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Terminus Aeterna
Not yet published
Expected 23 Feb 27BetterLyfe knows what you want. Who you are. Where you belong.
As CEO, Dillon built the company that optimized life. In death, he may be the only one who can destroy it.
If only he remembered how to care.
Hunted by the system he helped create, Dillon must form an alliance with Minka, a resistance fighter who has every reason to hate him.
She wants revenge. He wants final deletion. But the deeper they go, the more Dillon realizes disappearing isn’t the freedom he’s after.
As his desire for deletion is replaced by an urge to help the people around him, Dillon faces a question more terrifying than
What is the meaning of life?
As CEO, Dillon built the company that optimized life. In death, he may be the only one who can destroy it.
If only he remembered how to care.
Hunted by the system he helped create, Dillon must form an alliance with Minka, a resistance fighter who has every reason to hate him.
She wants revenge. He wants final deletion. But the deeper they go, the more Dillon realizes disappearing isn’t the freedom he’s after.
As his desire for deletion is replaced by an urge to help the people around him, Dillon faces a question more terrifying than
What is the meaning of life?
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication February 23, 2027
About the author
Jonathon T. Cross
7 books15 followersJonathon T. Cross writes dark, thought-provoking fiction exploring human nature, survival, and the systems people create—and destroy. With a degree in psychology, he brings a distinct perspective to stories of power, corruption, obsession, and the choices people make when pushed to their limits. From gritty crime and dystopian futures to unsettling explorations of the unknown, his fiction challenges perceptions, confronts uncomfortable truths, and leaves readers questioning what they thought they knew.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Indie Reviewers
Death is the ultimate escape plan. Unless some corporate asshole figured out how to monetize that too.
Like, congratulations, you made it through the tutorial, now welcome to the actual game... where everything is somehow even more fucked up and there's no option to quit. Thanks, but I think I'll pass.
Unfortunately for the CEO of BetterLyfe, Dillon Stryker, he doesn't have options. He kills himself in the very first chapter, only to wake up in Life Two where he discovers the life he just left behind was basically just a test run. But Dillon wants nothing to do with it. He wants to be deleted. Permanently. He can't get what he wants though. That would make for a pretty short book, wouldn't it?
Actually, what I loved about Terminus Aeterna was how quickly Dillon's quest to permanently unsubscribe from life turns into something much bigger.
He meets Minka and Callum and the three of them end up traveling through the completely broken dystopian world full of secrets and betrayals and of course, some corporate evil.
There are some seriously twisted revelations, particularly involving the people these characters have trusted and I found myself getting more and more invested in their stories. Naturally, there's a kleptomaniac raccoon, which is obviously an important selling point and he deserves his own book (hint hint Cross!).
Cross has created something wonderfully disturbing here. The idea that our entire existence might just be a glorified beta test is terrifying enough but throw in memory manipulation, a corporation with a god complex, and characters I couldn't help but to get emotionally invested in, and you've got one hell of a story.
The writing is excellent, the tension is constant, and the horror comes as much from the implications of this world as it does from the brutal things happening in it.
Imagine if The Good Place was written by Stephen King while he was in the midst of an existential crisis.
That ending though... I have some choice words, sir, and none of them are appropriate for a Goodreads review. Which, considering everything I've already said, should tell you something.
If you love dystopian fiction, existential horror, and stories that make you question whether being alive is all its cracked up to be, Terminus Aeterna is absolutely worth your time. Just don't get too comfortable thinking you've figured everything out.
Wholeheartedly five stars!
Like, congratulations, you made it through the tutorial, now welcome to the actual game... where everything is somehow even more fucked up and there's no option to quit. Thanks, but I think I'll pass.
Unfortunately for the CEO of BetterLyfe, Dillon Stryker, he doesn't have options. He kills himself in the very first chapter, only to wake up in Life Two where he discovers the life he just left behind was basically just a test run. But Dillon wants nothing to do with it. He wants to be deleted. Permanently. He can't get what he wants though. That would make for a pretty short book, wouldn't it?
Actually, what I loved about Terminus Aeterna was how quickly Dillon's quest to permanently unsubscribe from life turns into something much bigger.
He meets Minka and Callum and the three of them end up traveling through the completely broken dystopian world full of secrets and betrayals and of course, some corporate evil.
There are some seriously twisted revelations, particularly involving the people these characters have trusted and I found myself getting more and more invested in their stories. Naturally, there's a kleptomaniac raccoon, which is obviously an important selling point and he deserves his own book (hint hint Cross!).
Cross has created something wonderfully disturbing here. The idea that our entire existence might just be a glorified beta test is terrifying enough but throw in memory manipulation, a corporation with a god complex, and characters I couldn't help but to get emotionally invested in, and you've got one hell of a story.
The writing is excellent, the tension is constant, and the horror comes as much from the implications of this world as it does from the brutal things happening in it.
Imagine if The Good Place was written by Stephen King while he was in the midst of an existential crisis.
That ending though... I have some choice words, sir, and none of them are appropriate for a Goodreads review. Which, considering everything I've already said, should tell you something.
If you love dystopian fiction, existential horror, and stories that make you question whether being alive is all its cracked up to be, Terminus Aeterna is absolutely worth your time. Just don't get too comfortable thinking you've figured everything out.
Wholeheartedly five stars!
Review of advance copy received from Author
This book had me hooked from the first chapter and kept me guessing until the very end. Fully Automated Dystopian that blew my mind. Everything about this book kept me turning the page. The Characters are amazing, the setting grungy and REAL. But laced with a glimmer of hope, love, and humanity. Really enjoyable experience. Something I will definitely reread.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Like all good science fiction, Terminus Aeterna takes a hard look at where we’re at and where we’re heading as a society. Dystopian and fraught with existential tension, but never misanthropic. An excellent read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews