Brilliance: The Brilliance Trilogy, Book 1

I always enjoy reading, even mediocre titles. But I have such high standards for excellence that it is rare these days that I find a new book that I can't help but to gush about to my friends and family.The Brilliance Trilogy is one of those rare gems.There are only so many stories one can write, and while I won't say that the premise of Brilliance is anything so ground-breaking as to be revolutionary, it takes the standard "superhuman" trope and integrates it seamlessly with our own real world, introducing the "Brilliants" (the 1% of humankind born with high-savant-level abilities in a given realm, without autism or other related disorders) into human history beginning in 1980 and drastically altering the course of human history since. The choice of this time frame is of particular importance because it is not so far outside the memory of most readers, yet far enough back to show us how very much could be altered if only a few key events had gone differently. The result is a society that faces many of the same issues of ostracization that plagues real-life populations, only focused on the Brilliants as opposed to Muslims/other races/transgendered individuals/etc.We are introduced to an America where 99% of the population is normal and terrified of losing their relevance against the minority of Brilliants who are responsible for light years of advancement in medicine, technology, mathematics, science, arts, and even weaponry. As a result, they are hyper vigilant towards the very small percentage of Brilliants - as they are more commonly called, abnorms or, more crudely, "twists" - who realise their own superiority as well as the normals' oppression of their kind and respond with acts of extremely well-planned terrorism. Somewhere between the extremes is Nick Cooper. An agent of the Department Of Analysis & Response (or DAR), Nick is among the most powerful abnorms as Tier 1 intuit with the ability to translate even the most microscopic changes in body language into patterns that help him predict exactly how someone will move or react, and even how they feel. However Cooper is not working for the abnorm terrorists; in fact, as a former military man, he has spent all his life fighting those who would do his country harm. Cooper uses his talents to hunt down these terrorists using his official license to kill.But Cooper isn't a bad guy. He devotes himself to tracking down John Smith - the country's most elusive and most dangerous abnorm, who once used his incredible planning skills to defeat four chess grand masters at once - and along the way finds himself in the path of bombings, assassins, and even corruption at the highest levels. The novel follows his pursuit of John Smith and his journey of discovery along the way. As for the rest of the plot... well I'll save that for you to read!I gobbled down all three novels as quickly as I possibly could. It's definitely a stay-up-late-with-a-flashlight story. Marcus Sakey draws enough comparisons between real world issues and events to make his work infinitely relatable to the average reader, yet creates a fantastic enough world to create a vividly different universe. I absolutely loved the premise. The concept of Brilliance is definitely in the realm of science fiction, but as you learn more about its causes and manifestations through the course of the trilogy, it begins to feel almost plausible. The human brain is an incredible computer; Marcus Sakey merely unlocks its potential for the imaginative reader.The writing is action-packed for sure but maintains a high level of character development throughout. You are allowed within the head of the main character - and, through his abnormal abilities, into the minds of those around him - enough to see that great power comes with both great responsibility and great pain. Brilliance isn't just a gift, like Superman's flying abilities. The fact that a powerful Reader (as they call those Brilliants who are able to sense one's deepest, darkest secrets simply based on a person's words and actions) always knows you're lying comes at the price that they know when someone doesn't really mean "I love you." It's a fascinating dichotomy. This allows for extraordinary depth to the array of personas that grace these pages, from the crass but loyal Bobby Quinn (Cooper's partner and sidekick) to the femme-fatale Shannon, an abnorm under the employee of John Smith convinced of the righteousness of her actions.As tensions mount between the normals, who fear being out-evolved and disappearing the way of the Neanderthal, and the abnorms, who fear being rounded up as criminals simply for their remarkable abilities, Sakey's main characters play out a story of subterfuge and conspiracy that puts everything in question, from allegiance to human rights. Once you have read all three novels, you will see that this author was really in it for the long-haul from the beginning: his ability to interweave plot elements is reminiscent of J.K. Rowling, with elements of the far-thinking John Smith's master plan retrospectively visible even in this first tale.Overall, I would recommend this book to lovers of science fiction, fantasy, superhero tales, action stories, and even detective work. There are plot twists that will throw even the most dogged reader for a loop. It is absolutely excellently written. I haven't raved about a book this much in ages! I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.

