Quite an interesting read and quite well written. I enjoyed the premise and the prose. I would definitely be interesting in works by this author in the future.

-- This review is several years past the release date due to the many issues of 2020, but a huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early copy of the book.

Amira grew up in a horrifying religious cult but, she escaped – now she works as a neurological psychologist for a team who are hoping to complete pregnancy of what will be the birth of the first human clone. However, there is a group of people who will stop at nothing to prevent the birth of this cloned child. Amira is soon wrapped up in all the intrigue and drama whilst trying to save the pregnant mother.

This was quite a good read. I would have liked more from the characters in terms of how much I actually cared about them. I never once felt fully invested in them. I did care – just not as much as I’d have liked.

That being said, the atmosphere was well done. The fear that Amira feels when thinking of her past and that of her patient is rather good, especially the fear of her patient and how the almost ‘waking dream’ element is achieved is great.

The writing was fine, nothing ground-breaking or really original and while I was interested in the story I wasn’t exactly gripped at any point either. However, there was also nothing infuriating or overly derivative either, so that’s a good thing.

In terms of sci-fi stories, this is not a bad book. However, I have read some that are much better. If you are fairly new to sci-fi, this is a good place to start, but if you are someone who has read a lot of sci-fi then this might not meet your expectations.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2021 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2021/02/2021-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

the cover is what drew me in and the story itself kept me reading until the end of the book. I really enjoyed the plot and getting to know the characters.

4 Stars!

It seems that most of the novels I read lately are horror and dark fiction but I like to take a break from this type of story on occasion. I enjoy a good science fiction novel from time to time and was in the mood for something different so I thought I would give a good sci-fi book a try. I started The Sentient by Nadia Afifi from Flame Tree Press with the hope that their science fiction offering would be as good as the horror novels they have been releasing lately and I was not disappointed.



The world of the future was a cruel world. The world was split between the compounds and the cities. The compounds controlled their denizens with pseudo-religion and punishment while the cities ruled with science. The people had little hope except for the few glimmers which the despots of the world allowed them. Life was particularly hard for women who were largely beholden to the whims of men. It seemed as if the end of the world was approaching and mankind was working to hasten it along. But science had one last gasp effort of freeing the world from the shackles of humanity, but only if the world was ready for it.



Amira Valdez was a brilliant student but she dreamed of much more than a life spend practicing science on Earth. She dreamed of escaping from Earth into space as she had once escaped from a compound and ran to the cities. When she got assigned to the controversial cloning project, it looks like her future career in space is in jeopardy. Two of the three subjects had died mysterious deaths and Amira was tasked with figuring out why. The only problem is that many outside the project were against it and hoping it would not succeed. Unfortunately for Amira, it is not only those on the outside who are working against the project. Besieged by those who feel cloning is an affront to humanity and the internal foes with their own agenda, Amira is not only fighting to save her career. She is fighting for her life.



The Sentient was about what I was expecting when I started the novel. The novel started off with a familiar feel: the brilliant, aspiring scientist with a dark past being pitted against the past to save the future. While the novel was easy to slip into, I soon found that my expectations were about to be turned round. Afifi quickly takes control of the story and begins to work in the twists and turns of the plot. This novel is a bit of an action thriller as Amira attempts to uncover the plot to ensure that the cloning project fails but it is more than that. It is a clash between science and religion, between an old world and a new, and between men and women. All sides are looking to gain control of the world and no one has much concern for those who stand in their way. What can one woman do when the whole world is against her?



The Sentient can be read as a simple science fiction thriller but there is a lot more depth than that in this story. Afifi piles on the layers to the story so that it takes on much more than a simple novel. The morality tales that lie beneath the main story make this novel a philosophical and thought-provoking read. The Sentient is a deep read that takes time to unwind but the reader that takes the time to read into the subtexts of the tale is well rewarded. Afifi crafts a layered tale of intrigue and science to shine a light into the darkest corners of the human mind. Beneath the action lies the beating heart of humanity with all of its triumphs and filings laid bare for all to see. The Sentient is a multi-layered story that takes the reader to the heart of humankind and will leave questions lingering in the mind long after the last word is read.



