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Immortal Life: A Soon To Be True Story
An ancient mogul has bought the power to live forever, but the strong young body he plans to inhabit has other ideas. The battle for immortal life begins.
Immortal Life. A fantasy. An impossible dream. For now, maybe. But as we speak the moguls of Big Tech are pouring their mountain of wealth into finding a cure for death. Don’t tell them they won’t succeed.
None of these titans is richer than Arthur Vogel. This inventor, tech tycoon, and all-round monster has amassed trillions (with a T) and rules over a corporate empire stretching all the way to Mars. The newest—and most expensive—life extension technology has allowed him to live to 127 years, but time is running out. His last hope to escape the inevitable lies with Gene, a human being specifically created for the purpose of housing Arthur’s consciousness. The plan is to discard his used-up old carcass and come to a second life in a young, strong body with all appropriate working parts. But there’s a problem: Gene. He may be artificial, but he is a person. And he has other ideas.
As Arthur sets off to achieve his goal of world domination, Gene hatches a risky plan of his own. The forces against him are very, very rich, extremely determined, and used to getting what they pay for. The battle between creator and creation is joined as the two minds wrestle for control of one body.
This story is real. The tech is in development. The sponsors are the titans of industry well known to you. Eternal life may very soon be at the fingertips of those who can afford it. Mixing brisk action, humor, and wicked social commentary, Immortal Life imagines a day just around the corner. Welcome to a brave new world that is too familiar for comfort—and watch the struggle for humanity play out to the bitter end.
Immortal Life. A fantasy. An impossible dream. For now, maybe. But as we speak the moguls of Big Tech are pouring their mountain of wealth into finding a cure for death. Don’t tell them they won’t succeed.
None of these titans is richer than Arthur Vogel. This inventor, tech tycoon, and all-round monster has amassed trillions (with a T) and rules over a corporate empire stretching all the way to Mars. The newest—and most expensive—life extension technology has allowed him to live to 127 years, but time is running out. His last hope to escape the inevitable lies with Gene, a human being specifically created for the purpose of housing Arthur’s consciousness. The plan is to discard his used-up old carcass and come to a second life in a young, strong body with all appropriate working parts. But there’s a problem: Gene. He may be artificial, but he is a person. And he has other ideas.
As Arthur sets off to achieve his goal of world domination, Gene hatches a risky plan of his own. The forces against him are very, very rich, extremely determined, and used to getting what they pay for. The battle between creator and creation is joined as the two minds wrestle for control of one body.
This story is real. The tech is in development. The sponsors are the titans of industry well known to you. Eternal life may very soon be at the fingertips of those who can afford it. Mixing brisk action, humor, and wicked social commentary, Immortal Life imagines a day just around the corner. Welcome to a brave new world that is too familiar for comfort—and watch the struggle for humanity play out to the bitter end.
290 pages, Hardcover
First published December 5, 2017
55 people are currently reading
884 people want to read
About the author
Stanley Bing
52 books42 followers Gil Schwartz, known by his pen name Stanley Bing, was an American business humorist and novelist. He wrote a column for Fortune magazine for more than twenty years after a decade at Esquire magazine. He was the author of thirteen books, including What Would Machiavelli Do? and The Curriculum, a satirical textbook for a business school that also offers lessons on the web. Schwartz was senior executive vice president of corporate communications and Chief Communications Officer for CBS.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
March 8, 2018
The dumbest smartest book I have ever read . That’s it .
May 8, 2018
Fuckkkk this book.
I understand that with sci-fi novels the creation of new worlds comes with new terminology, but the amount of superfluous data dumping presented in this book is beyond ridiculous. The author would spend pages on end explaining one concept but not others, the result being that countless amounts of new high-tech terminology presented in the book turned into meaningless babble. Yes, the terms may be common sense to the characters in that universe but seeing as the universe does not actually exist, readers have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.
The writing was also awkward and would go from this high-tech and, for lack of better words, science-y description to “you’re so juicy, buttercup” and explanations of screw-on penises. Wtf.
I read about 40% of this novel before I decided to give up on it - from what I read the story progress very minimally and was centered around one decision and scene, as well as the character’s responses to it.
Huge disappointment.
I understand that with sci-fi novels the creation of new worlds comes with new terminology, but the amount of superfluous data dumping presented in this book is beyond ridiculous. The author would spend pages on end explaining one concept but not others, the result being that countless amounts of new high-tech terminology presented in the book turned into meaningless babble. Yes, the terms may be common sense to the characters in that universe but seeing as the universe does not actually exist, readers have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.
The writing was also awkward and would go from this high-tech and, for lack of better words, science-y description to “you’re so juicy, buttercup” and explanations of screw-on penises. Wtf.
I read about 40% of this novel before I decided to give up on it - from what I read the story progress very minimally and was centered around one decision and scene, as well as the character’s responses to it.
Huge disappointment.
January 25, 2018
Stanley Bing's zany science fiction novel "Immortal Life" sparks along the cutting edge of immortality technology. Arthur Vogel, the solar system’s wealthiest man, has no intention of going gentle into that good night. At 127, his body is mostly made up of synthetic parts around a “desiccated nugget of flesh.” Every morning he snaps on bionic legs and pops in electronic eyes. His 3-D printer creates a fresh phallus for each amorous engagement. But “there were limits to the art of life extension,” Bing warns. Vogel’s scheme is to build a young body into which his consciousness can be transferred, “a permanent solution to the problem of death.” There’s only one hitch: That newly created body, named Gene, is not so keen on serving as Vogel’s receptacle, which leads to a violent conflict with. . . .
