A really fantastic read. I thought the premise of the book looked really interesting from the blurb and I wasn't disappointed.

The characters are really well written and the story flows really well together from each of their perspectives.

Sophie's growth through the book is my favourite part and how her relationships with her family evolve.

I really, really liked this. A novel that takes technology to the logical next step with the implementation of Pilots, implants in the brain that allow multitasking like never before. An ethical exploration that has as its core a wholesome, relatable family (it was great to see established WLW relationships outside of a romance), this was an great page turner.

This is a great read about the dangers of future technologies, scary and visionary in many ways.
Pilot is a brain implant that helps people multitask and focus on multiple things at once. Everyone with a pilot has a blue LED on their temple. The book goes into all the various issues that such a device could cause from schools being divided into Pilot classes and nonPilot classes, to workers only being hired if they have it, military recruitment etc. This is all done very well and kept simple by the story being based in and around one family, the chapters alternate between the different family members points of view. The values of honesty and trust are a major theme.
Well plotted and well paced, and there’s plenty of ideas to think on. Many of the issues could’ve been taken even further!

I did enjoy this book but it was very difficult to rate, whilst there was a lot of good things about this book some things were not so good. I loved the concept behind this book, a new technology becoming insanely popular very fast and the impacts on society and families. I feel the execution could have been better especially in the end, it was a slow burn for the most part but came together too fast in the end.

One of my favourite things about this book is that we see one family struggling with this new technology. We get all four of their perspectives and they are all very unique and well formed characters. Having all four of them was really helpful in getting an idea on how different types of people viewed the technology. But it also showed the strains it caused on their overall relationship and trust in each other. The family dynamic was the most interesting part for me and I loved that they were not the typical family either. Val and Julie are the mums of David and Sophie, David is Julies biological child and Sophie is adopted.

I found the pilot technology to be a bit boring and not really something that seemed to do anything but its viewed as perfect for almost all of the book. The end was very rushed and I was left feeling confused about what had actually happened. I do feel the time jumps had some impact on the flow of the plot and it seemed taking on the company was not really part of the story.

There was a lot of good representation in this story which I really liked, we see Sophie struggling with epilepsy but also not letting it hold her back. David also has a lot of problems and we see him struggle with mental health, drug addiction and then losing a foot. Sophies friend is transgender and we see some good use of normalising introducing people with their pronouns.

This book was a very light sci-fi and mixed a lot with contemporary, it was more to do with family and the social impact of emerging technologies. This is very relevant to todays world which did make it feel more realistic and less sci-fi. It also highlights some issues with medical devices and how they are less regualted than drugs.

Initially, I started this one waiting for the family dynamic to twist into something darker… For there to be a hidden, nasty past that would catch up with Val or Julie; for there to be something dire about the children’s origins; for an alien something to come crawling out of the woodwork and capitalise on the Pilot. And I’m delighted to say that nothing like that happened. This book is more intelligently plotted than that.

Instead, it is a real look at a likely scenario that could unfold within our present near-future if an app is invented to increase the brain’s ability to multi-task and focus – and it’s ongoing impact on a specific family over a number of years… And if that sounds a bit dull, or workaday, it isn’t. While this isn’t the book to go to if you want full-on action with lots of explosive battles, the dilemmas created by using the Pilot had me turning the pages waaay into the night to discover how it pans out. And what happens to those who can’t or won’t use the Pilot, once it has been successfully rolled out to most of the population…

I loved both Val and Julie, who are thoughtful, caring parents who want the best for their children and agonise about David’s desperate desire to be able to keep up with his richer classmates. Julie, who works for a high-profile politician, also comes under pressure to acquire a Pilot to keep on top of her boss’s schedule. And then, there’s Val who hates the very idea of having anything so intrusive anywhere near her brain, especially as their daughter, Sophie, will never be able to have one fitted because of her epileptic seizures. We follow their fortunes as the consequences of their difference decisions unspool over a number of years.