I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. The Sentient is available now.

My first thought upon reading the blurb for this book was that there was a lot going on here. It seemed to me that there were a number of seemingly disparate elements in this mix which might be difficult to successfully wrangle into a cohesive whole. Having finished it, was this fear unfounded?

Not wholly, no, but that isn’t to say there isn’t still plenty to enjoy here.

Considering how much plot there is to this story, the first two thirds are surprisingly sedate. It wouldn’t be fair to say that it’s plodding, as there are a number of interesting ideas here. But there is also a lot of backstory and exposition, particularly at the start. It’s something of a barrage of information in fact, not all of which seems all that relevant or interesting. Details such as the staff wearing different coloured lab coats according to their level of seniority or what the colours of different train lines are seem fussily overexplained, almost as if they’re intended to make up for world building deficiencies or inconsistencies in other areas. The prose itself is fine, so these extra, somewhat artless touches can get a little frustrating, slowing things down and providing far too much to think about in conjunction with the harder science fiction elements. It feels a lot like padding, and there are certainly a few chapters which could be a little leaner.

Once the info dumps are (mainly) out of the way, it’s clear that Afifi has some bold concepts to discuss. Theories and meditations on consciousness abound, which did make me stop and think about the implications of what was being discussed a couple of times. The questions posed by some of the later revelations were especially interesting. The ethics of cloning aren’t really picked over in any great detail, which feels like a missed opportunity; indeed, much of the treatment of prospective clone mother Rozene actually seems quite unethical. Whilst there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with this from a story perspective, it seems jarring when Amira - who is so often critical of the way the (bizarrely named) Pandora project have treated Rozene - is just as guilty of exploiting or manipulating her. Particular actions and decisions sometimes make it difficult to empathise with Amira as a main character, actions which seem at odds with the kind of respectful person she’s been shown to be previously.

This next point might sound like a bizarre criticism from someone who promotes and reviews mainly science fiction, but at times it seemed like this would have worked better if it wasn’t so futuristic. The central story around cloning could fairly easily have been set just ten or twenty years into the future rather than two hundred, given that it’s already theoretically possible to clone a human being, and in fact some of the other advanced technology in the novel feels like it causes more narrative problems than it solves. Some of it seems to exist solely to facilitate a particular plot point or scene too, which occasionally feels like a somewhat fast and loose approach to plotting.

In spite of the various issues I’ve outlined, I did still enjoy The Sentient, particularly when the pace picked up considerably (and suddenly) in the final third. I do wish it could have got going a little quicker than it did; much of the action later on is entertaining, if still slightly weighed down by a strangely slavish adherence to making everything about thirty percent more “science fictiony” than it really needs to be. It never feels like it drags though, even in those earlier chapters. Representing something of a grab bag of science fiction ideas but with some interesting and original ones underpinning it, The Sentient shows promise, and I’m interested to see what Nadia Afifi comes up with in the future.

Amira is a neuroscientist, she is investigating the deaths of two human cloning test subjects and a third needs her protection…..but from what or who?

This is a fast paced sci-fi thriller with a complex and clever plot. The world building is quite astounding. There is plenty of action and thought provoking moments regarding the ethics of human cloning, there’s religious cults and their power over people too. A totally gripping and original read.

Thank you to The publishers and NetGalley for an eARC of The Sentient. This is my honest and unbiased review.

My thanks to Flame Tree Press for an advance review copy via NetGalley of ‘The Sentient’ by Nadia Afifi.

Two hundred years in the future twenty-five year old Amira Valdez has just completed her studies at the Academy and is about to attend the Placement Day trials. Amira is a brilliant neuroscientist with a talent for reading memories. Amira was born and raised in a strict religious community though having run away in her teens is trying to put this past behind her.

Following Placement Day Amira has just been assigned to the controversial Pandora cloning project, which is likely to place her dreams of working in space on indefinite hold. In the course of her work on the project she uncovers a conspiracy to stop the creation of the first human clone. She encounters dangerous anti-cloning militants, scientists with hidden agendas, and a mysterious New Age movement. She also meets with new allies including Hadrian Wolfe, an investigator in the International Station Police.

