What do you think?
Rate this book
Loveoid
An American euthanasist and an Egyptian astrological farmer delve into the evolution of the collective soul . . . as an extremophile virus targets a selected few Cli-fi at its best, where the twisted scientific changes of our present-day lives catalyze love in parallel universes. Loveoid grapples with the dilemmas of the latest generation of humankind -- that the loving don't survive. In the present-day novel Loveoid, Olivia unravels a virus that only harms the corporate upper crust. In combat with media, governments and corporations, as love-lacking predators on top kill off life on earth, Olivia finds love, and comes to question her own ideals. The impossibly mixed match encounters life-threatening obstacles, as Khalid elicits her darkest fears, yet lights the way with astrological farming, ancient holistic remedies and spiritualism. Will love allow them to stay human? "With a new, scary virus as the backdrop, Olivia and Khalid navigate love, cures, and a different world. A timely novel with an interesting message about love and nature" -Booklist "Loveoid is a wildly unique and immensely realized science fiction thriller set in a dystopian present in which overpopulation is decimating the Earth and its natural resources at a rapid rate. Additionally, the world of the story is incredibly deep, filled with dense detail and nuance that give the impression of a very realized universe." -Screencraft "As overpopulation grows, natural resources are depleted,species go extinct, and the polar ice caps continue to melt. People now check into euthanasia hotels to escape a hopeless future…. The story's premise is interesting." -Library Journal "The smart choice to set this eco-thriller in the present brings home the tenebrous climate prognostications we usually reserve for another year." -Brussels Express "About time some serious writers and artists took on the biggest issue of our time -maybe all time. This story shows that engagement fully underway!" - Bill McKibben, founder 350.org "This is a short, interesting read bordering on eco-fiction that would make for a fascinating movie" -Denver Public Library
182 pages, Paperback
Published November 10, 2020
About the author
J.L. Morin
9 books59 followersJL Morin grew up in inner-city Detroit. She proffered moral support while her parents sacrificed all to a failed system. Wondering what the Japanese were doing right, she decamped to Tokyo. Her debut Japan novel, Sazzae, won an eLit Gold Medal, and a Living Now Book Award. Her second novel, Travelling Light, was a USA Best Book Awards finalist, and her third, Trading Dreams, became ‘Occupy’s first bestselling novel’. Her climate fiction novel, Nature’s Confession, won first place in the Dante Rossetti Book Awards; a Readers’ Favorite Book Award; a LitPick 5-Star Review Award; and an excerpt received an Honorable Mention in the Eco-Fiction Story Contest, published in the Winds of Change anthology of eco-fiction. Her second cli-fi novel, Loveoid, is a Cygnus Sci-fi 1st place winner, among others.
Her cli-fi novels are on course syllabi at many universities. Ivy League professors have facilitated discussions with JL Morin’s writing, and it is discussed in textbooks, such as Science Fiction and Climate Change: A Sociological Approach, by Andrew Milner, and J. R. Burgmann, 2020, published by Oxford University Press.
Her most recent work, Tuck-a-tuck Dragon, is a diverse rhyming children’s book illustrated by children throughout their childhood from the ages of 2–21.
JL Morin’s writing draws on a breadth of experience. She traded derivatives in New York while studying nights for her MBA at New York University’s Stern School of Business; worked for the Federal Reserve Bank posted to the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center; presented the news as a TV broadcaster; and she is adjunct faculty at Boston University. Morin’s fiction has appeared in The Harvard Advocate and Harvard Yisei, and her articles and translations in The Huffington Post, Library Journal, The Detroit News, European Daily, Livonia Observer Eccentric Newspapers, The Harvard Crimson, and Agence France Presse while she worked in their Middle East Headquarters.
Her cli-fi novels are on course syllabi at many universities. Ivy League professors have facilitated discussions with JL Morin’s writing, and it is discussed in textbooks, such as Science Fiction and Climate Change: A Sociological Approach, by Andrew Milner, and J. R. Burgmann, 2020, published by Oxford University Press.
