Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on November 1st 2016
Source: Author Review Copy
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Romance, Young Adult
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A Diabolic is ruthless. A Diabolic is powerful. A Diabolic has a single task: Kill in order to protect the person you’ve been created for.
Nemesis is a Diabolic, a humanoid teenager created to protect a galactic senator’s daughter, Sidonia. The two have grown up side by side, but are in no way sisters. Nemesis is expected to give her life for Sidonia, and she would do so gladly. She would also take as many lives as necessary to keep Sidonia safe.
When the power-mad Emperor learns Sidonia’s father is participating in a rebellion, he summons Sidonia to the Galactic court. She is to serve as a hostage. Now, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia. She must become her. Nemesis travels to the court disguised as Sidonia—a killing machine masquerading in a world of corrupt politicians and two-faced senators’ children. It’s a nest of vipers with threats on every side, but Nemesis must keep her true abilities a secret or risk everything.
As the Empire begins to fracture and rebellion looms closer, Nemesis learns there is something more to her than just deadly force. She finds a humanity truer than what she encounters from most humans. Amidst all the danger, action, and intrigue, her humanity just might be the thing that saves her life—and the empire.
Welcome to our stop of The Diabolic blog tour! I adored The Diabolic, a fun-filled science fiction story sent in the future, years from now, where our characters explore the political climate of a declining empire and learn humanity. I’m excited to share a guest post from the author, reasons why you should definitely pick this book up, and finally, a giveaway!
I came into this book with reservations because it seemed like it was getting mixed reviews. The beginning impressed me, but I was still wary. Fifty pages into the book, though, I was truly immersed in the world that Kincaid writes and felt for the main character, Nemesis. But here’s what ultimately convinced me to give this book such a high rating:
1. Nemesis was an amazing character who develops immensely throughout the story.
The Diabolic is not a person, but a creature. It bonds with a human and protects them to the best of their capabilities. They have human DNA, but they don’t have emotions. We start the story with seeing Nemesis bonded with Sidonia, and her vehement conviction of living only for the person she bonded with. Later on, the emperor proclaims the banishment of Diabolics, ordering them all to be killed. Sidonia’s family goes against his wishes, though, and keeps Nemesis alive. But due to the supposed treachery of Sidonia’s father, she is called to the galactic court as a hostage. Instead of sending her, the family sends Nemesis, who has to figure out how to weave through the political machinations around her while trying to take the emperor’s wrath from Sidonia’s family. From here, we see Nemesis go from the creature that has to think to show emotions to someone more – someone that does things in accordance to what she feels. It’s a vast contrast that I loved seeing in Nemesis’s character development, as well as the realistic denials she had of it when she first exhibited emotion.
“‘The Emperor wishes me to send my innocent little lamb to the slaughter. No. Instead, I’ll send him my anaconda.'”
2. The world was as infinite as space – which makes sense, since it takes place in space.
I love the world that Kincaid created! Granted, as a science fiction lover I’m welcome to anything and everything that takes place in the future in space, but the reasoning behind the government and hegemonic powers makes a lot of sense. In the future, people who explore science and knowledge, like Sidonia’s father, are treacherous. The Emperor rules through religious ideals, the church, and science is all but forgotten due to the “will of the gods.” When humanity kept expanding to space and beyond, a sudden catastrophic event took place where they were wiped out. Since then, the reigning caste – Grandiloquy – use only the old technology that had already been invented to conduct things. They don’t create or innovate, making for a society that does not move forward at all. The author also adds different groups of people, like the Excess and Servitors, that further create a three-dimensional world.
“We Grandiloquy are a far more savage sort than we pretend.”
3. There was never a boring moment within these 400 pages.
From the very first page, everything was going and going and going, nonstop. And I liked it! I can’t abide those stagnant plots that slow down in the middle with some frivolous drama or secondary plot element that the book would be better without. Fortunately enough, everything in The Diabolic had a purpose as this story was packed into a tight 400 pages. Kincaid writes every scene with a purpose, so there’s never a waste of time or words. It’s enough to get a reader finishing up the book in one sitting! I also adore stand-alones as well, so having such an action-packed story start and finish within one book was awesome for me. Somehow there’s so much to be said from one book sometimes than three of them with drawn out stories.
