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Amortals
THE VERY BEST PERSON TO CATCH YOUR KILLER…IS YOU.
Matt Forbeck arrives as the new king of high-concept - with a blockbuster action movie in a book. In the near future, scientists solve the problem of mortality by learning how to backup and restore a persons memories into a vat-bred clone. When Secret Service agent Ronan "Methusaleh" Dooley is brutally murdered, he's brought back from the dead one more time to hunt his killer, but this time those who wanted him dead are much closer to home.
FILE Science Fiction [Future Thriller / Cheat Death / Rogue Agents / Who Killed Who?]
Matt Forbeck arrives as the new king of high-concept - with a blockbuster action movie in a book. In the near future, scientists solve the problem of mortality by learning how to backup and restore a persons memories into a vat-bred clone. When Secret Service agent Ronan "Methusaleh" Dooley is brutally murdered, he's brought back from the dead one more time to hunt his killer, but this time those who wanted him dead are much closer to home.
FILE Science Fiction [Future Thriller / Cheat Death / Rogue Agents / Who Killed Who?]
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 2010
2 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Matt Forbeck
211 books313 followersI'm an award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author and game designer and happily married father of five, including a set of quadruplets. For more on my work, see Forbeck.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 3, 2013
Technically speaking, I don't think this book deserves four stars, if we're talking about an objective measure of literary merit. Lucky for me, we're not, because I loved reading Amortals. The comparisons to Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs novels are apt, but I think I preferred this one.
In a way, the plot was exactly the way I expected: I could've predicted a lot of the plot, and it ends too abruptly to deal with the implications of what happens, but it's fast-paced and compelling. The narrative voice is not much of a character, now I think about it, but somehow he kept me along for the ride -- even with the standard problem with first person narration where you know that the person narrating has to survive to be telling the story. (Unless an author hasn't thought that through, and then that's pretty much a dealbreaker for me.)
I actually stayed up late to read most of this, after only planning to read 'a couple of pages' while I settled down to sleep. And then I finished it as soon as I got up. So it's not unique, but I did find it a lot of fun.
In a way, the plot was exactly the way I expected: I could've predicted a lot of the plot, and it ends too abruptly to deal with the implications of what happens, but it's fast-paced and compelling. The narrative voice is not much of a character, now I think about it, but somehow he kept me along for the ride -- even with the standard problem with first person narration where you know that the person narrating has to survive to be telling the story. (Unless an author hasn't thought that through, and then that's pretty much a dealbreaker for me.)
I actually stayed up late to read most of this, after only planning to read 'a couple of pages' while I settled down to sleep. And then I finished it as soon as I got up. So it's not unique, but I did find it a lot of fun.
March 22, 2012
Whole brain emulation and mind uploading are science-fiction concepts that I love, because they raise really complicated questions related to philosophy of mind, a particular field in philosophy that I find very fascinating. Moreover, it’s scary how close we might be to achieving these in real life. Some critics have made very compelling cases for why this isn’t possible—but no one has been able to prove it, one way or another. Where scientists cannot yet go, science-fiction authors can speculate and explore the ramifications of this type of technology. Richard K. Morgan uses it to good effect in
Altered Carbon
. Joss Whedon did it really well in the tragically short-lived Dollhouse series. In the sixth episode, “Man on the Street”, short interview-style clips of people commenting on the dollhouse-as-urban-legend are interspersed throughout the main story. The very last interviewee says:
Chills run down my spine whenever I recall this quotation. It emphasizes the Pandora’s Box that our technological advances continue to be. The atomic bomb was perhaps the first such advance, and it won’t be the last. If we develop the ability to alter our memories and identities in such a fundamental way, and someone decides that it will be profitable to do it to people against their will, then we are done.
Sadly, both Whedon and Matt Forbeck paint a realistic picture of how this might happen. Whereas Whedon is more concerned with exploring several questions related to identity, autonomy, and self-determination, Forbeck focuses on just one: what happens when mind-uploading, combined with cloning, allows for immortality? His answer is a United States ruled by an oligarchy of amortals, the richest of the rich who can afford the exorbitant price to have their minds backed up and loaded into a clone whenever their current body dies. The protagonist of Amortals, Ronan Dooley, is an everyman who finds himself an amortal because he was the first, the prototype, a Secret Service agent saved from the bullet he took for the President thanks to the Amortals Project.
In this near-future America, there are groups and movements who do not think the amortals are people. Rather, they are copies of people. Is this Ronan really the same as the original Ronan, or is it just a copy of his mind? If I upload my brain to a computer and run it on the computer, are there two of me? Which one is more “real”? This is a question philosophers of mind like Daniel Dennett have considered for a while now, and it’s definitely something that will come to a crisis if mind uploading ever becomes a reality. For what it’s worth, I’m not sure where I stand on the matter.
On one hand, I do not believe in any kind of immortal soul or Cartesian duality: to me, the brain and the mind are a single thing. So it’s true that a copy of my brain is going to be a copy, but if it’s a perfect copy, then it’s still me. If there is no difference, no way to distinguish between the two (except that one of them might be in a box instead of a body), then how can I say one is more “me” than the other?
On the other hand, I read some articles by N. Katherine Hayles when taking Philosophy of the Internet course last year, and she has some very convincing arguments in favour of an embodied perspective—that consciousness as a phenomenon is heavily linked to being embodied. And even if I am correct and there is no such thing as an immortal soul, I still feel like there is still an issue of continuity. If I’m Ben I and I meet an untimely end in an unlikely accident involving reading and a particle accelerator, and Ben II gets activated from a backup I made the week before … Ben II is me, because he has my memories, but the particular instance of me who was Ben I is gone forever. Ben I won’t know or care about this, because he will be dead and in my scenario there is no life after death—and Ben II won’t care, because as far as he sees it, he’s just like Ben I. So it creeps me and reassures me at the exact same time, if that makes any kind of sense. And if it doesn’t, then I suppose this demonstrates just how confusing this whole matter can be!
Forbeck doesn’t quite go into the matter of identities to the extent I, as a philosophy geek, might have loved. But I’m not going to fault him for that. Instead, he chooses to focus on the social and political consequences of this ammortality and the existence of the amortal class. Ronan Dooley is amortal, but it’s as a result of his continued membership in the Secret Service. He isn’t rich enough to afford ammortality himself (this becomes a plot point at least twice), so he is an outsider. Not only are we supposed to identify with him, but he becomes a credible lens through which we can critique the institution of amortality.
Though Forbeck discusses in his afterword how the idea for Amortals goes back to the nineties, this book has an extremely current feel to it. In particular, a lot of the critique that Forbeck levels at the United States government and at amortals sounds like the discontent that has found a voice in the Occupy Wall Street movement. There is a perception, which I happen to share, that the much-vaunted democracy of the United States (and to a lesser extent, similar nations like Canada and those in the EU), has become a plutocracy, with power concentrated in the hands of the super-rich and corporations (who are, in many ways, interconnected and almost indistinguishable). Whether this perception is accurate is debatable, but Forbeck indulges in a cynical what if? game to show us what the United States could become.
After all, once the rich have the ability to live forever by cloning new bodies and downloading all their memories, why bother curing diseases like AIDS or malaria? These tend to affect the poor, huddled masses. Why bother providing health care at all? So Forbeck’s vision of Washington, D.C. is a city that has slowly begun to collapse under the weight of an under-maintained infrastructure and a neglected population. We’re given to understand that this is true for the United States in general. One quibble I have with Forbeck is the implication that amortality has slowed the pace of technological innovation as a whole. Unless he’s implying that this is a deliberate conspiracy to prevent innovations that could grant the masses more freedom (an implication that I don’t see), then I don’t see how this follows.
Plus, there’s the fact that being the only amortal in a family just sucks. Ronan is turning 200 as the book begins (the White House throws him a birthday celebration the same night as he was downloaded into his latest body). He’s survived his wife and five generations of descendants. Ronan Dooley V and his son, Ronan Dooley VI (whom we call Five and Six for short), are still alive, but for the first part of the book they remain estranged from our Ronan, who has let ties lapse. Being amortal among people who cannot afford amortality is much like being an immortal among mortals: doomed to watch those you care about grow old and die, even as those who replace them come to see you either as a legend or a relic—or both. Ronan is lonely in so many ways. He’s isolated. And he’s armed. So he’s not just dangerous—he’s dangerous with a helping of basket case waiting in the wings.
I suppose I should eventually review the story instead of rambling on about how fascinating mind uploading is. This time Ronan wakes up to find out that he didn’t die saving the President from an assassin—someone murdered him and posted the video online. So he has to solve his own murder, because it’s bad publicity, but as a result of his laxity with making backups, he has lost the last six months of his memories. This hinders the investigation. You know what else hinders the investigation? People trying to kill him again. Or his partner.
As a thriller, Amortals is unquestionably well-paced and exciting. Forbeck knows how to keep the reader engaged. The key is not to avoid dull moments, because lulls provide the reader (not to mention the protagonist!) a chance to pause and process the action scenes. But they need to be carefully planned and constructed for maximum effect—something that Forbeck does well. There were numerous moments when the chapter ended on a kind of cliffhanger, one that I hadn’t really seen coming and even evoked a sense of genuine peril and vulnerability. This is difficult to do, even in a book where people can come back from the dead, because we generally don’t expect the protagonist to die unless it’s at the end.
As a mystery, Amortals is unremarkable and bland. I figured out the identity of Ronan’s killer before the end of the first chapter. Unlike my dad—my first question when I see him reading a new mystery is always, “Did you figure out who did it yet?”—I don’t usually do that. It’s supposed to be a twist, I suppose, but it’s predictable if one is familiar with these types of science-fiction stories. And I kind of feel like the murder mystery becomes sublimated to the eventual plot concerning political machinations and conspiracy theories. That being said, Forbeck makes it worth our while, pulling out a few more twists that I didn’t see coming and finishing with an ending that is almost more open-ended than I can bear.
