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    Brilliance
    Brilliance
    Brilliance
    Audiobook12 hours

    Brilliance

    Written by Marcus Sakey

    Narrated by Luke Daniels

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called “brilliants,” and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in—and betray his own kind.

    From Marcus Sakey, “a modern master of suspense” (Chicago Sun-Times) and “one of our best storytellers” (Michael Connelly), comes an adventure that’s at once breakneck thriller and shrewd social commentary; a gripping tale of a world fundamentally different and yet horrifyingly similar to our own, where being born gifted can be a terrible curse.

    A 2013 Edgar Award Nominee

    “The kind of story you’ve never read before.” —Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher Series

    “Ridiculously good. I love this story so much.” —Gillian Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl

    Nominated for the Edgar, Lovey, Sideways, and Prometheus awards.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJul 16, 2013
    ISBN9781480504769
    Brilliance
    Author

    Marcus Sakey

    Marcus Sakey’s books have sold more than a million copies and been translated into dozens of languages. He lives in Chicago with his wife and daughter. For more information, visit www.MarcusSakey.com.

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    Reviews for Brilliance

    3.5/5

    404 ratings42 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Just realized I've been giving several 3-stars recently. This one is probably a bit ahead of the rest - very suspenseful, well-paced. Not exactly book club material but a good ride.
    • 5/5
      Brilliance (The Brilliance Trilogy, Book 1) by Marcus Sakey is one of the best ‘us against them’ books I’ve read in quite some time. I gave it five stars from start to finish. I look forward to the next two books.It is a suspense-filled mystery that falls into the genre of Science Fiction & Fantasy. It is also an explosive & thrilling book to read.“…historically, the term savant was generally paired with another word, to form an unkind but not inaccurate phrase: idiot savant. Those rare individuals with superhuman gifts were generally crippled in some way. Broken geniuses…It was as though evolution was maintaining equilibrium, giving here, taking there.”Nick Cooper works for an organization (the Department of Analysis & Response aka DAR) that permits sanctioned killing of the brilliants, also called ‘abnorms’ or ‘twists’ who have engaged in criminal activity. He is designated a Tier One himself, because of his special gift of being able to read body language & anticipate a person’s next moves because of miniature musculature movements. He’s a troubled protagonist & may or may not be a hero.I want to thank the author, Marcus Sakey, the publisher, Thomas & Mercer & NetGalley for a complimentary copy of Brilliance in exchange for a fair review. This did not influence my opinion for this review.
    • 3/5
      An action-packed novel that crosses the boarder between spy thriller and sci-fi/fantasy, the story takes place in an alternate present day reality where some exceptional individuals have appeared within the human race and sparked an "us vs them" mentality between these gifted and normal individuals. The book is an example of great "story telling" that captures the readers attention and keeps it, but individuals who prefer literary fiction may find the writing grating at times.This book would be a great vacation read or for anyone who wants a light distraction from everyday life.
    • 4/5
      Federal Agent Nick Cooper is one of the one percent of the population that has been born since 1980 with special mental abilities. These people are known as the Brilliants, or by less polite terms, by the rest of the population (the Normals). The Normals feel increasingly jealous of, and uneasy with, the Brilliants who are obviously superior. It doesn't help that some of the Brilliants have engaged in violent actions in order to draw attention to their demands for equal treatment. Although he is a Brilliant, Cooper has chosen to use his abilities as part of an elite agency set up to capture or kill the Brilliants who have been involved in illegal activities. The plot touches on lots of contemporary issues like government surveillance of its citizens, balancing the need for security versus individual rights, the fear of people who are different and how to deal with terrorism. I thought at times the book was a little heavy handed with these issues, but that was a relatively minor part of the book. Mostly, this book was non-stop action and should appeal to fans of conspiracy theories. I'm not crazy about conspiracies, but I liked the book enough to continue with the trilogy. I listened to the audio version of this book. The narrator was quite good, although I felt that he was overly dramatic at times and I didn't care for his female voices.
    • 2/5
      I'll be honest. I didn't technically finish this book. I figured out about halfway through where the ending was going, flipped to the back to check my theory, realized this was is the first part in a "saga" (not my word), and threw it down in disgust. After a cooling period, I picked the book back up, checked my theory, and threw it down again because I was right.