The depth of the characterisation, the quality of the narrative arc and the final fallout worked really well for me. In particular, I found David’s plight really poignant – and I would just add a trigger warning for drug abuse and PTSD. I’m aware that I might have made this sound rather drearily worthy. It’s nothing of the sort – there are shafts of humour within the family snark, the prose is punchy and the tight pacing keeps the story rolling forward at a brisk lick. I haven’t encountered this author before – but this certainly won’t be the last time I’ll be reading her work. Highly recommended for both sci fi fans and those who enjoy reading family-centred stories with an unusual dynamic. While I obtained an arc of We Are Satellites from Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
10/10

This near-future science fiction novel eases you into it with it's cosy family dynamic, with two mums and their picture perfect children, the quiet jock and the boisterous younger sister with health problems. I found it refreshing that the story focussed on the fallout that this world-changing technology had on a particular family, deftly exploring how the differences in outlook (pro-tech or not) and parenting style (to snoop on your kids electronically or not) can expand into huge faultines that tear apart a marriage and a family. The only reservation I had was that I felt the novel was slightly out of step with the current behaviours that large corporations take when protecting their IP and responding to criticism. I would expect a far stronger response from the corporations, and I always slightly wince at the suggestion that being elected to political office alone will sort things out (rather than realising that the political system also needs massive reform). However, this was a great novel that I've already recommended to my friends, and I will continue to do so.

Set in the near future, 'We Are Satellites' is the story of an ordinary family affected by a new technology. At the start of the novel, a device that enhances brain function has been made available and quickly proves popular. Teenaged David soon finds he is left behind his classmates without one = but when he gets one he discovers its benefits come at the price of peace of mind. His sister Sophie suffers severe epilepsy and is ineligible to get one. As the devices become widespread, a two tier society develops with those unable or unwilling to get the device fitted 'left behind' both at school and in employment. Meanwhile their parents are similarly split - mother Julie finds one essential and useful for work, whereas other mother Val is uneasy about the technology and decides not to get one in solidarity with Sophie.

It's a very good idea for a story and it seems inevitable that technology of this type is not far away, and its impacts are likely to be far reaching. The potential for a two tier society of the kind that develops in this novel is very real, and indeed likely. The use of the four family members enables all sides of the impact to be explored. As the novel progresses over a ten year timespan, Sophie becomes involved in a protest movement against the technology, whilst David ends up working for the company who make the device, further polarising the family and providing lots of opportunity for conflict and therefore interesting story telling.

The writing is not particularly remarkable - it's perfectly adequate to tell the story, but there is nothing really special about the phrasing. It is definitely a content-over-style novel, which I prefer to the other way round, if I can't have both aspects excellently. I felt interest in and sympathy for the characters but I never truly loved them or felt the depth of emotional engagement possible with some novels. Possibly this was due to the 'tell rather than show' style of writing which is fine for getting the message across but doesn't immerse the reader in the story in the same way.

I found the last quarter of the novel the most gripping and it became quite exciting without being silly. I did feel the ending was a bit rushed and in some ways it stopped just as things got really interesting. I'd have liked the end stage to be expanded and the earlier part cut back somewhat. Pinsker really came into her own in the last part and delivered a more satisfying ending than many 'new technology' novels manage. I also applaud the author for managing to produce a novel of this type that remained plausible and didn't take things too far - a criticism I often find for this genre of book.

Overall, if you enjoy speculative fiction or have an interest in the ethics of human enhancement, this would be a great choice of novel. It isn't really outstanding, but it's a good idea and solidly executed.

The concept itself is fascinating but what I really enjoyed was how family was at the heart of this story. Each family member has their own POV which is great because you get to know everyone intimately and see how their conflicts intersect. Naturally, a lot of their conflicts are related to the Pilot and how half of the family has the device and the other half doesn’t. This is amplified with the contrast between Sophie, an anti-Pilot activist and David, the poster boy for the Pilot programme.

As such, I think that this book will appeal to readers who are perhaps intimidated by science fiction. It reads a lot more like a contemporary or a family drama than what you’d expect from sci-fi.

My only gripe was that I went into this book expecting something different to what it was. The synopsis gives off the feeling that maybe there’s a more urgent conflict. But it’s actually a lot more focused on the interpersonal conflicts than those within society at large. Even though it wasn’t quite what I expected, I did genuinely enjoy reading this book and will be picking up more of Pinsker’s books in the future.

