The Destiny Machine

by J.L. Aarne

In a world cured of death, Aarom is an outlaw. The world should have ended twenty years ago. Without the invention of the Destiny Machine, it would have and in many ways it’s a blessing. No one goes hungry now, murder is a thing of the past and life is beautiful and peaceful. For some, it’s a lie and a curse that they can’t bear to live with. They sense the wrongness of their existence, but now they inhabit a world where it’s almost impossible to die. You can’t even kill yourself anymore. Aarom is a prophet, a member of a rare group of people who would have survived the Armageddon that the Destiny Machine derailed. He has the power to see behind the curtain. He can give to people the deaths they have been denied. Their true destiny.

Genres: Science Fiction, LGBT, M M Romance

184 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 22, 2015

About the author

J.L. Aarne currently lives in the Northwest United States. She was born in Washington, but she has moved around a lot and lived in many other places. She has two cats, Jack and Wally, and she is a compulsive collector of notebooks and coffee mugs, which she drinks tea out of. Aarne studied English and literature at the University of New Orleans. Her favorite fictional characters always seem to be the villains.

Reviews

[Kazza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not perfect but an engaging gay sci-fi novella about a utopia/dystopia and those who see both. The prophets. Also very much a romance about two men who have loved each other since young but have never had a chance to say it.

More in depth review at -

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARS
That book was just so good in so many different ways, I really don’t now what else to say except read it. Even if you don’t like dystopian or post apocalyptic novel’s, this one is very abstract in nature compared to how dark they can usual be. It’s not a bed of roses either though, just an incredibly imaginative story!

[A.V. Shener · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's more like 3.5
I couldn't really get into the story, could be because of the main character, or could be because I didn't really get the world building. The book felt like it should have been either longer or shorter.
I still liked it, it's just that the author has much stronger voice when she writes from a first person perspective.

[DeviantRA9 · Rating 5 out of 5]

And incredible book that I couldn’t put down.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, but it finished so quickly (and without any real resolution) that I felt like I had run into a brick wall and stopped stone cold dead - well, maybe not quite stone cold dead - more a HFN rather than the HEA I was expecting (it certainly gets some conclusion, albeit a short one). The story is inventive, imaginative and original and if the last 10% didn't feel like it should have been about 50% longer this would have been an easy 5 stars. Not sure if it's part of a series, which I can easily see it being, but I would love to read a continuation of the series.