      So, this totally isn't my type of book. It is mostly predictable, large tracts of text can be skipped without the story losing any meaning, and the ending is satisfying in-so-far as it leaves the door open another book in the story. Also, I tend to steer clear of the sagas, purely out of personal preference.

      All that said, the writing is pretty good, and (so far as "dystopic" futures go) the story is believable and timely. The author is a little heavy-handed with the political and moral subtext at times. But the ideas are worth exploring, and the characters have just enough conflict within them to stay on the right side of cheesy and overdrawn.

      Overall, it's a good, solid suspense story set in an alternate yet familiar present. The writing could be tightened up but is still very good. Definitely recommendable, even if I found it lacking to my taste.
    • 4/5
      Exciting, capably written sci-fi tinged thriller. My first by this author. While this novel certainly contains elements and tropes that have been done before (X-men, governmental conspiracies, the rogue agent, etc. Lee Child's blurb "The type of story you've never read before" is patently absurd.), Sakey is a real pro who keeps things fresh and interesting throughout while creating some vivid, exciting sequences including the finale. Sign me up for book 2, A Better World, coming out this summer, as well as some of Sakey's other books.
    • 3/5
      It starts very well,
      but the plot twist is too predictable, the and is a bit boring
      not a bad story anyway
    • 3/5
      This had the potential to be better than it was. It was still good enough but it felt drawn out and I found myself somewhat bored till the last third of the book. I liked the main character, Nick, and his special ability in patterns. I also liked the fact that I wasn't really sure how the novel was going to play out. This is why it got better in the last third when things truly got more interesting. I probably will read the next one but not in a rush.
    • 4/5
      Not as original and unique as the cover blurbs seem to think (are they not familiar with Nancy Kress' Beggars in Spain, or the X-Men comics?), but a fun and suspenseful read.
    • 2/5
      While I enjoyed this on audio, I found it a bit predictable. They say there are only so many plots and now in my late 50's and a lifelong reader I've read my share. This was an enjoyable story but not gripping enough for me to complete the trilogy. Many of the characters were cookie-cutter types that would fit into any number of novels. Not highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Nicely conceived alt history where children are born with greater mental abilities exploring the consequences for the greater population. Well written, and compelling storyline.
    • 1/5
      137 pages in--I tried, I really tried, but this thing was awful. He needs to stop describing movie scenes and start writing.
    • 5/5
      This is a great book.It is a straight forward mystery-detective novel, with the slight alteration that the reality in which it occurs is marginally different than ours. But, different only in how some humans evolved, not different in how the bulk of humanity reacts to this evolution.It is perfectly believable to think a genetic mutation, or a series of them, would cause a subset of humanity to evolve intellectually to be above-and-beyond what an ordinary human could be AND that those humans who were "left-behind" would put shape to their envy by trying to crush these special humans.It is nicely paced, has decent suspense and the characters all behave as you would expect them to. I will be reading the rest in the series.
    • 4/5
      Quite a creative story! Once you see the "sci-fi" type of personalities that the author creates, you start to identify with the action. The narrative grabs you in and you want to keep reading. The only disappointment was the ending which utilizes a clichéd 'shoot-em-up' type action sequence. Overall, I was glad that I read this one...and I look forward to reading the second episode in the trilogy.
    • 3/5
      It’s set in a future where non-neurotypical people (demonized as “twists” by society) are threatening the status quo of the “normal” population with their unique gifts. Divorcé Nick Cooper is a noirish government agent who works for the dully named Department of Analysis and Response in a U.S.–funded agency, Equitable Services. His job is to track down criminals who use their gifts for ill. These aren’t the well-worn tropes of the superhero genre—for example, Cooper’s gift is for predictive analysis, allowing him to see what will happen before it happens and react. It’s a vision that offers up bone-crunching violence and a plausible future that is far more terrifying than it might seem on the surface. We first meet Cooper as he’s engaging an abnorm in a pitched rooftop chase. Before plunging to her death, she warns Cooper, “You can’t stop the future. All you can do is pick a side.” The book is ultimately about a standoff between a terrorist who dubs himself “John Smith,” Cooper, and a woman, Shannon Azzi, who may or may not be on Smith’s side.
    • 4/5
      The premise for this series is very interesting. People fear what they don't understand. People with unusual "abnormal" skills are seen as a threat to "normal" people and chaos ensues. Very well written, the characters are complete and the suspense will get your heart going. I plan to finish the series.
    • 4/5
      Brilliance (Brilliance Saga #1) by Marcus Sakey is a fantasy book that I found fascinating. In this world, some people were born with gifts, and all kids were tested for these gifts at the age of 8. If they were found to have this, they were sent to schools and not seen until graduation and then often they didn't come home. No one knew what went on in the schools. There was a 'bad guy' with a gift call John Smith who was accused of killing a lot of people and blowing up a building. Our hero is a brilliant, someone with a gift, that works for the government. He thinks he is helping by working for the government and wants to get John Smith. Until he doesn't....A wonderful game of cat and mouse with lots of twists and turns. I love this kind of story! This was an audible book and the narration was perfect!
