It';s 2100 but it could easily be now, The world has wholeheartedly adopted neural implants that allow brains to directly access the internet. Multiple points of view offer the parallel stories of Sergei, a mathematical genius, his colleagues Daniel and Carima and an up and coming K-pop start name Sunny Kim. The novel shoots from Israel to Singapore, to Russia and reunified Korea seamlessly. Flashback provide the history behind what is sure to be an international disaster as the unhackable neural implants may in fact hold a back door.

I can't believe this is Eric Silberstein's first novel! The storyline is well thought out and quick moving, all of the characters are likeable and interesting. Best yet, there is plenty of "math talk' that someone like me can follow. I feel smarter, exhilarated and a little bit scared for the human race. If. you like thrillers, techno-thrillers, lite syfy, cult novels or just great character studies then The Insecure Mind of Sergei Kraev is for you! Highly Recommended! Thank you to #NetGally for the Arc in exchange for a fair review #TheInsecureMindOfSergeiKraev

The narrative's developmental interweaving of characters' cross-purposes, rivals that of Neil Stephenson. 

Exceptionally well-written Sci-Fi DEBUT. Way beyond expectations for a new author's first offering. Wonderfully surprising quality/ skill of story development.  In a dramatically changed post-Covid world's political new hierarchical order, it's a scary outcome considering the likelihood of believably flawed charters working at cross-purposes. With this being Silberstein's first Sci-Fi novel, sign me up right now for his next!

I enjoyed this future fiction book, read from a historical perspective, the narration is told through an elder that survived the "4-17" event. Not giving much away here, as we learn about the event itself in the first chapter; much of the book is about the complex way we got to "4-17". While this is post-apocalypse telling of the story, it is a not a post-apocalyptic tale, the after math of 4-17 is long gone. You'll have to forgive a couple of breaks in the story, going either back to the present or way back in the past to explain some of the technology or relevant aspect of society (I personally did not like these, it breaks my time flow in a book). Really the book is about the complexities of connected humanity: jealously, power, celebrity, lust, hubris, want of community, to be acknowledged, understood, and loved. Overall, if you are a fan of speculative fiction without the heavy post-apocalyptic feel, I think you'll enjoy this one.

Please Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, that never impacts the content of my reviews.

this had what i was looking for in this type of book, I enjoyed the scifi elements. The characters were great and I really enjoyed their background.

A delightful debut from the imaginative mind of Eric Silberstein
I have been reading science fiction for more years than I am willing to admit publicly, and I fell in love with SF because of the wonderfully imaginative world-building and speculation about what the future holds , as Robert A Heinlein said, “ If this goes on….” Eric Silberstein’s debut novel reminds me of the best of classic SF in his very creative speculations about how political and governmental world winds might shift in the next 100 years (Hint: the book takes place primarily in Korea and Israel). He is equally imaginative (without engaging in technodumps ) in thinking about what might be the challenges of neural implants. It was fun to learn that olfaction, smelling, could be a special challenge because of the way the process of smell is tied to our limbic system and to hear about the excitement the first day the world could wake up to the smell of virtual coffee! There is even a full list of the program for a professional conference, with topics like “Sleepless in Sweden: is implant-induced micro napping a sufficient replacement for traditional sleep?” Given the depth of detail Silberstein has worked out about this future it was no surprise to read in the Author’s Note at the end of the book that he read nineteen books, including books on music and dance, for his research.
But enough about the speculative aspects of the fiction: how is it as a novel? The plot is exciting, with a nice denouement; the pace really keeps the reader’s attention; and the characters seem like people you might know, with believable human faults and desires. It is no surprise that a lot of the characters are scientists, but there is a nice contrast added by the music and dance troupe that are also prominent, not to mention a cult that reminded me of similar groups in our recent history. I could even imagine recommending the book to friends who do not normally read science fiction but might not be averse to imagining the future in an interesting way.
It is hard to believe this is a debut novel. I am REALLY looking forward to seeing what this author does next!