Cover Image: Sweet Harmony

Sweet Harmony

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Member Reviews

I gave this one a shot and opted to DNF it - it's not quite my cup of tea. Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy for review!

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A nice quick read but I wasn't particularly invested in the story or Harmony as a character. It is a fascinating dystopian concept though, just not very plot-driven.

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This was a quick read, and while I thought it was good I was glad to finish it. A solid 3 Star read but I found it hard to feel any sort of connection/empathy for the character.

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Sweet Harmony takes place in an alternate universe where nanotechnology is common place. These nanos can detect illnesses, prevent them. Great right? But they can also be used to make you slimmer, happier, just generally shinier. You enjoy sex whether or not it is good or not. You can eat what you want, it just passes straight through. No consequences....maybe. These nanos can make you more attractive to everyone. But all at a cost, not just monetary. £7.99 here, £30 there. Self respect forgotten, an easy decadent life. This world subscribes to beauty like we subscribe to TV and music. Harmony is a great believer in making the most of all the upgrades available. But there's a limit, too many upgrades has catastrophic effects, then the debt of all the upgrades catches her up and they start to shut down.....

I'm not sure I should have laughed as much as I did at this book. Claire North is a fantastic writer but I've never really had her down as humorous but honestly I was literally bursting out laughing. In creating this world she has also sent up the real one perfectly. Consumerism is shown up as been the ridiculous con we all know it is but buy into. Interestingly (to me) I tried a few people to see if this was available would they go for it. All said no until I tapped into the things I knew they really would love to improve. So for example my partner is fitness mad. The idea of muscles without effort he hated. But not getting tired or injured he bought into. Let's hope no one ever works the technology out!

Harmony is not likeable at all, she's pretty weak and selfish but it is easy to empathise as well. She's in a world where perfect is the norm. But as the book goes on you hope she'll learn...

Short but definitely not sweet, a funny, occasionally icky but ways entertaining read.

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Really well crafted novella following the exploits of Harmony Meads as she tries to be the best she can be - but it is an expensive business. Claire North explores the topic of body image and identity as you enter a world where nano technology can deliver the best you there can be as long as you can afford the monthly payments. The problems start when you miss a payment. Written with her usual quality this is an excellent read and a challenging concept for consideration. Highly recommended.

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Wow. This book had me enthralled from the start. I didn't really like the character of harmony but I'm not sure you're supposed to. A must read for fans of dystopia.

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If you could upgrade your body and your personality would you do it? Once you’d started how would know when to stop?

Sweet Harmony is a short novella but it is perfectly constructed, leaves an impact and really packs a punch. The premise is brilliant and draws a really disturbing parallel to addiction. I really enjoyed the different packages on sale and the advertising descriptions that North weaves into the story. The idea of a woman in withdrawal from attempting to alter her body and how fast her life spirals downwards felt like an episode of Black Mirror.

I also really enjoyed how realistic the company providing the nanos seemed – all of payment plans and small-prints really made them out to seem sinister but you also totally sympathised with how easily Harmony could have been drawn in by what they were offering. Although I spent a lot of the story internally yelling at Harmony for her choices you could see why she was making them and it was actually quite difficult to read in places due to the subject matter being explored. I truly loved the ending – it was a great (horrible) twist and something I did not see coming.

Overall Sweet Harmony is a hard-hitting novella which isn’t for the faint hearted. It’s perfect for lovers of Black Mirror and I highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley & Little Brown Book Group – Orbit for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Warning, it’s not a long book, more of a novella, but one that definitely engaged me! Science fiction is not my favorite genre, but the way North wrote this and possibly the fact it wasn’t long did make it a very enjoyable read for me! If you are a fan of Claire North’s work and don’t mind a novella, I would hugely recommend. It does have some quite riveting moments and really does keep your attention from start to finish! Unique as well, but I’m not one that’s read numerous sci fi books!