Owing to its unimpressive mystery, I was going to give Amortals two stars. Ronan is a solid protagonist, but I didn’t much care for his voice. The other characters are somewhat two-dimensional, particularly the antagonists. Yet as I write this review, it becomes apparent that Forbeck still managed to strike a nerve with me. Maybe it’s a particularly sensitive nerve, and people who aren’t as interested in these concepts will not find the book as enjoyable. But it’s enough to prompt me to reevaluate my rating. Amortals, while far from being amazing or even very remarkable on its own, is enjoyable and, in some ways, quite thought-provoking. It’s definitely deeper and more nuanced than the type of thriller I tend to condemn in my reviews, and hence Matt Forbeck demonstrates the power of well-conceived science-fiction as a setting and as a plot device: it provides a framework that makes for a better, more substantial story. Ultimately, that’s what I’m after.
If that technology exists—it’ll be used. It’ll be abused. It’ll be global. And we will be over. As a species. We will cease to matter. I don’t know, maybe we should.
Chills run down my spine whenever I recall this quotation. It emphasizes the Pandora’s Box that our technological advances continue to be. The atomic bomb was perhaps the first such advance, and it won’t be the last. If we develop the ability to alter our memories and identities in such a fundamental way, and someone decides that it will be profitable to do it to people against their will, then we are done.
Sadly, both Whedon and Matt Forbeck paint a realistic picture of how this might happen. Whereas Whedon is more concerned with exploring several questions related to identity, autonomy, and self-determination, Forbeck focuses on just one: what happens when mind-uploading, combined with cloning, allows for immortality? His answer is a United States ruled by an oligarchy of amortals, the richest of the rich who can afford the exorbitant price to have their minds backed up and loaded into a clone whenever their current body dies. The protagonist of Amortals, Ronan Dooley, is an everyman who finds himself an amortal because he was the first, the prototype, a Secret Service agent saved from the bullet he took for the President thanks to the Amortals Project.
In this near-future America, there are groups and movements who do not think the amortals are people. Rather, they are copies of people. Is this Ronan really the same as the original Ronan, or is it just a copy of his mind? If I upload my brain to a computer and run it on the computer, are there two of me? Which one is more “real”? This is a question philosophers of mind like Daniel Dennett have considered for a while now, and it’s definitely something that will come to a crisis if mind uploading ever becomes a reality. For what it’s worth, I’m not sure where I stand on the matter.
On one hand, I do not believe in any kind of immortal soul or Cartesian duality: to me, the brain and the mind are a single thing. So it’s true that a copy of my brain is going to be a copy, but if it’s a perfect copy, then it’s still me. If there is no difference, no way to distinguish between the two (except that one of them might be in a box instead of a body), then how can I say one is more “me” than the other?
On the other hand, I read some articles by N. Katherine Hayles when taking Philosophy of the Internet course last year, and she has some very convincing arguments in favour of an embodied perspective—that consciousness as a phenomenon is heavily linked to being embodied. And even if I am correct and there is no such thing as an immortal soul, I still feel like there is still an issue of continuity. If I’m Ben I and I meet an untimely end in an unlikely accident involving reading and a particle accelerator, and Ben II gets activated from a backup I made the week before … Ben II is me, because he has my memories, but the particular instance of me who was Ben I is gone forever. Ben I won’t know or care about this, because he will be dead and in my scenario there is no life after death—and Ben II won’t care, because as far as he sees it, he’s just like Ben I. So it creeps me and reassures me at the exact same time, if that makes any kind of sense. And if it doesn’t, then I suppose this demonstrates just how confusing this whole matter can be!
Forbeck doesn’t quite go into the matter of identities to the extent I, as a philosophy geek, might have loved. But I’m not going to fault him for that. Instead, he chooses to focus on the social and political consequences of this ammortality and the existence of the amortal class. Ronan Dooley is amortal, but it’s as a result of his continued membership in the Secret Service. He isn’t rich enough to afford ammortality himself (this becomes a plot point at least twice), so he is an outsider. Not only are we supposed to identify with him, but he becomes a credible lens through which we can critique the institution of amortality.
Though Forbeck discusses in his afterword how the idea for Amortals goes back to the nineties, this book has an extremely current feel to it. In particular, a lot of the critique that Forbeck levels at the United States government and at amortals sounds like the discontent that has found a voice in the Occupy Wall Street movement. There is a perception, which I happen to share, that the much-vaunted democracy of the United States (and to a lesser extent, similar nations like Canada and those in the EU), has become a plutocracy, with power concentrated in the hands of the super-rich and corporations (who are, in many ways, interconnected and almost indistinguishable). Whether this perception is accurate is debatable, but Forbeck indulges in a cynical what if? game to show us what the United States could become.
After all, once the rich have the ability to live forever by cloning new bodies and downloading all their memories, why bother curing diseases like AIDS or malaria? These tend to affect the poor, huddled masses. Why bother providing health care at all? So Forbeck’s vision of Washington, D.C. is a city that has slowly begun to collapse under the weight of an under-maintained infrastructure and a neglected population. We’re given to understand that this is true for the United States in general. One quibble I have with Forbeck is the implication that amortality has slowed the pace of technological innovation as a whole. Unless he’s implying that this is a deliberate conspiracy to prevent innovations that could grant the masses more freedom (an implication that I don’t see), then I don’t see how this follows.
