unknowable applications, and an allegory on clickbait news and celebrity-worship.

GENRE: Sci-fi Adventure

PURCHASE LINK: Northodox Press | Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joseph Darlington is a writer from Manchester, England. He was nominated for the Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction in 2018, and has co-edited the Manchester Review of Books since 2016. The Girl Beneath the Ice is his first published novel, a young adult thriller. The Disruptors is part one in a two part science fiction series.

Review

This was such a quirky but fun and surprisingly thought-provoking read! Sammy is a delightful protagonist — quite mad, yes, but delightfully mad. Then she ends up being paired up with people like Jonny the photographer and John Barton the farmhand, and things just get even more chaotic. I loved it. (Pixie was great too, especially in the later parts.)

I was told I wouldn't be able to put this down and they were absolutely right. Sammy is always on the move and we just can't help being drawn to her madness the way John Barton was!

I also liked how part two delved into the effects of the new technology. When I watched the Ant-Man movies I admittedly didn't think past what the consequences might be if the Pym particles were, say, commercialized... this book went into that and painted a strange future that was "utopian" only on the surface. It's definitely not like anything I'd read before, so that was a plus — even though the ending was a little silly that I literally laughed out loud 😂

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

About Northodox Press

Northodox Press is an independent publisher established in 2020, based in Sheffield and Manchester. Their mission is to elevate northern voices and represent the diversity of writing from Northern England.

As of 2023, they cater to readers of general fiction and genre fiction.

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Hi! I'm Marie, a Filipino SFFH author and book reviewer currently based in the UK. I’m the co-author of The Prophecies of Ragnarok, a Norse myth new adult urban fantasy trilogy, and I also have several short stories published in anthologies and literary journals.

You can find more info about me and my books, and also subscribe to my newsletter for more content, here. And if you like what I do, please also consider supporting me on Ko-fi! 🩷 https://ko-fi.com/mariesinadjan

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