Her most recent work, Tuck-a-tuck Dragon, is a diverse rhyming children’s book illustrated by children throughout their childhood from the ages of 2–21.
JL Morin’s writing draws on a breadth of experience. She traded derivatives in New York while studying nights for her MBA at New York University’s Stern School of Business; worked for the Federal Reserve Bank posted to the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center; presented the news as a TV broadcaster; and she is adjunct faculty at Boston University. Morin’s fiction has appeared in The Harvard Advocate and Harvard Yisei, and her articles and translations in The Huffington Post, Library Journal, The Detroit News, European Daily, Livonia Observer Eccentric Newspapers, The Harvard Crimson, and Agence France Presse while she worked in their Middle East Headquarters.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 15, 2020
Reading Loveoid during the current pandemic was somehow soothing because the victims of the virus in the book are all CEOs, anti-environmentalists, and world leaders—all who lack "love," making them susceptible to infection. Since the world is going to hell in a handbasket, one popular service is checking into a euthanasia hotel, to avoid old age, disease, starvation, etc. The plot seems to veer here and there until Olivia, an eminent virologist, escapes an attack and is kidnapped/rescued (this is a little unclear, and might trigger some who have been abused) by Khalid, who claims he wants her for his wife. Despite the odds, and being imprisoned on Khalid's farm, Olivia begins to discover an antibody to the virus, which affects its victims by "returning" them to nature, in the form of living plants. The writing is quite good, but is marred by occasional typos (p. 236 "desert," NOT "dessert") that should have been found through the editing process. That said, this is a short, interesting read bordering on eco-fiction that would make for a fascinating movie (I'm thinking about the SFX!).
July 6, 2021
Speechless. 5 STARS
I read this book in one sitting. That has only happened a few times in the thousands of books I have read in my lifetime. Don't let the slightly slow start fool you. It ramps up quickly to an incredibly well-written story that takes your breath away. The two main characters are flawed, with many layers of depth, while trying to save and survive a world embroiled in greed to the point of its possibility of extinction. So much of the greed reflects our current world, and the humanity illuminates both the best and worst. I loved the writing style which included apt quotes, descriptions of fascinating science, and passages that had to be read and reread to enjoy and remember the beauty of them.
I will definitely look for more from this author.
M. Lauren Basham
I read this book in one sitting. That has only happened a few times in the thousands of books I have read in my lifetime. Don't let the slightly slow start fool you. It ramps up quickly to an incredibly well-written story that takes your breath away. The two main characters are flawed, with many layers of depth, while trying to save and survive a world embroiled in greed to the point of its possibility of extinction. So much of the greed reflects our current world, and the humanity illuminates both the best and worst. I loved the writing style which included apt quotes, descriptions of fascinating science, and passages that had to be read and reread to enjoy and remember the beauty of them.
I will definitely look for more from this author.
M. Lauren Basham
dnf-on-hold
September 1, 2021UPDATE: 1 Sep 21
The audiobook sound has been fixed, and I’ve listened to a few chapters. So far, I can tell this is no young adult cookie cutter fan fiction. It sounds deep and densely packed with ideas, and I can’t wait to get back to it.
I first discovered it on hoopla, but it’s also available on Audible with a PDF. Nice!
——————————————————
3 Apr 21 I’m so frustrated! I only have access to the audiobook format, and I cannot understand it! It sounds like it was recorded on a windy day at the beach and someone nearby is playing light techno music on their boom box. Sentences sound only partly English. Gah! I give up.
The audiobook sound has been fixed, and I’ve listened to a few chapters. So far, I can tell this is no young adult cookie cutter fan fiction. It sounds deep and densely packed with ideas, and I can’t wait to get back to it.
I first discovered it on hoopla, but it’s also available on Audible with a PDF. Nice!
——————————————————
3 Apr 21 I’m so frustrated! I only have access to the audiobook format, and I cannot understand it! It sounds like it was recorded on a windy day at the beach and someone nearby is playing light techno music on their boom box. Sentences sound only partly English. Gah! I give up.
August 11, 2020
Rating: M
"The android population was out of control at the Hotel Dido."
