C+

The Drafter

A new scifi/urban fantasy series by Kim Harrison?! Well, yes please. When I first read the blurb, it described the book as Minority Report meets The Bourne Identity, but with a woman protagonist.

Peri Reed is a drafter for the government. She has the ability to alter time after it’s happened, but the longer she drafts and the more time she attempts to change, the larger the toll it takes on her body. She loses memories, which is where an anchor comes into play. Anchors are paired with drafters to help stabilize and ground them, rebuilding and refilling the gaps they lose while drafting. At the start of the book, Peri has a romantic and longstanding relationship with Jack, her Anchor. And then he fucks her over. They always do.

Essentially, Peri goes on the run, though she’s trying to be recruited by an alternate organization hoping to expose how the government uses their drafting teams to do some pretty shitty things.

While trying to figure out how deep this rabbit hole of backstabbing goes, the alternate organization I mentioned before enlists the help of a doctor, Silas, to bring Peri over to their side. Through the book, it’s hinted at that this doctor and Peri have some sort of previous history, though Peri has no recollection of this at all. For me, that was the real driving force for the book. I wanted more interactions, more revealed glimpses of their pasts, anything.

Though I enjoyed the concept of the book and the world Harrison created, I think there’s such a thing as too much detail. I didn’t care about the sumptuous fabric of Peri’s favorite coat when I just wanted to see more of her kicking ass and interacting with Silas. A lot of time also goes toward explaining how everything works, which I’m still not solid on entirely.

Definitely a great sense of action and characterization, but the progression of the plot often stalled for things that seem unnecessary. Oh, and beware of a cliffhanger.

– Amanda

Detroit 2030. Double-crossed by the person she loved and betrayed by the covert government organization that trained her to use her body as a weapon, Peri Reed is a renegade on the run.
Don’t forgive and never forget has always been Peri’s creed. But her day job makes it difficult: she is a drafter, possessed of a rare, invaluable skill for altering time, yet destined to forget both the history she changed and the history she rewrote.
When Peri discovers her name on a list of corrupt operatives, she realizes that her own life has been manipulated by the agency. She joins forces with a mysterious rogue soldier in a deadly race to piece together the truth about her final task, unable to trust even herself.