dotwav

By: Mike Lancaster

Narrated by: Will M. Watt

"There's something in that sound. Something bad. Something dangerous."

Fifteen-year-old Ani Lee is a skilled hacker researching a strange .wav file that she's downloaded that behaves as no file ever should.

Joe Dyson is a 17-year-old American transplant recruited into a secret teen division of the British intelligence service who's looking into the disappearance of a friend caught up in an underground music scene that might be more than it appears.

When Ani and Joe's investigations intertwine, they discover that the .wav file and the music are linked - someone's embedding the file into tracks to create a mind-controlled teen army.

But who's behind it? And why? And how do you stop a sound?

An exhilarating sci-fi technothriller that blends music, mind control, and conspiracy, perfect for fans of Little Brother, Brain Jack, and Proxy.

©2016 Mike A. Lancaster (P)2016 Forever Young Audiobooks

Dotwav

If you could sum up dotwav in three words, what would they be?

I loved listening to the audiobook of Dotwav. It was quick, fast-paced, and a truly inventive science-fiction book. I listened through the audiobook, it was very enjoyable.

just what you’d expect from a teen spy novel

Now here’s the first book I’ve ever heard which has struck me as a good recommendation for fans of Anthony Horowitz’ ‘Alex Rider’ series (That series was one of the literary highlights of my teen years). As long as you can suspend your disbelief long enough to believe that the British MOD is hiring teenagers to act as spies, this book really works.

In this story, teenagers begin behaving oddly after listening to a new style of music. No-one’s quite sure where the music’s coming from or how to stop it, until the universe brings 15-year-old Ani and 17-year-old Joe together to save the day. They’re both from very different backgrounds and have unique skills, but between them and their friends, they have everything they need to solve this problem.

This book is fast paced and action packed, just what you’d expect from a teen spy novel – but apart from this and the delightfully cheesy dialogue, nothing else is as you’d expect.  I can’t really give much away on this one as it was a big surprise to me and that’s what I enjoyed the most of the story: not being able to figure out what was going to happen next.

Will M. Watt is a talented narrator who manages to pull off a range of different voices and accents, he held my attention for the full 10 hours. His youthful sounding voice makes him the perfect choice for a YA novel, making him much more accessible to teen listeners.

This story picks up on more contemporary sci-fi issues, like hacking and the relationship between the things that people enjoy and how it could be used to control them. I found this very thought provoking and a fascinating angle to take on this book.

I would highly recommend this audiobook for teen listeners with a keen interest in sci-fi and technology – it’s a hell of a ride!

Audiobook was provided for review by the publisher.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Aliens in my ipod!

Any additional comments?

We’ve all heard about subliminal messages in music, but Dotwav launches on the premise that aliens are music. What an original concept!

I received an audiobook ARC for Dotwav and enjoyed this spy thriller with audio aliens while performing mindless sales lead sorting through dusty old files on carbon paper from the 1970s. I thought the workload threatened to brainwash, especially since Joe and Ani, our protagonists, faced brainwashing themselves.

Joe is part of a UK teen secret agency called YETI. Ani is a teen hacker, looking to change the world and prevent consumer culture from ruining the world. Joe recently lost a partner in duty and Ani finds herself on the run from armed goons. Their paths intersect over a strange .wav file that turns upper class teens into introverted social outcasts focused on a new musical genre called Crosscore.

I really enjoyed Lancaster’s approach on what alien life could really be. The author goes to great lengths to question what extraterrestrial life actually could be. I can honestly say this is the least human alien I’ve been exposed to in books, movies, or Parliament Funkadelic songs.

Both of our heroes have find a unique defense that allows them to handle this strange threat and they really compliment one another’s skill sets. All the characters were written with distinct personalities, made even more memorable my Will M. Watt’s narration. I’ve been a New Englander for a decade and if I heard Mr. Watt’s voice for Joe outside of Fenway I would not find it out of place. Not that I have much experience with people from India outside of pop culture, but one character’s Indian accent passed in my book as well.

This story was a great blend of high tech spy chase and first contact. I’m sitting here rubbing my goatee, trying to think of a mash-up to call this book, like if Jason Bourne’s kid brother met digital E.T., but the novel has such a creative take on aliens that I can’t find a good one.

There were just the right amount of plot twists for more tastes. Some of the end game rolled out how I thought it would, but I can’t say anyone would guess how the end fight goes down! If you like secret agent stuff and think you’ve seen it all in the world of first contact, then Dotwav is for you.