Review of Immortality Bytes
6 posts
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Immortality Bytes" by Daniel Lawrence Abrams.]
Immortality Bytes by Daniel Lawrence Abrams is one of the most interesting books I have read. The book is set in a dystopian near future where technological advances have made life so easy and convenient that everything is... awesome? Universal Basic Income (or UBI) supports most of the world, and robots do most of the work. This means that humanity is largely left to pursue their own interests and passions in a world that is both beautiful (robots care for the world and environment as well) and largely free of crime and disease. It sounds like a paradise, and is a refreshing change from the bleak mega cities filled with grime and neon that pervade most science fiction these days.
The paradisiacal setting, however, is a thin veneer covering the insidious reality. In spite of having all of their needs met, the people in Immortality Bytes are not happy. They aren’t miserable, like the people living in the slums of many cyberpunk works of literature, but they are not fulfilled. The main character, Stu, and his girlfriend, Maria, are passionate about trying to make the world a better place. Maria is a social warrior, trying to form protests and fight for changes that will make life more meaningful. Stu is a brilliant programmer, striving to improve the world through his technology. The primary enemy that they faced at the beginning of the book is apathy. Both within themselves, and within the people around them.
Of course, apathy is not the most exciting villain, so before too long, a hulking Russian crime boss named Pyotr appears. He applies financial pressure to Maria, to try and force her and Stu to steal some technology from Stu’s ex-girlfriend; another brilliant programmer by the name of Roxy. Pyotr is, of course, not working alone, and the web of corporate scheming and deception that unravels through the following story was majestic.
This book is filled with action, emotion, and comedy for some reason. Honestly, it left me unsure how I’m supposed to be feeling. That dissonance is part of what I liked about this story though. It’s dynamic – the story is riveting and filled with social commentary and humor that dampens the generally depressing message at the core of the book. Even the happy ending was not as happy, if you dig into it a bit, as it seemed on the surface. Abrams does a fantastic job of delivering depressing commentary on the direction our world is heading, but packaging it in a very digestible way.
I could go on and on here, but instead I’ll wrap up here and just say that Immortality Bytes deserves four out of five stars. The only criticism I have is that there were quite a few spelling and grammar errors, but I honestly think those are easy to overlook. It is interesting, engaging, funny, off-putting, poignant, and unsettling. If you like science fiction you should absolutely read this book. Seriously. Pick it up!
******
Immortality Bytes
View: on Bookshelves |
Immortality Bytes by Daniel Lawrence Abrams is one of the most interesting books I have read. The book is set in a dystopian near future where technological advances have made life so easy and convenient that everything is... awesome? Universal Basic Income (or UBI) supports most of the world, and robots do most of the work. This means that humanity is largely left to pursue their own interests and passions in a world that is both beautiful (robots care for the world and environment as well) and largely free of crime and disease. It sounds like a paradise, and is a refreshing change from the bleak mega cities filled with grime and neon that pervade most science fiction these days.
The paradisiacal setting, however, is a thin veneer covering the insidious reality. In spite of having all of their needs met, the people in Immortality Bytes are not happy. They aren’t miserable, like the people living in the slums of many cyberpunk works of literature, but they are not fulfilled. The main character, Stu, and his girlfriend, Maria, are passionate about trying to make the world a better place. Maria is a social warrior, trying to form protests and fight for changes that will make life more meaningful. Stu is a brilliant programmer, striving to improve the world through his technology. The primary enemy that they faced at the beginning of the book is apathy. Both within themselves, and within the people around them.
Of course, apathy is not the most exciting villain, so before too long, a hulking Russian crime boss named Pyotr appears. He applies financial pressure to Maria, to try and force her and Stu to steal some technology from Stu’s ex-girlfriend; another brilliant programmer by the name of Roxy. Pyotr is, of course, not working alone, and the web of corporate scheming and deception that unravels through the following story was majestic.
This book is filled with action, emotion, and comedy for some reason. Honestly, it left me unsure how I’m supposed to be feeling. That dissonance is part of what I liked about this story though. It’s dynamic – the story is riveting and filled with social commentary and humor that dampens the generally depressing message at the core of the book. Even the happy ending was not as happy, if you dig into it a bit, as it seemed on the surface. Abrams does a fantastic job of delivering depressing commentary on the direction our world is heading, but packaging it in a very digestible way.
I could go on and on here, but instead I’ll wrap up here and just say that Immortality Bytes deserves four out of five stars. The only criticism I have is that there were quite a few spelling and grammar errors, but I honestly think those are easy to overlook. It is interesting, engaging, funny, off-putting, poignant, and unsettling. If you like science fiction you should absolutely read this book. Seriously. Pick it up!
******
Immortality Bytes
View: on Bookshelves |
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