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December 20, 2017Plainly speaking, Immortal Life is a disappointment. Meant to be a satirical cautionary tale, it falls victim to its attempts at tongue-in-cheek humor. Meant as a nod and a wink to savvy readers, its references to tech industry titans have all the feel of convenient name-dropping. The story is choppy, and the science is nonsensical. Rest assured, this is no Andy Weir blockbuster, although it is valiantly attempting to be just like it.
There is no doubt that mankind has always been obsessed with living longer and finding that fountain of youth. The premise that the über rich are actively seeking ways to live forever is not a stretch of the imagination. What will strike readers as odd is the fact that it is the tech titans who are funding this immortality research. Mr. Bing mentions almost all of them by first name to leave no doubts that he means those giants of industry who created Apple and Microsoft and Tesla and all the rest. These are supposedly the men funding projects that would prolong their lives – using everything from bio-engineering to artificial intelligence to DNA cloning.
The thing is that if Mr. Bing had done his research, he would know that these titans have actively warned against the use of artificial intelligence in any form. They have warned about the ethical issues with bio-engineering. Their concerns are for the future of humanity, and they are not alone in that regard. They sit right alongside the likes of Stephen Hawking when touting the idea that artificial intelligence and robotics will mean the end of mankind. Knowing this information, it makes the entire premise that these One Percenters would ever go so far as to use robotic arms, legs, and internal organs to extend their lives, let along clone another human being into which they could transfer their personalities, utterly preposterous.
Granted, no one reading Immortal Life could ever take it as science fact or even science potential. The science portions of the story are laughable. If anything these passages read more like wishful thinking rather than anything possible right now. The theories mentioned and the science used throughout the novel have no basis in reality. For a science fiction novel, it appears to be more fantasy than science-based.
All this brings me back to the idea that Immortal Life is supposed to be a satire, but one has to wonder what exactly it is trying mock. One can see the ridicule of our obsession with youth, looking young and staying fit as long as possible. However, it is difficult to take the novel seriously let alone use it as a magnifying glass to highlight faults within modern society. In attempting to scorn certain trends, the story goes too far into the incredulous making it ineffective at the very thing it was trying to do.
There is no doubt that mankind has always been obsessed with living longer and finding that fountain of youth. The premise that the über rich are actively seeking ways to live forever is not a stretch of the imagination. What will strike readers as odd is the fact that it is the tech titans who are funding this immortality research. Mr. Bing mentions almost all of them by first name to leave no doubts that he means those giants of industry who created Apple and Microsoft and Tesla and all the rest. These are supposedly the men funding projects that would prolong their lives – using everything from bio-engineering to artificial intelligence to DNA cloning.
The thing is that if Mr. Bing had done his research, he would know that these titans have actively warned against the use of artificial intelligence in any form. They have warned about the ethical issues with bio-engineering. Their concerns are for the future of humanity, and they are not alone in that regard. They sit right alongside the likes of Stephen Hawking when touting the idea that artificial intelligence and robotics will mean the end of mankind. Knowing this information, it makes the entire premise that these One Percenters would ever go so far as to use robotic arms, legs, and internal organs to extend their lives, let along clone another human being into which they could transfer their personalities, utterly preposterous.
Granted, no one reading Immortal Life could ever take it as science fact or even science potential. The science portions of the story are laughable. If anything these passages read more like wishful thinking rather than anything possible right now. The theories mentioned and the science used throughout the novel have no basis in reality. For a science fiction novel, it appears to be more fantasy than science-based.
All this brings me back to the idea that Immortal Life is supposed to be a satire, but one has to wonder what exactly it is trying mock. One can see the ridicule of our obsession with youth, looking young and staying fit as long as possible. However, it is difficult to take the novel seriously let alone use it as a magnifying glass to highlight faults within modern society. In attempting to scorn certain trends, the story goes too far into the incredulous making it ineffective at the very thing it was trying to do.
October 28, 2017
Immortality, the final frontier. Well, one of them anyway, there's also space, of course, for purists. But in this book space has been conquered, Mars renamed Musk (yikes) and technology has reached such extensive global prevalence that death remains the only thing to conquer. Until recently it's been prolonged, but the powers that be, particularly Arthur (a titan among moguls), desire more. And now he's going to get his wish. Though there might be a wrinkle or two in his plans. Conscience saved and transferred doesn't sound all that far fetched, actually, and certainly isn't a new concept, particularly in the realm of science fiction. What makes this book different is that it isn't just scifi, it's also a clever social satire and a meditation of boundaries in a world that's taken connectivity to a genuinely frightening level. Took a while to get into the book for some reason, but then it's wink wink nudge nudge tone won me over, it really is quite funny and reads very well and quickly. Nice ending, very apt and the final takeaway is very satisfactory. Very entertaining look at a disturbingly plausible singularity scenario. Thanks Netgalley.
December 1, 2018
My first finished book of the New Year (2018) and it is a winner!
The effect of technology on our lives as individuals and the evolution of mankind.
What it means to be human, what constitutes humanity and what qualifies as life.
The eternal search for human immortality.
These are some of the big time questions and themes of this book. Mr. Bing, aka Gil Schwartz, successfully paints a picture of a near future, 50 years or so on, in which the world is managed/ruled by one single corporate entity that has consolidated power, supplanted all governments, and runs the world from a corporate board room comprised of old geezers who are teetering on the edge of the final goodbye and are desperate to achieve a second helping of salad days.
