The Prism Effect had an interesting premise and I liked the idea it was exploring.

Unfortunately, that was all I liked.

The main character, Jet, was arrogant. Only he could bring this group together; only he had the answers. He was supposedly a natural leader and super smart, plus good at sports. It was so hard to like him, or even feel a connection with him. There were a few moments when he was a jerk and while you know he has good intentions for that behaviour, it doesn’t make you warm to him. When you know the entire way through there’s a chance the characters will die, you want to feel something, especially for your protagonist.

It wasn’t just Jet who was unlikeable. There was no connection to any of the characters. They were all shallow when it came to how much we got to know about them. Any big emotional moment was spun in a way to make it all about Jet and how wonderful he was. You just don’t feel anything for any of them.

I also found the writing and the plot difficult to follow. For most of the novel, I couldn’t engage with it – probably because of it following Jet’s perspective. But there was no urgency, no drive behind the actions, despite all of the characters supposedly being on a clock.
There were also long passages about sport. There was more detail given to a sports game that doesn’t exist – pages of moves and descriptions – that was boring to read and did nothing to advance the plot. Just another way to show how good Jet is!

When the danger starts getting real and I figured we might get somewhere, I ended up being… confused. Maybe I zoned out earlier on when Jet’s superbness explained something. But when all the action was apparently happening, I literally had no idea what was going on. At the same time, it didn’t seem plausible that no one knew about this given it had been happening for hundreds of years. It just didn’t work for me.

Perhaps the rest of the series draws it together more. Perhaps we’re given the chance to connect to the characters and want to continue their journey. Or perhaps not. But for me, I won’t be continuing the series because I struggled to invest in this one.

Still, there was an interesting premise behind it and I liked the ideas, even if the writing didn’t work for me.

Didn't care for this book, the premise sounded good but wasn't able to get into the book. I received a complimentary copy from #netgalley I was under no obligation to post a review. #theprismaffect #jwint #prismeffect

A very exciting, mysterious and fascinating story.
Very pleasant style of writing that doesn't leave you bored.
I hope to hear more from this author and make an absolute reading recommendation for all fantasy, scify and youth book fans!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

This wasn't quite what I expected but still somehow works? I thought the world building was really good, and enjoyed the characters. About to read the next one to see what happens next!

I was granted eARC access to The Prism Affect via the publisher by way of NetGalley and subsequently offered audio ARC access by the author through Author's Direct. Thank you to all involved in affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

I'll start by saying I started with the eBook, remembered I had access to the audiobook, switched to that for a bit, and then finished with the eBook, so I got a good feel for both formats. I don't normally switch twice (or at all, normally if I've got the audio I only use the audio) so I'll address why when I get to the format-specific part of the review.

The Prism Effect is a fascinating story about scholastically elite youth who have earned their admissions into Skylight University, an elite school in the outer atmosphere of post-apocalyptic Earth. Jet and a few of the students and faculty he's about to meet have one dreadful thing in common: a disease called ephebus mortem. No one identified to have lived with the disease makes it past 24. But why? Jet soon finds that those deaths weren't exactly natural. What's really going on?

I absolutely loved the premise of this book, I was 100% with Jet and his gang of unlikely allies, and I love where the plot ended up going. I didn't see it coming quite the way it played out but I'm eager to learn more. Please tell me there's more coming soon!

When NetGalley presents its myriad of ARCs and backlist review titles to us, the genre information we get is limited. Books in the broader "Science Fiction and Fantasy" category are just that, SF&F, no further details unless the blurb cares to elaborate. It turns out this is one of those true Science-Fantasy books that blurs the line between the two sides of the category. Is it a scifi first? Is it more a fantasy? Impossible to say, really. It's both. It's also mystery, and without giving too much away I think people who enjoy action thrillers like The Kingsman, or perhaps avid readers of dark academia, will enjoy this flavour of SFF with a mystery element.

In terms of the audiobook, I wish I could say I liked it because I prefer to listen to books (I can listen faster than I can read) and nothing beats a great narrative performance. Alas, in this case, I prefer the robotic way Alexa reads my Kindle editions. When I was reading this book for myself or letting Alexa read it to me, each character was distinct, the dialogue was enjoyable, and lines that were internalized thoughts were clearly not dialogue. Normally when all of that is in place in the text, the narrator is set up for a great performance. Somehow, however, this one didn't work out. Every character sounded exactly the same, internalized thoughts and spoken dialogue became indistinguishable, and something about the narrator's inflection on questions really irked me. I went back to the mobi file when the plot got really twisty so that I could focus better.

