'Snapshot' by Brandon Sanderson is a science fiction novella set in a world where entire cities can be recreated virtually for detectives to investigate crimes. The story follows detectives Anthony Davis and Chaz as they uncover a larger crime while investigating a murder. The concept of a 'Snapshot' where a virtual copy of the world from a few days ago can be created is central to the plot, reminiscent of movies like Source Code and The Matrix. explores the consequences of living in a 'fake' world and the challenges faced by the characters in solving the crime within this unique setting.
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From The Publisher:
Snapshot is a Science Fiction detective story following Anthony Davis, a cop assigned to Snapshot Duty. In this vivid world that author Brandon Sanderson has built, society can create a snapshot of a specific day in time.
The experiences people have, the paths they follow--all of them are real again for a one day in the snapshot. All for the purposes of investigation by the court.
Davis's job as a cop on Snapshot Duty is straight forward.
Sometimes he is tasked with finding where a criminal dumped a weapon. Sometimes he is tasked with documenting domestic disputes. Simple. Mundane. One day, in between two snapshot assignments, Davis decides to investigate the memory of a call that was mysteriously never logged at the precinct, and he makes a horrifying discovery.
As in all many stories, Snapshot follows a wonderfully flawed character as he attempts to solve a horrific crime.
Sanderson proves that no matter the genre, he is one of the most skilled storytellers in the business.
Ratings (15)
Incredible (1) | |
Loved It (7) | |
Liked It (2) | |
It Was OK (5) |
Reader Stats (24):
Read It (15) | |
Want To Read (9) |
3 comment(s)
****5.0****
It was an amazing read. I didnt expect it and it blew me off.
This os Sanderson's futuristic detective Novella. And in this future a computer program can simulate an entire day of the past for every person and police force can enter this simulation to find evidence for the cases in real time. But the detectives shouldn't cause any disruptions of this past day which can cause a lot of deviations to the real time day.
Well, the plot is amazing. Davis and Chaz are Snapshot detectives which means in real time they are not detectives. Davis wants to be a real detective where as Chaz is happy in this work. They are assigned to a Snapshot day where they have to follow a killer and check where he dumped the murder weapon in the morning. And also a domestic abuse case in the evening. But Davis has different plans. He has read about an odd event in a conspiracy blog and wants to investigate it. And the twists and turns begins.
I enjoyed this short read thoroughly. It should have been a novel instead of novella. Maybe Sanderson will write something on the topic in near future :)
Happy Reading!!!
The whole time I was reading this novella I kept thinking, “this is a 3/5 star cop drama that happens to take place in a vaguely sci-fi setting”… then I got to the end and. Brandon Sanderson did what he always does so well. He wrote the perfect ending that elevated the rest of the story and made everything click.
Highly recommended if you liked Minority Report. Different concept, but same vibe.
I've never read a Sanderson book before, so I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting into with this one. I found the world building to be super great and interesting. The setting was engrossing and I had so many questions like:
why are all these buildings run down? what was the turning event in 2016 to change the world so much? what the hell is the THING that makes Snapshots possible? I'm a little sad that these things didn't get resolved, but it kept me engaged. The 'mystery' itself was a little meh. I can't say I saw the twist coming from a mile away, but neither did it surprise me too much.
What can you read after
Snapshot?
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