Did James Islington Cook? - Scion Review

James Islington has gone CYBERPUNK. Timecodes: 00:00 - Intro 00:39 - Physical Book Showcase 01:37 - Review Structure Breakdown 02:28 - Spoiler Free Synopsis of Scion 03:09 - The "Promise" of John Wick X Cyberpunk... 06:18 - Plot / Structure 10:30 - Writing Style 15:40 - Characters 20:32 - World Building 27:33 - Emotional Impact 29:08 - SPOILERS 33:42 - Final Thoughts 34:54 - Rating the book 37:44 - Outro We’re reviewing *Scion by James Islington**, a brand-new science fiction / cyberpunk novel from the author of **The Will of the Many* and **The Licanius Trilogy**. We both preordered Scion, jumped into it immediately, and finished the entire book within hours of release—but did this heavily anticipated cyberpunk thriller actually live up to the hype? Scion has been marketed with comparisons like **“John Wick meets Blade Runner”**, but after reading the book, we’re not convinced that description accurately represents what James Islington actually wrote. Instead of a dark, ultra-serious John Wick-style cyberpunk thriller, Scion gives us something much more sarcastic, quippy, pulpy, and occasionally closer to a **cyberpunk Deadpool adventure**. The story follows **Azure**, an assassin living in a futuristic cyberpunk society where certain people have used advanced technology to push themselves toward immortality. Azure makes his living legally hunting and killing people who have crossed that line—until a new assignment completely reverses his normal job. Instead of assassinating one of these targets, he has to protect one. From there, things get complicated very quickly. In our **spoiler-free Scion review**, we break down the book’s plot, pacing, writing style, characters, cyberpunk worldbuilding, technology, action, and emotional impact. We discuss James Islington’s decision to use a first-person perspective, Azure’s sarcastic personality, the book’s extremely fast pacing, its short length, and whether Scion gives its characters and futuristic world enough room to actually develop. We also talk extensively about the cyberpunk setting. Scion introduces body modifications known as **revs**, massive corporations, futuristic megacities, advanced AI, bioengineered security, immortality, assassins, dystopian social systems, and other classic cyberpunk concepts. There are some fascinating ideas hidden inside this world—but we disagree heavily about whether James Islington explores them deeply enough in this first book. Mason came away much more positive on the world, the story, and Azure himself, while Gavin found the book considerably more disappointing—especially after expecting something closer to Blade Runner, Cyberpunk 2077, Ghost in the Shell, or John Wick. Then we enter FULL SPOILERS. If you love **James Islington, Scion, cyberpunk novels, science fiction books, Blade Runner, Cyberpunk 2077, Ghost in the Shell, dystopian sci-fi, futuristic thrillers, assassin stories, AI, immortality, BookTube, or spoiler-filled book discussions**, this review is for you. Let us know what YOU thought of Scion. Did it live up to your expectations, or were you expecting something completely different? #Scion #JamesIslington #ScionReview #JamesIslingtonScion #BookReview #Cyberpunk #CyberpunkBooks #CyberpunkNovel #ScienceFiction #SciFi #SciFiBooks #ScienceFictionBooks #SciFiReview #CyberpunkReview #NewBooks #NewBookRelease #BookTube #BookTok #BookPodcast #PlotHappens #BladeRunner #JohnWick #Cyberpunk2077 #GhostInTheShell #DystopianFiction #DystopianSciFi #FutureTech #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Immortality #Assassin #Azure #ScionSpoilers #ScionEnding #ScionBook #JamesIslingtonBooks #TheWillOfTheMany #LicaniusTrilogy #FantasyAuthor #SciFiNovel #BookDiscussion #BookRecommendations #BooksToRead #FuturisticFiction #TechNoir #CyberpunkFiction #SciFiThriller #SpeculativeFiction #BookTubers #NewSciFi **IGNORE ALTERNATE TITLES** James Islington’s SCION Was NOT What We Expected SCION Review | “John Wick Meets Blade Runner”… Really? We Read James Islington’s SCION in ONE DAY SCION Is NOT the Book They Advertised James Islington Went CYBERPUNK… Did It Work? SCION Review: Cyberpunk John Wick or Cyberpunk Deadpool? I Wanted Blade Runner… SCION Gave Me Something VERY Different James Islington’s New Cyberpunk Novel Is WILD SCION Has an Incredible Idea… But Does It Work? We Have VERY Different Opinions on SCION SCION Review | This Cyberpunk Book Divided Us Is SCION James Islington’s Next Big Hit? “John Wick Meets Blade Runner” Sold Me This Book… SCION’s Biggest Reveal Changes EVERYTHING The Problem With James Islington’s SCION SCION Feels Like the Pilot Episode of a Bigger Story James Islington’s SCION: Great Concept, Flawed Execution? The New Cyberpunk Novel Everyone Will Be Talking About SCION Review | I Think the Marketing Hurt This Book Did James Islington Actually Pull Off Cyberpunk?