    • 4/5
      Thoroughly enjoyed this. While it's not a particularly original idea, it's well executed and the world that is created has stayed with me - looking forward to the other books.
    • 4/5
      What would happen if one percent of the human population were born gifted? And what would happen if the “Normal” populace viewed these “Brilliants” as dangerous? Despite their varied gifts in disparate fields, including medicine, math, and technology, the oppressed abnorms find themselves caught up in a “war” with the normals and random acts of terrorism occur all too frequently.Ex-soldier Nick Cooper is an agent in the Equitable Response Unit of the Department of Analysis and Response; he tracks down terrorist abnorms. He is good at his job, the best agent in the department, thanks to his abnorm gift. But what if everything he thinks he knows about the people he works for and the work he does has been a lie? With believable characters and an often-unforeseen, twisting plot, the suspense mounts as the story unfolds. Despite being occasionally predictable, readers will find themselves easily drawn into this complex tale of conflict between two segments of society. Readers will find it difficult to set this compelling story aside until they’ve reached the final page. Readers should note that “Brilliance” is the first book in a trilogy; the other volumes are “A Better World” and “Written in Fire.” Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Since 1980, 1% of the population has been born with gifts. They can read the subtlest cues or move with uncommon stealth. Known as Brilliants, they live, somewhat uneasily, side-by-side with Normals. Nick Cooper is a Brilliant who works for a federal agency tasked with keeping Brilliants in check. Because of this, he finds himself caught between world, uncertain who to trust. This fast-paced novel is filled with twists and turns. It works very well on audio. I started the second book in the trilogy as soon as I finished the first.
    • 4/5
      I listened to the Audible Audio version of this book, narrated by Luke Daniels. Let me say at the start that I really enjoyed Mr. Daniels as a narrator. The way that he chose to voice the various characters was engaging and really added to my enjoyment of the story. What I did not like about the book as an audiobook really relates to how the story was written. It is clear that the story was written to be read visually - not audibly. There were quite a few places where it was a strain to understand the overall meaning of what was being said - either because it was written in conversations and then, of course, read in conversations, or because things were just written in such a way that the meaning became ambiguous because it was being spoken and not seen. All that aside, though, I think the story was pretty great. This book is not a dystopian, but more just an alternate universe to ours. The story deals with what life would be like if there were people called "brilliants" who had what are kind of like super powers, but not quite. Some people, on the lower tiers can just add lots of big numbers in their heads...the kind of stuff that some people can probably do already. But on the higher end, people can "walk through walls" (read the book to understand) or read patterns in people's lives to determine every move they are going to make next - which is what Cooper can do. Cooper works for a government agency that hunts down Brilliants who get into trouble. He and his agency police the Brilliants in a way, to make sure that if any get out of hand, they are taken off the streets. Cooper and the other characters in this book are fantastic. They are life-like, and likable...until some of them aren't. And if they aren't, sometimes you grow to like them. There are definitely some grey areas in this book. There is a lot of action in this book, as well, and the action moves quickly. There is A LOT of detail in this book. It seems like every time you turn around, Cooper is describing his surroundings AGAIN, but it was only mildly annoying, and didn't really take too much away from the story for me, aside from the fact that I definitely noticed it. All-in-all, I would recommend this book to fans of thrillers who want something fairly fast paced and exciting. I would probably recommend trying to read this rather than listening to the audiobook, though. It was enjoyable, but probably would have been less confusing in parts had I been reading the book instead.
    • 3/5
      For anyone who loves the idea of humans being born with special powers this book, despite it's stupid points, is worth a quick read. In Brilliance, around the year 1980 children started being born with special gifts. These children get called many things, twists, abnorms, but also the titular brilliants. No one knows why or how some children are born with these abilities, which is frustrating to me, but at least all the powers seem explainable by science. None seem to break the laws of physics. Rather than x-men level powers (no laser eyes for example) people are born with aptitudes for music, data, or extreme pattern recognition. Nick Cooper, the protagonist, is one of these people and his ability to read patterns and body language means he's very good in a fight. This comes in handy in his role as an agent of DAR, Department of Analysis and Response, a special agency created to manage the brilliants. Cooper's in a division of the DAR that doesn't officially exist. Equitable services has the power to track, detain, and even execute brilliants who are using their powers for evil. Or at least that's how Cooper justifies his work, he believes he's making the world a better place.Cooper, and seemingly the DAR's main target is a terrorist named John Smith, a brilliant