"That didn't bother me as much as the programmed people. They weren't human beings anymore."
Doctor Olivia is trying to find a cure for a pandemic. Well, sort of a pandemic. An ancient disease brought on by the melting of the polar ice caps has caused the upper echelon of society, the "men who rule the world," to sort of morph into plants. She discovers that the underlying cause is that the men are incapable of love, and therefore have no way to commune with life around them, and so, in the body's desperate search to commune with nature, they literally grow roots and become stationary.
So she aims to create a Loveoid, a way to reverse the "survival of the fittest" and turn it into "survival of those who love the most."
But just when she receives the grant to do her research, her hotel is attacked and she is taken away by Khalid, a farmer half her age who wants a wife.
He locks her away on his farm, but she continues her research, and through unconventional methods makes progress towards the cure through more natural methods.
So based on that, I bought this book, thinking that it would be excellent. What proceeded was a case of Stockholm syndrome and abuse that the author continually justifies.
I take notes when I read books, to give me a chronology of my feelings throughout the book. Here's a few gems:
So the plot starts out weird and disorganized, like a brain dump on paper. The premise is good, interesting, political, unique.
But I don’t feel anything.
And then we venture into the WTAF. From the first moment they meet I'm confused. Does she like him or is he kidnapping her? When it’s obvious that he is treating her appallingly bad and she STILL experiences sexual attraction, I had to google the author to see if this was written by a man. A very egotistical chauvinistic man. But no. Woman.
It gets weirder.
We’re in full Stockholm syndrome mode here and I don’t feel suspense. I don’t feel fear. I don’t even really feel interest. All I feel is disgust, and I only continue because I need relief from this feeling. I need to see that the author is going somewhere with this, that it’s not all for nothing. That this isn’t some oppressive version of 365 days. Rape triggers, emotional abuse triggers. All the triggers.
Me: Finished book. Lays down book. “What a piece of shit.”
Husband: *looks up from phone, is actually interested in what I'm reading for once!*
I had to get on an ARC group I'm on to ask how best to handle the review of a book I so badly hated. They suggested the "sandwich method," good comment, bad comment, good comment again. So here we go.
The good. The author is quite obviously a talented writer with a flowering imagination. The book us so well written that while I hated it, I easily could still finish it.
The bad. If the author had the intent of conveying that the man was not a kidnapper (I only think this due to the synopsis published on the back,) then she should not have had him hide all the ways for her to leave and repeatedly mention kidnapping. This is kidnapping, whether she thinks the dude is hot or not.
The good. I like that the intent of the book was to be inclusive of other cultures and diminish prejudices. (Again, getting this from the synopsis.) The woman wraps her head, and though it never states her religion, we do find out that its not Muslim like the man. Which is strange that this is stated because she repeatedly says things similar to "for Allah's sake."
The bad. He flat out emotionally abuses her. Calls her fat when she annoys him. Won't bring her in public because he's embarrassed about their age difference. I mean, he has kidnapped her in all the ways that count. He hides the keys so she cannot leave, and will not take her out of the house where she might find a way to escape him. There's even one seen where he degrades her during sex, performing things against her will, not because they're into BDSM, but to punish her. She's more educated than him and he hates that about her, he always has to feel better than her. That's not a relationship, that's abuse. At first I was disgusted, then I was angry, but now I'm concerned. If this is what the author thinks a loveing relationship looks like, someone needs to go check on J.L. Morin. Like please, if anyone knows her, if her publisher is reading this, please someone go check on her. Was this a cry for help? I kind of hope so, because if not, this is a book that could be very damaging to women. This is not ok.
I'll finish with a good. The idea of this book had many great points.
I loved the thought that the act of loving could cure. "Love heals all wounds" and all that. The fact that the relationship wasn't love sorta ruined that for me, but the idea was good.