Plus, there’s the fact that being the only amortal in a family just sucks. Ronan is turning 200 as the book begins (the White House throws him a birthday celebration the same night as he was downloaded into his latest body). He’s survived his wife and five generations of descendants. Ronan Dooley V and his son, Ronan Dooley VI (whom we call Five and Six for short), are still alive, but for the first part of the book they remain estranged from our Ronan, who has let ties lapse. Being amortal among people who cannot afford amortality is much like being an immortal among mortals: doomed to watch those you care about grow old and die, even as those who replace them come to see you either as a legend or a relic—or both. Ronan is lonely in so many ways. He’s isolated. And he’s armed. So he’s not just dangerous—he’s dangerous with a helping of basket case waiting in the wings.
I suppose I should eventually review the story instead of rambling on about how fascinating mind uploading is. This time Ronan wakes up to find out that he didn’t die saving the President from an assassin—someone murdered him and posted the video online. So he has to solve his own murder, because it’s bad publicity, but as a result of his laxity with making backups, he has lost the last six months of his memories. This hinders the investigation. You know what else hinders the investigation? People trying to kill him again. Or his partner.
As a thriller, Amortals is unquestionably well-paced and exciting. Forbeck knows how to keep the reader engaged. The key is not to avoid dull moments, because lulls provide the reader (not to mention the protagonist!) a chance to pause and process the action scenes. But they need to be carefully planned and constructed for maximum effect—something that Forbeck does well. There were numerous moments when the chapter ended on a kind of cliffhanger, one that I hadn’t really seen coming and even evoked a sense of genuine peril and vulnerability. This is difficult to do, even in a book where people can come back from the dead, because we generally don’t expect the protagonist to die unless it’s at the end.
As a mystery, Amortals is unremarkable and bland. I figured out the identity of Ronan’s killer before the end of the first chapter. Unlike my dad—my first question when I see him reading a new mystery is always, “Did you figure out who did it yet?”—I don’t usually do that. It’s supposed to be a twist, I suppose, but it’s predictable if one is familiar with these types of science-fiction stories. And I kind of feel like the murder mystery becomes sublimated to the eventual plot concerning political machinations and conspiracy theories. That being said, Forbeck makes it worth our while, pulling out a few more twists that I didn’t see coming and finishing with an ending that is almost more open-ended than I can bear.
Owing to its unimpressive mystery, I was going to give Amortals two stars. Ronan is a solid protagonist, but I didn’t much care for his voice. The other characters are somewhat two-dimensional, particularly the antagonists. Yet as I write this review, it becomes apparent that Forbeck still managed to strike a nerve with me. Maybe it’s a particularly sensitive nerve, and people who aren’t as interested in these concepts will not find the book as enjoyable. But it’s enough to prompt me to reevaluate my rating. Amortals, while far from being amazing or even very remarkable on its own, is enjoyable and, in some ways, quite thought-provoking. It’s definitely deeper and more nuanced than the type of thriller I tend to condemn in my reviews, and hence Matt Forbeck demonstrates the power of well-conceived science-fiction as a setting and as a plot device: it provides a framework that makes for a better, more substantial story. Ultimately, that’s what I’m after.
December 9, 2024
Really interesting (although not wholly original) concept. A quick read that keeps you hooked, with a lot of mystery to solve. The end was very exposition heavy and ended too abruptly, but overall, I liked the story a lot.
June 29, 2012
Shadowhawk reviews another Matt Forbeck title, in which the author tackles the near future where those in power have a bent for cloning and resurrection.
“Incredibly gripping and a downright science-fiction thriller, Amortals is a non-stop roller-coaster ride.” ~The Founding Fields
Note: minor opening spoilers mentioned.
I really can’t say this enough: Matt Forbeck is bloody brilliant (to quote my review of his most recent novel for Angry Robot, Carpathia). Coming off Carpathia, Amortals is almost a natural choice for a second introduction to his work. Where one is a near-past paranormal action novel that reimagines the sinking of the Titanic, the other is a near-future tale of fantastic conspiracies in a world dominated by cloning and genetic resurrection. Where one is a novel from the viewpoint of several protagonists, the other is from the first-person perspective of a Secret Service agent who just won’t die. I picked up Amortals at a whim because I wanted to read more Matt Forbeck and so going in I expected to be as wowed and amazed as I was with Carpathia. And if there is one thing that Matt Forbeck does, he never disappoints!
Amortals starts off with one of the most shocking beginnings I have ever read: we are treated to a front row seat as we watch the protagonist, Ronan Dooley, get brutally and almost clinically murdered while being tied to a chair and blindfolded. There is so much inherent casual violence in those scenes that it really affects you. That’s what pulled me into the novel straight away and why I knew that this was going to be an awesome novel. All cliches of violence and men aside, this is a highly evocative opening, one that is intended to shock and awe the reader, and make them keep turning the pages to see who killed Ronan Dooley and why. Of course, the man hired to handle this investigation is none other than Ronan Dooley himself.