Overall this is a really good book and a great start to what seems like a promising series. I love this dark future world, I love the mystery behind ephebus mortem, and I want to know more! If you're an SFF reader, I think you'll enjoy it, too.

Jet Stroud has Ephebus mortem (The Youthful Death) where he will die by the age of twenty-four. Jet just wants to belong somewhere and when he finds others like him at Skylight University he finds his tribe. This is a sci-fi mystery with good twists and characters.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Jet Stroud wishes he could just attend Skylight University, play blaze and not have people stare at him or avoid him completely. But as someone with ephebus mortem, the youthful death, he doesn't have that option. It's as unavoidable as the glow that emanates from his eyes.

As he starts his semester, Jet must meet the other "euphs" at school in order to find out what ephebus mortem will do to them all, and as he does, he finds himself in the middle of a mystery that may just cost him his life...

The Prism Affect is a fantastic book! I really enjoyed the world-building touches, including the titular Prism Affect, where rainbows surround characters due to the sun's angle on the belts. With a bit of a slow start (chapter 1 is more of a prologue than anything), it does quickly develop into a very fast-paced book, which sweeps you along so that I found myself finishing the book in only two sittings. I enjoyed the variety of characters, as well.

While this has hints of the dystopian future genre, it truly is an excellent sci-fi book, and I look forward to the next installment of the series!

Thank you to the publisher for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.


The Prism Affect is an enjoyable and well written mystery based around a group of people who all die before the age of 24. They have glowing eyes and always have tragic ends, which is one of the most interesting parts of this book. The scifi element of this book is subtle and rarely relevant, though I enjoyed the ways that humanity adapted to space and the back story of particular characters. The main character Jet wasn't my favourite but I enjoyed his interactions with the others like him. Overall I'm glad I read this book!

All right, when I requested this book, I was somewhat misled by the blurb and therefore expecting a dystopian novel with a light magical twist rather than a SciFi-cum-Fantasy novel with a mystery twist. That doesn’t mean I was disappointed (all this genres and subgenres are right up my alley), but I sure was surprised. So if you are looking forward to reading thrilling descriptions of disasters and humankind’s (almost) ultimate seconds, be warned—you won’t get more than what is written in the blurb. Yet you should pick up a copy of this book, anyway, because thrilling it sure is.

Jet Stroud is a young orphan and has been an outcast all his life because of the taboo disease he suffers from, which is called ephebus mortem, the Youthful Death. A very strange disease: nobody seems to know much about it, neither where it comes from nor what causes it. It doesn’t even manifest itself outwardly or organically; the only sign someone has it are the person’s eyes, which always glow like neon beams. Those who are afflicted know, however, that more likely than not, they’ll be dead by the time they reach the age of twenty-four, after a short period where they’re haunted by bizarre visions and hallucinations. And people tend to believe that to hang out with ephebus mortem candidates is bad luck, so in addition to their disease, those afflicted are also shunned by their peers.

When Jet arrives at Skylight University, he doesn’t even know that little, though. His roommate, strangely oblivious of the taboos surrounding the illness and their bearers, is the one who forces Jet to find out more. But the path is long, paved with obstacles and weird apparitions, mostly fog-like ghosts that are following the young student around campus. Despite all this, he manages to gather the four other students suffering from ephebus mortem around him, and together, they try to unravel the secrets surrounding their mysterious ailing. That endeavour soon turns into a race for their survival…

Despite a few unnecessary word repetitions, the book was well written and so perfectly paced that I almost finished it in one sitting. I don’t exaggerate—the mysteries were as thick as the morning fogs the author describes more than once. Kudos for the world-building, too. I cannot claim I could see the Skylight System as clearly as I see my real surroundings, but sometimes less is more, and the important element is atmosphere, of which there was plenty, in this book. No worries, that doesn’t mean lengthy, detailed descriptions of sceneries and landscapes, but always intense moods, tones, and vibes, which made me feel the main characters state of mind at any given moment. I was drawn in immediately and was turning the pages with bated breath, wanting to discover what would happen next and who, why, where, when…

As thrilling and coherent the first four fifths of the book were, I found the revelation of the who, why, where toward the end of the story a little bit underwhelming. Not disappointing per se (nothing in this book was disappointing), but after all the secrets and mystery unexpected twists and turns, I felt a teensy bit let down. Yet, and this is a good point, I can see how exactly this element might be turned into new mysteries, new thrilling adventures, new questions and new quests, which we can certainly expect as this is only the first instalment of a whole series. I for one cannot wait for the next books to be published in order to experience how everything turns out. As for this book—recommended!