I found it interesting that she specifically made the point that she had not seen a case of the disease in women, like women were more capable of love than men. Yet another reason I feel like someone should check on the author - men are indeed just as capable of love but they don't show it because of cultural norms we teach them - this is a whole political issue that could have been expounded upon but she just sort of accepted it as truth. It's not what I believe but it seems to go along with the general opinion of the author that men are just men and we as women have to have grace and deal with it (if you know me at all, you can see why I have a problem with this. Just NO. Hold men accountable, we as women DESERVE BETTER. Do NOT ACCEPT bad treatment, MAKE THEM CHANGE. We are the queen goddesses of the earth who give life to humanity!)
The underlying idea is that medical companies do not test (and do things to PREVENT use of) any product they can't patent. *SPOILER* The doctor is trying to find a cure for a disease that only affects the top 1% of humans who have lost their humanity already, and the only redeeming quality of this book was that she found the cure and decided not to give it to them.
I absolutely HATE giving a book one star, but here I go, because I'm not sure this book should even be published. That's not love, and the fact that the doctor kept running back to this abusive kidnapper is appalling, unsatisfactory, and frankly it made my stomach turn. I wish I could lobotomize just the part of my brain that remembers I ever read it. 0/5, do not recommend.
"The android population was out of control at the Hotel Dido."
"That didn't bother me as much as the programmed people. They weren't human beings anymore."
Doctor Olivia is trying to find a cure for a pandemic. Well, sort of a pandemic. An ancient disease brought on by the melting of the polar ice caps has caused the upper echelon of society, the "men who rule the world," to sort of morph into plants. She discovers that the underlying cause is that the men are incapable of love, and therefore have no way to commune with life around them, and so, in the body's desperate search to commune with nature, they literally grow roots and become stationary.
So she aims to create a Loveoid, a way to reverse the "survival of the fittest" and turn it into "survival of those who love the most."
But just when she receives the grant to do her research, her hotel is attacked and she is taken away by Khalid, a farmer half her age who wants a wife.
He locks her away on his farm, but she continues her research, and through unconventional methods makes progress towards the cure through more natural methods.
So based on that, I bought this book, thinking that it would be excellent. What proceeded was a case of Stockholm syndrome and abuse that the author continually justifies.
I take notes when I read books, to give me a chronology of my feelings throughout the book. Here's a few gems:
So the plot starts out weird and disorganized, like a brain dump on paper. The premise is good, interesting, political, unique.
But I don’t feel anything.
And then we venture into the WTAF. From the first moment they meet I'm confused. Does she like him or is he kidnapping her? When it’s obvious that he is treating her appallingly bad and she STILL experiences sexual attraction, I had to google the author to see if this was written by a man. A very egotistical chauvinistic man. But no. Woman.
It gets weirder.
We’re in full Stockholm syndrome mode here and I don’t feel suspense. I don’t feel fear. I don’t even really feel interest. All I feel is disgust, and I only continue because I need relief from this feeling. I need to see that the author is going somewhere with this, that it’s not all for nothing. That this isn’t some oppressive version of 365 days. Rape triggers, emotional abuse triggers. All the triggers.
Me: Finished book. Lays down book. “What a piece of shit.”
Husband: *looks up from phone, is actually interested in what I'm reading for once!*
I had to get on an ARC group I'm on to ask how best to handle the review of a book I so badly hated. They suggested the "sandwich method," good comment, bad comment, good comment again. So here we go.
The good. The author is quite obviously a talented writer with a flowering imagination. The book us so well written that while I hated it, I easily could still finish it.
The bad. If the author had the intent of conveying that the man was not a kidnapper (I only think this due to the synopsis published on the back,) then she should not have had him hide all the ways for her to leave and repeatedly mention kidnapping. This is kidnapping, whether she thinks the dude is hot or not.
The good. I like that the intent of the book was to be inclusive of other cultures and diminish prejudices. (Again, getting this from the synopsis.) The woman wraps her head, and though it never states her religion, we do find out that its not Muslim like the man. Which is strange that this is stated because she repeatedly says things similar to "for Allah's sake."
