Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Review: The Immortality Virus by Christine Amsden


The Immortality Virus is a Science Fiction novel by Christine Amsden from Twilight Times Books.

Book Blurb:

In the mid-21st century, the human race stopped aging. Those who know why aren't talking, and the few who are brave enough to ask questions tend to disappear. To an elite few, The Change means long life and health, but to the increasing masses, it means starvation, desperation, and violence.

Four centuries after The Change, Grace Harper, a blacklisted P.I., sets off on a mission to find the man responsible for it all and solicit his help to undo The Change - if he's still alive. To complicate matters, Grace's employer is suspected of murdering his father, and when the police learn of their connection, they give her a choice - help them find the evidence they need to convict Matthew Stanton, or die.

But if they discover Grace's true mission, they won't hesitate to kill her in order to protect their shot at immortality.

My thoughts:

Grace Harper is one hundred and thirty years old in the year 2451 - still a baby to some of the old timers, who were around four hundred years ago when everyone stopped aging.

Working as a private investigator who has been blacklisted by The Establishment, Grace tries her best to stay off the radar - a plan that goes right out the window when Grace takes a meeting with one of Kansas City’s wealthiest men.

Matt Stanton own’s Medicorp now that his father has been murdered.  Most feel that Matt is responsible for his father’s death, though Matt vehemently denies any wrong doing.

Matt claims, in secret, to be ‘pro natural-death’.  A feeling that could get him and any other sympathizer killed should The Establishment catch wind of it.  He thinks he has found the person responsible for making everyone immortal, and he wants to hire Grace to find him.

But not everyone wants to go back to natural death.  The wealthy like living forever - and why not?  They live in comfort, with none of the worries that plague the huddled masses.

In the process of her investigation, Grace draws attention to herself - the wrong kind of attention - and now she has a target on her back.

The Immortality Virus is the first book I have read by Christine Amsden and I truly enjoyed it.  I am a huge Dystopian fan and this book is a winner for me.


Sadly, the cover does not do the story justice.  So many of us (especially me) pick up a book based on the cover - the cover is what draws the eye.  This is not the best cover - but the story inside more than makes up for it.  

I give The Immortality Virus 4 out of 5 stars.



   Product Details

    Paperback: 272 pages
    Publisher: Timeless Books (6-15-11)
    Language: English
    ISBN-10: 1606190032
    ISBN-13: 978-1606190036

2 comments:

Blodeuedd said...

*hand in air* yes I judge covers :/
But glad to hear the story is good. And freaky, never ageing! Work all your life, bleh

Michelle Greathouse said...

B,

:) I think we all do. I know when I'm in the book store, if the cover doesn't catch my eye, I generally won't even pick the book up.

In the story, not every one gets to work. If no one dies, and people still have children...the people outnumber the jobs.

I thought it was a pretty cool concept for a book. :)

M