Precisely Terminated by Amanda Davis

Back Cover: With microchips implanted in their skulls at birth, the slaves of Cantral and Cillineese have labored under the tyrannical rule of the nobles and their computers for centuries. Monica, a noble who avoided the implanting and escaped a death sentence at the age of four, is now sixteen and is in hiding. She lives with the slaves inside the walls of the Cantral palace, pretending to be one of the them while the slave council plots a way to use her chip-less state to destroy the all-powerful computers that strike down any hint of rebellion. 

The fate of millions rides on Monica's shoulders. As the only chip-less person in the world, she must find a way to destroy the computers and free Cillinees from the nobles' iron first before they strike with the ultimate punishment - death for everyone inside the city walls. 

Review: This book was quite impressive considering the age of the author. Amanda Davis is very young - I couldn't find exactly how old she is, but I would guess around 13. Through the entire book I marveled that a kid could put together such a good story. The idea for Precisely Terminated is a good one and the thoroughly created world of Cantral is very thorough. I love all the angles she thought of. She literally thought of everything. 

I do not read a lot of dystopian novels, but I liked how this book - though grim - did not end on a completely depressing note. Amanda Davis is certainly not afraid to kill off characters, and a lot of people do die in her book. However, considering the setting and circumstances of the wall slaves it is 'realistic'. The main character, Monica, is interesting. Though a slave, she certainly has the blood of a noble running through her and she is not afraid to say what she is thinking. I found that Monica indulged in self-pity a bit more than necessary especially considering the state of the other slaves, but she does have a rather impossible task set before her - perhaps any character would be a bit pouty about it! 

I am looking forward to reading more of Amanda's work and watching the maturity of her writing. At this point, her writing is still a little rough around the edges and her character development is good but I see it getting way better. I think she has huge potential, and that her writing is going to be incredible in a few years. 

"Book has been provided courtesy of Foundation Distributing, Inc and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 
Available at your favourite bookseller from AMG Publishers"