Mindbreaker by Kate Dylan is about a young lady who was part of a religious cult who became ill after some kind of storm in their increasingly digitalized world and was on the brink of death. Her father signed a contract with a technology firm to save her life. Little did anyone know that this firm would turn Indra into a cybot and they would use her for illegal activities. When Indra gets suspicious, she breaks free and allows all the horrors of the tech firm to unfold in front of her. Before rescuing her father, she meets her old friend Nyx, her technician and crush Tian and the analogue army.

This was a really gripping book which kept me awake at night reading. This is a book which is full of action and unique ideas which I have not read about before. We look at topics like friendships, the law and technology and how different this world is from our own. It was a very exciting read which just kept getting better and better.

The one thing I was a bit disappointed about was the romantic relationship/crush between Tian and Indra could have been developed much more and potentially has a side plot as it would have been interesting to see them develop, potentially as a couple. Other than this, it is a very exciting read which I have no further complaints about.

I rate this book 3 stars because it is a good book and is very gripping, making me want to read on for ages. I fully recommend this book, particularly to the young adult market and those interested in some fiction which is very much based on technology. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) in return for an honest book review. I look forward to the next book!

I picked up Mindbreaker from Netgalley mostly due to the cover and the blurb, but didn't realize that it was part of a series. So I picked up the first book 'Mindwalker' to have a more cohesive understanding of the book.

That being said, I love the world-building, the post-nuclear NYC and cyperpunk/dystopian feel definitely adds character to the characters. The book itself is a good sequel, but can be enjoyed as a standalone novel. The story itself takes place shortly after the first novel, with only recurring characters that take up a supporting role.

I'm also glad that Kate Dylan toned down on the 'Christ-that-was' meme, there's still a bit of it here, but not enough to roll my eyes after every other page.

In short, it's a great story - a fun, quick read and definitely one that I'd recommend reading. I do enjoy the first book a little bit more, but that's mostly due to my own personal preference of sci-fi archetypes.

Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton, Netgalley and Kate Dylan for letting me read through the ARC

So enthused to be back into the intriguing world of one of the best books I read last year: Mindwalker!
Dylan certainly delivers an action packed sequel with new characters and a bit more of an expansion on the dystopian world we enjoyed so much in the first book!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, Hodderscape, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

TW: murder, mass murder, abuse, violence

Indra lives in a tech-free cult, but when she catches a deadly disease she's forced to choose to live and accept what the Glindell Technologies are offering her. That means uploading her mind into a MindDrive into a robotic shell. Indra isn't sure she's really herself anymore, after finding herself in places she doesn't remember and with no memories and more abilities she thought she had. With help from friends, she's determined to understand what's happening to her and what they did, before Glindell hurt more people.

In this brilliant and snarky book, Kate Dylan explores what it means to be human and have your own indipendence, being truly yourself in a tech world. Indra fights constantly between her cult upbringing, her fondness for computers and what Glindell did to her body and autonomy. She's a brilliant and complex character, unsure of who she can trust, even of herself, fighting back to get her own indipendence and for the right thing.

Mindwalker is filled with action, a lovely sapphic sloooow burn, amazing friends like Nyx and an even more incredible tech! Not to spoiler anything, but I truly love the relationship between Indra and Tian and how slowly changes in the book.
I was so blown away by this story and I can't wait to hug my copies!

One hell of a ride! Mindbreaker is just as much fun as Mindwalker, with a breakneck cyberpunk plot and dark, brain-bending conspiracies. Dylan is a master of balancing strong characters with so-tense-you-can-barely-breathe action, and I adored every minute.

First of all, I would like to say thank you for the review copy, which was provided to me by the publisher. This fact does not in any way affect my personal opinion of this book. This post contains advertising and the rights for the book belong to the publisher.

Of course, is this only my personal opinion of the book and just because I give this rating to the book doesn’t mean, that everyone will have that opinion.

To be honest, I think the synopsis of the book tells way too much. I did go into this book a bit more blind because I didn’t read the back of it, but after finishing, I would say that it should have been more vague.
Second of all, I don’t know how I thought that this book could be read without reading Mindwalker first. You definitely should read that one first so you understand certain aspects of the world better.