The bad. He flat out emotionally abuses her. Calls her fat when she annoys him. Won't bring her in public because he's embarrassed about their age difference. I mean, he has kidnapped her in all the ways that count. He hides the keys so she cannot leave, and will not take her out of the house where she might find a way to escape him. There's even one seen where he degrades her during sex, performing things against her will, not because they're into BDSM, but to punish her. She's more educated than him and he hates that about her, he always has to feel better than her. That's not a relationship, that's abuse. At first I was disgusted, then I was angry, but now I'm concerned. If this is what the author thinks a loveing relationship looks like, someone needs to go check on J.L. Morin. Like please, if anyone knows her, if her publisher is reading this, please someone go check on her. Was this a cry for help? I kind of hope so, because if not, this is a book that could be very damaging to women. This is not ok.
I'll finish with a good. The idea of this book had many great points.
I loved the thought that the act of loving could cure. "Love heals all wounds" and all that. The fact that the relationship wasn't love sorta ruined that for me, but the idea was good.
I found it interesting that she specifically made the point that she had not seen a case of the disease in women, like women were more capable of love than men. Yet another reason I feel like someone should check on the author - men are indeed just as capable of love but they don't show it because of cultural norms we teach them - this is a whole political issue that could have been expounded upon but she just sort of accepted it as truth. It's not what I believe but it seems to go along with the general opinion of the author that men are just men and we as women have to have grace and deal with it (if you know me at all, you can see why I have a problem with this. Just NO. Hold men accountable, we as women DESERVE BETTER. Do NOT ACCEPT bad treatment, MAKE THEM CHANGE. We are the queen goddesses of the earth who give life to humanity!)
The underlying idea is that medical companies do not test (and do things to PREVENT use of) any product they can't patent. *SPOILER* The doctor is trying to find a cure for a disease that only affects the top 1% of humans who have lost their humanity already, and the only redeeming quality of this book was that she found the cure and decided not to give it to them.
I absolutely HATE giving a book one star, but here I go, because I'm not sure this book should even be published. That's not love, and the fact that the doctor kept running back to this abusive kidnapper is appalling, unsatisfactory, and frankly it made my stomach turn. I wish I could lobotomize just the part of my brain that remembers I ever read it. 0/5, do not recommend.
November 5, 2020
This book was a very strange adventure. Dr. Oliva Murchadha is a scientist working on a cure for an illness that seems only to affect the infamous 1% of the population. The richest people are the ones who need the cure.
The plot is a bit confusing... I'm still not sure that I know what the primary purpose of the book was. I did finish the book, primarily because Morin's writing is quite enjoyable. Even when the author was writing about things I couldn't quite grasp, I still appreciated the style.
There are ideas that are touched upon that are unsettling and disturbing. For instance, there are euthanasia centers in this future world. People flock to these centers so that they don't have to worry about food shortages, pandemics, and illnesses. The stark and emotionless way that people were shuffling towards their deaths disturbed me. I applaud the author for creating such an epically dismal future for people in spite of the fact that I think euthanasia is probably a good thing under appropriate circumstances.
Olivia is at a euthanasia hotel when there is a terrorist attack. She finds herself on the run with one of the local men who was working outside the hotel earlier in the day, Khalid. Immediately they enter into a relationship that I found rather confusing. At first, I thought they were simply assisting each other but then I realized that Khalid was kidnapping Olivia. The reason that I found it confusing though, was that the book describes their relationship as a romance. As far as I could see there was nothing romantic about their interactions at all.
While Oliva is desperate for news about what is going on in the outside world and worried about her research - Khalid keeps her captive. He hides all the ways she may escape from his farm and cuts her off completely. Once she is living with him and "falling in love", he emotionally abuses her, he fat shames her, and is embarrassed to be seen with her in public. The worst part for me was that the writing of their "sex life" read to me more like sexual assault. Khalid was disconnected and often degraded Oliva. There was dubious consent at best and their entire relationship made me uncomfortable.
It never became clear to me why the author chose such a horrible relationship to call a "romance". There was nothing positive about the relationship and I felt really disconnected from the characters.
There are some really important issues touched upon in this book: The power and weaponization of the press and media, fear and the way that it plays into us buying into plans we think will help save us, pandemics (How timely is that?), and global climate change. I wish that these issues had been more involved in the plot but it primarily focused on the bizarre relationship between Oliva and Khalid.
