“Brilliance” by Marcus Sakey – The Price of the Iron Fist

Brilliance by Marcus Sakey tells a story taking place in a world exactly like ours, with one small difference: some people are brilliants. Basically-explained, “brilliants” are people born with extraordinary powers, such as the ability to read minds or turn invisible when no one else is looking (nothing world-breaking or completely supernatural). 

Some perceive them as a threat, others as the next step in evolution… the government, of course, is all about controlling them. The story follows a young and naive FBI agent, Nick Cooper, who himself is a brilliant who can see patterns in people, as he tries to bring to justice one of his own people, an evil man hell-bent on bringing chaos and destruction to the world.

Though the author may have you believe that the ideas used in the book are completely new and there are plenty of clever plot twists, I would beg to differ. For starters, the ideas used are startlingly similar to those found in X-Men, a long-running comic book where instead of brilliants people with powers were called mutants. 

Also, without breaking the read for you without any spoilers, I found some of the “twists” to be cookie-cutter and generic, just like a good part of the so-called social commentary found within. There is a good chance that the “big” revelation will have you rolling your eyes.

Of course, the factors mentioned above don’t necessarily make a book bad; after all, there is no perfect piece of writing out there, just a “best one”. On the whole I found the book to make for a very enjoyable read, with there seldom being a dull moment or a break in the action. This actually goes double for the first half as the concept of brilliants is explored in detail (even though many of us have already heard the ideas expressed here). 

Sakey also took good care to carefully craft the world where everything is happening, making it feel like a real place, or perhaps something akin to alternate reality. It is quite easy to lose yourself in the book and flip page after page to see more of this peculiar world and the characters in it.

On the whole, I have to admit that in spite of its flaws, Brilliance remains a very good thriller and science-fiction novel, one that fans of those two genres will probably love. If you are a casual reader more interested in being entertained and relaxing through books, then I believe that this novel will be perfect for you.

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Marcus Sakey Personal site Marcus Sakey is an author of American origin and is also known for being the host to the show Hidden City on Travel Channel. Many of his novels are set in the south side of the Chicago and revolve around clue-collar-type characters, and much of his research actually comes from shadowing and interviewing various police officers. Some of his better-known novels include The Blade Itself and At the City's Edge.