4. Fabulous storyline that had all kinds of twists and turns.
How do you go from being zero to hero? Or, if not hero, then at least one of the catalysts that marks the start of a new era for society? Nemesis starts out as a Diabolic girl that is generally unwanted and unliked, except for Sidonia, but she truly finds herself when she ventures out to the galactic courts. There, she meets allies and enemies alike as she maneuvers around these two-faced schemers. Although court machinations are a big part of plot progression, there’s also action and adrenaline-inducing scenes! Nemesis is quite merciless with her approach with death, which is quite refreshing. But there are also characters that have a problem with killing people, as well, creating a spectrum of perspectives added on. Ultimately, people who enjoy seeing fights breaking out and assassinations won’t be disappointed as well. I mean, the very first thing the Emperor did when meeting Nemesis-pretending-to-be-Sidonia is tell her to make one of her workers skin herself. Kincaid isn’t afraid to get dirty with her characters.
“A Diabolic. A being who was made to live and die for only one person, yet my life could influence the fate of trillions.”
5. Exploration of the feeling of love and humanity that makes humans so unique in the world.
I love romance, but the feeling of love in this book extends to so much more than romantic love. There’s the love of friends, a platonic love, and a familial love to someone who’s been with you, by your side, since you were young. The Diabolic explores these types of love – and more emotions – as readers go through Nemesis’s first person narrative and see her develop. There’s a linear romance that is quite sweet, despite all the high-stakes plots surrounding the characters, and offers Nemesis to see a new side of her “humanity” that she believes she doesn’t have. Nemesis discovers that she’s worth something, and her emotions and feelings are important. For someone who has been bred to become a vicious creature, that’s an important epiphany. I also really appreciate her denials to feelings when she first experiences them, adding a realistic taste to how she reacts. But in the end, we realize that human lives are precious – whether you’re truly labeled as “human” or not – no matter your social standing or religion.
I came into The Diabolic with reservations, but ended up enjoying every moment of it. Kincaid really packs a punch with this story, addressing the ways the ways that humans can act – whether based on greed, pride, vanity, love, or selfishness – all while witnessing the rise and fall of an empire. I think the only small complaint I have with it is the fact that it’s just so much within one book. The author tries to put a lot, and I feel as if some aspects of the story could have been explored more instead of glossed over in the quick pace that this book has. Either way though, it’s ultimately a success with pages that readers will soak up like a sponge! I adored Nemesis’s character and all the growth she goes through, as well as the whole storyline regarding heretics and chasing for knowledge in a society that forbids it. It only takes a couple of open minds to spark the change that could change the future.
Thank you Simon & Schuster for the review copy!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Guest Post: Sci-Fi Gadgets/Inventions I Wish Really Existed by SJ Kincaid
The transporter. I absolutely love traveling, but sitting on a plane drives me mad with boredom. For some reason, I can sit and do nothing anywhere else, no problem (in fact, I’m quite skilled at it), yet on a plane I get so restless, it’s insane. Usually, I try to stay up the night before a flight, or failing that, to take a couple Benadryls and sleep through it. Misery = being wide awake an entire flight. Especially a long one! Transporter solves that instantly.
Universal translator: I would love to be able to speak any language at will, and hopefully also to understand a bit of what animals have to say as well. My parents have a dog, Fred, who often stares at me very dolefully and I can never figure out what he wants. I like to think I’d utilize such an invention to undercover Fred’s deep-seated motives.
Warp drive and/or hyperspace drive: Anything that enables us to viably reach another solar system would be absolutely amazing. It’s depressing sometimes to contemplate just how enormous and vast space is, and our current incapability of ever reaching another habitable planet, especially at the alarming rate we’re using resources.
That thing in Total Recall (the Arnold version) where it touches the nails and instantly changes their color without nail polish. Because it would be cool.
And if I may reference my own book, THE DIABOLIC— beauty bots. Everyone would love a beauty bot. As for my other book, INSIGNIA, the neural processor in the brain might be kind of cool, too, since I could instantly learn anything, download any knowledge, and basically get the universal translator in there too… Provided no one learns how to hack my brain. That might be scary.
About the Author:
S.J. Kincaid was born in Alabama, grew up in California, and attended high school in New Hampshire, but it was while living beside a haunted graveyard in Scotland that she realized that she wanted to be a writer. Her debut, Insignia, came out in July of 2012. The second book in the series, Vortex was released in July of 2013. The final book in the trilogy, Catalyst, came out October 28, 2014. Her standalone novel The Diabolic will be released in fall 2016.
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Giveaway – Win a copy of The Diabolic courtesy of Simon & Schuster Australia! (Australians only).
Giveaway ends 13 November 2016 and will be sent out from the publisher. Winner must respond within 48 hours and will be displayed below.