This fascinating premise attracted me to ‘The Sentient’. However, in terms of pacing the novel did take a while to get underway but my goodness once it did! I was often breathless during the second half. This is not to say that the first part is dull as Nadia Afifi clearly wanted to take time to establish the society and characters before introducing a series of thrilling action sequences.

Amira was a strong main character, haunted by her strict upbringing. She develops a strong bond with Rozene, the young woman who is the subject of the cloning experiment. In addition, Amira’s interactions with the roguish yet heroic Agent Wolfe added a light touch to the narrative.

Nadia Afifi has created a fascinating future world and I am sure there is room for a sequel or another story set there. I would love to see if Amira eventually realises her dream of working in space.

Overall, an impressive debut and I will be looking forward to her future projects.

THE SENTIENT is among those too rare exceptional novels that leave me simultaneously mentally speechless and emotionally breathless. With its setting in the 23rd century, on Western North America and in Space, this Feminist Diverse Speculative science fiction is breathtaking in scope and range. Immediately involving, the tension, philosophy, metaphysics, suspense, are inclusive and inimitable. Terror lurks at every turn, like a timeless nightmare in which the monster draws ever nearer, but the monster is concealed. Is the danger from the religious compounds? From sociopathic Scientists? From the power-hungry wealthy enclave? A diverse female protagonist, survivor of compound brutality and now brilliant scientist maintaining a heart of compassion, must now navigate a world turned topsy-turvy. Who, if any, can be trusted? What is the "Truth" about Reality? Where does Psychology give way to Cosmic Metaphysics? Who can and will survive?

So, are you looking for a book with cults, cloning and complex ideas? Do you want to read about a woman who escapes a cult in the 2200's to become a mind reader on a cloning project? Have you ever wanted to read about a mystery that is dripping with technological terms?

Then this is the book for you!

The Sentient by Nadia Afifi follows Amira Valdez, a neuroscientist who escapes a cult at a young age. She dreams of going into space and working there, but her plan is derailed when she is assigned on the Pandora project- that is aiming to create the first human clone through pregnancy. But of course, some people in the world aren't happy about this (the cults duh) and aim to stop these efforts...no matter what...

The writing was great! It was descriptive and engaging, keeping me hooked on the action. And yes, there was quite a lot of action going down in this book! My favourite aspect of this story was the world-building. It was done so fantastically, from the cults in their secluded areas, to elevators that shipped cargo to space, and even the great Academy, where Amira graduated from. Amira as a character is very strong. She is morally grey, but overall she's just trying to do what's best for everyone. Her development with Rozene (the woman who is due to give birth to her clone, and also escaped from a cult), was very well-written. They related to each other in their experiences, and as their relationship becomes a great friendship, it really helps the story become something more.

In terms of pacing, I think this story could've been slightly better. Halfway through we have some information dumps that made me put this book down. But overall, it is a veery entertaining read! There are a lot of complex ideas explored, such as the impact of cloning on the male-female dynamics, how cloning is like playing at being creator, the impact of the 'perfect child' on a family, and transferring memory from the primary subject to a clone.

Overall, I think speculative fiction is not my thing, but I’m glad I read this. The sci-fi elements really appealed to me. I'm curious to see what the author does next! This comes out September 8th!

Thank you to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for an ARC to review. I am so grateful!

When I read the description for this book, the premise hooked me in. Since this is a new author, I went in with the idea that the premise as promised in the description and the premise as delivered in the story could be different. This is one of the cases where that did not happen and I could not have been happier.

There is a lot about The Sentient to love. Amira Valdez as a protagonist is well fleshed out, and I was able to empathize with her throughout the course of the story. The cast of characters assembled around her feels well rounded - like they belong there without feeling extraneous or like their only purpose is to further the plot. And the story is well-detailed without bogging the reader down.