So let’s get started with the book!
I liked this one a bit less than the first book, but it’s still a nice Sci-Fi book in my opinion.
I enjoyed the characters and the whole „coming out of a tech-free cult and now I am a cyborg“ thing. Also, the critic of capitalism and tech firms? Love it.
Sometimes, I couldn’t understand everything to its fullest. I read an early draft of this so maybe some sentences will be edited for clarity, or maybe because English isn’t my mother language, I had some hiccups.

The plot and the plot twist are very cool. Some plot twists I guessed right away, but others surprised me.
The love story was also a nice touch but could have been a bit more teased early on for my taste.

Overall, I enjoyed my reading time, and Kate Dylan is an author I would read again!

Conclusion
A nice Sci-Fi book, which I enjoyed!

I absolutely adored Mindwalker so when I saw a second book set in the same universe I was super hyped for it however I found this one just hit below the mark for me. I didn't enjoy it as much as Mindwalker sadly however I did still like the book but the main character, Indra, annoyed me a little bit but I think it's because I'm slowly growing out of the YA books to be honest but the plot I found interesting and was intriged by it, I think the book was well written and thought out so I'm intrigued to see what Kate Dylan will bring out next!

Great YA Sci Fi dystopian adventure. I didn’t realise this was book 2 in a series until the end, can absolutely be read as a standalone.

In a post apocalyptic future a dying girl from an anti-tech cult is saved by a tech company that uploads her consciousness to a cyborg body. But their motivations may be sinister…

This was a really enjoyable cyborg / resistance story. My only issue was that occasionally the MC seemed to have revelations when the reader already knew the thing that was being revealed. Thus these dramatic moments fell flat. But in general, great book for fans of The Matrix, AI etc.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this title in exchange for this honest review.

This book just wasnt for me sadly. I tried to read it, but ended up skimming most of it, since i just wanted to be done with it. Probably more a case of it being me rather than the book.

Kate Dylan, the woman that you are. She really went and wrote a book that includes one of my favorite discussions: if you transfer a copy of of the human brain to a robot body are you still human? She even included a dash of sapphic romance as a treat.

Mindwalker is one of my favorite reads of 2022 and Mindbreaker is just as good. I love the world, I love the characters. I especially love a book that can surprise me every time I think I’ve got a twist figured out. This one had me gasping.

Mindbreaker can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend picking up Mindwalker before diving in!

*Thank you so much to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the eARC!

“A robot soldier dressed in human skin.”

I loved Mindwalker—the set up, the story, the world. Mindbreaker, however, I liked a little less. I had a harder time connecting with Indra than with Sil. I think Mindbreaker would have benefitted from a stronger focus on character rather than plot. The main characters felt un-nuanced and the side-characters a little undercooked. Which is jarring in comparison to Mindwalker.

I was delighted, however, to see that Mindbreaker had a sapphic romance.

Overall, Mindbreaker was great, just not as great as its predecessor.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

I seriously loved Mindwalker, the futuristic, post-apocalyptic world Kate created was something that felt scarily possible, and Mindbreaker is of a similar nature and in the same world, though instead of our main character being a human with tech, it’s someone who is given no choice but to have her body destroyed and her mind uploaded into a ‘cybotic’ body.

Indra was a brilliant main character, a girl who has never really been allowed to be herself even before the evil tech corporation got their hands on her. And the two main side characters? Nyx is an absolutely adorable friend, you can tell he’d really do anything for Indra, and I loved Tian so much but I won’t say why in this review.

Both Mindwalker and Mindbreaker are full of brilliant twists, but Mindbreaker had even more moments within that tugged on your heartstrings. Sil’s journey was difficult and not without loss, but Indra… I honestly would just like to hug her after finishing this book.

And, if you also enjoyed Mindwalker… absolutely go grab this book right now because you’ll get to say hi to some of the cast!