I have seen two covers for this book and prior to reading the book I was 100% that I preferred the cover with the woman and child on it. Having read the book I think that the red cover fits the book just as well if not better as it portrays the sci-fi, futuristic themes within the plot much better. Either of the cover images would make me pick the book up in a book store to learn more about it. As soon as I read the blurb, I was intrigued by the pilot technology and eager to learn its positives and negatives within the book.

Put super simplistically a Pilot is a small device that is attached to the brain via a surgical procedure and this then helps the wearer/user multi task and be hyper aware of their surroundings. The pilot is marketed as enhancing what you & your brain can do. You can learn faster, notice and have a higher level of awareness of things going on around you without even appearing to be taking notice.

The relatively happy family at the centre of the book are school teacher Valerie, political assistant Julie, their son David (who is biologically Julie’s son) and Sophie who the two women adopted. Valerie first noticed a blue light flicker during a lesson in an auditorium and that’s how she discovers “pilots” and then learns about what they are. Valerie later attends a parents evening event at David’s school where his teacher explains that David is being left behind academically by his fellow students. David had always been good academically so Valerie asks his teacher to elaborate. The teacher reveals that the reason David is being left behind is that so many of the other pupils are being fitted with pilots, meaning they are learning at a much faster pace than David is able to do with his unenhanced brain.

The whole debate of whether David should get a pilot or not is talked over by his mothers, Val and Julie. Valerie is sceptical, she doesn’t like the idea of messing about with such an important organ as his brain. Val’s reasoning is that their other child Sophie, suffers from epilepsy which affects her brain and the Doctors cannot operate to fix that nor come up with the correct mixture of medication to stop her fits, so how can someone have created the pilot, as well as a safe procedure to attach it to your brain? Julie’s opinion is different, the company that makes the pilot has brought a lot of money and jobs into the area, in fact she has been secretly thinking about getting a pilot herself.

What with new employees at work as well as the old employees having pilot’s she is being left behind herself and feeling like she is becoming obsolete and continually overlooked for higher positions. Julie stays quiet about her considering a pilot for herself and reasons with Valerie that David having a pilot could be a positive thing and increase his chances of getting into a good college after school. So, Julie takes David to have a pilot fitted at the bright clinic that strangely smells of cookies and really doesn’t resemble any hospital she has ever been in. Sadly, both Julie and Val have visited many hospitals and clinics with Sophie over the years.

When David announces an Army recruiter has visited his school and he has signed up to go into a special force consisting of young people his age, fitness level who also have pilots fitted, Val and Julie are devastated. They end up respecting his decision, at his age he is classed as an adult so they can’t really do much about it. Though it doesn’t stop them both reacting in different ways. Julie arranges a meeting with an army recruiter who basically assures her that David will be an asset to the army not a pawn or foot soldier used as cannon fodder. That seems to appease Julie and her worries, she also goes ahead with having her own pilot. Val has an outburst at school with an army recruiter still bitter about what she considers as an underhand trick getting David and some of his friends to join up.

The book continues telling this families story, the way David continually struggles with what he calls the constant noise since he has had his pilot fitted. Despite reaching out to those that fitted it he is told to just continue with the games and brain exercises. In fact, David is led to believe it is him and his brain that are at fault, not the pilot. Whilst David is away in the army his younger sister becomes involved in an activist group that organises rallies and protests outside of pilot manufacturers and clinics on a regular basis. Sophie ends up being co-manager with Gabe of the local branch of activists against pilots. Sophie has sympathy for her brother saying it was peer pressure and he really had very little choice in having a pilot fitted. However, she has very little sympathy for Julie, who she said had all the facts and was old enough to say no to her pilot. Family dynamics have totally switched over as Sophie used to favour Julie, until Julie got a pilot. Sophie now increasingly favours her non pilot enhanced mother, Val. After Val’s outburst at her school with the Army recruiter she was initially suspended for just 2 weeks until things had quietened down. However, Val was never reinstated and it took a year to get another teaching job in a public school where she and a couple of other teachers without pilots teach classes to the few students with no pilots fitted. Those without pilots are soon looked down on as having something wrong with them, which naturally also affects the ability to get into a college, or to get a decent job too. Some cannot have pilots due to a medical-conditions like Sophie who has epilepsy, and others like Val just have no desire to get one, or have religious reasons. Sadly those without a pilot are quite blatantly discriminated against, even though it would be denied if someone tried to claim it was the case.

