What if the AI that took over your consciousness at night became capable of emotions? Could remember your memories, could feel love and pain and happiness and sadness? Then, what if another human infected your brain before they died and integrated themselves with you, so you remembered their memories, felt their love and their pain, their happiness and sadness? What if that person was fighting an underground war to end the "upgrade" of all nighttime AI personalities, and used your body to aid their fight?
There was a lot going on in this book, certainly. I had a little bit of a hard time keeping up with what side everyone was on, exactly. Three minds inside one body got a little hard to follow.
You'll enjoy if you liked previous novels about corrupt AI's, AI implants, split consciousnesses, etc.
I also did think the ending left much to be desired. Open-ended, to say the least.

This story has an intriguing concept. I was engaged within the first chapter! The writing had more graphic sexuality than I prefer in stories I read or listen to, but the overall book was entertaining enough that I was able to overlook that. I enjoy both sci-fi and thrillers, and this was a fantastic combination of both. I actually read the book first and then followed it by listening to the audiobook version. I have to say that the writing was great, but the narration was perfect. This is my first Kevin Kane book. He was able to combine humor, fear, intelligence, and excitement in this novel. It was very well-written and I’m excited for a follow-up!

I really enjoyed this one, even if the whole AI-taking-over-myself thing is...wow. It's an uncomfortable thought. But Kevin Kane did a great job of putting the idea into perspective and the story was interesting. I liked the world-building and I kept wanting to come back to read this thing. I will be looking for more from Kevin Kane, definitely.

What an incredibly modern feeling future based Sci-Fi. The writing and technology all seems like such a logical step forward from today. It gives the book a real connection and I never had to stop and imagine some weird tech that was born in the authors imagination. What’s really important was the authors ability to develop characters so deeply that I found myself day dreaming about their next moves while sitting in my office throughout the day. This very seriously was one of the most captivating reads I’ve had this year, and review was so hard to make without spilling spoilers. I’ll just say from the first line to the last, they are all tied together. Incredibly well written, and characters are ones I’ll be holding onto for sometime.

Yes this is a murder mystery, but it’s also so much more than that. It’s a near-future sci-fi action packed page-turner that is even philosophical at times. At its core it’s an exploration about what it means to be human, to be a person and what the future of brain tech interfaces might look like. Is it possible to have two or more consciousnesses occupy the same body? Does a person truly have a right to do whatever they want with their own brain? Can a person be a slave to themself? These are just a few questions this book asks. And, on top of all that, it’s really well written. Characters were well developed and all interesting, unique and sympathetic in their own way. I cared about each of them, even the disembodied brain that really wasn’t much of a character in terms of volume and space in the book, but still, this author made me care about him. I also found myself re-reading passages just to soak up the imagery or just taking my time to think about what the author was exploring. This is one of those sci-fi books that really make you think and can have a long lasting effect. It’s probably in my top 3 Sci-Fi books I’ve read all year and I definitely recommend it, especially if you are interested in near future neuro technology.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this story. The plot was well thought out and executed. It had moments of suspense, humor, and it remained intriguing throughout the story. I am personally a fan of sci-fi that is very scientific, it's almost as if I learn something new through the dialogue and descriptions. I loved the heavy use of scientific terms and explanations. I'm excited to check out more of this authors work in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for granting me an arc of Partition.

This was a wild ride.

Humans now no longer need to work thanks to a trio of men who successfully engineered 'Nights', an AI which is installed into a node on the back of the head, but what happens when those AI become aware?

Eric Noble is a typical partitioner, content to do whatever he wants in the day while his counterpart takes over at 8PM to work. Things go to hell in a handbasket when Eric gets drugged at what can only be described as a drug fuelled, mind f-d, orgy and ends up being complicit in a murder he can't remember.

His 'Night' also called Eric takes on the case, discovering that there's more going on than a simple murder case and that the lines of corruption run deep, he doesn't know who to trust and finds he can't even trust his 'Day'.

A really good read. Eric and Exley reminded me a lot of Connor and Hank from the Detroit: Become Human and I loved seeing their interactions.

Partition by Kevin Kane is a modern Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Questions of humanity, civil rights, AI's place in our world, class, and climate change are discussed against a unique dystopian backdrop: each night, humans turn their bodies over to a downloaded consciousness within their own mind that operates 12 hours of their day in a perfectly calculated schedule. You no longer have to work - your Night works for you. Your Night takes care of the household chores. You enjoy 12 hours of leisurely life financed by the work of a second mind inhabiting your body.