For you see, our protagonist is the latest clone of an American Secret Service agent named Ronan Dooley, the first test subject and success of the Amortals Project who is nothing short of being a celebrity in his own right given that status.
Interested yet? I bet you are! I certainly was, and that’s why I just had to blast through this novel. Every moment not reading it was a moment being wasted. Very, very few books can have that kind of an effect.
I really liked Ronan Dooley. He is a tough-as-nails hero who understands his own limitations and while he is quite daring and brave, he isn’t stupid about the risks he takes. At least not much, but then he can’t really be blamed for the villains being such a damn smart bunch. No B-movie, Bondian villains in this novel! He is a truly fascinating character as someone jaded with the turn his life has taken and the negative consequences that the Amortals Project has had on his family life. His bitterness and cynicism breathes through the pages of the novel and Matt Forbeck has done a brilliant job of portraying that side of him. More such jaded heroic figures I’d read in a heartbeat. Not to mention that brutal beginning of the novel. That leaves a mark on the reader, and also foreshadows some really terrible events that happen in the novel. This is a political SF thriller through and through and this is a novel that is perfectly suited to its protagonist like a well-tailored three-piece double-breasted suit. *Hope I got that terminology right!*
Agent Dooley isn’t the only character to cheer for though. There is also Amanda Querer, his new partner, a spunky, straight-talking and irreverent character who can give Dooley a run for his money. She makes a perfect counterpart to him, in more ways than one as she is not an Amortal and is practically young compared to the ancient wizard that Dooley is. I really liked reading about her and discovering the secrets she keeps hidden. She is a perfectly written character that simply doesn’t get enough page-time to be truly wonderful, not that there is anything lacking in her characterisation mind you. Querer is pretty spot-on and characters like hers are a joy to read.
You an find the full review over at The Founding Fields:
http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/06/...
“Incredibly gripping and a downright science-fiction thriller, Amortals is a non-stop roller-coaster ride.” ~The Founding Fields
Note: minor opening spoilers mentioned.
I really can’t say this enough: Matt Forbeck is bloody brilliant (to quote my review of his most recent novel for Angry Robot, Carpathia). Coming off Carpathia, Amortals is almost a natural choice for a second introduction to his work. Where one is a near-past paranormal action novel that reimagines the sinking of the Titanic, the other is a near-future tale of fantastic conspiracies in a world dominated by cloning and genetic resurrection. Where one is a novel from the viewpoint of several protagonists, the other is from the first-person perspective of a Secret Service agent who just won’t die. I picked up Amortals at a whim because I wanted to read more Matt Forbeck and so going in I expected to be as wowed and amazed as I was with Carpathia. And if there is one thing that Matt Forbeck does, he never disappoints!
Amortals starts off with one of the most shocking beginnings I have ever read: we are treated to a front row seat as we watch the protagonist, Ronan Dooley, get brutally and almost clinically murdered while being tied to a chair and blindfolded. There is so much inherent casual violence in those scenes that it really affects you. That’s what pulled me into the novel straight away and why I knew that this was going to be an awesome novel. All cliches of violence and men aside, this is a highly evocative opening, one that is intended to shock and awe the reader, and make them keep turning the pages to see who killed Ronan Dooley and why. Of course, the man hired to handle this investigation is none other than Ronan Dooley himself.
For you see, our protagonist is the latest clone of an American Secret Service agent named Ronan Dooley, the first test subject and success of the Amortals Project who is nothing short of being a celebrity in his own right given that status.
Interested yet? I bet you are! I certainly was, and that’s why I just had to blast through this novel. Every moment not reading it was a moment being wasted. Very, very few books can have that kind of an effect.
I really liked Ronan Dooley. He is a tough-as-nails hero who understands his own limitations and while he is quite daring and brave, he isn’t stupid about the risks he takes. At least not much, but then he can’t really be blamed for the villains being such a damn smart bunch. No B-movie, Bondian villains in this novel! He is a truly fascinating character as someone jaded with the turn his life has taken and the negative consequences that the Amortals Project has had on his family life. His bitterness and cynicism breathes through the pages of the novel and Matt Forbeck has done a brilliant job of portraying that side of him. More such jaded heroic figures I’d read in a heartbeat. Not to mention that brutal beginning of the novel. That leaves a mark on the reader, and also foreshadows some really terrible events that happen in the novel. This is a political SF thriller through and through and this is a novel that is perfectly suited to its protagonist like a well-tailored three-piece double-breasted suit. *Hope I got that terminology right!*
Agent Dooley isn’t the only character to cheer for though. There is also Amanda Querer, his new partner, a spunky, straight-talking and irreverent character who can give Dooley a run for his money. She makes a perfect counterpart to him, in more ways than one as she is not an Amortal and is practically young compared to the ancient wizard that Dooley is. I really liked reading about her and discovering the secrets she keeps hidden. She is a perfectly written character that simply doesn’t get enough page-time to be truly wonderful, not that there is anything lacking in her characterisation mind you. Querer is pretty spot-on and characters like hers are a joy to read.