I honestly loved this book
Is fast paced, thrilling, it reads almost like watching an action movie.
I think the choice of writing not exactly a sequel but a companion novel was a risky one but one that majorly paid off.
The balance of the super High tech world with important and relevant dialogues and questions about bodily autonomy, humanity and human rights is extremely well done and it doesn't come off as preachy nor it distract from the plot of the book

Mindbreaker is a nuanced and electric YA sci-fi novel exploring humanity and agency soaked in cool tech and brimming with rebellion.

It’s hard for me to talk about this book without also talking about Mindwalker, one of my favourite books of the last year and possibly all time! Mindbreaker is somewhat of a companion novel, set in the world readers know and love from the first book, but following a new core cast. Overall, I simply loved getting to revisit the world Kate Dylan has created through a new perspective.

What makes Mindbreaker truly unique is Kate Dylan’s signature blend of tech-fuelled action extravaganza and nuanced exploration of identity and bodily autonomy. These are themes and concepts I’ll never get tired of exploring in fiction and Kate Dylan does it extraordinarily well!

In many ways, Mindbreaker cracks open the bones of this world to dive deeper, explore new perspectives and ultimately, create a much more nuanced experience for readers who’ve read both books.

Indra is, in many ways, a fish out of water. While she is in no way the innocent cult girl Glindell believes her to be, she is ultimately still navigating a world that is largely unfamiliar to her. Subsequently, she is a lot more wary of technology, an internal battle that follows her throughout the book. In my opinion, this personal journey and Indra’s relationship too technology (and her own humanity or lack thereof) is the strongest part of this book and the heart of what makes it stand out.

At times, I think Mindbreaker would’ve benefitted from a stronger focus on character rather than plot. Mostly, because I know that Kate Dylan can do both, something she proves with Indra’s development throughout the book. Ultimately, I just wish we had gotten to know all the other characters on a deeper level, too.

As excited as I was to meet some familiar faces from Mindwalker again, I was ultimately a little disappointed. A lot of the secondary characters felt less complex and nuanced than I expected, something that was particularly jarring when it came to characters I knew from Mindwalker.

Lastly, I cannot talk about the characters without also talking about the delightful sapphic romance in Mindbreaker! I will always root for the gays and, without giving anything away, the development of this relationship was one of my favourite parts of the book. There’s something incredibly satisfying about seeing the themes and internal conflicts Indra struggles with being reflected in and worked through within a personal relationship. I think this is how all romances should be done, honestly. Sweet and nuanced and yet so incredibly thematically aligned? I love to see it!

What would a Kate Dylan sci-fi book be without pondering the nature and boundaries of humanity, right? Indra’s existence and identity relies on a computer, her brain is pure code, her body has been replaced by non-organic parts. It begs the question if she’s even a person anymore. Where does a person end and the code begin?

Mindbreaker also explores themes of consent and bodily autonomy as Indra gets used to her new body and reclaims her agency in how she chooses to use it.

A thread that’s woven throughout the plot and that I found particularly fascinating is a discussion around emotions, pain and limitations as a necessary part of being human. As a bot, Indra can turn off her senses. She can choose to not feel pain (or anything, for that matter), which allows her to make her body achieve impossible feats. However, leaning into this non-human side of her identity comes at a price and the threat of losing her humanity in substantial and permanent ways.

I cannot stress enough how much I love Kate Dylan’s handling of these themes. She draws us in with cool tech and characters with superhuman powers but never avoids the hard questions about the cost of those powers. For all the shiny cyberpunk technology, Mindbreaker is fundamentally and delightfully human.

Well it's not bad but nothing spectacular either, for me. the timeline is some time after Mindwalker, sure, but in this book we're following a new character, focusing on another evil company that "convert" human to be a robot.

the pace felt off, started a bit slow but heavily packed near the end. I didn't vibe with the main characters too. It's fun to see how he Analog Army is doing but still, Indra isn't as sassy as the queen Sil.

The plot twist also didn't surprising like Mindwalker. So yeah.

This book is about cults and a character who is trying to escape it, and I LOVED it!

After being sold to a company by her own family, Indra has to deal with her newly reprogrammed body and her mind trying to figure it all out. I found the writing to be much better and the main character to be even more interesting than Sil Sarrah. I can't remember much of the previous book, but this felt more high stakes and fun. I found Tian's character also interesting, as well as the pacing being more fast and precise.

