I received this book for free from the TLC Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Published by Alibi on July 8, 2014
Genres: Adult, Crime, Science Fiction, Thriller
Pages: 340
Source: TLC Tours
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From the author of The Deus Machine and The Third Pandemic comes a fast-paced thriller about the power of harnessing life itself—and the deadly secrets it conceals.
Portland, Oregon, was once a beacon of promise and prosperity. Now it’s the epicenter of a world gone wrong, its streets overrun by victims and hustlers, drifters and gangsters. Lowly contract cop Lane Anslow struggles to keep afloat—and to watch out for his brilliant but bipolar brother, Johnny, a medical researcher. Lane soon discovers that Johnny is part of an experiment veiled in extraordinary secrecy. But he has no idea who’s behind it, how astronomical the stakes are, or how many lives might be destroyed to make it a reality.
Now Johnny’s gone missing. To find him, Lane follows a twisting trail into a billionaire’s hilltop urban fortress, a politician’s inner circle, a prison set in an aircraft graveyard, and a highly guarded community where people appear to be half their biological age. Hunted by dueling enemies, Lane meets a beautiful and enigmatic woman at the center of a vast web of political and criminal intrigue. And behind it all is a sinister, desperate race to claim the biggest scientific prize of all: eternal life.
The world definitely seems to be heading towards darker days lately, in terms of the financial landscape and in the violent and disconnected way that our society exists today. In The Forever Man: A Near-Future Thriller, author Pierre Ouellette paints a bleak picture of the direction that America is headed. The divide between the rich and the poor is even bigger. While the poor barely scrape by and fight for low paying jobs in the overflowing dangerous slums that are controlled by gangs, the rich hide in their walled in sectors, getting state of the art medical procedures that make them look decades younger than they actually are. It isn’t unusual to encounter a 70 year old that looks 40. And it’s this search for the fountain of youth that leads scientists like Johnny Anslow to look for a genetic way to turn back the clock, not just a plastic surgery and organ replacement way to make someone younger.
Contract cop Lane Anslow is barely scraping by and approaching 50 years old. He knows that he won’t have a job on the police force much longer, that his world of working and looking after his genius yet troubled and unpredictable brother is about to be upturned. But when Johnny goes missing after making an important scientific breakthrough, Lane must go on the hunt to find him, and he has to put together all of the pieces of who would want Johnny to disappear–or to keep him all to themselves. Encountering a dirty politician who only pretends to be one of the regular people, the strange gang Kingpin who doesn’t think twice about killing anyone but will flip sides at the drop of a hat, and the rich elite whose sole agenda is to get even richer, Lane fights his way towards finding his brother, putting the pieces together as he goes. He’s smart, resourceful, and doesn’t give up, and he was devoted to his brother.
This version of America certainly isn’t pretty and his journey isn’t easy. I really loved all of the technology that Pierre Ouellette came up with for this novel. Everything was just futuristic enough to be upgraded and believable, like the gadget that someone could wear over their nose to enhance their sense of smell. I also really enjoyed the upgraded dogs that were more intelligent and had their own language. Genetics obviously played a decent sized part in this book, and as a scientist I understood a great deal of what was discussed, but the average person might be a little lost at times.
I give The Forever Man: A Near-Future Thriller a five out of five. This sci-fi story is such a wonderful, brilliant, and terrifying glimpse of what the future could be–all wrapped up in a tightly drawn thriller with inventive technologies. The writing is descriptive enough to give you a great idea of the setting, and I thoroughly enjoyed and could picture the area–from the lush Oregon forests to the parched Arizona desert. With several different points of view given, you get a good glimpse into the main players’ minds, and I felt like it added to my enjoyment.
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Pierre Ouellette’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
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This actually sounds like a future that we could be headed for, with the big divide. Pretty scary but it makes for a fabulous thriller world! I’ll have to check this one out.
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The Forever Man was quite stark and realistic, especially with the financial divides and the technology. The author certainly did his research and has quite the imagination!
Heather recently posted..Picture This {2} – Jinni’s
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This one sounds interesting. I love the idea of dogs with their own language. Glad you enjoyed it.
Megan recently posted..Waiting on Wednesday: Illusions of Fate
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The technology and other biological futuristic things in The Forever Man were really inventive and interesting.
Heather recently posted..Picture This {2} – Jinni’s
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These kinds of books can be scary when we see so much stuff that seems like things that could really happen. I hadn’t heard of this one yet but it sounds like one that would make you think!
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The Forever Man has so many things in it that could totally happen at any time, it is pretty scary if you stop and think about it. It’s a great book.
Heather recently posted..Picture This {2} – Jinni’s
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Forever Man is a very intriguing thriller book. This is the kind of story I love to read.
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I hope that you’ll check out The Forever Man, Kai. I really liked it and I hope that you enjoy it too!
Heather recently posted..Picture This {2} – Jinni’s
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Thanks for being a part of the tour! I’m featuring your review on TLC’s Facebook page today.
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Thanks, Heather! I really loved this book!
Heather recently posted..Sunday with the Bookworms {6} … with Audiobooks, Hemlock Grove, and Tours to Come
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