The effect of technology on our lives as individuals and the evolution of mankind.
What it means to be human, what constitutes humanity and what qualifies as life.
The eternal search for human immortality.
These are some of the big time questions and themes of this book. Mr. Bing, aka Gil Schwartz, successfully paints a picture of a near future, 50 years or so on, in which the world is managed/ruled by one single corporate entity that has consolidated power, supplanted all governments, and runs the world from a corporate board room comprised of old geezers who are teetering on the edge of the final goodbye and are desperate to achieve a second helping of salad days.
March 5, 2018
Entertaining read about what the world would (will?) look like as humans and technology become entwined in new and creepy ways, especially by the super rich. Lots of tongue-in-cheek humor, though the edginess got a little old by the end. Folks who enjoyed "Robopocalypse" would probably enjoy this (and vice-versa).
September 14, 2018
Sometime in the future…
Trillionaire Arthur Vogel is toward the very end of a long life that has been extended via all kinds of artificial methods. He is cranky, he is cantankerous, he is mean, and man, he is old. At 127 years, he is determined to conquer death, and to that end, he has a person created to house his consciousness. This person, Gene, is kind of a blank…but not entirely. And in time, his newly developed self comes to resist the idea of Arthur being inside him. It leads to a rebellion on a planet dominated by one or two major corporations all under the realm of The Cloud…
I have to start by saying that this sort of technology that would extend life or maybe make death rare or obsolete kind of scares the hell out of me. I can only see it as something that would benefit the very rich, who, possessing the key to destroy the great equalizer of death, will have yet another avenue to step on, ignore, or otherwise destroy the poor. And lacking that great equalizer of death, where do we go as a people? What do we do with ourselves?
These won’t be nice people utilizing these technologies. Think of the worst people in history having access to eternal life…not salt of the Earth types…not the saints or the do gooders, but people like Arthur, mean, petty, and absolutely off his nut…
Luckily, this novel doesn’t destroy anyone’s interest in aggressively pursuing these questions.
I liked some of the ideas of what will take place in the future. The concept of “Intercranial Shaming” is tossed out, where the power of internet rage is concentrated on a person as punishment….very effective.
Immortal Life is fun, satirical and perhaps very prescient. As technology advances, we have to consider that it is not always for the greater good. Here’s hoping that we know what we’re doing eventually.
Trillionaire Arthur Vogel is toward the very end of a long life that has been extended via all kinds of artificial methods. He is cranky, he is cantankerous, he is mean, and man, he is old. At 127 years, he is determined to conquer death, and to that end, he has a person created to house his consciousness. This person, Gene, is kind of a blank…but not entirely. And in time, his newly developed self comes to resist the idea of Arthur being inside him. It leads to a rebellion on a planet dominated by one or two major corporations all under the realm of The Cloud…
I have to start by saying that this sort of technology that would extend life or maybe make death rare or obsolete kind of scares the hell out of me. I can only see it as something that would benefit the very rich, who, possessing the key to destroy the great equalizer of death, will have yet another avenue to step on, ignore, or otherwise destroy the poor. And lacking that great equalizer of death, where do we go as a people? What do we do with ourselves?
These won’t be nice people utilizing these technologies. Think of the worst people in history having access to eternal life…not salt of the Earth types…not the saints or the do gooders, but people like Arthur, mean, petty, and absolutely off his nut…
Luckily, this novel doesn’t destroy anyone’s interest in aggressively pursuing these questions.
I liked some of the ideas of what will take place in the future. The concept of “Intercranial Shaming” is tossed out, where the power of internet rage is concentrated on a person as punishment….very effective.
Immortal Life is fun, satirical and perhaps very prescient. As technology advances, we have to consider that it is not always for the greater good. Here’s hoping that we know what we’re doing eventually.
December 27, 2018
This was a frustrating book to read. It involves subject matter that is fascinating but the author fails in delivering a good riveting plot.
Immortality, according to Bing, will be achievable by putting our consciousness into the Cloud, all our social media presence, our pictures that we upload, everything, can be put together in a disk and then uploaded to a new printed body. So, when very rich old white men (and some women) read the age where machines can't do much for them anymore, one man manages to get himself a new body and now everyone wants one.
Sounds good right?
Except Bing has to explain things in way too much detail but does not spend the time developing the characters and their intentions. Unfortunately the book reads like a textbook at times, with just a few paragraphs of actual action.
The most fascinating character is Stevie, a character that does not have a set gender and who is very mysterious until they finally reveal their gender and their backstory in two sentences. Frustrating I tell you!
Another thing I didn't like was that it focuses so much on the rich people of the world, it only mentions the lower classes in passing and always as inconsequential.
So, if you're really interested in aging and immortality, perhaps read this book, but don't expect much in terms of character development, pacing, or even a satisfying exploration of the world.
Immortality, according to Bing, will be achievable by putting our consciousness into the Cloud, all our social media presence, our pictures that we upload, everything, can be put together in a disk and then uploaded to a new printed body. So, when very rich old white men (and some women) read the age where machines can't do much for them anymore, one man manages to get himself a new body and now everyone wants one.
Sounds good right?
Except Bing has to explain things in way too much detail but does not spend the time developing the characters and their intentions. Unfortunately the book reads like a textbook at times, with just a few paragraphs of actual action.
The most fascinating character is Stevie, a character that does not have a set gender and who is very mysterious until they finally reveal their gender and their backstory in two sentences. Frustrating I tell you!