Overall, fun dystopian novel about the tech industry and mind control that will leave you holding onto the edge of your seat!

Mindbreaker offers a gripping journey into a dystopian sci-fi landscape set in a futuristic New York. The protagonist, Indra, grapples with the consequences of her cult upbringing, facing a series of daunting choices.

Indra's character is well written, portraying resilience in the face of a bleak future. Indra has a cute sapphic romance that was the heart of the story for me. I loved the whole cast of characters and the found family dynamic this book has.

While Mindbreaker can be enjoyed as a standalone, if you have previously read Mindwalker it might add some nice little nods and updates for past characters.


Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAlley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

"A technological marvel. An ungodly abomination."
Last year I read and loved Mindwalker, and as soon as I saw that sequel was available on netgalley I had to request it and read it. Took me months to read and it's now a publication day, but I finally read it and loved it even more than I expected.
I didn't think a cyborg girl with religious trauma would be so relatable, but here I was devouring pages.
Are you your body or your brain? That's an interesting concept to be explored and I loved the way it was handled here. Same world as Mindwalker, but main character is a different person who later meets Sil and gang and things happen that made me squeal and chuckle and hold my breath.
"A ghost in the machine."
Tian became my favourite almost immediately, I loved Indra too, but Tian was definitely one who made me want to read more about her.
"After our ancestors bombarded the planet with enough radiation to make the oceans glow in the dark, the population dwindled to near-extinction levels. Even a hundred years on, we’re still down to four habitable continents, a dozen-odd reclaimed cities, and less than half a billion people."
I also love how this futuristic world is fascinating and scary at the same time. Corporations are using other people for profit, using and manipulating their brains and bodies and if you thought they were the worst in the first book, you should see what they are up to in this one.
Religious cults and digital souls, people altering their appearances at will and hackers and rebels trying to hack and rebel against the unjust system.
And have you seen the covers? These are some beautiful books.

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

This is a companion sequel to Mindwalker and you bet I enjoyed this new adventure just as much!

Mindbreaker has us returning to the wholly immersive, post-apocalyptic cyber punk type world that Kate Dylan has imagined this time following Indra, a young girl who grew up in a religious anti-tech cult who in order to save her life has turned to Glindell Technologies for a cure and has thus been expelled from her order.
However, she finds that the deal she made was to have her mind uploaded and housed in a new robot body and though she may look the same she begins to wonder how much of her actual self remains. And when she begins to discover something is up with her memories it poses the question of whether Glindell really had her best interests in mind or if there is something else going on.

Dylan’s writing seamlessly folds you back into this fascinating yet somewhat horrifying universe with a story exploring themes of autonomy and denouncing corporate greed that is just as action packed as you’d expect.

Indra is such a compelling protagonist to follow. Equal in determination to Sil from Mindwalker though a tad more naïve and a hell of a lot more impulsive with her act first think later demeanour. She is again a character you want to immediately root for and her journey in particular was all the more interesting to follow as there was a bigger focus on her inner conflicts.

Due to this I found that the overarching plot was a little less clear until the second half of the book but I liked the more personal and introspective nature of the narrative. This allowed for a great balance of Indra coming to terms with her own self and seeing how those around her have shaped her into who she is and is still becoming.

The supporting characters are absolutely brilliant too! There is a wholesome platonic friendship as well as a slow-burn romance that will pull on your heartstrings just as much! Plus to add a cherry on top of the cake there are some cameos to look forward to also and the interactions all around are gold!

That being said you can definitely go into Mindbreaker not having read Mindwalker but honestly when you have two fantastically written and thrilling sci-fi books to entertain yourself with why only read one?

Whatever Kate Dylan writes next, I will be there 🫡
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars

Darker vibes than Mindwalker but so well done! Think Robocop but an anti tech cult girl instead of a cop. Great exploration around autonomy and the power tech companies hold.

Mindbreaker followed a whole new cast of characters but has a well done appearance of the characters from Mindwalker.