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I am a fan of Claire North's books especially "The First 15 Lives of Harry August". I find they are unusual with fantastic ideas and great plots. Here we meet Harmony who wants to be someone she isn't. She wants a good job, a good figue, a great boyfriend, the works. Fortunately this can all be achieved by nano chips and enhancements to her body - it is no big deal everyone has upgrades. A bum lift here, a fresher complexion there. She even has the option of getting drunk without it affecting her. Her live continues to progress with a better job until she has everything she thinks she wants...............

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the idea of upgrades. No dieting, just an upgrade. A perfectly toned body at the slide of a finger on the ap. Of course there is the downside that it all has to be paid for.
I was really getting into this book. I was enjoying Harmony, the relationship with her mother & her sleezy ex-boyfriend when it stopped very unexpectedly. I felt a bit short changed to be honest.
A great book but I wanted more.
I received a free copy of this via Netg

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Sweet Harmony by Claire North

Claire North, aka Catherine Webb, is an ideas author. Her novels take an amazing concept and run with them with wit, insight and page-turning adventure. Sweet Harmony is a similar exercise, but in the form of a novella. The idea; everyone has nanos that control everything from looks (body shape, hair condition, etc) to mood (controlling anxiety or libido, for example) and even intelligence. These nanos are a product and require many, many in-app purchases.

Harmony is tired. Tired of working so hard, tired of the way she looks, tired of being average.

But all that changes when she decides to splash out and upgrade her nanos. And why not? Everyone's doing it now. With a simple in-app purchase, you can update the tech in your bloodstream to transform yourself - get enhanced brain power, the perfect body or a dazzling smile. Suddenly, everything starts going right for her. She's finally becoming the person she always wanted to be.

But as Harmony will find out, there's a limit to how many upgrades a body can take . . .

Sweet Harmony is less of a plot-driven story and more of a warning. North achieves this by jumping around different times in Harmony’s life as she faces the consequences of her upgrades, and expands upon the details of her relationships at work, in love, and with her mother. The message concerns society's obsession with the physical; it is only when she has all the right nanos does her career and love-life take off. One sub-text is fairly clear too - consumerism and capitalism - as delivered by tech companies and social media - is ruinous, both to the individual and to wider society. A further and perhaps the toughest to read sub-text is the coercive control men put on women; how they look, how they dress, who they hang out with. “Give me your phone”, Harmony’s boyfriend Jiannis demands, suggesting he is demonstrating how much her loves her and cares for her well-being. Yeah, right. Harmony comes to realise he has been programming her as much as the nanos have been.

The message provided by the advertisers is highlighted early on in North’s book. It is all about taking back control. But not of your nation, but of your body. As if your body betrays the real you. One product is even called Take Control! And without the apps and the nanos the world is ordinary. Who would want that? It is dull, listless, lacking magic. Ordinary. What Harmony wants is the world she reads about in magazines. Would people still read magazines in North’s near future? A small hill to die on for sure, but the details are what normally stand out in North’s work. But things can go wrong. Not just in the ability to manage the addiction to the nano’s but the technology can fail, especially when Harmony’s myriad of apps have a conflict of priorities and cause a catastrophic system failure.

An interesting aside to North’s story is that the economics of the UK have somehow crashed. Owing a credit card company a few hundred pounds becomes an insurmountable debt. While upgrades are £35 per month (after the introductory hook of course), and ‘drinks’ are only about £3, when Harmony owes £1,000, the company that owns her nanos cuts her sense of smell. This is one of the many occasions that North uses to describe the world Harmony lives in. The smells of London. North nails the details, which are simple but effective - “tomato soup when you feel low”.

Most of us feel average at some point. We all want to be special. North’s insight into that feeling is laid down in this novella with poignant accuracy. She manages this while creating a satire on both how others see us and how capitalism manipulates us. Those people who feel like this are not victims. If not blissful happiness, then at the very least contentment is available to us all, so long as we accept who we are and what we’re capable of being.

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Claire North achieved greatness in a very short novella. An amazing story and strong opinions delivering an unique and most read for everyone. I will recommend it to everyone I know or see!