All that said... I wanted to love this one. But the pacing in the first half, while not slow, did not leave me prepared for the heavily action-packed second half. I may well have missed some of the signs pointing towards this shift, but the transition felt strange. On first read, I very much felt like the events that kicked off in the middle of the story were more appropriate for a climax with how the story had been built up to that point. Going back, I see better where things tied in, but it may still be a problem for some.

Please don't get me wrong - I really, really liked The Sentient. I just wanted to love it, but could not quite get there.

There is an interesting book buried in here but it is obscured by side plots and ornamentation. Thus our hero is a young and inexperienced neuroscientist with an unnecessarily horrific personal background. Immediately after graduation she is tossed into the deep end of a controversial, probably immoral, and likely illegal cloning project involving young women from similar backgrounds to hers. These women are spontaneously dying. Someone has decided that what is killing them is a mental issue that needs the attention of a neuroscientist. But a young and inexperienced one will do. And for some reason the subjects are all doped up all the time. But the drugs don't affect the fetuses they are carrying. And there are political ramifications. And a bunch of other things going on. Not all of this stuff is plausible or needed to carry the main plot.

The project is not well explained and I have so very many hard science questions that are unanswered.

In all psychological fields today, future practitioners are themselves expected to undergo analysis during their training. This is to help them understand themselves better and also to help them understand what their clients will feel as their therapy progresses. This step is considered an integral part of training. I do not believe that this rule would not be followed even in the future outlined in this book. Yet Amira's first experience with the mind probe machine on the day of her final placement (not unlike a sorting hat). Somehow, despite her years of study, Amira believes that she will be able to fool the machine at this crucial time and hide her past. This is nonsense. How can the mind probe be helpful to a client if it is easily deceived?

I stopped reading when the weight of hard science questions overwhelmed my only mild interest in the messy plot.

And I hate the title.

Thank you to the author, Flame Tree Press, and NetGalley for providing a review copy.

Every once in a while, I'll pick up a book without really having an idea of what to expect. It'll be because I like the cover or the description appeals to me, or because I've been hearing about the author but haven't read any of their work yet. And more often than not I'm pleasantly surprised. I can find at least a few things to like about most forms of media (books, movies, games etc.) I consume but in general I've found that exploring outside of establishes voices and genres is incredibly rewarding.

The Sentient by Nadia Afifi is one such novel. I chose it for review on a whim while I was just casually browsing. I liked the cover and the blurb sounded interesting, but Amira's story (of escaping and dealing with religious and associated physical and sexual persecution and injustices) are not fictional topics I generally tend to gravitate toward.

We're put into the shoes of Amira Valdez as she's trying to figure out life after being abused and exploited for most of it by a group of religious extremists she just barely managed to escape - having been assigned to assist with a controversial cloning project in a world a few hundred years removed from our own against a backdrop of near and not so near future technology in a typical yet refreshing take on institutionalized political and technological panopticons.

Put another way, all of the disparate elements in this story - the ideological fanaticism, the idea of cloning, the associated political machinations and power plays are ones which all take center stage in other novels, but the author takes the best of those and uses these pieces to tell a story which feels inherently unique and interesting, and which surpasses the sum of its familiar parts.

While again, its not what I would usually read, I really enjoyed the exploration of Amira's character and how her perspective and her past plays off of those of more traditionally progressive characters that seem to exist in every contemporary science fiction story where advanced technology gives rise to freedom of action and expression if not freedom from the strings invariably being pulled behind the curtain by the rich and powerful people of this world.

The overarching story is interesting as well. While the cloning storyline takes center stage it connects well with and informs the overarching power plays that affect the rest of the world the author has created. The novel starts off comparatively slowly with the rest of the book, introducing the reader to Amira's world and her perspective, but before long the story starts moving very quickly and doesn't let up from there to the end of the novel, which wraps up the immediate story well enough, but I wouldn't be surprised if the author has sequels planned as there are several plot threads left dangling seemingly deliberately so that they can be explored further later on.

