Official Review: So This Is What Life Is...

Kristy Khem · Post by **Kristy Khem** » 18 Jul 2018, 20:50

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "So This Is What Life Is..." by Peter L. Campo.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Time traveling to the future has always been a topic of curiosity and speculation in books, movies, and discussions. What will the world look like in two thousand years? How will our society change? What will be the role of technology in our lives?

Peter Campo’s fantasy novel, So This Is What Life Is, explores the future of humanity. The protagonist is Henry Bender, an architect who has a penchant for risky adventures. For his last adventure, Henry decides to go parachuting in the Arctic. While snowmobiling through the icy landscape, the ground splits and Henry plunges into a crevasse. Before he can be rescued, the ice seals him shut. When he awakens, he learns that the year is 4047 and he is on an island called Ohganiea. Ohganiea, a thriving futuristic city, is powered independently by a piece of intelligent technology called The Machine. Unfortunately, The Machine controls everything and everyone, except a few special individuals. Since Henry is originally from the distant past, he is undocumented in The Machine’s records which make him the perfect person to defeat this powerful, controlling technology. Does the past contain secrets to save the future? Will Henry succeed in this mission?

Although this book had an exciting start, it quickly became boring. There was a lot of redundancy in the story. Several of the initial chapters hinted at approaching doom and disaster, but when I finally understood what it referred to, I did not feel surprised because the author forewarned me many times before. I also noticed a trend where the majority of chapters were concluded with Henry sleeping, eating, or being told that he needed to either rest or eat. This did not leave me wanting more from the story and at times, I nearly fell asleep. Although Henry was first introduced as an adrenaline junkie, his personality on Ohganiea seemed to have changed. His actions included a lot of observation and dialogue as opposed to taking action, escaping danger, and taking risks. All of these features made the book a chore to read as I felt it could not capture my attention.

I also found it difficult to connect with Henry as a character. At one point in his adventure, he turned to the Bible for answers. He openly agreed with the teachings outlined in this religious text. He also began to teach others on Ohganiea about Christianity in the hope that the future society would understand God, ethics, peace, and love. One of the major flaws in Henry’s character was that although he believed and taught Christian ethics, he had no qualms about having sex with an unmarried woman. Since this act is considered sinful in the Bible, I could not understand his values. His character seemed neither credible nor consistent.

Despite this book’s flaws, the futuristic aspects of Ohganiea were quite imaginative. I enjoyed the author’s descriptions of nutrient-packed biscuits, artificial intelligent healing, and using flying discs as transportation. The idea that humans could create intelligence accurate enough to cater to a human being’s every need and function is incredible. The ability of an intelligence system being able to re-program itself could definitely be possible in a thousand years.

The book did not have many grammatical errors, which I applaud. However, there was a small issue with the formatting as several sentences had line breaks in the middle of them. In one instance, I also noticed that a couple of sentences were typed in a different font. In my opinion, the book should undergo another round of editing to smooth out the formatting issues.

Overall, I would rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. Science fiction and fantasy fans may enjoy this novel. Sex and reproduction are highlighted in this book so it will not be suitable for younger readers.

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So This Is What Life Is...
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AmySmiles · Post by **AmySmiles** » 20 Jul 2018, 10:46

I enjoy books that take a look into the future as I find it interesting to see how others view what changes might take place. But the repetitiveness and boring pieces are something I'm trying to avoid these days. Thanks for the great review!

Cecilia_L · Post by **Cecilia_L** » 20 Jul 2018, 11:19

I don't typically enjoy futuristic plots especially with the repetition you described. However, I appreciate your interesting review.

Kycagile · Post by **Kycagile** » 20 Jul 2018, 11:52

I enjoy reading stories about time travel, I enjoy it more when it involves travelling to the future as opposed to the past. Nice review.

crediblereading2 · Post by **crediblereading2** » 20 Jul 2018, 13:57

I have always wondered what it would be like to travel to the future. I must confess it seems kinda scary as I don't know what I would encounter. A better world or a world in utter devastation. Nice review.

FictionLover · Post by **FictionLover** » 20 Jul 2018, 18:05

Thanks for your review. It seems like waking up to a new world is a common topic in futuristic dystopian novels. Do you get to find out why he did not freeze to death when he fell in the crevasse?

I usually like the dystopians, but like all fantasy, they can be boring and cliche when not done right.

Kristy Khem · Post by **Kristy Khem** » 20 Jul 2018, 20:08

FictionLover wrote: ↑20 Jul 2018, 18:05 Thanks for your review. It seems like waking up to a new world is a common topic in futuristic dystopian novels. Do you get to find out why he did not freeze to death when he fell in the crevasse?

I usually like the dystopians, but like all fantasy, they can be boring and cliche when not done right.

Totally agree with you about the common theme of "waking up to a new world." Death was implied...or rather "unconsciousness"...I believe he died and was somehow regenerated two thousand years later. But on a deeper note, I wondered what happened to his soul. If he believed in Christianity, shouldn't his soul have gone to Heaven if he froze to death? The book doesn't say, but these were questions that I thought of while reading.

kfwilson6 · Post by **kfwilson6** » 20 Jul 2018, 20:58

Sounds like a great concept. I love reading about futuristic societies. I'm disappointed to learn the book is kind of a drag.
Great review.

FictionLover · Post by **FictionLover** » 21 Jul 2018, 07:43

kfwilson6 wrote: ↑20 Jul 2018, 20:58 Sounds like a great concept. I love reading about futuristic societies. I'm disappointed to learn the book is kind of a drag.
Great review.

I'm not sure that this is as much of a 'futuristic society' as it is a fictionalize version of our present society.

FictionLover · Post by **FictionLover** » 21 Jul 2018, 07:53

KristyKhem wrote: ↑20 Jul 2018, 20:08
FictionLover wrote: ↑20 Jul 2018, 18:05 Thanks for your review. It seems like waking up to a new world is a common topic in futuristic dystopian novels. Do you get to find out why he did not freeze to death when he fell in the crevasse?

I usually like the dystopians, but like all fantasy, they can be boring and cliche when not done right.

Totally agree with you about the common theme of "waking up to a new world." Death was implied...or rather "unconsciousness"...I believe he died and was somehow regenerated two thousand years later. But on a deeper note, I wondered what happened to his soul. If he believed in Christianity, shouldn't his soul have gone to Heaven if he froze to death? The book doesn't say, but these were questions that I thought of while reading.

Ah... It's inconsistencies like 'being dead but not being dead' that needle at me when I am reading.

I am reviewing a fantasy book where the author has 'people' on his alien planet using phrases that you should only know if you lived on earth. Like one of charachters refers to someone as a Valkyrie, another time he uses the word 'fraulein'. So elves on an alien planet speak German and go to the opera?

davidcoin · Post by **davidcoin** » 21 Jul 2018, 10:26

It sounds very adventurous and exciting even reading the reviews. I like it a lot.

Ginnamassa19 · Post by **Ginnamassa19** » 22 Jul 2018, 03:08

Ahh, this book seemed so promising at the start, but I highly doubt I'll pick it up after what you said about it! Henry's character really doesn't seem all that consistent, and like you said, the book doesn't seem as though it has a very exciting climax, whoops.

Thank you for the heads' up and for your review, I thought it was really well-written