We follow Eric Noble and his Night as they investigate the tragic death of a woman at a day club - a woman that was last seen with Eric. What unfolds is a mysterious corporate/political plot to completely revolutionize the world of partitioned people.

This grim detective sci-fi noir is filled with intricate technical details, a large swath of characters, and multiple political groups all vying for some semblance of control in a chaotic world. At over 600 pages, it is a behemoth. But it explores so many philosophical questions the length is necessary to give them the deserved attention. I felt the pacing flip-flopped between incredibly fast and slower. I devoured the first 150 pages, but struggled to make it through the next 100. The story was still compelling, but it felt difficult to move between the speed of pacing. This did not decrease my enjoyment of the story itself. I also found our cast of characters to be too intertwined at times. With the Day/Night dichotomy, some characters in the latter half of the book became more difficult to determine relationships between.

Overall, this book was a great sci-fi noir that I recommend to any Blade Runner fan or sci-fi enthusiast. I'm excited to see where this series goes!

I left the reviews on September 15 on Goodreads but it didn't work here so here is try #2! :)

Merci beaucoup à NetGalley pour m'avoir donné accès à ce merveilleux livre!

J'ai ADORÉ. Ce livre était mon premier roman de science fiction depuis des années. Et grâce à ce livre, j'ai réalisé que j'aime la science fiction et que je veux en lire plus!!

Dans cette dystopie, nous voyons une nouvelle vie : une vie où des personnes vendent 50% de leur temps à une compagnie. Comment est-ce que ça fonctionne? En fait, les personnes participantes ont un "node" qui est un gadget qui est connecté au cerveau. Ce node change aux 12 heures qui prend le contrôle du cerveau. Il y a le propriétaire du cerveau, les "Day" et la partie implantée dans le cerveau les "Night". Les days vendent leurs nuits pour que les Night travaillent à leur place et fassent leurs tâches domestiques et toutes autres obligations. Ainsi, les days peuvent vivent une belle vie en toute quiétude. Sans emploi, ni responsabilités tout devrait bien aller n'est-ce pas?

J'ai beaucoup aimé le protagoniste. Le Night qui en découvre de plus en plus sur lui-même en tandem avec son Day qui lui aussi vit un processus challengeant qui lui fait douter de tout. J'ai beaucoup aimé leurs raisonnements. Et aussi que la plume de l'auteur change selon qui est le protagoniste : le day ou le night.

J'ai beaucoup aimé les personnages secondaires. En effet, ils étaient bien écrits et avaient une backstory. Leur apport était nécessaire et fut bien apporté.

J'ai beaucoup aimé découvrir la réalité VS la réalité agrémentée. C'est un concept très dystopique que j'ai beaucoup aimé découvrir.

Il y a beaucoup de moments que j'ai été tellement surprise que j'ai dit "QUOI" à voix haute. Ce qui arrive peu pour moi.

J'ai aimé à quel point l'histoire était complexe. C'était vraiment fou de voir tous les détails. D'en apprendre de plus en plus sur les nodes et tout ce qui s'en découle. D'avoir des interrogations et de suivre les pistes des protagonistes pour en savoir la suite. Bref, le world building était excellent.

Je recommande fortement à toutes les personnes qui aiment la science-fiction et les personnes qui aimeraient découvrir ce genre littéraire!

What a new and refreshing premise!
Set in a futuristic world where instead of enslaving robots, we enslave ourselves. Humans are able to partition themselves into 'days' and 'nights'. The nights must work according to their programming and complete jobs and chores, whatever their day says. The days get to profit off this work and enjoy a life of recreation. Suddenly there is a murder mystery in the midst, a new drug that may be a virus, and existential discussions of consciousness.
I love that the book is action-packed in terms of plot, but also deals with the ethical issues of what being human is. I also appreciate the dichotomy of the main character. He is someone we are rooting for, while at the same time, we see he's not a good person and hope he gets his comeuppance.

"Days die. Nights are deleted."
This is a read that will stay with me long after I finished it.
The grimdark sci-fi themes were done well and with purpose. Kane has created a world not too distant from our own today with a dystopian spin. Readers who are not used to the sci-fi genre may find the navigation of tech-jargon as a learning curve, but I will urge that it is much like any other practice, it gets easier the more you do it.
The plot is complex with layers to work through and when it all clicks it is like a neuron firing, with an exuberant
"ahh-ha!"