Overall, it's a good story, especially if you're into this type of novel. (Meaning, the exploration of identity, purpose, and trauma and its after-effects in a sci-fi setting). Just so I can frame this a bit better, the themes and motifs lean toward the YA sphere at times with what the main and supporting characters go through, but this isn't a YA novel in the traditional sense. For one thing, it's pretty brutal at times, especially when it comes to detailing the physical and emotional abuse that's mainly inflicted on women in this world, and while it wasn't easy to read it did help to enhance the story and underscore the thematic points the author is imparting to the reader. I'll definitely look out a sequel, and future novels by this author.

I was really intrigued by this book, but I'm not sure it was for me.

When I first started it, it reminded me of the Divergent series, which I absolutely love. However, as it progressed, it was a little bit more science fiction than dystopian, which isn't really my thing.

It's not a bad book by any stretch, but it was full of a lot of scientific and technical talk, and I also found it hard to keep up with the different characters.

Not a bad book, but definitely not for me.

Amira Valdez was raised in a religious compound that left her scarred both physically and mentally. She managed to escape the compound 10 years ago and has made a new life in the city. She has worked hard to get an education, and is now a holomentic reader about to be assigned her first job in her field of study. She is hoping for a job in space.

Instead, she gets assigned to the Pandora Project. Pandora is an extremely controversial attempt at cloning. There has already been two failures that resulted in the death of both mothers and babies. As no physical cause is found, Amira has been brought in to find out if the problem is somehow due to the patient's mental problems.

Rozene has to be kept sedated through the holomentic readings at first because her violent and severe reactions put her and her baby at risk. . Amira quickly discovers that Rozene's memory has been tampered with. The more she digs, the more questions she has. Who is the man who came into Rozene's room at night and what was he doing there? Is someone involved in the Pandora project trying to sabotage the project? How much danger is Rozene and her child in? How much danger is Amira in?

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. If you like dystopian Science fiction, I definitely recommend this book.

Wow....this book has a lot going on! Cults, cloning, space, memory reading, conspiracies.....it has a bit of everything! Amira is a neuroscientist who finds herself in the middle of a very controversial human cloning project. Two test subjects have died....and there are people conspiring to make sure the third does not birth the cloned baby she is carrying. Amira comes in to investigate the deaths and to protect the third test subject and discovers much deeper issues.

This story packs in a lot of story elements and action. It's definitely never boring....I was glued to the page the entire time I was reading this book. So many interesting concepts and characters...and always something going on. At times the story did get a bit bogged down in everything it was trying to accomplish....just so much packed into one story -- religious cults and their effects on former members, the ethics of cloning humans, how strongly religious sects react to science....lots of big topics. But even with so much packed into one tale, the author manages to pull it off for the most part. I couldn't stop reading!

Awesome debut novel! I'm definitely looking forward to more by this new author!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Flame Tree Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Imagine if it was normal to learn how to use super special technology to see other’s dreams. Imagine a world where genetic disease is all but nipped in the bud. Imagine a place where science separates cults from everyday people. Sounds far-fetched, but Nadia Afifi’s The Sentient makes this sound like it could happen to us.

Amira Valdez is an aspiring neuroscientist who has high hopes of being placed at a space station for her ‘work placement’. When she goes in for her test, it turns out that the academy she is at has better ideas- setting her up to work at the failing Pandora project. This project is about cloning a human, so it was rather odd that a neuroscientist was needed for the project.

At least, that was what Amira thought. As the book got started, it was obvious that she got more than she was bargaining for. Not only did the project often report that it was failing, but as Amira uncovered, there were a lot of secrets to be uncovered, with no stop to it in sight. As a scientist myself, I feel a lot of myself in Amira- being curious and super determined, no matter what (I mean all the best scientists question things too!)

Amira is presented as a strong, curious individual, whereas some of the others didn’t- they were rather malleable and bent to others’ wills. I loved how the city itself recognised that not everyone conformed to Miss/Mr and the most widely accepted salutation was M.. This was nice to see in a book, although one character didn’t not believe in having genderless salutations, which makes the character super unlikeable to me. Speaking of the world, it was nice to see the contrast between the cults (both spiritual and the cosmics), the scientists, and the general public. This definitely made the world a lot more three dimensional to me, and really drew me into the story itself- as I wasn’t sure who the bad guys really was until way past halfway through!

