The Dark Intercept

Violet Crowley is the daughter of the president of New Earth, a utopian society built in the skies of Old Earth. The peace is kept by the Intercept, a computer program that tracks everyone’s emotions and can weaponize them if necessary, stopping crime before it’s committed. As Rebels arise questioning the Intercept, however, Violet must determine whether she believes safety is worth the intrusion on her emotions.

The Dark Intercept is a standard dystopian tale exploring the value of the government “protecting” people at the cost of tracking them. Though the story is solidly written, with strong character development for Violet and the side characters – including the president and the chief of police of New Earth, who both support the Intercept – the concept and the plot do not offer much new for readers who have read multiple young adult dystopian novels before. In fact, the stakes in The Dark Intercept actually seem lower than in many other dystopians, and the fight against the Intercept often seems to be more over the principle of the thing than over practical grievances. However, readers who enjoy science fiction and would like to see Violet solve the mysteries surrounding the Intercept’s creation and use will enjoy this.