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

North has done it again with this Black Mirror-esque look at the natural conclusion of our society's obsession with physical perfection and the ways technology might be used to achieve it. Every decision Harmony makes is completely understandable and the power of the novella lies in the fact that you can see how you might make the same choices, with the same disastrous outcomes. A cautionary tale for the Instagram generation.

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Wonderfully written, with some hints from North's style we have read in her previous books. The novella is a page turning history that you can't stop reading. However, I would say that there are not many surprises during the reading and most of thinks that happens during the story are similar to other many stories we have read during the last few years. Remarkable, but not excellent.

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Despite being just over 100 pages in length, Sweet Harmony is a powerful gut-punch of a novel and a damning indictment of our obsession with our appearance, self-improvement and remaining youthful-looking in whatever way we can, including surgical enhancements. The plot revolves around Harmony Meads, a young, high-flying and highly successful estate agent, who is disgusted when she awakes from her slumber one morning to find a ghastly spot on her chin. She had previously upgraded her body with nanobot technology due to her dissatisfaction with her appearance but the spot tells her that her upgrades are no longer working. In a world that values perfection over everything else, why wouldn't you purchase nano implants that make your teeth whiter, help you to maintain a healthy weight, increase your libido and even prevent disease? Each of the nanos is controlled by an app where you can also purchase extras to add onto the basic package but it's easy to fall into economic ruin when you become addicted to self-improvement and are trapped in contracts you can't afford. It doesn't take long before Harmony’s situation goes from bad to worse...

This is an original, riveting and absolutely terrifying novella from one of the best speculative fiction writers around today. Although this is a character-driven story, North hasn't neglected the worldbuilding as it's some of the most intricate and immersive I've come across to date. I love that she writes tales that could very much represent the way we may be living in the not too distant future, so in that sense it is a realistic and believable world. It's also easy to draw parallels between the nano upgrades that Harmony becomes addicted to and the current plastic surgery epidemic where people seem to end up in the same dire situation; their lives shattered by forking out thousands of pounds to create the image they want to see in the mirror each morning. There are some humorous moments at the beginning of the book but they become few and few between when Harmony starts to fall into debt and it's all really quite sad, to be honest. This, at its heart, is social commentary on our obsession with our appearance but in book form and it had me thoroughly captivated and engrossed throughout. A unique and chilling must-read for fans of Black Mirror and close to the bone sci-fi. Many thanks to Orbit for an ARC.

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This is an interesting book as it’s concept is completely futuristic but the problems Harmony faces could be in the present day.
In the book we learn that there are apps to enhance your skin, prevent disease, keep you in shape etc and these are called ‘nanos’.
You can buy as little or as much as you like and Harmony gets swept along with it all and ends up in serious debt.
Harmony gets a spot which is what alerts her to the fact her skincare Nano is not working. When she calls the company they tell her she owes a lot of money and they are stopping all non-essential nanos.
There’s some flashback chapters so we learn how Harmony ended up in this situation and then the present day when she has to move back with her mum.
This is a novella so is not very long but it has quite a lot built into the story.
This is a futuristic book with a strong message for the present day.
I enjoyed this book as it was refreshingly different to my normal reads.
Thanks to Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

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As always, genius Claire North has perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the 2000’s - obsession with perfection and the body beautiful.
I’m impressed that although some of the ideas are futuristic, her novels always read as if they are totally believable and very much of the now. Brilliant!
The only downside was that it was a novella and not full-length.

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4.5 Stars, a terrific novella from the utterly brilliant Ms North.

Ms North is a genre unto herself, in her astonishing ideas and superb prose. Her other books are equally imaginative and powerful, frightening and insightful. I highly recommend all her books.

This ARC courtesy NetGalley

As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.

This novella is a sharp future exposé of both the coming brilliance of medical technology, and the rotten core of a society led by the greedy. She has imagined a near future where greedy corporations own your health, and can withdraw it at any time.



Ms North focuses on the coming miracles of medicine, but ties it to our hearts as obscenely owned by ruthless corporations of jungle capitalism. The ONLY aim is to squeeze as much money from people as they can, even if it kills them. Ruthless marketing increases the agony and terror of its body-aware victims.