You an find the full review over at The Founding Fields:
http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/06/...
December 31, 2020
2.5*
If you've seen / read it then it's practically impossible not to compare this book with Altered Carbon as, in a nutshell, the pitch could have been: 'it's Altered Carbon via The Matrix with a dose of Black Mirror'.
I liked the protagonist, I liked some of the pseudo-science but I hate endings that feel like a 'to be continued'.
I hope they sorted out all the missing words and the dreadful plot mistake involving bank notes after this proof copy was issued but I did not let the errors cloud my score.
Overall it was OK.
If you've seen / read it then it's practically impossible not to compare this book with Altered Carbon as, in a nutshell, the pitch could have been: 'it's Altered Carbon via The Matrix with a dose of Black Mirror'.
I liked the protagonist, I liked some of the pseudo-science but I hate endings that feel like a 'to be continued'.
I hope they sorted out all the missing words and the dreadful plot mistake involving bank notes after this proof copy was issued but I did not let the errors cloud my score.
Overall it was OK.
July 22, 2011
You may also read my review here:http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/07/...
It’s 2168 and Secret Service Agent Ronan Dooley watches himself die for the 8th time. It’s not pretty. Strapped to a chair, blindfolded, beaten and helpless, Ronan watches as an unknown killer shoots him in the head multiple times. The killer makes it very clear that they do not want Ronan to return, but it’s too late for that. He’s already been reborn and the Secret Service wants him to find his own killer. At almost 200 years old, Ronan has seen a lot, and died a lot, but never like this, and he wants to get to the bottom of it as well. After being reluctantly partnered with a woman that he himself requested (but doesn’t remember doing so), he sets out to find the killer, before another attempt at his life is made. It also doesn’t help that he has a radical group after him called the One Resurrectionists (who do not believe in the Amortal Project), and there’s a possibility that one of his grandsons is involved.
The thought of being “reborn” so many times makes me want to blink. A lot. The sheer amount of descendants Dooley has amassed in a little under 200 years is daunting (he’s on great grandson #6), and I can’t imagine what it would be like to know that if you’re killed, you’ll have another chance at life the next day. Dooly has a good guy streak a mile long, and none of the swagger that you would think would come from someone that is considered so important to the government that he’s the longest living man, with automatic rebirth following his death. People can purchase insurance that assures them they will be reborn, but the cost is exorbitant, and with this option available, medical advances have virtually stopped, leaving the poor with no recourse if they get sick, but the rich never have to worry, knowing they’ll be reborn as many times as they’d like. Amortals reads like a really good action flick (I mean that in a good way). I had no problem picturing how the action unfolded because the author’s descriptives are that good. The twists and turns are nearly constant and the author really gets across the terrifying implications that cloning can have for humanity. I never quite knew who to trust, except for our hero, who narrates the story, and I enjoyed seeing how things unfolded and the surprising direction some characters took. If you enjoy sci-fi action and plenty of cool gadgets, along with a hero to root for, you’ll love Amortals!
It’s 2168 and Secret Service Agent Ronan Dooley watches himself die for the 8th time. It’s not pretty. Strapped to a chair, blindfolded, beaten and helpless, Ronan watches as an unknown killer shoots him in the head multiple times. The killer makes it very clear that they do not want Ronan to return, but it’s too late for that. He’s already been reborn and the Secret Service wants him to find his own killer. At almost 200 years old, Ronan has seen a lot, and died a lot, but never like this, and he wants to get to the bottom of it as well. After being reluctantly partnered with a woman that he himself requested (but doesn’t remember doing so), he sets out to find the killer, before another attempt at his life is made. It also doesn’t help that he has a radical group after him called the One Resurrectionists (who do not believe in the Amortal Project), and there’s a possibility that one of his grandsons is involved.
The thought of being “reborn” so many times makes me want to blink. A lot. The sheer amount of descendants Dooley has amassed in a little under 200 years is daunting (he’s on great grandson #6), and I can’t imagine what it would be like to know that if you’re killed, you’ll have another chance at life the next day. Dooly has a good guy streak a mile long, and none of the swagger that you would think would come from someone that is considered so important to the government that he’s the longest living man, with automatic rebirth following his death. People can purchase insurance that assures them they will be reborn, but the cost is exorbitant, and with this option available, medical advances have virtually stopped, leaving the poor with no recourse if they get sick, but the rich never have to worry, knowing they’ll be reborn as many times as they’d like. Amortals reads like a really good action flick (I mean that in a good way). I had no problem picturing how the action unfolded because the author’s descriptives are that good. The twists and turns are nearly constant and the author really gets across the terrifying implications that cloning can have for humanity. I never quite knew who to trust, except for our hero, who narrates the story, and I enjoyed seeing how things unfolded and the surprising direction some characters took. If you enjoy sci-fi action and plenty of cool gadgets, along with a hero to root for, you’ll love Amortals!
January 6, 2011
You have a clone with your backup memories. That is if you are rich enough or if you become a national hero by taking a bullet for the President. Rohnan Dooley is the later and the first to become Amortal . Now he returns to try to find out who murdered him but there is much more to the story.