Another thing I didn't like was that it focuses so much on the rich people of the world, it only mentions the lower classes in passing and always as inconsequential.
So, if you're really interested in aging and immortality, perhaps read this book, but don't expect much in terms of character development, pacing, or even a satisfying exploration of the world.
April 16, 2020
A great story about trying to live forever but only for the very rich. A great tale with action and intrigue.
Recommended book
Recommended book
July 23, 2017
I won an uncorrected proof of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
Arthur Vogel is the richest man in the world and is 127 years old. Those who can afford it, replace whatever is ailing them to extend their life. A mixture of biologic and mechanical parts. It isn't all hunky dory though. They're practically shriveled little imps that reminded me of Yoda and can practically only eat bland mush. For fifty years Arthur has had Bob, his head scientist, working on a way to give him immortality. Bob finally does it.
Gene is created to give Arthur the body he wants. He is supposed to be an almost empty shell, but unfortunately for Arthur, he has developed a sense of self. When Gene discovers what is in store for him, he resists.
"A Soon To Be True Story"? I hope not.
Stanley Bing is extremely talented. I enjoyed his writing style. The story just flowed and it only took me two days to read. I didn't want to put it down, but sleep finally beckoned. I totally recommend it and I will read more of his work.
Arthur Vogel is the richest man in the world and is 127 years old. Those who can afford it, replace whatever is ailing them to extend their life. A mixture of biologic and mechanical parts. It isn't all hunky dory though. They're practically shriveled little imps that reminded me of Yoda and can practically only eat bland mush. For fifty years Arthur has had Bob, his head scientist, working on a way to give him immortality. Bob finally does it.
Gene is created to give Arthur the body he wants. He is supposed to be an almost empty shell, but unfortunately for Arthur, he has developed a sense of self. When Gene discovers what is in store for him, he resists.
"A Soon To Be True Story"? I hope not.
Stanley Bing is extremely talented. I enjoyed his writing style. The story just flowed and it only took me two days to read. I didn't want to put it down, but sleep finally beckoned. I totally recommend it and I will read more of his work.
June 27, 2018
It's a big step between business book author and sf novelist, a step apparently too far for Stanley Bing. This book is presented as satire, but none is discernible in this clumsy, unoriginal stink-fest. The "science" is ludicrous, and the story construction is ham-fisted, and begs questions such as "who published this... in hard cover?" and "could they not have paid for some editing?" Perhaps some of the more excruciatingly stupid moments were meant to be funny. The core idea, that technology in the near future enables digitization of consciousness and transfer to a digital or biological host, is quickly brushed to the side as the story morphs into a broad but overly-simplistic indictment of digital culture. The characters are one-dimensional and exasperating. Bing misses every opportunity to create any suspense and seems to have no grasp of narrative techniques. Even among other airport thrillers, this fails in almost every way. Avoid.
August 20, 2018
Read The Book But It Made No Impression on Me. This is an empty, futuristic book that has no depth of meaning. I felt that it was valid and got nothing out of it. I read it a few weeks ago and remember nothing. A bore.
April 24, 2018
I will say that I enjoyed many of the concepts that this author explored with this story, such as immortality, the depressing reality of aging and mortality, and who or what can be considered as a living, sentient being. I admit that Arthur is hardly a likeable character, which was obviously intentional, but I believe that seeing the world through his point-of-view fleshed out some of the fears that many readers may have about getting old or their own mortality, which is a very difficult thing to face. Though the novel was touching on some very deep concepts about humanity, it never explored these ideas with much depth so, in that regard, I was quite disappointed.
Admittedly, the story lost its momentum after the first third of the book. Aside from the pacing, another thing that bothered me was that many of the aspects of this "soon to be true story" was quite unbelievable. For instance, I found it inconceivable that 60 years from now, formal governments worldwide will no longer exist and will be replaced by corporations. Also, a new species of humans arose as a result of evolutionary changes that occurred from society's perpetual dependence on technology. These creatures, which cannot be classified as humans biologically, literally had pin-shaped heads. Though both elements were quite intriguing aspects of this universe, the author did very little to make these concepts convincing or believable to the readers as only a single page was utilized to explain both.
Aside from Arthur (and Lucy haha), I was also a little disappointed in the characters. Bing spent quite a bit of time describing characters, like Sallie, yet, in the end, these details never evolved into anything consequential. I was looking forward to a surprising revelation about Sallie, for many reasons, but that never happened. Liv and Gene were very boring characters, which made reading this novel more difficult because I found myself not caring about either of them.
Finally, the ending was just okay. There was one aspect I really liked about it, which explored one of the themes that I mentioned previously, but, overall, it was still very predictable.
Admittedly, the story lost its momentum after the first third of the book. Aside from the pacing, another thing that bothered me was that many of the aspects of this "soon to be true story" was quite unbelievable. For instance, I found it inconceivable that 60 years from now, formal governments worldwide will no longer exist and will be replaced by corporations. Also, a new species of humans arose as a result of evolutionary changes that occurred from society's perpetual dependence on technology. These creatures, which cannot be classified as humans biologically, literally had pin-shaped heads. Though both elements were quite intriguing aspects of this universe, the author did very little to make these concepts convincing or believable to the readers as only a single page was utilized to explain both.
Aside from Arthur (and Lucy haha), I was also a little disappointed in the characters. Bing spent quite a bit of time describing characters, like Sallie, yet, in the end, these details never evolved into anything consequential. I was looking forward to a surprising revelation about Sallie, for many reasons, but that never happened. Liv and Gene were very boring characters, which made reading this novel more difficult because I found myself not caring about either of them.