Verified entries only – we check every entry!
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Aila J.
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[…] The Diabolic by SJ Kincaid | I was wary of the hype with this one, but I ended up really enjoying it! The beginning took some time to pick up but I couldn’t put it down afterwards. Full of action and deception, this book explores the many emotions of humans. | 4.5 stars […]
I'm really looking forward to reading The Diabolic! Plus I'd love if those gadgets were real too – especially the transporter. Big yes to no travel time! 😀
I'd especially love a transporter! I really hope you enjoy Diabolic when you pick it up Kim!
Ahhh! I'm so excited for this book!
I was really surprised by this one as well! I really really loved Nemesis. And S J Kincaid's sci-fi gadgets are spot-on. I definitely need a transporter in my life.
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My gosh I absolutely LOVE the sound of this book! Nemesis sounds like such an interesting being and I'm really intrigued by the sci-fi space setting WHICH IS MY FAVOURITE.
YES JEANN SCI FI for the win! Although granted it wasn't too in-depth because of the page limitations but it's definitely an awesome storyline with an equally awesome backdrop.
This has been getting great reviews – I requested it at the library over the weekend!
Jen @ YA Romantics
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I'm so glad! I really hope you enjoy it once you get your hands on it Jen 😀
I so love this cover and even if I'm not the biggest reader of this genre, I'm curious enough to give this a try. Sounds amazeballs!
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I love the cover and plot! Thanks for the giveaway.
Best of luck! And isn't the cover just so simplistic and mesmerizing?
I can't wait to read this book because I had heard mixed reviews but you totally changed my mind!
I'm so glad I have, Anisha! This really isn't one to be missed out on 😀
This book looks so cool! I'd never heard of it before! Admittingly, I wasn't quite sure what I thought of the book based on the blurb and your first few statements, but by the end I'm now feeling like I really want to read it!!!
I really hope you do get the chance to read it! 😀 I'm glad I was able to bring it up to your attention.
I'm glad you had such a terrific experience with this book, Aila. I sadly, didn't like it as much. I think I may have hyped it up too much and I got really tired of all the senseless killings and the lack of reaction by the characters. I did like the eventual character growth of Nemesis too. I wish I was able to be more invested in the story early on.
Great review, Aila!
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Aw man, I'm sorry about that Nick!
Maybe one of the reasons I was so pleasantly surprised was the fact that I DIDN'T trust the hype and heard other people feeling "meh" about it? Haha, either way coming in with reservations really helped. Oh yeah, the graphic parts were definitely wild but I do think the reaction of characters could have been a topic to be explored IF the book were longer or a trilogy. Given its shorter length, I can only imagine how many limitations the author has with writing the story.
THIS BOOK LOOKS SO GOOD! It seems like there isa lot going on, especially with it being Sci-Fi and all that. I'm not usually a reader of this genre but I PROMISE YOU, I'm trying my best to brane out more. Since it was 400 pages, I'm super glad that it wasn't a slow read for you because most of the times (well, from wat I've seen) larger books seem to dip in the middle and become boring so I'm glad that wasn't the case with this one. 🙂
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This one definitely doesn't slow down Keionda! A part of that is just because the author puts so much into it, there is never a dull moment. I really hope you get the chance to pick this one up if you can! 😀
…your review puts my current thoughts and analysis of this book to shame :(… I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this book — even the limitless space — although that was part of the book that I have the most mixed feelings about re: part of me wants to know more but I can acknowledge that as a standalone, that information is not needed. The struggle is real.
I too appreciated how well paced this story was (if a bit heavy on the romance at times with Tyrus). That being said, I think I'm going to have to rate this book lower for the ending as it just seemed a bit weak to me after the strength of such a tight conflict driven by a certain morally ambiguous villain (?). I wouldn't really classify that relative as the antagonist though? Or maybe I do. I don't even know anymore.
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I mean, don't get me wrong Joey there were some problems butttt in the long run it was MUCH better than I anticipated. I mean, I had 3 different people saying they didn't like the ending and I was like "!!!"
Hmm I mean they might be an antagonist in terms of being at odds with the goal of the main character but in the long run not really a VILLAIN, if you know what I mean. I totally know where you're coming from with the weak ending, too. I was just happy it didn't pull something stupid from out of nowhere okay because I've read too many books like that.
Thank you for the giveaway!!
Best of luck!
This book sounds amazing! Can't wait to get a copy 🙂
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Yay, me too! Hope you enjoy! 😀