Amortals is my first contact with Matt Forbeck’s writing and I am impressed but not surprised by the tight and action packed story after reading his bio. Matt also weaves thought provoking questions about individuality and identity into the story. I am definitely going to add him to my to-read authors.
The main character Dooley has been long on the job. 200 years in the Secret Service is a long time and he is starting to have second thoughts about it. But if he retires he loses his Amortality. The investigation soon ties in to his previous lives and to his estranged descendants in a way that further highlights the issues with being immortal.
Dooley is a man of action but he is also a national hero and the figure head for the Amortal Project so his murder draws public interest. Patron, his boss wants the matter resolved as soon as possible. Amanda his partner obviously knew his former self which highlights the problem with skipping backup for three months since he have no memories of her or the investigation leading up to his own murder. Amanda is also mortal which leads Dooley to consider the worth of his own life compared to someone with only the one.
It is a fast paced and action packed story that touches on murder cults, old enemies, love, assassination attempts, cover-ups, hidden agendas and a bigger picture. Agent Dooley channels Bruce Willis in RED, Die Hard and Dirty Harry while he tries to finds out what really going on.
The characters are well done and remind me of stories that gave me the same kind of feeling for the characters like Flash by L. E. Modesitt Jr or The Puppet Master by Robert A. Heinlein.
There is no mistake behind that Amortal’s spelling is so close to Amoral in my mind. This book isn’t about the murder mystery. It is about the bigger picture. But it is still good action. It was a book hard to put down. I read it more or less in one go.
Amortals is a high concept techno thriller that has been a delight to read and I would like to highly recommend it both to thrill seeking and cerebral readers of science fiction.
Amortals is my first contact with Matt Forbeck’s writing and I am impressed but not surprised by the tight and action packed story after reading his bio. Matt also weaves thought provoking questions about individuality and identity into the story. I am definitely going to add him to my to-read authors.
The main character Dooley has been long on the job. 200 years in the Secret Service is a long time and he is starting to have second thoughts about it. But if he retires he loses his Amortality. The investigation soon ties in to his previous lives and to his estranged descendants in a way that further highlights the issues with being immortal.
Dooley is a man of action but he is also a national hero and the figure head for the Amortal Project so his murder draws public interest. Patron, his boss wants the matter resolved as soon as possible. Amanda his partner obviously knew his former self which highlights the problem with skipping backup for three months since he have no memories of her or the investigation leading up to his own murder. Amanda is also mortal which leads Dooley to consider the worth of his own life compared to someone with only the one.
It is a fast paced and action packed story that touches on murder cults, old enemies, love, assassination attempts, cover-ups, hidden agendas and a bigger picture. Agent Dooley channels Bruce Willis in RED, Die Hard and Dirty Harry while he tries to finds out what really going on.
The characters are well done and remind me of stories that gave me the same kind of feeling for the characters like Flash by L. E. Modesitt Jr or The Puppet Master by Robert A. Heinlein.
There is no mistake behind that Amortal’s spelling is so close to Amoral in my mind. This book isn’t about the murder mystery. It is about the bigger picture. But it is still good action. It was a book hard to put down. I read it more or less in one go.
Amortals is a high concept techno thriller that has been a delight to read and I would like to highly recommend it both to thrill seeking and cerebral readers of science fiction.
January 16, 2011
Re-posting my review as it appears on my column "Reading Realms" at The Outhouse Website:
http://www.theouthousers.com/index.ph...
"Amortals", for the most part, comes across as a typical detective story told in the first person- it just happens to be set a couple hundred years in the future.
First of all I have to say that Matt Forbeck does a great job with his (or our) future world. Things seem pretty much as you might think they would be: hovercars, better surveillance tools, advanced computer systems and implants, etc. The only real technological leap forward is the 'Amortals Project'. This technology allows one to be reborn in a fashion into a clone body, their latest 'memory backup' transferred into a clone after they die. This creates an interesting twist in society between the haves and have-nots (as most things do) but here we are talking about life and death. The rich and famous having access to what is essentially immortal (and somewhat youthful) life. Health insurance has been pushed aside and the average life span for normal mortals has dropped. Not to mention many in society find the process unnatural and sinful.
The story starts off with the rebirth of what is the oldest man on earth in a sense: agent Ronan Doonan. He is a highly decorated Secret Service agent that is nearing 200 years of age (through several rebirths). Most Amortals are wealthy, but Ronan being an early guinea pig and presidential savior was granted amortallity as a reward. His most recent death was a gruesome and highly publicized murder which the plot is based around his attempt to solve.
I rather enjoyed Forbeck's take on the near future. I thought the tech he used, the society (not just rich/poor, but also things like the Indian Mafia and other little touches), as well as the lingo he used all came together well and just made sense to me. The plot was pretty good as well, taking a few twists and turns including a final one that took the plot in a great direction for what the story had been saying all along. The character of Doonan, although somewhat generic, was a good voice for the story and became a bit deeper along the way.
