An okay sci-fi book. It was mostly entertaining but not really my cup of tea.

I didn't love this one. It read like the kind of paperbook you pick up at the grocery store or airport when you really need something to read. It was entertaining enough, but the body count was ridiculous. If that many people were dying so violently and publicly, it wouldn't be nearly so easy for a "conspiracy" to cover it up. I found the whole thing to be a bit too much - from the violence, to the vast conspiracy to the lab scenes that reveal the secret experiments that kicked off the plot. This writer would benefit from taking it back a notch and working on subtlety.

I am very sorry but this book just wasnt for me. I apologize. It just seemed like so many others

I don’t often read science fiction but I am a sucker for a medical thriller so when #cjsreads decided to read Clarity, by Keith Thomas, I was on board. Experimentation, conspiracies, past lives and “night doctors” collide to create a fast paced, action packed novel. Truly, I loved the concept but, in the end, I struggled with the execution.



Let me explain.



The novel opens with the introduction of several different characters including Matilda, a psychologist who specializes in memories and Ashanique, an eleven-year-old girl who has violent and traumatic memories of being in WWI. Right away, I was hooked. The “past lives phenomenon” thread moving throughout the plot was extremely interesting. I don’t know how I feel about this issue, or if I believe in it, but reading about it was fascinating! Especially the little bits of medical jargon and lectures that Matilda’s character brings to the plot.



However, what started to irk me with this novel was the delivery. For starters, several things had me a little bit confused. It took me a long time to figure out who each character was (once I understood the role of everyone it was fine) but it took about 30% of the plot for me to be able to identify the main character and the sub characters and acknowledge their roles. And, for me, after about 30% of the book completed, I wanted to be able to settle in and enjoy the story instead of trying to navigate characters.

Overall, an interesting and compelling read for conspiracy and sci-fi fans; perhaps I wasn’t the right reader!

Thanks to Atria for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest review.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into this one, but damn, that cover had me instantly intrigued. THE CLARITY by Keith Thomas is one that is still hard to wrap my head around. It really keeps you thinking and engaged throughout the novel. Medical thrillers are always interesting to me, with how fast technology is improving in the medical field a lot of these don't seem too farfetched.

Dr. Matilda Deacon has been researching how memories are created and stored in the human brain. She meets a young girl named Ash and discovers that she is gifted with the memories of a past life. Her memories are from that of the last soldier killed in WWI - despite all of her doubts and skepticism Matilda slowly begins to realize she might be telling the truth.

They quickly realize that Ash is in serious danger when they learn of a deadly assassin that's been following her. Rade is on a mission to keep secrets hidden but Ash is putting that all in jeopardy. Are her memories of a past life the key to what Rade is trying to prevent from being leaked?

Overall, this was an incredibly unique read. Medical experimentation, cat and mouse with an assassin, memories from your past life? All of this combined made for an enjoyable read. There were a few places where the momentum slowed down for me. Just like my buddy reader, Chandra, said, I will never see cheese graters the same after reading this!

If medical thrillers pique your interest and you're looking for something completely unique, then I would highly recommend picking this one up.

I give this 3.5/5 stars!

3,5 stars

The Clarity
Keith Thomas
Leopoldo & Co./Atria Books, February 2018
ISBN 978-1-5011-5693-9
Hardcover

From the publisher—

Dr. Matilda Deacon is a psychologist researching how memories are made and stored when she meets a strange eleven-year-old girl named Ashanique. Ashanique claims to harbor the memories of the last soldier killed in World War I and Matilda is at first very interested but skeptical. However, when Ashanique starts talking about being chased by the Night Doctors—a term also used by an unstable patient who was later found dead—Matilda can’t deny that the girl might be telling the truth.

Matilda learns that Ashanique and her mother have been on the run their whole lives from a monstrous assassin named Rade. Rade is after a secret contained solely in memories and has left a bloody trail throughout the world in search of it. Matilda soon realizes Ashanique is in unimaginable danger and that her unique ability comes with a deadly price.

Fast-paced, suspenseful, and a chilling blend of science and danger, The Clarity is a compelling take on the possibilities of reincarnation and life after death.

With splashes of science and history, The Clarity is, at its core, the stuff of a little girl’s nightmares but the nightmares are real. Certainly, past instances of experimentation on humans have turned out to be dark shadows on our psyches no matter what the initial, seemingly well-intended, idea was or where it took place. Then, throw in a good oldfashioned conspiracy and a villain who would frighten even the most unimaginative of us and you have a frantic race to find truth and survival.

For readers who tend to be a little squeamish, be forewarned—Rade is no mildmannered, polite assassin. He literally will kill anyone in his way and do so with a lot of gore and even more gore. At the same time, he’s the most fascinating character (to me, at least) because of his complete lack of morals or compassion. Ashanique is almost as mindgrabbing but its because of what’s happening to her rather than any aspect of her short, inexperienced life.

As thrillers go, this one has its pacing issues and, as mentioned earlier, an abundance of violence, but I enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone interested in stories rooted in the past.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, February 2018.

This book did not prove to be what I expected. The writing felt pretty flat and even though the concept was unique. I just couldn't read It.

Thanks Atria Books and netgalley for this ARC.

Did not finish. Just too out there for me to commit myself

You know how I can tell when an author did his job? When I stop reading and go to the web to look up something he uses in his plot - and not to prove him wrong, but out of pure fascination.

In this case, it was the Night Doctors. My Creole family didn't have this story and I simply had to find out all about it. And if you haven't learned about them, look it up. It's chilling.

As for The Clarity, this was an enjoyable fast read. The author took a very interesting scientific concept and expanded it to something all to believable.

And there's plenty of action, drama, and heartbreak.

While I didn't always believe how deep the conspiracy was and, admittedly, was at times confused by the formula and how exactly it worked, the book itself was a stellar read.

I'd happily read the author again. And I want another book about the Night Doctors!

I'm not even sure where to begin with this one. I absolutely love the concept of this. Medical experimentation allowing some to be able to remember past lives. A young girl "gifted" with this ability who is being chased by a murderer named Rade who wants a secret hidden in these memories that only Ash (the young girl) can seem to provide. The author takes us on an action packed excursion.

I did enjoy the past memories as Ash pummels into them. While Ash and Matilda (her guardian) were interesting characters, I think I was most fascinated with Rade. Not really filled with any type of emotion, he simply acts on orders and takes them to the extreme. I swear, I will never look at a cheese grater the same EVER again. **shiver**

I was fully intrigued with the first half of the book but then found my interest waning the further I got in. I'm not sure what exactly it was that wasn't quite working for me the way that I wanted it to but while I was still finding the storyline entertaining, I couldn't quite feel fully invested. "Where is Fifty-One" Who are these Night Doctors? ..... It had that sci-fi/thriller feel that I usually love in books of this nature, with a fairly unique take on mind control... and yet, even with some explanation, I don't understand exactly where we were going most of the time... or I stopped caring.

Don't get me wrong - I did enjoy this book. I just didn't find myself loving it. I'm fairly certain this is a standalone even though the ending hints at more to come. I'm going to assume that it was left this way as we know that even though they may have gotten to their own "ending" of sorts, any medical/government experimentation, etc. just doesn't disappear because your story "ends". If that makes any sense.

I may need to stew on this one for a bit. Am I glad I read this? Yes. Do I need more answers? I think so. Would I read on if this story continued? I'm not certain if I would. Definitely torn down the middle with this one. If sci-fi/action thrillers suit you, I would give this one a go as it is a unique take on memory manipulation.

If the thought of people around us being reincarnated beings does not frighten you, this is the book for you. There are kids, adults and everything in between walking around knowing they used to be people from the past. For most it is scary, for the rest it is fatal. It certainly doesn't help when there is a man named Rade set out to find all those people are gather their memories under any circumstance. Working with a psychologist whose mission it is to save those reincarnated souls from the scientists that want to destroy them, we are led through a journey or near misses and action filled adventures. Yet in the end, it doesn't seem to grab your full attention. It's enough to transport you to another world. It's not enough to make you want to live in it.

Ashanique is an 11 year old girl....who starts having memories of World War 1. Dr Matilda Deacon is a psychologist, specializing in memories and past lives. Dr. Deacon meets Ashanique and feels she's one of two things - a great actress or actually experiencing these memories. Ashanique mentions her feat of the "Night Doctors" and....this is where we are.

Enemies are around every corner. Stakes get higher. Memories get stronger. Danger follows. This book moves around like a high speed chase, where you are holding to breath as you turn the page, hoping for a break...and no break is coming.

Thank to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

"WHERE IS FIFTY-ONE?"

A nail-bitingly suspenseful and whip-smart novel about human experimentation that resulted in certain individuals, called "Nulls,' being able to (or being forced to, depending on your point of view) relive previous lives.

The writing is so excellent in this book, both of the thrilling "present day" happenings of a Null and her daughter trying to escape the attention of the clandestine government group that conducted the aforementioned experiments, and most especially the italics-soaked recollections of past lives.

Highly recommended for fans of physiological thrillers, realistic sci-fi stories, and just general mind-fudgery.

This has an interesting concept- people who can remember the past lives of others- but it's hampered by characters that aren't fully fleshed out. Dr. Mathilda Deacon is a psychologist; Ashanique is a child who can recount things that happened to a soldier who died in WWI. There's a conspiracy (of course) and human experimentation (on children). It's a fast read and one which others might find satisfying but I wanted more from Thomas, who has good ideas. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. As others have noted, this would make a good movie.

Fully formatted review available on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2169388129

How could a child born in 2007 remember dying in World War I? When Ashanique turns eleven years old, her mind is suddenly flooded with memories she couldn’t possibly have. Dr. Matilda Deacon is fascinated by Ashanique's case. She has interviewed seventy-five people who remember previous lives and has been skeptical of all their stories, but none of them have ever presented like Ashanique. In her desperation to study the girl, Matilda gets involved in something much more complex and dangerous than she could have ever anticipated. No one can be trusted.

If you like fast-paced, plot-driven stories with a corporate/government conspiracy and an evil villain chasing down the good guys, this might be the book you’re looking for. I enjoy action-based stories more in audiobook or movie form. I was most interested in the past-lives aspect, so I didn't like it as much when the action took center stage. I wanted more of the World War I soldier! The biggest strengths of this book are the diverse cast, the science, and the history. Actual science experiments and medical conspiracies are incorporated into the story to remind the reader that this isn't just the stuff of science fiction or conspiracy theorists: planarian memory experiments, Project MKUltra, and Night Doctors. Some of the science went over my head, but I got the gist of it all!

The Black Mirror and True Detective comparisons didn't fit for me. The accuracy of comparisons is always going to depend on why you liked a particular story. The high action isn't the main appeal of either of those shows, in my opinion. The Clarity reminded me more of sci-fi network shows where the main draw is seeing what happens next and who survives the journey. The reading experience felt similar to that of Horrorstor, Broadcast, and Sleep Over: interesting concepts with well-written gore, but I wasn't attached to the characters. To a lesser extent, it reminded me of The Girl With All the Gifts or Stranger Things (experimentation on the vulnerable, bond between a girl and non-parental adult).

The chapters alternate between several characters, plus a few flashbacks to some of their past lives:

• Ashanique - Despite—or maybe because of—the cacophony of noise in her head, Ashanique has more presence of mind than most people. She's confident and brave, but there's still a sense of vulnerability. She may have amazing abilities, but she's still a child dealing with a scary situation.

• Rade - A merciless killer who kills everyone in his path in increasingly gory ways. There's more than one way to use a cheese grater! I really enjoyed the writing of the scenes, but I wasn't invested in most of the characters enough to care about their deaths. I actually felt relief when one of them met the end of Rade's knife! Rade is predictably diabolical for most of the story, but he gets more fleshed out at the end. Was Rade always a monster or was he helped along that path?

• Dr. Matilda Deacon is a professor and social worker. Her fixation with memory began with her mother's struggle with dementia. When she visits her mom at the care home, she doesn't only see the slow loss of the woman she knew, but a vision of her own future. I had two big mountains to climb with Matilda. First, I’m so over mentor/mentee affair thing (#1 reason why I usually avoid books with professors) and it didn’t really add anything to the story in this case. Second, she was unprofessional in her initial dealings with Ashanique. Her relationship with her mother and her growing bond with Ashanique is what made her grow on me. I also liked her sticky note quirk!

• Kojo is a Chicago PD detective. He's one of my favorite detective characters ever and this isn't even a detective book! Kojo doesn't enter into the story until a third of the way through the book, but he and his son Brandon quickly won over my heart. Twelve-year-old Brandon has Down syndrome. He is having a meltdown when we first meet him, but Kojo patiently helps him work through his frustrations. Life and work are stressful, but all of Kojo's stresses dissapate the second that Brandon smiles at him. It's such a touching scene of familial love! I love when characters have outside interests, so I also liked Kojo’s woodworking hobby.

How does Ashanique have the ability to see the past with such detail? What are Ashanique and her mother running from? Will they be able to avoid Rade's wrath? We can never truly detach ourselves from the past, and that's especially true for Ashanique. In the name of improving the lives of the majority, many times it's the most vulnerable who pay the highest price. Even people with good intentions can get so caught up in their lofty goals that they lose sight of the harm they are causing or the potential unintended consequences of their actions. The postscript implies that there will be a sequel. I'm curious about where this story is headed, so I'll definitely be reading if there's a follow-up!

I really wanted to like this book and enjoyed the first quarter of it. After that, the book fell apart for me. The plot became convoluted, the many character POVs were disjointed and confusing, motivations weren't clear, and significant villains were sidelined until the end of the book.

This book held so much promise.

The Clarity, by Keith Thomas, is the kind of book that really wants to be a screenplay. The science fiction premise is only cursorily explored. The rampaging bad guy is described in almost loving detail. The chapters are short and packed with gun fights. I think this will be a great read for those who want a thrill. For those of us who wanted to know more about the possibility of reawakening ancestral memories, The Clarity is disappointing.

While the experiment known as Project Clarity has been going on for decades, Dr. Mathilda Deacon only gets involved when she is tipped off by a resident of a housing project in Chicago that there’s something wrong with a girl named Ashanique. Ashanique can remember the lives of dozens of people who died years or even centuries ago. She seems perfectly rational, apart from the memories. Because Mathilda works in memory and dementia, Ashanique is an irresistible patient. But before Mathilda can do much more than be convinced by Ashanique’s memories, the shooting starts.

We learn a bit more about Project Clarity and what’s going on with Ashanique, but most of the rest of The Clarity shows us a series of gun fights and chases all over Chicago. As soon as our protagonists find a safe spot, Rade, their terrifying pursuer (who works for the project) shows up and kills a bunch of people. Repeat. The more I read, the more I realized I would have enjoyed this more as a TV movie or something similar. This story is crying out to be filmed. It should be an easy task, since there’s not all that much detail that would need to be cut out to fit into a two hour movie. As a book, this book left me wanting so much that I was very disappointed by the little I was given.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration. It will be released 20 February 2018.

Ashanique is an eleven year old girl who claims to have the memories of Private George Edwin, a soldier who was killed in World War I. Dr. Matilda Deacon is a professor at the University of Chicago teaching about life after death and reincarnation. When Matilda is doing social work at a rundown apartment complex; she is introduced to Ashanique by a concerned neighbor. Matilda is instantly intrigued by the girl's story and is concerned that she has a psychological disorder. Matilda soon learns that Ashanique and her mother have been on the run from Rade, an assassin who works for the Night Doctors, a term Matilda has heard before, and they will stop at nothing to retrieve them and unlock the secrets of project Clarity.

This novel was very interesting and I had a hard time putting it down. The sci-fi portion of this novel explores past lives and a scientific experiment which accidently unlocks the potential in humans to channel these memories. Many of the failed experiments have been marked for termination which adds a thrilling action packed element to the novel. I also liked that the novel is broken up with stories retelling the past life memories of those individuals they carry. I thought this was a really interesting, fast paced action thriller with a unique concept. I would definitely recommend adding this one to your TBR list.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2245550698

I got a copy of this book from netgalley. The blurb was intriguing and the book quite lived upto it for me!
It is a roller coaster ride with past lives recalled, a vicious killer on the prowl, scientific experimentation, psychology, all coming together to create an action packed story!
At the center of it all is 11 yo Aashanique, who is able to remember her past lives in astonishing detail. This spells danger for her as there is someone who would go to any extent to retrieve something from the memories she can recall.
On the run, the girl and her mother Janice meet psychologist Matilda Deacon who is studying how human memories are made and stored.
As the memories start to crowd Aashanique's brain and the killer gets closer to his goal, Matilda attempts to protect her and figure out what is actually happening.
The action is fast paced, the killings described in gruesome detail and the book races to a fascinating conclusion that nevertheless leaves room for a sequel!
For me it was 3.5/5.

Thanks to the publisher, Atria Books, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I stumbled across this Read Now book on Netgalley and took a shot, and I'm glad I did. This was a fast-paced thriller that after the initial setup was basically nonstop action. It was such an interesting concept and was well-plotted. While I don't think the characters were as deep or developed as I would have liked, and the past lives thing didn't take as much of the forefront as expected, I still really enjoyed this novel. The little digital exchange in the epilogue hints at a potential sequel. If there is one, I'm there. :)

3.75 stars rounded up to 4.