A young woman with a shared consciousness must reunite with her other selves to save humanity in a post-apocalyptic world, navigating dangers with the help of a mercenary and her lover. The novel explores themes of identity, technology, and the consequences of collective consciousness in a richly detailed and emotionally engaging narrative.

Reader Review Summary

"Unity" by Elly Bangs is a remarkable and ambitious debut novel that delivers a gripping, thought-provoking science fiction tale with rich world-building and profound philosophical explorations.

From the opening pages, Bangs immerses readers in a vividly rendered dystopian future where the world has been devastated by environmental catastrophe and nuclear war. With echoes of "Mad Max" and "Sense8," she creates an immersive and gritty landscape of undersea cities ruled by criminal warlords amidst a scorched, irradiated surface world. The worldbuilding is intricate and plausible, a terrifying yet imaginative extrapolation of where our present reality could lead.

At the heart of the novel is the fascinating premise of gestalt consciousness - the ability for individual minds to unify into a collective singularity. Danae, the enigmatic protagonist, contains within her the accumulated memories and experiences of over 200 merged lives spanning 12,000 years. Her quest to reunite with the gestalt "Unity" she was once part of drives an electrifying, fast-paced plot full of breathless action and thrilling twists.

Bangs' extraordinary imaginative powers are on full display through dazzling ideas about nanotechnology, post-singularity unification, and the existential question of what truly defines an individual consciousness or soul. She uses cyberpunk tropes brilliantly to explore these deep philosophical concerns in an entertaining, cinematic way. Readers will be captivated by the grand concepts while still being fully immersed in the gripping story and wonderful character arcs.

The characterizations are richly developed and emotionally resonant. Despite the mind-bending sci-fi concepts, Danae, her mercenary guide Alexei, and her lover Naoto all feel like real, flawed human beings the reader becomes deeply invested in. Their relationships and internal struggles amidst the chaos of their mission provide profound emotional depth. Even the antagonists have compelling layers and intriguing motivations that tie into the deeper themes.

While dense with creative sci-fi speculation, the book is eminently readable and propulsive, with Bangs deftly balancing action, character, and Big Ideas with great skill. Her prose is evocative yet precise, conveying both the visceral intensity of the desperate flight across the wasteland as well as the ethereal wonder of the gestalt unification process itself.

"Unity" culminates in a climax that is both mind-blowing and heartfelt, delivering revelations and resolutions that feel surprising yet inevitable. Bangs has wrestled with some of the deepest, most fundamental questions of consciousness and humanity - and her novel is an unqualified triumph. Readers will be in awe of the ambition and imagination while being emotionally captivated by the personal journeys at its core.

With its bold vision, virtuosic blend of speculative sci-fi with relatable humanism, and ultimately hopeful perspective on what we could become, "Unity" showcases Elly Bangs as an enormously talented new voice in the genre. Sci-fi readers will be adding their raves to the chorus of ecstatic reviews. Highly recommended for fans of "Neuromancer," "Lilith's Brood," and fiction that makes you think as deeply as it makes you feel.