The research for a cure that will prevent a pandemic does come of a conclusion (no spoilers) and I thought the author wrapped up that part of the plot nicely. Sadly, my dislike for the "relationship" between the two main characters detracted from the reading experience for me.
The plot is a bit confusing... I'm still not sure that I know what the primary purpose of the book was. I did finish the book, primarily because Morin's writing is quite enjoyable. Even when the author was writing about things I couldn't quite grasp, I still appreciated the style.
There are ideas that are touched upon that are unsettling and disturbing. For instance, there are euthanasia centers in this future world. People flock to these centers so that they don't have to worry about food shortages, pandemics, and illnesses. The stark and emotionless way that people were shuffling towards their deaths disturbed me. I applaud the author for creating such an epically dismal future for people in spite of the fact that I think euthanasia is probably a good thing under appropriate circumstances.
Olivia is at a euthanasia hotel when there is a terrorist attack. She finds herself on the run with one of the local men who was working outside the hotel earlier in the day, Khalid. Immediately they enter into a relationship that I found rather confusing. At first, I thought they were simply assisting each other but then I realized that Khalid was kidnapping Olivia. The reason that I found it confusing though, was that the book describes their relationship as a romance. As far as I could see there was nothing romantic about their interactions at all.
While Oliva is desperate for news about what is going on in the outside world and worried about her research - Khalid keeps her captive. He hides all the ways she may escape from his farm and cuts her off completely. Once she is living with him and "falling in love", he emotionally abuses her, he fat shames her, and is embarrassed to be seen with her in public. The worst part for me was that the writing of their "sex life" read to me more like sexual assault. Khalid was disconnected and often degraded Oliva. There was dubious consent at best and their entire relationship made me uncomfortable.
It never became clear to me why the author chose such a horrible relationship to call a "romance". There was nothing positive about the relationship and I felt really disconnected from the characters.
There are some really important issues touched upon in this book: The power and weaponization of the press and media, fear and the way that it plays into us buying into plans we think will help save us, pandemics (How timely is that?), and global climate change. I wish that these issues had been more involved in the plot but it primarily focused on the bizarre relationship between Oliva and Khalid.
The research for a cure that will prevent a pandemic does come of a conclusion (no spoilers) and I thought the author wrapped up that part of the plot nicely. Sadly, my dislike for the "relationship" between the two main characters detracted from the reading experience for me.
September 20, 2021
Such a very interesting take on a pandemic story.
Interesting characters and a great world.
Interesting characters and a great world.
March 27, 2022
This book is very strange, I think I didn't understand it all and what I did understand could easily be a metaphor, but I am also not so sure. But I liked it and it's interestingly constructed, probably winking at fans of modern sci-fi where no book has a plot that unfolds in a linear fashion.
Questo libro é molto strano, credo di non averlo capito tutto e quello che ho capito potrebbe essere tranquillamente una metafora, ma non ci metterei la mano sul fuoco. Peró mi é piaciuto ed é costruito in modo interessante, probabilmente strizza gli occhi ai fan della sci-fi moderna dove nessun libro ha una trama che si dipana in modo lineare.
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
Questo libro é molto strano, credo di non averlo capito tutto e quello che ho capito potrebbe essere tranquillamente una metafora, ma non ci metterei la mano sul fuoco. Peró mi é piaciuto ed é costruito in modo interessante, probabilmente strizza gli occhi ai fan della sci-fi moderna dove nessun libro ha una trama che si dipana in modo lineare.
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
April 1, 2024
A white woman's bizarre orientialist sex fantasy disguised as "cli-fi." Look, even if you can get past the horrific racism, the sex scenes aren't even good: the protagonist has anal without lube and I legitimately don't think this author has ever fucked.
December 20, 2021
I got halfway through this book, and there's no connection or energy coming from it. It's getting boring, and I want experiments! I'm reading this and the dots aren't connecting. I might have to come back to it, and finish it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews