Earlier this year, I was blown away reading Archetype by M. D. Waters, a sci-fi novel set a few hundred years in the future and focusing on the desperate measures a male-dominated society takes to reverse declining fertility rates. Did I mention the scorching hot sex scenes? Because yeah, there are those too, mixed in amidst the hospital labs and surveillance tech firms and art gallery openings (don’t ask).

In a particularly wise move, Dutton has given readers the gift of a speedy resolution, publishing the sequel, Prototype, only a few months after the first book, and I couldn’t be happier. There’s nothing I hate more* than finishing a terrific book and then holding my breath for the years it takes for the sequel to come out… by which point I’ll have either lost interest or forgotten all the details and stopped caring.

*Okay, I do hate world hunger, war, and a few other things more, but you get what I mean, right?

How do I write about Prototype without revealing any spoilers from Archetype? Very, very carefully.

In Prototype, we follow main character Emma’s journey of self-discovery as she attempts to recover from the horrifying events and revelations of the first book. And… well, damn it all, I really can’t write much of anything about this book, can I?

Emma is a terrific main character, and her world and its secondary characters are well developed and quite believable. An especially exciting sequence is set on “San Francisco Island”, and I loved every bit of the descriptions of the floating cities, intricate roadways, and newly created terrain. But that’s just a drop in the bucket.

Do you enjoy science fiction, love stories, lots of sexy times, and tons of adrenaline-fueled action sequences? How about mad scientists, illegal experiments, revolutionaries trying to free the oppressed, and a male lead who’s almost too perfect?

Well, then. All you need to know is that Prototype is the book for you. I re-read Archetype so I’d be able to go full-steam ahead into Prototype, and I highly recommend reading the two books in a row. The books flow together seamlessly and tell one complete story, and it’s hard to slow down and draw breath anywhere past page 15 or so of the first book or before the final page of the second.

Check out Archetype and Prototype. You won’t be sorry… but don’t blame me for your sleepless nights.

Want to know more? Here’s my review of Archetype.

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The details:

Title: Prototype
Author: M. D. Waters
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Publication date: July 24, 2014
Length: 372 pages
Genre: Science fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of Dutton