I loved how Amira’s academy friend gets involved with her technological aptitude, getting Amira out of trouble during the book, alongside the space intelligence person who showed her just how dodgy the Pandora project was. The way that Afifi integrated science with speculative fiction and thrill was well done. Heck, I really loved the cult aspects, where anything to do with the city, or outside the group of cults was punishable. This is unlike breaking the rules around the towers that house the project. It was super interesting to find how Amira, the space cop, and the Pandora test subject all somehow related to the cult in one way or another.

If you’re looking for a sci-fi with everything thrown at you at once, but so clear that it didn’t feel disjointed, this is definitely a book to consider. With some dystopian feels, but also mind-reading, it really hit that soft spot I really crave, and there really isn’t much of it in the genre, so I was really excited whilst reading this one!

Honestly, this book was big on character, big on plot, and a well written science fiction piece, all good things I love as a bookworm and a scientist!

Rating: 4/5

(This review will feature on my blog on August 25!)

How fantastic to read a thrilling sci-fi !

Everything about this book is attractive : the presence of several compounds living a cult-like life, a top-notch science city, a girl between both those worlds, scientific space stations, mysterious projects in labs, cloning tests, etc. I mean, if that's not impressive, what is ?
Still, it could have been a huge mess, but fortunately, it wasn't !

Amira grew up in the compounds, forced to live a cult-like life until she manages to escape to the city and study psychology and holomency, to see people's memories. After graduating, Amira finds herself enrolled in the Pandora cloning projects, and is tasked to help the mother of the future clone, while several enemies try to bring the project down and stop the immorality that cloning represents.

There was so much action in The Sentient, yet, the author always lets us catch our breath before going at it again, making the whole thing well-balanced, which can be difficult to achieve. For that I'm grateful. I loved the world the story is set in, the intricate connections between all the places and people in the book. The cloning topic is also a great one to bring up, as it is one that has been rising in our own real world these few last years, which makes this book a really decent dystopia, quite realistic even. More than the action, I really enjoyed the background topics and challenges.

Amira is a good main character, and she has many layered, which I absolutely loved. The duality she has regarding both parts of her life (compound and city) really gives her depth, and is a key point to the story, which I loved. Her relationship with Rozene, the cloning subject was my favorite here, and the way they connect and evolve throughout the timeline was well brought, when the author could have easily rushed the whole thing. Actually, all the characters and their relationships to each other are well thought. None of them has only one main trait of character. They're not here only to serve a distinct purpose. They have several layers, deal with relatable dilemmas, and are overall just very human. I truly enjoyed how real they are and are more than tools to keep the plot going.

Although I was disappointed not to see more of the space stations mentionned, I truly enjoyed reading this. We have a great dystopian world, a fascinating main topic, interesting characters and a meaningful background reminding us that this kind of action could be closer than we think, and that the questions raised here might deserve to be thought about. I never got bored while reading, and I never got overwhelmed by all the informations, and that alone deserves my attention and praise.

As it's halfway between a YA and adult sci-fi, I'm fairly certain all of you who love this genre will, if not love it, enjoy it !

Intriguing, thoughtful, fast-paced. What not to like? I'll try to write a longer review soon, but I find The Sentient well-written, engaging, and entertaining. It has something intelligent to say while maintaining the tension and offering plenty of action.

The Sentient is a thought-provoking book that quickly pushes the reader beyond your standard dystopian future ethical questions. Delving deep into genetic engineering and religion, Afifi asks the reader to examine their feelings towards humanity and the great debate between scientific advancement and religious freedom. While I struggled with some of the characters (their motivations felt somewhat mapped vs developed), the story overall was enjoyable. Afifi does a nice job juxtaposing the extremes of both options - the zealous religious cult compounds and the science at all costs laboratories, using her protagonist to expose the reader to the perils of each. I enjoyed The Sentient; it wasn't a "couldn't put it down" novel, but I would recommend it to other readers as a great blend of SFF and philosophy.