The lovely but sad Harmony Meads has unwisely taken the plunge into body modification "improvement", a victim of the body-shaming marketing campaigns of the near future.

As bad financial times befall her, her monthly subscription to her "improved body and mind" are withdrawn, and the terror of her disintegrating health is on display. Her pain and fear, her hopes for a good life, are destroyed little by little by the greedy corporations that now own her health.

The world is a farm. The citizens are the animals to be milked and bled and slaughtered for the profit of the corporations and the rich. The politicians are paid by the corporations and the rich to make sure the animals stay in their places and obey.
- myself

Great humour, or perhaps not. Perhaps the cheerful way the marketing people describe the effects of possible failures of the nanobots just seems funny. Poignant and wry? Or just sad and inevitable in a society based on rabid jungle capitalism. Personally, I don't have much hope in a bright future, unless we can exterminate the mental illness of greed.

GREED is truly the most terrible challenge of our times, and capitalism is its tool, its means to power and more greed.

Greed is a (contagious) mental illness, an unfillable hole, a hunger that denies justice, a brutal expression of broken egos.

Greed is having a million times as much as the poor and still feeling you don't have enough.

Greed consumes the earth without respite, and is a cancer on humanity.

Greed destroys us and our children and their future.

Greed is death.
- myself

Nano-robots, nanobots, or simply nanos

Full size image here

Notes and quotes:

Ms North's story, and her words, truly bring home the horror of being chained to the greedy:

For hours, she stood in front of the mirror, practising the contortions of her face, trying to find the combination of powerful, strong, funny, witty, droll, dry, sarcastic, knowing, excited, naive and charming that a woman’s smile ought to convey.
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She doesn’t like the way her bum sticks out; knows it’s because she genuinely does have big hips, an actual genetic thing, but also understands that when she says it out loud people laugh, because “big boned” doesn’t mean “big boned” any more, even if you do, in fact, have big bones.
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One week later, her debt to Fullife for unpaid medical services hit £1000, and to encourage swift repayment while still supporting essential medical services, they cut off her sense of smell.
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Elevation–the ultimate pack for the sexual woman. Enhance your libido, bring your hormones into perfect balance and unleash the real woman inside! Use at your own risk.
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Dazzling Smile–no more sad mornings! Before we created Dazzling Smile, women would have to regularly inject themselves with a deadly, paralysing toxin to bring the joy of youth back to their faces. How relieved they are to have a better, nano choice! In the event of sudden blindness, contact your healthcare provider.
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They shall dream of matter, that needs no name, and of sense that has no weight upon it greater or lesser than the act of seeing. They shall dream of the colour red, and it will not be warning, blood, fear or death, but it shall simply be crimson extraordinary, a drowning thought.
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They shall dream of the smell of the sea, and find in it no notion of storms and terrors, of the roar of the ocean against the crumbling beach, but see only water, infinite. They shall dream of language, and with it they shall express themselves and the infinity of their creation, the boundless limit of imagination and thought, and in their language there will be no prisons, only life without end.

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No sooner as lockdown (part 1) ended we started seeing stories about to remove your lockdown fat, fix your hair and make your zoom screen shine with personality. Humans think image is important – this isn’t a recent development. Nobility would have their double chins airbrushed from history but these days it is getting easier with filters, screen tricks and so much more on the horizon. New technology could finally make our bodies show the world whatever you want to be seen as. In Claire Orth’s new novella Sweet Harmony, we get a glimpse of a world where we could cure most ailments but the biggest attraction of that new world is what it can do for our image and of course how it will aid capitalism.

Harmony Meads wakes up to a truly terrible sight – a spot. This isn’t terrifying because this high-flyig twenty-something is on an important date or expecting to be photographed. This means the nanites she has for years to control her fitness; her beauty and lifestyle are no longer working. Harmony Meads is behind on her payments and her provider have removed all capabilities bar basic functions and so her body is going to do some rebalancing. This novel explores Hamony’s life; the decisions that led her to use this new technology and how her life falls apart because of it and how the world will treat people those with and those without.

