The Lead Cloak-The Lattice Trilogy(#1) by Erik Hanberg

[Jax14]

This is a Sci-Fi book aimed at young adults and up (due to violence).

The world is dominated by the invention of the Lattice. A machine that allows all of its users to jump into another person's thoughts. Privacy is a thing of the past as anyone who has access to the technology is able to hone in on a particular person's thoughts, present or past. Colonel Byron Shaw is an ardent supporter of the Lattice and its jumps, and loves to relive old history battles right inside the thoughts of those taking part. Willing to defend the Lattice with his life against those who oppose the technology, he cannot understand why groups would want to rid the world of such an amazing experience. Granted, it can be tiresome when others know important news about you before you know it, but surely all people should love the sharing involved in the Lattice? Shouldn't they?

I picked up this book as a freebie on BookBub and I was blown away by it. It's always been a worry that technology can interfere too much in our lives, but to have every thought and emotion available 24/7 to anyone who wishes to have access to it is frankly quite scary. As humans we experience so many different emotions and how you act on your thoughts and emotions is often more important than the emotions themselves. In the book's world a person can be judged and condemned on thoughts alone. I can't go too far into the storyline with spoilers popping up, but let's just say that there is always a group of people who want to bring an idea like this down and their reasons are surprisingly good. I hovered between the two sides throughout the story. The different aspects of technology thought about and covered were described so well that I felt I was actually handling the devices or in control of the command centre myself.

A brilliant read, fantastically written. I really commend the author on an amazing idea and so well executed.