In Sarena Straus’s novel ReInception, an amazing medical procedure (the titular “reinception”) modifies a client’s brain to modify their behavior and unwanted desires, whether that be a change in personality, the removal of a bad habit or anything else the client may want. After a terror attack at a protest against the lower classes’ treatment, protagonist Leandrea finds herself sucked into an underground movement against both the procedure and those pushing it and is forced to confront the full implications of both the modifications and the purposes of the people behind it.

ReInception’s greatest strength comes from the thought Straus clearly put into her premise. We see in dialogue, action, and elements of the setting how making a procedure like reinception accepted and even commonplace would change society and social attitudes and the social and philosophical divisions likely to arise from it. Some characters are wholly invested in it and whose lives have been drastically improved, some even going so far as to wish it to become mandatory. In contrast, others question the wisdom and morality of essentially eliminating part of a person’s free will. Though the narrative favors the “free will” side of things, this isn’t just a morality play; every character is well fleshed-out and believably acting how they deem best.

The narrative unfolds at a good pace; Straus successfully establishes a potentially difficult premise and setting in the first few chapters without resorting to infodumps, and quickly introduces our protagonist and gets the story moving. The dialogue is also natural and believable throughout, even when the discussions get philosophical. The conspiracy central to the main plot is unveiled gradually throughout the novel; Straus shares enough to hold the reader’s interest, but one always has the sense that there’s more to this world than what’s on the surface.

ReInception is an excellent science fiction novel with a focus on genetic engineering. The adventure readers go on as they follow the characters in the battle for humanity’s free will is engaging and thrilling. With the moral question of what is right or wrong and what is the benefit for society as a whole at the forefront of this novel, it will be hard to put down once you start.

Pages: 289 | ASIN : B0B9RG47LN

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/12/15/reinception/