This was a really witty book with a powerful message that just didn't quite hit the spot for me. It tells the story of Arthur, a billionaire in the latter half of the 21st century who wants to live for ever and Gene, the artificial human who is created so that Arthur can upload his consciousness into him. There is a lot to like here. Arthur is ruthless, angry and rude but has made real contributions to the world, which makes for an interesting set up. Some of the other characters however, are a little bit one-dimensional, particularly the women. There are some great comments about where we're heading as a society in terms of our obsessions with smart phones, social media and connectivity generally as well as what could be prescient predictions about the global environment. Unfortunately for me, I just felt that the message was a little too heavy handed which ultimately hampered my enjoyment of the plot. I also thought that the narrative was quite unbalanced, with a lot of preamble for what seemed like quite a rushed third act. Overall, I think the author has some fantastic ideas here but the execution let him down slightly.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Published by Simon & Schuster on December 5, 2017

Immortality has been a dream since legends of the Fountain of Youth appeared in fifth century BC, and probably earlier. Modern dreamers focus on science rather than myth, including the possibility of downloading the contents of a mind for transference into a new body. That concept raises a number of intriguing questions, some of which receive tongue-in-cheek attention in Immortal Life.

Arthur Vogel is looking for a solution to the problem of death. Body parts can be replaced if you can afford the technology. The Mighty Vog invented a switch that makes Artificial Intelligence possible and became the richest man in the solar system.

Meanwhile, a fellow named Gene wakes up with no real recollection of his life. He does, however, have a huge supply of facts. A doctor named Bob knows more about Gene than Gene, as does a woman named Bronwyn, but they give him little insight into his background or why he has an implant in his finger. The reader quickly understands, even if Gene doesn’t, that Gene has no memories because has been rebooted. Again.

Gene was made to fill a role, but when Gene realizes the nature of that role, he balks. That’s considered a flaw, as is the fact that Gene yearns for a woman named Livia despite having no memory of her. The glitches need to be fixed but the project is already overbudget and Gene keeps going off on a frolic of his own. The problem with artificial humans is that they behave like humans. You really can't trust them.

But more importantly, you can’t trust mega-size corporations. One of the serious questions the novel asks is whether the privatization of the Cloud will eventually result in its control by one company, or perhaps one person. Another question is: If life extension allows the powerful to remain in power longer, forcing the younger generations to remain in the cheap seats, will immortality impose a glass ceiling on the ambitions of the young?

Serious questions aside, Immortal Life pokes fun at the present by lampooning an imagined future that is based on present trends (infotainment, synthesized food, life extension technologies, a Civil War between red and blue states, the radioactive wasteland that used to be Korea, Amazon’s desire to own everything, and Alexa’s continuing inability to get anything right).

Immortal Life delivers an amusing series of goofy moments. Robots and humans alike are exposed as victims of imperfect programming. But when the story isn’t being funny (and even when it is), characters make some well-stated points about how the Singularity anticipated by science fiction writers might be the “tragic conclusion to the great pageant of human history,” not the next step in human evolution so much as a repudiation of what it means to be human. As Gene says, “that would be a bummer.”

As a comedy, the story can get by with underdeveloped and somewhat stereotypical characters. Some of the humor might be a bit shallow (yes, we know our wireless devices have made us dependent and lazy, but we’ve known that for some time now), and a couple of paragraphs won’t appeal to supporters of the current presidential administration, but the story’s silliness made me laugh often enough to win my recommendation.

RECOMMENDED

Great book by a great author. Filled with inside jokes and future prognostications he is an author to be watched and read.

Interesting sci-fi satire and meditation on class and wealth. Immortality is now the thing for the richest of the rich- the tech moguls who have lots of money and sometimes, not much heart or sense. Arthur is the richest of them all and he's got his minions working for him. This one won me over despite it not being my usual genre because of the sly and persuasive writing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This can and should be read as a cautionary tale but those who need it most are least likely to read it!

Excellent absurdity near future science fiction thriller. A bit confusing to follow but,sexy ,redemptive but scary abou the impact of, digitalization on the next,g nerwtion. Just palusibl,enough to make you, actaually think about your future and the future,of your kids. Can you do that kids ..


7

Immortality, the final frontier. Well, one of them anyway, there's also space, of course, for purists. But in this book space has been conquered, Mars renamed Musk (yikes) and technology has reached such extensive global prevalence that death remains the only thing to conquer. Until recently it's been prolonged, but the powers that be, particularly Arthur (a titan among moguls), desire more. And now he's going to get his wish. Though there might be a wrinkle or two in his plans. Conscience saved and transferred doesn't sound all that far fetched, actually, and certainly isn't a new concept, particularly in the realm of science fiction. What makes this book different is that it isn't just scifi, it's also a clever social satire and a meditation of boundaries in a world that's taken connectivity to a genuinely frightening level. Took a while to get into the book for some reason, but then it's wink wink nudge nudge tone won me over, it really is quite funny and reads very well and quickly. Very entertaining look at a disturbingly plausible singularity scenario. Thanks Netgalley.

Full of dark humor while simultaneously being almost too realistic. As the description says this could be us in the future. The technology here does hit a bit close to home.

A very entertaining read and also mildly horrifying to think of something like this happening in our future. I found this to be a quick read and a page turner. The story is fast paced and keeps the readers attention throughout.