Finally, the ending was just okay. There was one aspect I really liked about it, which explored one of the themes that I mentioned previously, but, overall, it was still very predictable.
January 8, 2018
So when I saw that a old mans memories or brain was going to be put into another person. I was like oh gosh here we go with this again. I am saying this because not to long ago I just watched two movies where this happened. Ryan Reynold's Self/less and Kevin Costner's Criminals which also had Ryan Reynolds in it for about 5 mins. I thought it was going to be a boring knock off of the movies, but I was wrong. It was more like if those two movies had a baby with a pervy Comedy Central movie Immortal Life would be born.
Stanley Bing definitely put a deranged humor on this "soon to be true story". Honestly I don't see why anyone would want to go through what these characters went through, but I guess if you have the money they gotta waste it on something and I guess some people just don't want to die.
There's two main characters, Arthur and Gene. Arthur is probably one of the most grotesque characters I have ever met. He's a fowl mouth, pervy 110 year old. Then there's poor Gene not knowing really what the heck is going on until it's to late. Gene is the only character I really liked. I feel so bad for him and am rooting for him the whole time. The poor guy is surrounded by idiots and evil people that just want him for his body.
Now when I say Gene is surrounded by idiots, I'm talking about his girlfriend and her best friend. To not spoil anything I'll just say she had multiple opportunities to help Gene and then one day she just randomly realizes she needs to help Gene. Gosh, I could slap her.
Besides the very unusual characters, it's a very unusual world. People don't eat real food anymore. It's all from a 3D printing! Even the birds and fish outside aren't real anymore!
I truly hope this won't become a true story.
But all and all I enjoyed this wild ride of weirdness. Especially the ending. The ending is just hilarious!
I recommend this book to people that love dark humor, books with experiments gone wrong, and satire of future events that could happen in our world.
Stanley Bing definitely put a deranged humor on this "soon to be true story". Honestly I don't see why anyone would want to go through what these characters went through, but I guess if you have the money they gotta waste it on something and I guess some people just don't want to die.
There's two main characters, Arthur and Gene. Arthur is probably one of the most grotesque characters I have ever met. He's a fowl mouth, pervy 110 year old. Then there's poor Gene not knowing really what the heck is going on until it's to late. Gene is the only character I really liked. I feel so bad for him and am rooting for him the whole time. The poor guy is surrounded by idiots and evil people that just want him for his body.
Now when I say Gene is surrounded by idiots, I'm talking about his girlfriend and her best friend. To not spoil anything I'll just say she had multiple opportunities to help Gene and then one day she just randomly realizes she needs to help Gene. Gosh, I could slap her.
Besides the very unusual characters, it's a very unusual world. People don't eat real food anymore. It's all from a 3D printing! Even the birds and fish outside aren't real anymore!
I truly hope this won't become a true story.
But all and all I enjoyed this wild ride of weirdness. Especially the ending. The ending is just hilarious!
I recommend this book to people that love dark humor, books with experiments gone wrong, and satire of future events that could happen in our world.
February 23, 2018
Immortal Life: A Soon To Be True Story by Stanley Bing
Imagine a world where machines rule. Corporations are in charge, and the lifespan has gone up to 120 years thanks to computer technology that can replace dying organs (via 3 D printing of cloned cells). Unfortunately, it has its limits. Arthur Vogel -- mighty Vog -- is the richest man on earth. At 127 years, he's running out of options. Vogel’s scheme is to build a young body into which his consciousness can be transferred, “a permanent solution to the problem of death.” There’s only one hitch: That newly created body, named Gene, is not so keen on serving as Vogel’s receptacle, which leads to a violent conflict with worldwide implications.
Stanley Bing — the pen name for Gil Schwartz -- gives us a satire of absurd gadgets, virtual life, and techno-billionaires flips all the right switches. Narrated from the universal point of view, the book tries to define "consciousness," whether we are talking about human or Artificial intelligence consciousness. At one point Gene --the receptacle -- says to Livia -- his girlfriend -- about sharing his consciousness with Arthur's: "It was like being locked in a nightmare and not being able to wake up." p 184.
And in the end, Amy an artificial intelligence machine in charge of the world's cloud says: "I'm very real to myself. I am human. And here I live, forever in darkness and aloneness, dreaming of real life as other people's lives pass me." p. 273
My complaint with the work is the use of the universal point of view. You don't know who's doing the talking because we go from one point of view to another -- and then back -- without warning. Characters become caricatures, no one knows what they really feel.
Great concept, poor delivery!
Imagine a world where machines rule. Corporations are in charge, and the lifespan has gone up to 120 years thanks to computer technology that can replace dying organs (via 3 D printing of cloned cells). Unfortunately, it has its limits. Arthur Vogel -- mighty Vog -- is the richest man on earth. At 127 years, he's running out of options. Vogel’s scheme is to build a young body into which his consciousness can be transferred, “a permanent solution to the problem of death.” There’s only one hitch: That newly created body, named Gene, is not so keen on serving as Vogel’s receptacle, which leads to a violent conflict with worldwide implications.
Stanley Bing — the pen name for Gil Schwartz -- gives us a satire of absurd gadgets, virtual life, and techno-billionaires flips all the right switches. Narrated from the universal point of view, the book tries to define "consciousness," whether we are talking about human or Artificial intelligence consciousness. At one point Gene --the receptacle -- says to Livia -- his girlfriend -- about sharing his consciousness with Arthur's: "It was like being locked in a nightmare and not being able to wake up." p 184.