raised in a government run "academy" from the age 8 and brain-washed to hate other brilliants and trust the government and regular humans. His real name, like his humanity, was taken from him when he entered the academy. The more we find out about the academy the more understandable John Smith is, he's probably mentally damaged, but the terrorist shootings he commits never fully make sense to me until the end, when Cooper finally is given enough information to put it all together. I saw the pattern from the beginning of the book and Nick Cooper, the seemingly brilliant who has special ability, didn't, which was the main bit that annoyed me about this book. The other annoying aspect was the homophobia of the agents, except when it came to lesbianism which only exists in this book for male pleasure. There's even a love interest who had several lesbian relationships, great fodder for Nick Cooper's fantasy's, and even gets into a relationship with Cooper cause she wasn't actually a lesbian! Perfect for any red-blooded het male reader to get off to. The agents (even the fake lesbian) bully each other by saying their male friends are their boyfriends. The fake lesbian is even revealed to have been engaged to a woman, the reason she didn't get married is cause she wasn't a lesbian. What?! What a living male fantasy this woman's sexuality is. Imagine if this was reversed, Nick Cooper was Nicola Cooper, she meets a man who had fooled around with other guys, got engaged to different dude, but didn't marry him cause he wasn't gay. It sounds bizarre cause it is, but I guess I'm not the reader Marcus Sakey was going for.I'm giving this a 3 star rating only because it kept me entertained to the end.
    • 4/5
      I would like to thank Thomas & Mercer, as well as NetGalley, for a copy of this ebook to review. Though I received this ebook for free, that has no impact upon the honesty of my review. Goodreads Teaser: In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called "brilliants," and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in - and betray his own kind.From Marcus Sakey, "a modern master of suspense" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "one of our best storytellers" (Michael Connelly), comes an adventure that’s at once breakneck thriller and shrewd social commentary; a gripping tale of a world fundamentally different and yet horrifyingly similar to our own, where being born gifted can be a terrible curse.As the first book of a series I'd expected this to be heavy on the world building and character development, but the two dovetailed nicely, cutting down on the slower material. This story essentially explodes off the page from the beginning until the end. What really made this book work for me was how focused it was on the personalities. Other books about people with extraordinary mental abilities often get stuck in the description and use of those abilities, sometimes forgetting the person wielding them. Not Brilliance. Here we get deep into Nick Cooper's psyche and all that makes him tick. As we, and he, learn more about who he is and how he relates to the world around him he becomes the force that moves the story forward. His relationships bring in new characters and their relation to Cooper determines how much we learn about them in most cases. Cooper's life is one of action, and pretty much always has been. He's a faithful believer in what he's doing, which is protecting the world from the abnorms gone rogue. But the reason he's the best at what he does is the fact that he too is an abnorm, or twist as he likes to call them. But part of the problem is that his work has cut him off from contact with others like him, something he isn't consciously aware is a problem. But at his core, his deepest belief is in protecting his family. Everything he does comes back to wanting a better, safer world for his two kids to grow up in. And that's what makes him so damned relatable. Not his abilities, not his faith that what he's doing is the right thing, but his love of his kids. But to protect them he'll have to step outside his safety zone, quite literally. He will have to become the very thing he hunts, and make everyone believe it's true if he's to have even a chance of pulling this off. Following Cooper through his personal and professional interactions is like riding a roller coaster blindfolded. With this story's twists and turns you simply never know where you'll end up or what's coming next. And that's what makes this such an exhilarating read. Well that and the layers of commentary on not just the social system in his world, but how it's reflected in ours. So you can read this simply for the thrills involved, or for the messages included, or like me you can absorb them both. Though I'll say that I often stayed in the story and only got back to the messages on an active level upon putting the book down, and that didn't happen very often once I began reading. But both the thrills and messages are still percolating in my mind as I write this, and I'm sure they'll continue to do so as I read the next book, and the one coming after that. And I can't wait to get started on them!
    • 1/5
      This book is about genetically mutated people who have particular individual skills far and above the normal humans. Our hero has just a little bit better intuition. I liked the setup and the ideas of what might happen in an alternate universe with just a few "brilliant" individuals. After reading/listening for five hours, I gave it up--cut my losses...just not very interesting and did not make me want to avoid other things to keep reading. The "brilliants" did not display their super powers very much and it became just like another shoot-em-up cop saves the world. The plot is evident and the ending predisposed about a third or the way through it. Much potential, not demonstrated. I'll take the Brilliance series off my list.
    • 4/5
      This is a very good thriller, with lots of intrigue and plot twists.
    • 5/5
      Really really well done scifi thriller.

      Highly recommend.
    • 3/5
      This would make a great film! Which is handy since the film rights have just been sold to Legendary Pictures (Dark Knight series, Inception).

      It's wasn't the book I thought it was going to be though. The blurb focuses on tiny bits of the story and based on that I thought I knew what I was getting into. Some of the people in the story are 'gifted's', 'brilliant's', 'abnorms'...whatever, and those are the people I wanted to read about, the one's with the 'special talents'. I wanted their stories. I did get a bit of that but mostly it's a tense, action filled, political thriller. I think. Kind of. It's a bit hard to pigeon hole, actually. There's lots of action, a bit of political and it's thrilling - But the characters were where I wanted all the attention focused.

      However, the story is well written and kept me turning pages. There's espionage, romance, family drama, races against time, suspense...it's all there and worth a read. I think this may be the first book in a trilogy(?) but I'm not sure where I read that. I hope it's true. Maybe in follow on books I'll get to find out more about the characters and all of their wonderful talents.

      Can't wait for the film!
    • 5/5
      Wow. I am awestruck. This is one of the best, nay, er, brilliant books I have ever read. Set in a world where suddenly one out of 100 children are insanely gifted, with a variety of gifts. The protagonist, Cooper, is a brilliant whose gift is seeing patterns. For example, he can read body language so well it is almost impossible to hit him, he will have moved out of the way. But some brilliants are criminals or terrorists, and Cooper works for a government agency that takes care of the bad ones - usually lethally. The characters are fantastic. The very broad outlines of the plot have been done before, but rarely this well. I give the book 10 on a 5 star scale. Go, run, get a copy and read it.
    • 3/5
      This started out very strong, and I was enjoying the ride. However, it got too drawn out and boring. I quit with about 50 pages left.
    • 4/5
      Good first book in a series. I wasn't so sure about it at the start, but it progressed nicely. I'll be listening to the second book to see if the series keeps the same level of intrigue and action.