Official Review: They'll Never Die by Don Calmus

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Scerakor
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Official Review: They'll Never Die by Don Calmus

Post by Scerakor »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "They'll Never Die" by Don Calmus.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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It is early in the 22nd century and the world of medicine has advanced in leaps and bounds. Europe possesses many facilities where human clones can be grown from one's DNA to ensure rejection free surgeries, but the USA still deems cloning as illegal. They'll Never Die by Don Calmus is the story of five old billionaires who don't exactly have the intention to leave this world anytime soon and who will do anything in their power to ensure that they stick around forever.

The book follows our five main characters as they look into acquiring an American based company that is working on memory scanning and (currently) illegal possibilities of transferring a fully scanned memory into a clone that has been grown to an equivalent adult age. The book has to deal with the complications of working in total secrecy, moral implications of giving clones a life, social aspects of how a clone would enter society, and philosophical musings on what really makes us who we are.

I really liked the concept behind this near-future science fiction story. I liked how the author was able to take a concept such as recording/transferring memories and create a compelling piece of work that brings together many different applications of that technology such as rebirth, recovery from paralysis, memory/addiction alteration, etc. What I liked best about this book is how it kept me thinking about the nature of consciousness all the way through. The main premise is that these billionaires want to live forever; by transferring their memory to a fresh new body, they think they will simply wake up and continue their lives. It forces you to consider if memories/experiences alone make a person or if there is something more that makes up an individual.

There were, however, a couple of things that bothered me throughout the book. The first was the choice of main characters and how, between the five of them, money was endless and there was no limit to the contacts they had. These men were able to do pretty much anything simply because they were rich and powerful. I find that it takes a bit of realism out of a story when there are zero limits to power and influence. The second, and the thing I disliked the most, was the style of writing itself. It felt like the text and dialogue were forced at times and that the writing didn't exactly flow smoothly such as we'd expect from a professional writer. Sometimes the dialogue seemed unnatural and came off as being awkward. There were times when plans, dialogues, or events were repeated several times over, and although it may be how we would actually go about doing things (describe a plan in our head, tell it to a friend, and then execute it), the repetition disturbed the flow. I found a few instances of typos, but nothing to detract from the story or give the impression that it wasn’t professionally edited.

I give this interesting book 3 out of 4 stars for the thought provoking content and compelling story line. I spent a long time deciding whether the writing style bothered me enough to merit a 2 star rating, but ultimately decided that I would indeed recommend this book to others. Since it kept me interested page after page, I finally decided that the third star was merited. Due to the writing in the book and some of my personal issues mentioned above, I couldn’t justify a fourth star. This book is ideal for those that want a near-future science fiction story and those that are intrigued by the concepts of cloning, rebirth, and the transfer/modification of memories. I would not recommend this book to those who either have an extremely strong opinion on the concept of self or those who have a strong social/religious stigma towards something like cloning.

******
They'll Never Die
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

I reviewed this book as well. I agree with what you were saying. There was definitely a lack of realism at all the money they were spending. I also felt the flow was disrupted. I, however, felt it was a bigger problem than you did. For me, it really inhibited my reading of the story. Thanks for the review.
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Post by LivreAmour217 »

You did an excellent job with this review, but I don't think that this book is for me.
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." - Albert Einstein
Scerakor
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Post by Scerakor »

kandscreeley wrote:I reviewed this book as well. I agree with what you were saying. There was definitely a lack of realism at all the money they were spending. I also felt the flow was disrupted. I, however, felt it was a bigger problem than you did. For me, it really inhibited my reading of the story. Thanks for the review.
I really did struggle for a long time determining how I wanted to rate it. It was a fun story and I did get embedded in it to see where it went so I took the optimistic route. It just goes to show how different methods/visions come to different conclusions. Thanks for the comment, it is always good to hear from someone else that has read the same ones that you have.

-- 21 Apr 2017, 09:07 --
LivreAmour217 wrote:You did an excellent job with this review, but I don't think that this book is for me.
This one definitely isn't for everyone. I had a bit of fun reading it but there are a lot of factors that would preclude someone from thoroughly enjoying it. That is the great thing about literature, there is a bit of something for everyone. Thanks for the comment!
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

Sounds like a very interesting book. I'm very interested about the idea of transferring memories. I might have trouble, though, about the unrealistic parts. Great job on the review.
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Post by Scerakor »

kimmyschemy06 wrote:Sounds like a very interesting book. I'm very interested about the idea of transferring memories. I might have trouble, though, about the unrealistic parts. Great job on the review.
I know there is an element of fiction which completely gives you the leeway to write characters and situations anyway that you want, but sometimes it can break the magic as well. That being said, it still was a fun story! Thanks for the comment.
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Post by Amagine »

It sounds like a really interesting book with a concept I've never read before. Five billionaires who are doing everything in their power to live longer? That's kind of an innovative idea.