And in the end, Amy an artificial intelligence machine in charge of the world's cloud says: "I'm very real to myself. I am human. And here I live, forever in darkness and aloneness, dreaming of real life as other people's lives pass me." p. 273
My complaint with the work is the use of the universal point of view. You don't know who's doing the talking because we go from one point of view to another -- and then back -- without warning. Characters become caricatures, no one knows what they really feel.
Great concept, poor delivery!
June 6, 2019
Wish I could give this 3.5 stars, as that would more accurately portray my end feelings on the book. Not Shakespeare, but bitingly clever in it's satire, satisfying enough in it's construction of characters, and certainly has a lot to say, and I loved the diction. I thought it was an interesting device to make the protagonist literally a blank slate; he keeps getting his memory "reset" and so has a significant roadblock to developing a personality, which other characters and the narrative comment on. I think it could only work in a few fictional scenarios, and this book is one in which it can, but perhaps it might have been a little more impactful in messaging or given us more reason to cheer on our "good guys" if Gene had more of an internal compass of his own values or personality quirks. It was an authorial choice, and I guess it worked well enough.
That's a lot of what I have to say about this book: it works well enough.
I was, however, frustrated with the treatment of a transgender character, and as a cis ally, it's getting frustrating how often I have to say that after reading a book or watching a movie. Stevie was interesting and flawed but grew on me, but their presence in the story is often a joke or perhaps a misguided attempt to remark on the growing awareness of transgender people and identities in our society. That's me being kind of generous, though.
As I say, the 4 full stars is generosity too.
That's a lot of what I have to say about this book: it works well enough.
I was, however, frustrated with the treatment of a transgender character, and as a cis ally, it's getting frustrating how often I have to say that after reading a book or watching a movie. Stevie was interesting and flawed but grew on me, but their presence in the story is often a joke or perhaps a misguided attempt to remark on the growing awareness of transgender people and identities in our society. That's me being kind of generous, though.
As I say, the 4 full stars is generosity too.
July 5, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. I had walked into the library to search out a new one and this one seemed to call me. I picked it up, stared at it for a moment, and without reading the summary (which isn't like me) I grabbed it and headed to check it out. Now, that it's finished. I see why.
I've always been the type to welcome technology into my life. I can't say I keep up with trends, but at the very least, I'd say I keep fairly informed on things. This book offers a look into a not-so-distant future. Robots that take care of you, everything being run in, and through, the cloud. With most of the world being linked into it via a brain-computer interface.
The story really is about someone trying to become, in essence, immortal. It brings up a lot in the realm of digital immortality. How AI might view themselves after the AGI/super intelligence singularity. Very thought provoking to say the least. The tale is great, easy to keep up with, and thankfully doesn't slow burn you to death with scientific jargon. I...think in some ways, even as a fictional book, it had some very deep philosophical ideas in there. What IS life? What if we can stop death? To what end? Could technology cause us to de-evolve mentally? Physically?
If you like sci-fi, this book will keep you turning the next page. I highly recommend it, for multiple reasons, but Stanley's writing immersed me entirely into a world, I can almost feel.
I've always been the type to welcome technology into my life. I can't say I keep up with trends, but at the very least, I'd say I keep fairly informed on things. This book offers a look into a not-so-distant future. Robots that take care of you, everything being run in, and through, the cloud. With most of the world being linked into it via a brain-computer interface.
The story really is about someone trying to become, in essence, immortal. It brings up a lot in the realm of digital immortality. How AI might view themselves after the AGI/super intelligence singularity. Very thought provoking to say the least. The tale is great, easy to keep up with, and thankfully doesn't slow burn you to death with scientific jargon. I...think in some ways, even as a fictional book, it had some very deep philosophical ideas in there. What IS life? What if we can stop death? To what end? Could technology cause us to de-evolve mentally? Physically?
If you like sci-fi, this book will keep you turning the next page. I highly recommend it, for multiple reasons, but Stanley's writing immersed me entirely into a world, I can almost feel.
December 8, 2023
I honestly enjoyed this book. It had a good mixture of sci-fi, romance, and exploring certain existential issues such as death, capitalism and mortality. This is a relatively easy read, as long as you don’t mind using your imagination here and there.
I think this book introduces interesting ideas on the direction that our society will be moving towards and honestly it doesn’t sound too far fetched to me. AI is already developing at an fast rate and can be used for “good” or “bad” and those with the most wealth already influence things like politics and the direction/tone of technological advancement.
I think this book obviously dramatizes some of the concepts for the sake of imagery, but the message is obvious. I do think that some concepts and ideas could’ve been explored with more depth, but I also think this is a book that is meant to be readable to younger adult audiences so it’s meant to get the ideas out there without putting people off entirely.
My critiques would be that the author went into way too much detail on some things that were relatively unimportant to the plot and that some parts of the storyline moved slowly. If you can get past that, I think it’s a good read and a cautionary tale as we move forward with our society’s current wealth gap and AI technological advances.
I think this book introduces interesting ideas on the direction that our society will be moving towards and honestly it doesn’t sound too far fetched to me. AI is already developing at an fast rate and can be used for “good” or “bad” and those with the most wealth already influence things like politics and the direction/tone of technological advancement.
