“Jump (aka Twinmaker) is a gripping scifi story of friendship, identity + accidentally destroying the universe.”—Amie Kaufman, New York Times bestselling author of These Broken Stars and Illuminae
“The final act is packed with surprises that make perfect sense in retrospect. A philosophical marathon.”—Kirkus (on Hollowgirl)
“This is the sort of modern Young Adult fiction that I would be glad to see my kids reading. It could be as prophetic for them as Arthur C. Clarke was for the last two generations!”—KIWIreviews (on Fall)
“A clever blend of teen buddy fiction and philosophical sci-fi. They double as entertaining adventure stories and explorations of the ethical and political dimensions of powerful technologies … Big on action. Huge on ideas.”—Sydney Morning Herald (on Hollowgirl)
“…never stops dishing out the twists and turns that keep his great overarching plot moving at near breakneck pace. (The shockers in Hollowgirl are unreal!) The cast of characters is diverse and interesting and Clair is the right balance of self-assured heroine and frustrated teenager. The many layers to this whole story, the many players involved and the multitude of self-serving interests that are explored, is mind-boggling and yet wholly believable. Sean Williams gives readers a great action packed adventure with the Twinmaker trilogy but just as importantly, he issues a clarion call about how we live today, and where it might be leading us to for tomorrow.”—Locus
“will haunt readers as they grapple with deep questions of reality, humanity, and how to strike a balance between opposite ways of thinking. Williams’ world shares many qualities with modern polarized human society, and it is this intelligent consideration that continues to set these books apart.”—Booklist (on Hollowgirl)
“more Return of the Jedi than Matrix Revolutions, with plenty of action as well as big ideas.”—West Australian (on Fall)
“A great deal more complex and intelligent than the average YA action thriller, with an original and exciting premise” – Annabel Smith
“The story powers on to a relentless, shocking conclusion that will leave readers howling for more. Recommend alongside other sci-fi titles with ethical complexity and logical quandaries, like Mary E. Pearson’s The Adoration of Jenna Fox (2008), William Sleator’s The Last Universe (2005), and Neal Shusterman’s Unwind (2007).”—Booklist (on Crashland)
“Twinmaker took my breath away. A triumph of thrilling action and vivid imagination.”—Alison Goodman, author of Eon and Eona
“A mind-blowing adventure about what it means to be human, and what it means to find ourselves.”—Scott Westerfeld, author of Uglies and Leviathan
“A gripping YA thriller, coming of age and love story that transports the reader to a future that looks a whole lot better than it really is … Highly Recommended.”—Garth Nix, author of Sabriel
“Twinmaker asks smart questions without easy answers, and presents a future so simultaneously wonderful and terrible you can only believe in it–and maybe wish you could be there, too. A thrilling, existential head trip worthy of my favorite anime, I couldn’t stop reading this book. More importantly, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”—Alaya Dawn Johnson, author of The Summer Prince
“In a time when every second book seems to be a dour dystopia TWINMAKER is a breath of fresh air. Not just because it’s hugely fun, or because it’s so smart, but because behind its vision of a world in which distance has been eliminated by matter transportation lies a book urgently engaged with the ways social media and technology are transforming us, and unafraid of their possibilities. I loved it.” —James Bradley, author of The Resurrectionists
“Williams marries accessibly explored moral ramifications of future technologies-a hallmark of mature science fiction-with a strong, capable teen heroine and heart-pounding action” —Kirkus
“In the masterful hands of Williams, the technology, which has eerie parallels to contemporary life, provides a solid platform for great storytelling, and teens will revel in the drama, Clair’s tenacity, and the memorable characters who discover that their utopia isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”—Booklist, starred review
“a sprawling and complex tale, built on an impressively well-constructed premise and held together with intrigue and tension. . . . Williams’s exploration of technology and its implications fuels a fascinating story.”—Publishers Weekly
“Give this one to teens who enjoy action-packed books such as Veronica Roth’s “Divergent” trilogy.”—School Library Journal
“handily juggles ethical debates, swift action, and a well-developed setting, while also carefully following each story thread. The resulting novel is rich . . . readers will easily slot themselves into [Clair’s] spot as they consider how to cope with a world on the verge of simultaneous technological brilliance and meltdown.”—The Horn Book
“This first book in the Twinmaker trilogy is a fast-paced action thriller with intriguing plot twists and a gutsy protagonist who’s determined to succeed at any cost. Highly recommended.”—Readings
“some knife-in-the-gut twists and a gasp-inducing ending”—Kirkus (Crashland)
“The final act is packed with surprises that make perfect sense in retrospect. A philosophical marathon.”—Kirkus (Hollowgirl)
More reviews here.
(In early drafts, Clair contacted Zep while she’s in class on the first day, and he comes to meet her. This was once the first time we met him. He has some good lines but he doesn’t come out of it well.) Her tea was still hot when Zep arrived. He was the very model […]
April being April, what could be better than a story about The Fool? Thanks to Clarkesworld for publishing “The Cuckoo”, a Twinmaker story about yet another threat to everything we hold dear. D-mat is a powerful and dangerous tool, and so are memes. Put the two together at your own peril. Here’s the opening: April […]
(This scene took place on Clair’s original walk to school, where she planned to confront Libby about using Improvement. Instead she ends up confronting Jesse, not knowing that today is the anniversary of his mother’s death.) The crowd was becoming louder. An eye-in-the-sky drone was watching, in case things turned ugly. No one liked being […]
Twinmaker went through a lot of drafts. I have nineteen different files stashed away, plus three different openings, three different endings, and numerous alternate takes on individual chapters. Characters came and went, names changed, themes rose to the surface or were trimmed back . . . yet somehow, through it all, the book stayed the […]