When David returns from the army, he has a job all lined up with the people who manufacture the pilots. Previously used as a “poster boy” in a campaign when he was younger and first got his pilot. It is partly because of this that David is chosen to go to schools and work places encouraging other to have pilots. Despite David still struggling with his own pilot and following all the rules and guidelines things go from bad to worse for him. He loses his job, argues with Julie and walks out of his family home. He finally discovers something at a party that helps subdue the “noise” but these pills marked with what looks like a “q” which prompts David to call them “Quiet” are not on prescription so become expensive.

Without giving too much more away, the family that used to talk about everything have turned into a family that keeps secrets from each other, storm off and slam doors. When David has an accident, Val, Julie & Sophie are all thrown together and they begin to reveal their “secrets” which end up leading to more questions about the pilots. They make a plan together to unearth the answers they need and set about revealing what they have learnt about the pilots and their manufacturers.

One of my favourite characters in the book was Milo, Davids school friend and army colleague. Milo is back to being a civilian a few months or so before David and is eager to help his long term, friend assimilate back into society. He admits to David that he found it difficult to stop watching all around him, sitting with his back to a wall, assessing every possible danger etc. Even when David has nowhere to live, he offers his friend a room in his own home that he shares with his girlfriend Katrina. Despite Katrina nagging Milo about David over staying his welcome, he sticks up for his friend and pleads Davids case to her explaining what it’s like coming out of the army.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were a brilliant read, certainly makes you think a lot about procedures and medications in our current world. You look at the pilot from each point of view, positive, negative & indifferent! It honestly has you questioning yourself as to whether you would have had a pilot fitted, if yes why? And of course, if not why?

To sum up I really enjoyed reading this book a lot. It made me really think about the technology featured in the book. It reminded me a little of The Passengers with futuristic technology that has been rushed out with any possible issues overlooked in the eagerness of a big company wanting to sell it to people and make money. Then when it all starts to go wrong the big company tries to hide the evidence of these flaws and continue on regardless. In this book it takes a group of people consisting of a majority of those without the technology to uncover the lies, and with the help of a reporter and others that have had issues with the pilot really uncover what has been going on. The book certainly keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. The book also has you pondering what you would do in the individual circumstances in the different characters positions. Who do you consider right? Or wrong? Could David’s accident have been avoided? The book leaves you thinking about so many issues, and to be honest the way modern technology is changing so rapidly it isn’t that unbelievable! I also found the changing family dynamics an interesting part of the story too. Could a lot of the misunderstandings have been avoided if they had all sat down and discussed what was going on in their respective lives? Definitely a thought provoking read!

<I>We Are Satellites</i> is one of those books which is barely SF at all, being pretty much a modern day story with a little added technology that doesn't exist (yet, at least) and then exploring the repercussions of that, for a single family and society as a whole.

The basic premise of the book is that a company has invented a piece of hardware (the Pilot) you can have implanted into your brain which will give you the ability to truly multitask. This quickly becomes a requisite, with employers refusing to take on anyone who doesn't have it and schools putting the students who won't or can't have it into remedial classes. The latter include people with epilepsy, like one of the members of the family whose life afterwards we explore - Sophie's experiences in school as a permanent outsider eventually leads her to become involved in anti-Pilot activism.

As a family, various attitudes to the new technology are covered. One of the parents has chosen to embrace it, fearing that she will be left behind in her job if she doesn't, the other (a teacher) has actively rejected the technology and finds herself only able to teach those students without it. This is partly a situation of her own making, after an embarrassing meltdown at her former school with a military recruiter, partly caused by her ambivalence about the news that their son is joining the Army.

In many ways, the children are the focus of this novel. David has the biggest journey, going from a teenage boy embracing his Pilot in hopes it will help him keep up with everyone else, only to discover that he's having problems with it that nobody else seems to have. After leaving the Army, he's headhunted by the company responsible for the Pilots, who want him to be their literal poster boy. As he goes on, David becomes more disillusioned by the choices he's made and sets a train of events in motion.