I think this book obviously dramatizes some of the concepts for the sake of imagery, but the message is obvious. I do think that some concepts and ideas could’ve been explored with more depth, but I also think this is a book that is meant to be readable to younger adult audiences so it’s meant to get the ideas out there without putting people off entirely.
My critiques would be that the author went into way too much detail on some things that were relatively unimportant to the plot and that some parts of the storyline moved slowly. If you can get past that, I think it’s a good read and a cautionary tale as we move forward with our society’s current wealth gap and AI technological advances.
January 4, 2018
This was a really witty book with a powerful message that just didn't quite hit the spot for me. It tells the story of Arthur, a billionaire in the latter half of the 21st century who wants to live for ever and Gene, the artificial human who is created so that Arthur can upload his consciousness into him. There is a lot to like here. Arthur is ruthless, angry and rude but has made real contributions to the world, which makes for an interesting set up. Some of the other characters however, are a little bit one-dimensional, particularly the women. There are some great comments about where we're heading as a society in terms of our obsessions with smart phones, social media and connectivity generally as well as what could be prescient predictions about the global environment. Unfortunately for me, I just felt that the message was a little too heavy handed which ultimately hampered my enjoyment of the plot. I also thought that the narrative was quite unbalanced, with a lot of preamble for what seemed like quite a rushed third act. Overall, I think the author has some fantastic ideas here but the execution let him down slightly.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
April 3, 2019
Immortal Life: A Soon To Be True Story
Immortal Life is set in a not-too-distant future, in which the line between government and giant tech companies has disappeared. Smart phones have been replaced by cranial implants that connect to The Cloud with a tap behind the ear. Artificial Intelligence has become ever advanced, 3D printing (both solid and liquid) paired with medical technology has allowed the wealthy old-aged, through replacement parts, to postpone death well into their 120s.
Arthur, the 120-something head of the world-dominating Corporation, is poised to defeat death. His consciousness is to be transferred into a new body. Before that transfer, this body has been known as Gene, a specimen developed from human DNA and imbued with a brain that has basic knowledge but isn't supposed to develop a real personality. When Arthur's mind is uploaded to Gene's brain, Gene is still there somehow. He wants to live, and there are members of a resistance who want to help him.
This book had an intriguing premise and a strong start, but I felt it lost steam in the last third or so, and I didn't end up enjoying it as much as I thought I would. However, there were elements of the ending that I found unexpected, in a good way.
Immortal Life is set in a not-too-distant future, in which the line between government and giant tech companies has disappeared. Smart phones have been replaced by cranial implants that connect to The Cloud with a tap behind the ear. Artificial Intelligence has become ever advanced, 3D printing (both solid and liquid) paired with medical technology has allowed the wealthy old-aged, through replacement parts, to postpone death well into their 120s.
Arthur, the 120-something head of the world-dominating Corporation, is poised to defeat death. His consciousness is to be transferred into a new body. Before that transfer, this body has been known as Gene, a specimen developed from human DNA and imbued with a brain that has basic knowledge but isn't supposed to develop a real personality. When Arthur's mind is uploaded to Gene's brain, Gene is still there somehow. He wants to live, and there are members of a resistance who want to help him.
This book had an intriguing premise and a strong start, but I felt it lost steam in the last third or so, and I didn't end up enjoying it as much as I thought I would. However, there were elements of the ending that I found unexpected, in a good way.
January 29, 2018
Late in the 21st century the really rich have found ways to extend their lives well past 100. The richest of them all is Arthur Vogel who has made it to 127 by replacing or enhancing much of his original equipment but he's about to hit the wall and knows it. So he has a technical genius who's also a doctor make him a new strong young body and have his mind down-loaded into it. This feat is accomplished by the advanced use of 3D printers. They have been using 3D printers for spare parts so why not a whole body. Only problem is when they download his greedy, ruthless self into the body of the original owner his personality doesn't want to vacate and so a struggle begins. The host body belongs to a man named Gene who's pretty much a clean slate but he knows he doesn't want to give up his body to some old codger who is only interested in world domination. Gene discovers he can keep control of his mind by drinking which leaves him kind of loopy most of the time. He joins forces with an old school group who live on the fringes of the modern techno society and want to save humanity from Arthur and his billionaire accomplices. So the struggle begins.
November 15, 2023
gosh dangulation -- i can't berleave the 2.8 rating. this book was not only FUN, but insightful, sort of (as far as i can tell) up-to-date with science and "where we're @" w/regards to WEAR DO WE GO FRUM HEAR. how can one give a low rating to sections such as, on page 7, when a formerly-all-too-accommodating AI/robot servant gives a response to his master, (sumwhat (tho' slightly) snide -- which makes robot-master conclude: "with originality of thought came a host of other possibilities, not all of them congenial to servitude." and ... on page 247, regarding how the U.S. needed less nuclear missile installations, due to ... "the nuclear shield above the nation was narrowed to a few sites and then discarded altogether when Russia became the ally of the ruling class during the Trump dictatorship."
there are lots, nay, many, insights and plot developments contingent on many weird things which may (well, hope not!) have happened between THEN & NOW. i'm eagerly awaiting the author's next book ~
there are lots, nay, many, insights and plot developments contingent on many weird things which may (well, hope not!) have happened between THEN & NOW. i'm eagerly awaiting the author's next book ~
Read
February 2, 2018Long prior to Scott Adams' Dilbert appearing on the scene, Stanley Bing (pen-name) was skewering the insanity of the corporate world with hysterical essays in Esquire, Forbes and the like. He wrote a piece in the 1970's entitled "The Care and Feeding of Jerks" that I still keep tacked on the wall. Bing ventured into the longer format of fiction and non-fiction some time ago and I am safe in saying his best work lies in the shorter form. Immortal Life is chock full of characters that are stupid by plot convenience. This is not to say Bing has lost his wit - there are some truly funny lines peppered through out the text, but it's not enough to keep the narrative afloat. Also, Bing decided he would read the audiobook version of this title. Not good. He sounds as energetic as a manger reading through a powerpoint presentation at a post-three martini lunch conference call.