Great Review! ?
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Scerakor
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Post by Scerakor »

Amagine wrote:It sounds like a really interesting book with a concept I've never read before. Five billionaires who are doing everything in their power to live longer? That's kind of an innovative idea.

Great Review! ?
Not just live longer... Live forever! Just think of all the consequences if something like this actually happens. Thanks for the comment.
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Post by Kitkat3 »

Thanks for the review. I don't think that this book is for me because of the unrealistic power/wealth and the disrupted flow. I just don't think that I would enjoy that kind of writing style. That does sound like an interesting concept for a book though.
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Post by Chrys Brobbey »

"Death the Leveller" is a poem by James Shirley. Part goes like this: "There is no armour against fate; Death lays his icy hand on kings: Sceptre and crown mus come tumbling down." Regardless of one's status in life, death is an inevitable end. But it is good to have a fantasy story like this, on how to thwart death. And whilst on the topic: can we think of a way of preventing earthquakes, Tornadoes, Tsunamis, etc.? We're yet far from taming the ravages of nature.
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Scerakor
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Post by Scerakor »

Chrys Brobbey wrote:"Death the Leveller" is a poem by James Shirley. Part goes like this: "There is no armour against fate; Death lays his icy hand on kings: Sceptre and crown mus come tumbling down." Regardless of one's status in life, death is an inevitable end. But it is good to have a fantasy story like this, on how to thwart death. And whilst on the topic: can we think of a way of preventing earthquakes, Tornadoes, Tsunamis, etc.? We're yet far from taming the ravages of nature.
Great quote. I think what you propose there could be another great premise for a future novel. How can we tame/thwart/deny those ravages of nature from ripping our lives away from us.
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Post by Romayamalik »

Dialogue delivered at the moment some how not as managed as we are expecting
(Means time management problem). It has .but these mistakes not effects the story much .
Any how story has a good theory.
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Post by Liliya »

There were, however, a couple of things that bothered me throughout the book. The first was the choice of main characters and how, between the five of them, money was endless and there was no limit to the contacts they had. These men were able to do pretty much anything simply because they were rich and powerful. I find that it takes a bit of realism out of a story when there are zero limits to power and influence
The reality beats fiction.. Let me quote..:
"By the end of the 1890's [J.P.] Morgan and [John D.] Rockefeller had become the giants of an increasingly powerful Money Trust controlling American industry and government policy... Some 60 families - names like Rockefeller, Morgan, Dodge, Mellon, Pratt, Harkness, Whitney, Duke, Harriman, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, DuPont, Guggenheim, Astor, Lehman, Warburg, Taft, Huntington, Baruch and Rosenwald formed a close network of plutocratic wealth that manipulated, bribed, and bullied its way to control the destiny of the United States. At the dawn of the 20th Century, some sixty ultra-rich families, through dynastic intermarriage and corporate, interconnected shareholdings, had gained control of American industry and banking institutions."

F. William Engdahl in his book "Gods of Money: Wall Street and the Death of the American Century"
About THIS book:
I think this book will definitely interest me. I have for many years done research, and this might not be as much fantasy as some might believe. People still are greatly unaware that there is living breathing "GMo" designer "babies" being made, that the oldest are somewhere between 25-35 years today, they still think its impossible. But its not its just not put in mainstream media, only scientific publications and special interest publucations.
The practice of moving ones conciousness, soul etc was a well known fact that the so called gods in ancient egypt practiced often, ovr three thousand years ago. It was witnessed by hordes of people and record still remains. A recent movie was on the topic as well. We should hold in mind that what we considered science fiction just ten or twenty or thirty years ago is very much a reality today. Microsoft has several International patents on various devices for this. It gets highly interesting when similar patents with just minor altercations are filed by front figures for the major players in the military industrial, the Banking scene, and Rockefeller foundation etc ... so I would definitely want to read this. That is the background knowledge I have, and it might be whats needed to not see this as provoking and scifi..
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Post by Jaime Lync »

The premise sounds very interesting but I think I am turned off by the repetition and the flow disruption that you mentioned. I also would have liked it if there was at least an underdog involved. Great review.
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Post by Spirit Wandering »

I can understand your frustration that the five billionaires were able to buy their way to anything they wanted-although that unfortunately is an accurate reflection of the way things are today and will be in the future unless we collectively change the dynamic. Another interesting novel about human cloning is Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton. I have a post about it in this forum if you would like to know more. Thanks for the review.
Interested in books that help one's spirit move beyond the ordinary.
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