All in all, if you like fairly low-key SF, this might be the book for you. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite as enamoured with it and found myself skimming towards the two-thirds point. In general, the pacing was a bit uneven, as the middle part of the book seemed to drag and then the last couple of chapters felt very rushed. The ending in particular also felt a little pat, as if the author felt they needed to tie everything up neatly and, in my experience at least, the real world isn't like that. So, not my cup of tea but I'm sure it's going to be a great book for someone else who likes this kind of SF that's close to the present day.

<I>I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I am so glad I read this book. A number of the situations spoke to me about my own experiences and it was a relief to see them down on paper for the first time. I think a lot of people are going to love this and it'd make a great book club read because it's contemporary and there's lots to discuss.

’What kind of society were they creating where kids voluntarily changed their brains to keep pace with all the input coming at them?’


We Are Satellites follows an American family as they navigate the perils of society's latest fad technology: the Pilot. Pilots are inserted into the brain in a minor operation and allow true multi-tasking to become a reality. Most love them but some, for health or religious reasons, can't have them and become sidelined; others have them fitted but don’t find the experience to be all it was promised.

’A system in dire need of change, but the wrong change had arrived. The wrong changes were everywhere.’


David is eighteen and an average student at a private high-school. His friends are in the first wave to get Pilots and, without one, David is beginning to fall behind. His mums agree to let him get one fitted but he finds the new level of input overwhelming. His concerns, however, fall on deaf ears and David has to find his own ways to cope.

David’s sister Sophie is ten and suffers from epilepsy. They’ve tried one drug after another to manage the seizures but their effectiveness all seem to wear off and a Pilot is out of the question. Soon, Sophie finds herself in a minority, but a friend’s father shows her the power of a voice and a spark is lit within her.

’She ran until her thought no longer lingered on their daughter who didn’t know how to stay, or their boy becoming an adult in a world that demanded so much more from him than she would ever have imagined.’


Val and Julie are Sophie and David’s mums. Val is a teacher uninterested in social fads and determined to show solidarity with her daughter no matter the cost. Julie works for a Congressman and is a technophile - keen for every new gadget and fearful that she’ll fall behind without.

In some ways, this is a story of David and Goliath: the little guy against the corporate giant. And yet it’s not quite so clear cut. The Pilots and their creators aren’t evil - they’re just one technology company among many who happen to have developed a product that (almost) everyone wants because of the benefits it brings.

Instead, this story is primarily about family and how familial ties are influenced by societal pressure. Over the ten years this book covers, David and Sophie grow and must face the challenges of life post-school; tempers wax and wane, interests come and go, and Val and Julie can only do their best to keep up and balance the competing demands of their own lives.

The challenges they face are likely to be those (or very similar to those) that I face in my own life time. Today, parents have to manage the effect of social media on their children. Who knows what we’ll have to contend with in ten years, let alone twenty? All of a sudden, Pilots don’t seem too far-fetched and god knows we all know the pressure to conform.

’Back to the noise nobody else believed, noise that people played at during parties even while saying it’s a nice place but we wouldn’t want to live here. He hate everyone.’


Personally, two elements particularly spoke to me. The first was Sophie’s seizures because I myself suffer seizures (though with more warning) and have had to just soldier on. More deeply though, I felt David’s plight. Again and again he tries to explain the Noise to others, only for them to ignore him or tell him he’s not trying hard enough, that its his own fault. For the five years before I was diagnosed with FND, people treated me the same way: “it’s all in your head”, “just relax”, “you’re attention seeking”. I almost believed it. Now they know better, now I know better, but it was a tough time and made me empathise all the better with David.

In general, this book is hugely representative. It features an LGBT+ married couple and two non-binary secondary characters. Amongst other things, it deals with PTSD, addiction, discrimination, disability and adoption. Furthermore, these topics are handled with finesse and understanding.

Why then did I not give it five stars? After all, the writing is superb and the story nuanced.
Honestly, it’s my fault, not the book’s. I like a bit more optimism and a bit more heroism in my books. The story ends on a high note but covers some tough ground which meant that, sometimes, I just wasn’t in the mood to read it. Meanwhile, whilst their journeys are interesting, the characters are just normal people - deftly crafted but a far cry from my usual kick-ass heroines (though Sophie certainly has some spunk).

