I received this book via LibraryThing's Member Giveaways.

I enjoyed this book. The world building was fantastic, and Carpenter did a great job showing and not telling. He also had a diverse cast of characters, both ethnically and in the differently abled category.

There were a whole lot of characters that ultimately served as spokes on the wheel. It could get confusing at times, but that's my only complaint.

I would love to visit this world again and find out more about Zel and other key characters in the Sea. ( )

The Digital Sea is an intriguing dystopian novel with sufficient plot and character development to hook the reader within a few pages. Those who like science fiction, mystery and/or techno-thrillers will enjoy this novel. The Digital Sea is also the first novel of a trilogy; this becomes very apparent at the end of the novel when the story arc concludes but subtly suggests that soon there will be other events to disrupt the normal life of Zel Aurora and her daughter.

The characters are not all introduced together, but each is featured in his/her own chapter at the beginning which also includes some backstory for each member of the vast cast of this novel. This type of construction makes the story difficult to follow in the beginning, but perseverance is worthwhile. Readers having difficulty with the number and mission(s) of the characters may wish to make a cheat sheet.

While reading this novel, I noted that some of the transitions from one chapter to the next were not as smoothly accomplished as I could have wished. This is particularly true in the beginning, but I also noted a similar effect between the last few chapters. It is less apparent in the middle of the book. The rough transitions did not detract from my over-all enjoyment of the book.

Note for those intending to read the next two novels in this series: Start with The Digial Sea, so that you will have sufficient indoctrination into this world to enjoy the followups.

This review also appears on my blog, Dragon Views, and on Amazon.com as well as any other appropriate place I may find to post it.

FTC regulations require the following disclosure: This novel was received free from the author in exchange for this review. Despite the above statement,I want the reader to know the following as well: I chose to read The Digital Sea because I wanted to read it. I was not obligated in any way to accept the author's offer of the free copy. The above review (excluding this paragraph) is worded exactly the same as it would have been worded had I chosen to purchase my copy of this book. Receiving a free copy of the novel has not altered my opinion of the author's work. This review contains my honest opinion of the book, for which I have received no financial compensation. ( )

Tell me, are you all jacked in? All the latest apps downloaded, bluetooth enabled, your whole life in the palm of your hand? What if you could just have your phone downloaded into your brain? No more worries, everything you needed would be all right there behind your eyes. This book is all about a world where all inhabitants are hardwired into a massive central network. Is this a good or bad thing? Only you can tell. This book is a fun fast-paced novel that will keep you turning pages. It really makes you question whether the total digital lifestyle we are headed towards is such a good idea. We are already exploited for our need for technology – what would evil individuals do if they had direct access into our brains? I personally fear for humanity. I would recommend this to anyone who likes technological thrillers and Sci-fi. ( )

The Digital Sea is a very interesting book. The first chapters jump around a bit but it appears the intent was to introduce everyone with a bit of their piece of the story which started to all come together. This is the story of a future time in which everyone is living in a digital world that is a visual projection overlayed on the physical world.
A few know or are consciously aware of this fact and use it to their advantage.
Some are experienced hackers and can control the world around them. A very few such as Zel Aurora have the ability to manipulate much more than their own personal space.
This is the story of Zel and her attempt to leave a life of crime behind her and protect her daughter who she is trying to keep secret and protected from those who wish to control her and use her abilities to their gain.
I wasn't sure at first about this book but quickly was pulled into the story and enjoyed it. ( )

I really enjoyed Gamers by Thomas Carpenter, so I was really eager to read The Digital Sea. It's a very different beast, though: a much darker cyberpunk/speculative fiction thriller set in much grittier parts of a future.

The book is a treat for cyberpunk and speculative fiction fans, and envisions the future in a totally fascinating way. The "Digital Sea" of the title refers to an overlay virtual world, through the eyes of characters coming from very different geographical and mental places, we see what the digital sea means at the edges of humanity, all the while unravelling a global mystery.

It's very reminiscent of William Gibson's work, in my mind, both in a very good way (I was drawn in to the story, curious about the characters, and loved the way the mystery unfolded) and sometimes in a bad way (it tends towards being fragmented into too many perspectives, and having finished the book, it's not clear to me that all the characters and threads were really necessary to tell the story). Still, saying that I think it might have benefited from some harsher editorial work is a far cry from saying I didn't like it: It was great, and I'm sure Carpenter's future work will be even better.

Full disclosure: I received this book as part of a LibraryThing member giveaway. ( )