What makes "Adaptively Radiant" so compelling is its exploration of the ethical and philosophical implications of this technology. Henning raises thought-provoking questions about the nature of humanity, free will, and the role of technology in our lives. The characters are complex and engaging, and the world-building is rich and immersive.

While "Adaptively Radiant" is an excellent exploration of the ethical implications of merging with artificial intelligence, some readers may find that the novel spends too much time delving into these ethical considerations at the expense of plot and character development. While the philosophical discussions are thought-provoking, they can also be dense and at times overwhelming.

{3.5 stars}

Adaptively Radiant is the story of two cousins vacationing in Japan together on a mysterious quest related to two family heirlooms they inherited. They venture out together and sometimes apart (or with Justin's sister) to nine different locations around the Pacific to collect a set of objects but along the way find true fellowship, learn amazing history and see places they might not have otherwise. The ending explaining the quest definitely surprised me.

This story is definitely a fun, fast-paced read. I liked these two cousins and the magical coincidences that kept drawing them closer to their goals. I do think the writing could have benefited from an editor to help smooth the dialogue and the chunks of facts about the places and culture they visited. While the transition between the action and the background information was clunky at times, I learned a lot and was interested in the cultural background driving the story. I even enjoyed that I knew some of the places described on the islands of Hawaii.

Apologies to the author for how long this sat in my Netgalley queue, I'm desperately trying to get caught up on all my backlog. All opinions above are my own.

DNF 52%
I were just so incredible confused and bored... no characters were interesting to hold me there, i ended up giving up.

I had a difficult time reading this book. The concept was interesting and the adventure was a fun ride, but the writing was lack luster and there was a ridiculous amount of information dumping. Overall, I was not impressed and would only recommend it if information dumping and too-detailed descriptions don't bother you.

The synopsis of this story sounded so good. It was a quick read and was very descriptive of the places they had to visit to find out their family story. Definitely check it out if you're into fantasy books.

Great book. Stunning cover. This is a really fast read. I read it in one sitting. Anything magical is definitely my thing and this book is no exception. Love it.

I enjoyed reading “Adaptively Radiant” by Joseph E. Henning who in my opinion wrote a brilliant fast-paced adventure filled with mystery and highly descriptive scenes of Hawaii, Japan, and Southern California. The author writes extremely well adding even more magic to these magical places.

As an example of how this author writes, here is an excerpt from the first chapter as the adventure immediately begins, “With all the water now drained out, Kaito looks over the glass, trying to locate an opening, and slowly begins to twist off the top as if it were a pickle jar. Sure enough, after three complete revolutions, the glass lid detaches from the main body, and he reaches inside to remove nine small stones. The grayish-blue river rocks are flat, smooth, and roughly two inches across. Each one has an animal engraved on one side and kanji (which is a character used in Japanese writing) etched on the other.”

I very much enjoy becoming delightfully intertwined and entangled when I read this story where the characters are trying to solve an intriguing mystery which directly affects them, and I wondered what would happen next as I read on and on. I found this very talented author enjoys taking the reader on a whirlwind of exciting, surreal and very creative events which highly kept my interest. The story takes twists and thought-provoking turns all of which led to an extremely exciting and unpredictable ending. The story has a very surprising revelation which, in my view, I categorized as one of a kind.

I wasn’t disappointed with the talent this author exhibited in creating highly tense and exciting scenes. I simply enjoyed reading this book written by a very creative author.

Adaptively Radiant was a very, very good read. I was really impressed with how the flow of the story being told in 3rd person, almost like he was talking to you face to face. I enjoyed how all the characters came to one and connected some way or another.

If your looking for a fun, fast paced, adventure book, with many different characters, I highly recommend this book Adaptively Radiant to you.

Rating 4

This book had an interesting premise and I loved that the main character was in his twenties. It is written in third person and unfortunately I just couldn't get on with the writing. However, if that doesn't bother you, you may love this book.

In this 2019 fantasy adventure debut, we follow 2 young voyagers, embarking on an exotic journey across Japan, Hawaii and the United States West Coast after they find a mysterious pouch containing 9 stones of great significance. Along the way, they discover that there is much more at stake then they originally anticipated.

Adaptively Radiant left me with some mixed, but ultimately positive, feelings upon finishing it. First things first: it’s clear to me that this novel’s greatest strength lies in the beautiful descriptions of the different settings, and the incorporation of the local folklore and mythology of those places. I’m a sucker for these type of stories, especially around the summer times, as they almost act as a vicarious vacation to me. Adaptively Radiant did just that: I felt like I was there, traveling along with the characters and visiting all these places, and learning new things about them. I was personally not familiar enough with either of the cultures to speak to the accuracy of these elements, but I can say that I absolutely loved being introduced to them via this way.
Secondly: the story is very fast paced, plot driven, and for lack of a better word: “cinematic”. It read like a movie in my mind, and I finished it within a day. That being said, for me personally, these stories unfortunately tend to be the least memorable ones to me. For all the character the settings had, I couldn’t help but feel a little let down by the development of our protagonists who remained very one-dimensional throughout the novel. The same goes for the mystery plot-line; although it was on point at times, it felt a little rushed and underdeveloped in others. I appreciate there’s only so much you can do in just over 200 pages, but I often felt the right ideas were there, but just didn’t come to fruition. Personally, I would have liked the book to have been a little longer, allowing for a bit more depth in all aspects.
Lastly (and this is not a critique, but more of a question), I kept wondering what age-range this book would best be suited for. Considering the protagonists age, and the darker elements of some of the culture and mythology, this seems targeted at adults, or at least older teens. For that target audience, it did read a little “young” to me. I can’t quite put my finger on why (perhaps because of the simplicity of the plot, and the high focus on adventure), but the thought kept occurring to me.

All in all, I really enjoyed Adaptively Radiant, and I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a high paced, adventure packed novel, with a high focus on travel and exploring different lands and cultures.