Would I recommend this book? Yes, but bear in mind it’s more contemporary fiction than science fiction (ie. no robots or spaceships). It’s very well written and will speak to a number of people’s fears for the future of technology. Would I read it again? No, but I would read more by Pinsker now. Is it likely to be nominated for an award in the future? Definitely.

Like her debut, WE ARE SATELLITES sits across genres. The tech implant Pilot is partly sci-fi, partly dystopian - and the world is equally bridging the two. It's our world's America, just a few years in the future where they have the ability to create a brain-enhancing tool.

The genre-blending nature is also reflected in the plot. It's a slow unfolding thriller that has the distinct unnerving edge of sci-fi or dystopia. Corporate are saying the Pilots are OK, but side effects gradually come to light - and are continually brushed under the rug. Plus, the incompatibility of the Pilot with some brains - most typically those who are considered neurodivergent, like epileptic Sophie, heightens inequality in education and the job market.

The story is told over many years, starting with the Pilots coming into the market, when they're more settled, and then as the characters start challenging them. It gives it a slow, drawn out feel, letting the unease creep in so there's a niggle that something isn't right.

All four members of the family narrate WE ARE SATELLITES, starting off with the two mothers, and adding the children in as they age. It allows more sides of the situation to be told - as two have implants and two don't - and to get a balanced view of the advantages and disadvantages. This means the conflict is less one sided when their views clash and the weight of secrets starts tearing the family apart.

I love Sarah Pinsker's work and this is no exception.

We have always lived in a world where access to technology can determine what an individual is able to do. We've also been making body mods, as a species, for an awfully long time. And SF writers have been wondering about wearable tech, and body mod tech, and brain alteration, for a fair while. We Are Satellites fits right on in to that area of exploration.

The book opens with a new device, a Pilot, becoming available. The exact science is never explored but it's designed to help with focus and somehow enable users to have 'functional multitasking'. And to show that you've got one you have a small blue LED on the side of your head... yes, it took me an embarrassingly long time to realise this was a Pilot light. A Pilot is connected directly into your brain and this very idea is absolutely terrifying to me.

Pinsker chooses to tell the story through one family: Val, Julia, David, and Sophie. Val is a teacher; she's anti-Pilot (and look, all her reasons are so completely mine that I can't help but make her my favourite). Her wife Julia works for a politician and ends up getting a Pilot (and her reasons absolutely make sense, don't get me wrong, it just makes me a) squeamish and b) cranky at the idea of feeling compelled to get something in order to keep up). Their son David also gets a Pilot, while daughter Sophie can't because of her epilepsy. Pinsker uses chapters from the perspectives of the different characters to both explore the various issues and move the narrative along; one thing I loved is that it wasn't a steady cycling through each character, but there were times when you got three Val chapters and then moved to one of the others. This meant the narrative felt less jumpy than might otherwise occur, and you can get to know one character that bit more. Using the multiple perspectives, though, also means the chance to get a more authentic exploration of having/not having a Pilot, and exactly what's going on within the family.

The story arcs over several years, which means that Pilots have a chance to become more embedded in society, and for expectations within society to change, and for organised protest to develop too. It also means Sophie and David grow up and the family dynamics change. All of this makes for a narrative that moves along at a nice pace - striking the balance between interrogating issues thoughtfully, and experiences that compel reaction.

This is a hugely enjoyable novel and I wouldn't be surprised to see it on awards lists next year.

We Are Satellites is an interesting science-fiction novel where technology called a Pilot is developed to enhance human brain function. Soon the country is full of people with little blue LED lights signifying they have a Pilot. Our story focusses on a family of four - Val, a teacher who refuses to get a pilot, Julie who gets a pilot to keep up with her younger colleagues, David who gets a pilot to help with school, and Sophie who has epilepsy and is unable to have a Pilot.

What did I like about this book? It's really inclusive, characters introduce themselves with their pronouns which was a great touch. I love that it's a family with two mothers and it's presented in such a natural way. I also found the latter half of the book to be addictive as I was really interested to know where the plot was going to take me. The family is also really ordinary - I liked that about them, it was good to focus on a very average family through a huge technological / human change.

Unfortunately, the pacing was a bit all over the place, the beginning is really slow and I felt more time could have been taken to develop the explosive ending. But given the subtleties of some of the problems with Pilots, I think Sarah Pinkser did a good job of exploring the issues.