November 2, 2017
A futuristic look at how the wealthy and powerful have found a way to cheat death. Arthur is a mean old buzzard with a much younger trophy wife/nurse and more money than God but he is a man in pieces - literally. Every morning he straps on appendages, inserts his eyeball, connects to any number of computer devices and downs nourishing glop and vitamins. Is he happy to be alive? Of course not, so he finds the technology to body swap with a manufactured employee or the umteenth version of Gene. Is he happy now that he has a new body to work with? Well, no because even manufactured humans have a mind of their own now and then. Caustic wit and more than a few zings to the industry mega-billionaires of the world, this entertaining novel is hopefully not what it claims to be - a soon to be true story. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.
February 10, 2018
I'm not a fan of science fiction but Immortal Life has such a promising premise that I couldn't resist. I enjoyed the first half of the book because the story seemed so plausible. With the technology we have in 2018 it seems a small jump to downloading someone's aging personality into younger beings for what would amount to an immortal life. The trillionaires of the future would be the ones to afford the process...why not? But once I got to the second half of the book we came into familiar territory, hippies living off the grid with an aging leader named Tim who know the true meaning of life and how this good non-tech group using aging technology defeats the bad techno savvy guys who control the world. If you are a user of Alexa or Siri you may find this story speaks more to you. Otherwise Immortal Life was only okay, a sci-fi story with a predictable ending.
February 10, 2018
I was entertained by this book but it was not a good book. The premise was promising but not fleshed out very well. The tone vacillated between satiric and serious, but not artfully. The sentence structure was uniformly awkward which made for uncomfortable reading. Much of the dialogue had me puzzled at the speakers motives...whole conversations had me thinking “What the hell??”
It did, however, contain enough fun bits and I appreciated the moments of whimsy.
The ideas concerning the psychopathic greedy mentality of the ruling class, the consolidation of all global economic activity, and the future of gerontology and longevity were what made this book worth reading.
And I totally agree with the concluding solution: humanity needs to reset current civilization otherwise we will never get rid of these oligarchs we have now.
It did, however, contain enough fun bits and I appreciated the moments of whimsy.
The ideas concerning the psychopathic greedy mentality of the ruling class, the consolidation of all global economic activity, and the future of gerontology and longevity were what made this book worth reading.
And I totally agree with the concluding solution: humanity needs to reset current civilization otherwise we will never get rid of these oligarchs we have now.
February 17, 2018
Not really sure what this is. One could categorize is of science fiction, but it is less rooted in science, more in present day events. It is an extrapolation based on current businesses, current business leaders and current technology and how this all may play out in the 2nd half of this century.
If you like Ray Kurzweil's 'Singularity is near', this book paints what that may look like. I did not like his writing style. This is not written by a world class author, and at times very confusing so that the overall story arch get's easily lost. I actually had to restart reading a few chapters, just to keep abreast of the story.
The end is a little shallow. I read this because it was one of those books Bill Gates recommended in one of his publicized lists. Most of his recommendations I do like, just not this one.
If you like Ray Kurzweil's 'Singularity is near', this book paints what that may look like. I did not like his writing style. This is not written by a world class author, and at times very confusing so that the overall story arch get's easily lost. I actually had to restart reading a few chapters, just to keep abreast of the story.
The end is a little shallow. I read this because it was one of those books Bill Gates recommended in one of his publicized lists. Most of his recommendations I do like, just not this one.
March 6, 2018
The concept of this book was very good. I picked it up at Christmas (2017) and started reading it right away. Work and Life kept interrupting but I kept coming back to it. For the most part, it was worth it. The pace is uneven and the ending was perhaps a bit too predictable. The characters aren't particularly compelling but they're not horrible either.
It was worth reading. The political digs scattered throughout the book were annoying and unnecessary but didn't detract too much from the story. The major disappointment of this book was how it ended up just being another story where all the tech in the world stops working...except some of it still works...which just made it more confusing.
Some books bring you back for a second reading because there's an implied depth to them that justifies a rerun. This isn't one of those books.
It was worth reading. The political digs scattered throughout the book were annoying and unnecessary but didn't detract too much from the story. The major disappointment of this book was how it ended up just being another story where all the tech in the world stops working...except some of it still works...which just made it more confusing.
Some books bring you back for a second reading because there's an implied depth to them that justifies a rerun. This isn't one of those books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2018
Just ok. Some interesting ideas, some obvious - digital brain implants, some not so much - though I really can't think of any. Bing's cynicism for the future is astonishing. In just 60 years we've trashed the planet, devolved and mutated (a near biology impossibility in such short span), can't think on our own because we're letting the big brain in the sky do most of it for us and the relentless greed of corporations that is all consumed with owning every market including the state. And then toss in "Let's make corporations great again!" and well you get the idea. Odd because Bing is a pen name for a top CBS exec, a corporation consumed with mercantilism and consumerism. Maybe that's how he knows it so well. Some might even call it transference.
In short, pass.
In short, pass.
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