This novella is a tour through a life and a world just a few years in our future. Nanotechnology can cure many health issues such as cancer or prevent strokes, but it also is becoming a key part of people’s health and fitness. They can give you the perfect skin, care, physique and so much more. Eat what you want; drink without getting drunk – get the perfect smile and now for just a regular monthly payment it is all yours to play with. To help us walk through the wonders and dangers of this world North introduces us to Harmony – her first nanites are for school vaccinations but an early hostile reaction from a potential lover makes her start to look into the wider benefits of this new technology.

What I loved about this story was not that this is just about Harmony’s choices but how the world she lives in capitalises on and pushes for perfection. Three key themes come into play. One it explores a world where the best-looking and best sounding person gets promoted the most and a few bad hair days can lead to job losses. Is this really a change from our world or if everyone can now get this technology does that push people to greater extremes in making their body godlike? We see Harmony’s rise and fall over a few years and it’s a strange world where people all compete to be extravagant in drug binges, alcohol and yet nothing matters (like 80’s yuppies pushed to the max). Its all about image and so once you no longer fit in you can chillingly be pushed out to the side-lines of society.

This leads very much to capitalism and what is very clear is this technology is now a huge cash cow for the manufacturers. We see adverts that practically scare you into not wanting to look bad and what is worse is that these companies are very canny on what happens if you start getting behind on payments. Is your body really just responding to the loss of the nanites or is something more sinister going on? North explores debt for the young as Harmony’s quest for perfection leads to more and more extreme nanite combinations. Perfection comes at a high price in monthly instalments with penalties. And of course, in such a world any major treatments to help regular conditions such as diabetes or cancer would be at a high price. North introduces a debate on health poverty and exactly when should people be made to live past their natural lifespans which is not a million miles away from our current world at all.

In such a chilling tale perhaps the most sinister examination is of patriarchy and toxic relationships. One driver for what happens to Harmony is caused by key men in her life. At university she is shamed by a lover for not taking her own contraception and expecting him to use some. At work the men ogle all the women using the nanites and it’s a world of constant harassment and where women are viewed as toys for bragging rights. Finally, we have the character of Jiannis – wealthy, handsome and fun so a perfect match for her own perfection. But he wants her to reach for more (at her own cost) to become the woman he truly desires compliant without any debate he knows best. This toxic relationship and its aftermath were one of the hardest parts to read but I was really impressed how saw male behaviour such as this control Harmony pushing her ever more into what could be soon seen as addiction. Is Harmony alone responsible for her decisions in this story or has the world made these the only acceptable options?

This story is chilling but impressively intelligent science fiction and while nanites are many years away from what this story reminds us that the trio of patriarchy, sexism and consumerism are with us now causing just as much damage. North makes the reader look at the world and ask us can this happen? The answer is easily yes but it’s the kind of SF that makes you think how can we stop this or be better people ourselves. Strongly recommended

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So I generally don't really enjoy outlandish science fiction. However, Claire North is a favourite - I had really liked her previous The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. So I chose to read this new book, Sweet Harmony.)

This is a good, scary book! It makes you look at a future, which unfortunately seems very likely. Especially with the way science and technology is progressing. Though it is rather bittersweet, the story packs quite a punch! I would recommend it for a quick weekend read. Trust me,it would lead to some very interesting dinner table conversation!!

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After a bit of a dip in enjoyment of her more recent releases, Claire North's latest novella is a return to form with a great concept and engaging writing.

This is a dark story that focuses on body image, abusive relationships and debt, so bear this in mind before reading. With distressing content, unlikable characters and plenty of bad decisions, it's by no means a happy read. It is a good one though, and gives you plenty to think about.

I did find it a little confusing at times with the time jumps to keep up with when in her lifetime a scene is taking place, but it settles into the present day about midway through so it's fine after that point.

It made a nice change to have an ending where not everything is fixed and the main character is still a mess/makes bad decisions, even if it's frustrating.

As other reviewers have commented, this would be a great read for fans of Black Mirror. I'd be interested to see the author take on more stories in this shorter format.

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