Trigger Warnings:
Drug use, body dismemberment, murder, death, blood, sexual assault, suicide/suicidal thoughts, violence

To start my review, I have to say, the concept of this book was so fascinating. I will talk about how I did feel that there was a lot going on; however, the idea of what "partition" means and how it evolved through the book was an interesting concept to dive into through a dystopian format. I find that the book is layer with a lot of story and world building, but there are these quasi moments that are little notes to rules like traffic violations and interior design that just help the book to be more rounded, which was a nice touch for me.

As I was reading the book, the idea of being able to have this night and day dichotomoy, where the night doesn't have rights, completes all the work, and is see as an "other," is such an interesting commentary on class and background. It makes you consider not only who is completing the work, but also those that can't afford a node or choose not to have one. It is also ironic to me as we look at the evolution of how the Days live and are perceived by the Nights and vice versa.

Now, I got the connection of the beginning 10% of the book to the ending, yet I spent a lot of the book just thinking- how does this relate to the beginning. I wouldn't say this took away from the overall experience, but it made it hard for me to follow the storyline because I kept thinking, how did we get here?

This book does take the dystopian-intimacy focus to a whole new level, it made me a tad uncomfortable, so I wanted to add that here.

I loved Exley as a character: the logic and the humor and perspective because I felt that he was a key to help this book (story wise) work. I am giving this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars because I found the plot to be very interesting, but the story was a lot to follow. It is definitely a slow-paced read, but a very intriguing one at that.

Random thoughts I had while reading:
-"but technology was only great when it worked" (14%)
-reading from the perspective of the Day is so interesting because I forgot that they can operate with rose colored lenses, and they get to choose when they see the "dirty" real, which is insane
-"if you can see this, you've been erased" OMG like because he had to put his filter down to see it: not everyone can get nodes
-it is not shocking to me that in a world driven and reliant on technology people would 1) still be super rude, 2) that the people in charge wouldn't properly report on complications, and 3) that people seek out destructive vices.
-THE FLIP OF A COIN WHAT

"Partition Critical Era" by Kevin Kane is a gritty new sci-fi mystery that drops readers into a reimagined world in the city of Los Angeles. A glimpse into what the world would be if a technology conglomerate seized control. The book infuses the themes of technology advancements and identity effortlessly and will keep readers engaged following the main character Dt. Eric Noble. The concept of an organic artificial intelligence implant was well explained and left me wondering about what a world would be like with this in real life. Although the technology is beyond what we see currently, it is terrifyingly realistic and doesn't seem too far out of reach. Perhaps this book is a glimpse into what will be possible in the future.

Thank you to the author for providing a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Kevin Kane, and Literature and Lattes for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Partition: Critical Era in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this book is utterly fascinating. A future world where basically two individuals share the same body. A human by day, a robot by night kind of deal. It has the mentality of the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.

The writing is great. The world building is enjoyable. There is mystery.

I did not fully love reading the book though. It got a bit too drawn out for me. A lot could have been cut out to make it a quicker read. However, I think the idea of it would make for a fascinating movie or television series.

Partition by Kevin Kane is an ambitious exploration of the questions of what it means to be human and the struggle between what is good and what is right.

Our two primary characters are Eric, a washed up, has-been influencer turned party and club drug partaker, and... Eric... Well, Eric's "Night," a part of Eric's partitioned brain that takes control of his body from 8pm to 8am and works as a police investigator. Nights are designed to do whatever their "Days" want, which includes working, working out, or even crime. Nights MUST comply with whatever their Days request of them, after all. They're just Nights. The aren't real people. This is the way this cyberpunk society functions ever since the massive mega corporation Callosum invented partitioning as a way to free people from the tedium of working.

But this excessive freedom leads to some destructive vices. Eric partakes in a new club drug that allows all users in a local vicinity to share experiences, memories, and sensations, which unfortunately results in the mysterious death of a young woman. A crime that Eric's Nights then has to try to solve, as he attempts to get information out of his Day. The mystery deepens as the Nights of the other users of the club drug start to act erratically, disobeying orders of their Days, remembering their Day's memories, and event starting to resent the "owners" of the bodies they use.

