Review: Reflection: Book One by W. Scott Causey

★★★★★

The year is 2126, and thanks to the efforts of CEO Carlton Ferguson and his revolutionary creation of Reflection Technology, the world is all but free of the tyranny of crime. Truth reigns supreme as Reflection can show the user any event within a forty-eight hour window. But Carlton knows that the world isn’t ready to hold the key to such power yet, and even less so as his company begins to advance the window from hours to days. He and he alone covets the control of the system, until the United States government offers him a once-in-a-lifetime deal of partnership. As their relationship develops, can it really be said that Carlton was right all along? The answer becomes clear in Reflection: Book One by W. Scott Causey.

This story confronts the responsibility of power the demons of the digital age with grace, aptitude, creativity, and tact, unlike so many others like it. It’s not some crusade or writ against the social media age, or even some patronizing cautionary tale about the future. This is a book that examines the nature of security as we understand it today, taken into a fresh and captivating setting with a fantastic cast of characters playing every angle.

The writing is superbly evocative and deft in Causey’s dactylic style. The cover is also stunningly gorgeous, and an absolute epitome of cover design. The logo is incredibly appealing and fits the whole piece beautifully. It really bears note as something absolutely top quality and proves that it can worth judging some books by their respective covers after all.

The book could be accused of being a tad overwritten at times, taking some extreme metaphors and the odd misplaced hyperbole. It’s not a major problem of the text and it’s only an issue here and there. There’s a surprising absence of black-and-white morality, mostly lurking in a murky gray; on the flip-side it can be hard to find anyone to really, honestly root for during the course of the story as nobody has a perfect case.

People with harsher views on personal privacy and police states will struggle with themselves and the viewpoints in the book. While presented fairly, not all of them are necessarily popular. It’s a very dialogue-heavy read, though not a problematic element of the read as, skilfully, there’s a nice balance of speech and action that doesn’t result in unwell blocks. It can feel like there’s an absence of immediacy nonetheless.

These are all nit-picks, in fairness, as it’s hard to find solid criticisms with the read; the only real problem is that there’s a wait for the next installment! Reflection: Book One is a thought-provoking read and a stellar fiction that doesn’t talk down to its reader like so many others. It’s a breakthrough for contemporary science fiction and definitely deserves attention for its invigorating approach to the genre. It’s easy to get into, hard to put down, and astoundingly brilliant from cover to cover.

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