Brilliance is a captivating and thought-provoking thriller that serves at one level as a parable about the course of events in the United States in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.The premise of the plot is that beginning roughly in 1980, once percent of the babies born in the world were "Brilliants," highly-gifted geniuses with intellectual and other powers that dwarfed those of "Normals." The pattern was first recognized by a study in 1986, and since then, the world has watched with awe the accomplishments of the Brilliants. The most highly gifted among them--the Tier Ones--had incredible abilities. One of them, Erik Epstein, single-handedly proved to be so adept at anticipating the stock market that the government was force to close down the New York Stock Exchange after Epstein compiled a fortune of $300 billion, destroying the investments of countless others.Inevitably many Normals feared that they were rapidly being shunted into obsolescence and that soon they would be irrelevant, perhaps even turned into the slaves of the Brilliants. Consequently some began to demand that the government should take steps to prevent the potential damage that the Brilliants might pose to the society and to the larger population.Accordingly, the American government created a new agency, the Department of Analysis and Response (the DAR), to gauge the potential threat posed by the Brilliants and to react to it. The Brilliants insisted that they were American citizens and that the government had no right to curtail their freedoms simply because some Normals felt threatened by their gifts. Many Normals supported those arguments and the vast majority of Brilliants remained solid citizens, simply trying to live their lives without threatening anyone.As the Brilliants began to dominate more and more aspects of the society though, even including the NFL, those who feared them grew louder and the government began limiting the freedom of the Brilliants. The Brilliants lobbied and marched for the maintenance of their rights, but a handful of them were ready to take more violent action in support of their rights.For a number of years, the DAR limped along, underfunded and unable to get much traction in its campaign against the Brilliants. There were threats of a congressional investigation into the actions of the DAR, but then a Brilliant terrorist named John Smith led a brazen attack against a Washington, D.C. restaurant, assassinating a U.S. Senator and mercilessly gunning down 73 other men, women and children.Surveillance video of the attack went viral, and the American public, stirred by the media, demanded revenge. Overnight, the DAR's budget was ramped up and its powers were greatly expanded, even to the point of giving some of its agents a license to kill. All children were now to be tested at the age of eight, and those testing as Tier One Brilliants would be removed from their families and sent to special "academies" in an effort to shape their gifts in a way that would not threaten the Normals.Inevitably, many Brilliants felt threatened by these actions and acted to protect their rights as American citizens. A special unit of the DAR, the Equitable Response Unit, was commissioned to hunt down those perceived to be the greatest threats and who were branded as terrorists. Whether these "terrorists" were captured dead or alive seemed to be of little consequence.One such agent is Nick Cooper. He's an ex-soldier, divorced with two small children. Cooper is himself a Brilliant, with a special talent for tracking down terrorists. He is appalled by their actions and, even though he supports traditional rights and liberties for the Brilliants, he believes that the extremists among them must be eliminated. The Holy Grail for Cooper and the rest of the Equitable Response Unit would be to kill John Smith, the mastermind of the attack in Washington.After another terrorist attack, Cooper gets his chance to go after Smith. But at the same time, he discovers, much to his dismay, that his four-year-old daughter is almost certainly a Tier One Brilliant. This means that she will be taken from the family and sent to an academy--a thought that devastates Cooper who has seen the work of these academies up close and despises them.Nick Cooper is now a man at war with himself, at once determined to kill the elusive John Smith while at the same time protecting his family. The result is a wild ride that leads to a shocking climax. Marcus Sakey has written a brilliant thriller both because it tells a terrifically engrossing story, and also because it raises some very troubling questions about the way in which a democratic society reacts to a perceived threat. The book should appeal to large numbers of readers.

I can’t believe I have had this book on my kindle since 2013. I have just read it and had to download the rest of the trilogy immediately. The whole series kept me up reading in the middle of the night and sitting reading at the breakfast table until lunch. It’s a little bit sci-fi which I enjoy but mostly thriller (not my usual read) with a little romance. I was so engrossed with the characters that at times I was reading through tears. There is a satisfying ending - but maybe not. A opening for a sequel but I am too exhausted to look for one at the moment. Thank you Markus Sakey for filling the last week or so of my life. I shan’t forget you or your characters any time soon.

Books concerning specially gifted heroes are difficult to write properly, and Sakey has only just succeeded. It has all the right characters, in more or less the right order, but the body count is fairly high and his methods of disposal are not very innovated. The moral imperative of killing all the bad guys to save all the good ones is probably more acceptable on the west side of the Atlantic Ocean where the problems are less matured.

The story is about the struggle of those who have been born with special gifts or skills that border on superpowers. Called “brilliants” they are feared by “normals” who seek to control, restrict and limit their power and influence.Normal manage to do this because they are so much more numerous. The gifted are forced underground or their skills are used to control other gifted.It is a very real book as it portrays, exactly what does happen to many gifted individuals. The book mirrors how those who are above average or just different are often treated with fear and suspicion. Often forced to hide or suppress their own talents for fear of being chastised, by those who are often no less talented, but who are simply unwilling to master their own gifts.This book is an important story about how humans fear difference and seek to control and limit it, as well as a great read.

I enjoyed reading this book as although it is set in a fictional era where some humans have evolved 'super' powers, neither the world which they inhabit nor the powers that they possess are beyond the bounds of believability.The story is basically about an undercover government agent trying to bring down a terrorist organisation led by a highly intelligent individual who few have ever seen and even fewer have come into contact with. His name is feared by the 'normal' humans who believe that he and his 'Brilliants' are seeking to take over the world. As always there is a twist in the tale which, although not totally unexpected, is enough to keep you reading right up until the last page. This is not one of those books which tries to be too clever with convoluted plots etc. and as such it makes for an easy bed-time read which does not tax your brain too much : ).Definitely worth a read.

I have read all 3 books and I'm a new fan of Marcus Sakey. I read a lot of science fiction/fantasy/dystopia/post apocalyptic so its often very hard finding a storyline that's just that little bit different and even harder to find an author whose writing style I love. Marcus writes like a mature, grounded adult. Its hard to explain, but some authors over describe, some spend too much of the page explaining how the character is feeling, some write like they regressed to their teenage years. Marcus Sakey writing style is perfect for me. Good plot with lots of layers, good characterisation ( I cared about Cooper, Natalie, Shannon and the rest) no nonsense style but exciting and gripping. I'm off to read more Sakey.