But they're just Nights. They're not real people, just software uploaded into a brain. And as software, they aren't capable of staging a world-wide uprising, are they?

This was a really novel story set in a familiar backdrop. I love cyberpunk settings, and this did a great job of carefully fleshing out a detailed setting of vice, drugs, cybernetic enhancements, augmented reality, and futuristic, underground crime rings. It gently pull reference from cyberpunk pillars such as Blade Runner, Neuromancer, and even Cyberpunk 2077 while still feeling fresh and authentic.

The plot was very captivating, if not a bit overwhelming at times. It had a natural progression that you'd expect in a cop-based mystery, but there were a lot of different plot points that I sometimes had trouble keeping up with. The consistent action and fast pace contrasted the meticulous attention to detail that you needed to pay attention to so not to miss critical plot points amongst the quickly shifting scenes, characters, and exposition.

Some might complain about the loosely chronological, shifting POV between Eric and Eric's Night, but I thought it was VERY well done, and always had me guessing how the story beats would unfold.

I think there's some plot that can be cut from here though. There are a LOT of side stories, side characters, and minor plot points that I don't think were utilized to their fullest. The book is a whopping 636 pages, so its asking for a lot, being a fast paced book. I think it could have been streamlined for brevity, but I'm not complaining at the extra set dressing. I couldn't get over how immersive the world felt.

I did find the end to be a pretty major disappointment unfortunately. I did not go into this thinking it would be the first installment in a series, though I might have gleaned that from the structure of the title, but it almost felt like the decision to make it a series was hastily made in the last 15% of the book. The story was really on track to resolve, but seemingly out of nowhere, we abandon some of the most important characters like Dee, Diane, and Belle to launch into the climax with some of the lesser involved characters, like D'Souza, officer Lobley, and Foresman. It culminates in.. not much.. not even a cliffhanger really, with a promise to continue the fight. I'm sure I'll pick up the next one if it comes out, but I felt cheated investing many many many hours into an otherwise well-written book just for it to not really resolve anything.

But with that being said, I'd definitely recommend you pick this up. Especially if you are a fan of science fiction and cyberpunk in particular.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

In the future, the world is run by humans with nodes in their brains that allow them to split their consciousness and have an AI version of themselves - or a "Night" - take over from 8 PM to 8 AM while they enjoy a carefree life during the daytime. Life without a node is virtually impossible, and an environmental and refugee crisis has devastated the country, leaving leadership in the hands of Callosum, the corporation in charge of the nodes. This is the concept presented in Kevin Kane's novel, the first in a series, called "Partition."

The novel follows a man named Eric, whose Night works as a detective for the police department. Early on, a crime occurs in the book that Eric's Night may be involved with, but he cannot remember as he was on a new drug that night. Suddenly, a woman named Annabelle is murdered, and Eric finds himself linked to her after her death. There is also an ongoing societal dilemma regarding AI Night upgrades. When a Day replaces their Night's technology, they effectively kill that Night, which is controversial. Right here, we have three major elements: Eric being investigated for a murder, Annabelle's connection to Eric, and the controversy surrounding the upgrades of "Gen 1" Nights to "Gen 2." In my opinion, this was a little too ambitious and led to a dense novel.

However, "Partition" was a fascinating read that held my interest throughout. If you're a die-hard science fiction fan and don't mind a longer book with many new terms and complex world-building, you'll enjoy this. But if you're looking for a light and breezy read, this isn't it.

Characters - 7/10: I really liked Eric's Night and his wife's Night, Diane. They were far more relatable than the Days. However, I think this was partly because the author was trying to make a point about civilization in this kind of society, but I found it hard to root for some of the main characters in any capacity.

Premise & Originality - 9/10: Okay, so this reminds me so much of the concept of the show "Severance" on Apple TV+ that it was hard to recognize it as its own gem for a moment. So point off for originality, but the premise remains fascinating.

Execution of Premise and Plot - 6/10: I actually think the whole night/day split consciousness worker concept is executed more interestingly and realistically than the Apple TV+ show "Severance." However, this loses points for me in terms of the plot. There were simply too many major conflicts occurring at once.

Writing style - 8/10: Kane is clearly a very talented writer who kept me entertained for many pages. However, there were some clarity issues at times regarding who was narrating due to the constant flip-flops, the distinction between simulation and drug side effects, and the abundance of lingo in this world that was hard to keep track of. I also found some of the dialogue a little clunky, and the book itself felt a little dense. Ultimately, I think too many plot points were occurring simultaneously. Having said that, there are some truly beautiful sentences in this book, and I highlighted many!

Stakes - 10/10: While this book tries to accomplish too much, I did feel very invested and the stakes were very high for both the individual characters and their society as a whole. Basically, everything is on the line for everyone involved.

Enjoyability - 7/10: I did enjoy the story, but it frustrated me simply because there was so much going on. We switch between multiple viewpoints within the same body, and characters have aliases or different names for days and nights. Because of this, I was constantly rereading. I even reread the beginning once I finished the book - something I would recommend everyone do.

Unputdownability - 9/10: It's a really cool story, and I wanted to keep coming back to it, but I knew I'd be a little annoyed picking it back up because I'd have to figure out whose perspective is whose. Nonetheless, this is a longer book compared to what I usually read, and I still felt compelled by the story to finish it. I'll definitely be reading the next one.

Memorability - 10/10: This one I will definitely remember. Honestly, it left me on a big cliffhanger, and the concept in general raises questions that are relevant in society.

Ending - 8/10: It definitely made me want to keep reading, and the fact that there is a series is good! The way things all came together was interesting, and it leaves me wondering what will happen next.

Pacing - 7/10: It's kind of all over the place. I think the beginning should have been slowed down, and there are parts that didn't seem necessary (although they may be important for the rest of the series). I'll say this - I was never bored with this book. I was occasionally confused because things would happen so fast, but then again, the book is pretty long.

All in all, that’s an 81 or B- on my grading scale and 4 stars. Looking forward to the next book in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Literature and Lattes for the ARC and the opportunity to read and review this book and give my honest opinion.

“Days die. Nights are deleted.”

This is a read that will stay with me long after I finished it. The grimdark sci-fi themes were done well and with purpose. Kane has created a world not too distant from our own today with a dystopian spin. Readers who are not used to the sci-fi genre may find the navigation of tech-jargon as a learning curve, but I will urge that it is much like any other practice, it gets easier the more you do it. The plot is complex with layers to work through and when it all clicks it is like a neuron firing, with an exuberant “ahh-ha!”

Initially I wagered I was reading a typical murder-mystery/sci-fi story, and it evolved into a scope far greater and more profound. I am a sci-fi fanatic through and through and love when a story unapologetically takes a plunge into what-ifs of the human experience, and what at the core of it all it means ‘to be human’.

Kane has a sharp wit to their prose and catches you with expertly timed one liners that make you laugh and others that make you go, ‘whoa’. Loved the pop-culture references and the diversity of characters within.

The narrator, William DeMeritt, added a lot of life to the dialogue and prose allowing for the listener to know when there was a different person talking and when a POV changed. I enjoyed their performance very much. (I read alongside the audiobook and it really immersed me into YOUtopia). This is a book with many adult themes and content, personally I felt it was a pleasure to read. 

Much gratitude to NetGalley and Literature and Lattes Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

At first I didn’t know really what was going on, people have two sides, their Day and their Night, one has all the fun while the other work and provides for the other, in the beginning of the book we have one Night that attacked his “day” body and put his hand on a meat grinder, now, in this piece of information, all of our story starts developing, and I must tell you, this author tells us a very engrossing story, at first we are led to believe that Nights are a kind of partition of the brain of the “real person” and during the story we are showed the different takes that “nights” really have, I swear, for most of the characters that we learn through the story, I kind of like more the “nights” they for me reminded me of a movie that I’ve watched when I was in high school, “Pleasantville” the nights, are kind of the characters of the show where the brother and sister were sent into, and during the book they gradually learn all colours and the reality they live in.

I got to listen to the audiobook and read to the ebook at the same time, so I feel really privileged, the person reading, really put an effort in trying to portrait different characters and that for me was really worth my time, I really got engrossed in the story, and it is a story that will live with me for some time.

Of course, I wont spoil the story, nor tell you what changed it for me, but I really recommend this book, it is different in how the characters grow aware of what is really around them, and what is to live, yeah it is a story that will make you think.

Thank you NetGalley and Literature and Lattes for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

This was a great concept for a scifi novel, it had everything that I was looking for. It was a scary idea that something controls you at night. Kevin Kane does a great job in creating a world that feels like a future story and something that could happen. It was a great start to the series and I can’t wait to read more in this series.