Bottom Line:
If you are fan of sci-fi, cyberpunk or just good 1st person detective stories I think you would enjoy this book.
http://www.theouthousers.com/index.ph...
"Amortals", for the most part, comes across as a typical detective story told in the first person- it just happens to be set a couple hundred years in the future.
First of all I have to say that Matt Forbeck does a great job with his (or our) future world. Things seem pretty much as you might think they would be: hovercars, better surveillance tools, advanced computer systems and implants, etc. The only real technological leap forward is the 'Amortals Project'. This technology allows one to be reborn in a fashion into a clone body, their latest 'memory backup' transferred into a clone after they die. This creates an interesting twist in society between the haves and have-nots (as most things do) but here we are talking about life and death. The rich and famous having access to what is essentially immortal (and somewhat youthful) life. Health insurance has been pushed aside and the average life span for normal mortals has dropped. Not to mention many in society find the process unnatural and sinful.
The story starts off with the rebirth of what is the oldest man on earth in a sense: agent Ronan Doonan. He is a highly decorated Secret Service agent that is nearing 200 years of age (through several rebirths). Most Amortals are wealthy, but Ronan being an early guinea pig and presidential savior was granted amortallity as a reward. His most recent death was a gruesome and highly publicized murder which the plot is based around his attempt to solve.
I rather enjoyed Forbeck's take on the near future. I thought the tech he used, the society (not just rich/poor, but also things like the Indian Mafia and other little touches), as well as the lingo he used all came together well and just made sense to me. The plot was pretty good as well, taking a few twists and turns including a final one that took the plot in a great direction for what the story had been saying all along. The character of Doonan, although somewhat generic, was a good voice for the story and became a bit deeper along the way.
Bottom Line:
If you are fan of sci-fi, cyberpunk or just good 1st person detective stories I think you would enjoy this book.
December 16, 2010
What would you do if you found out you had been killed? Further, what if the new you had to track down the old you’s killer?
This is the odd dilemma facing Ronan Dooley, Secret Service Agent and Amortal. The Amortals Project is a program that keeps people alive long past their normal lifespan, and is a sort of insurance policy against anything lethal happening to the rich and powerful. Ronan has been granted Amortal status because of his usefulness in protecting other Amortals – including the President of the United States. So when Dooley ends up murdered, his first assignment – once his new body is up and running – is to track down the ones responsible; they may pose a threat to other Amortals, and besides, killing Dooley in such a high profile manner – broadcasting his death scene – gives the Project a black eye and unwanted bad publicity.
Amortals is the latest novel from veteran author Matt Forbeck, and his first novel with new publisher Angry Robot. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a friend of Mr. Forbeck, and was sent a free electronic copy of Amortals to facilitate my review.
By signing up for the Amortals Project, the rich and powerful have new bodies grown for them, awaiting the time when old age or a lethal incident calls for a new body. Members of the project are required to download their memories every few months to minimize the loss of important data. All this is very expensive, so only the wealthy or the well-connected can afford such luxury.
What I found most interesting about this book is the clear divide between the haves and have-nots; just like in real life, if you have the money, you’re taken care of. Forbeck doesn’t gloss things over; he shows us just what the problems are with this program, and how the system can be abused. Besides that, he spins a good yarn. We care about Dooley from the moment we meet him; he’s human, with the same kinds of foibles and weaknesses we all have. Plus, Dooley cares, and that kind of person is easy to identify with.
The rest of this review can be found at Flames Rising.com
This is the odd dilemma facing Ronan Dooley, Secret Service Agent and Amortal. The Amortals Project is a program that keeps people alive long past their normal lifespan, and is a sort of insurance policy against anything lethal happening to the rich and powerful. Ronan has been granted Amortal status because of his usefulness in protecting other Amortals – including the President of the United States. So when Dooley ends up murdered, his first assignment – once his new body is up and running – is to track down the ones responsible; they may pose a threat to other Amortals, and besides, killing Dooley in such a high profile manner – broadcasting his death scene – gives the Project a black eye and unwanted bad publicity.
Amortals is the latest novel from veteran author Matt Forbeck, and his first novel with new publisher Angry Robot. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a friend of Mr. Forbeck, and was sent a free electronic copy of Amortals to facilitate my review.
By signing up for the Amortals Project, the rich and powerful have new bodies grown for them, awaiting the time when old age or a lethal incident calls for a new body. Members of the project are required to download their memories every few months to minimize the loss of important data. All this is very expensive, so only the wealthy or the well-connected can afford such luxury.
What I found most interesting about this book is the clear divide between the haves and have-nots; just like in real life, if you have the money, you’re taken care of. Forbeck doesn’t gloss things over; he shows us just what the problems are with this program, and how the system can be abused. Besides that, he spins a good yarn. We care about Dooley from the moment we meet him; he’s human, with the same kinds of foibles and weaknesses we all have. Plus, Dooley cares, and that kind of person is easy to identify with.
The rest of this review can be found at Flames Rising.com
February 26, 2011
Still reading.
I found this book due to the first chapter being on Tor.com. Once I read that then I had to get the bookshop to order it. So far chapters 2 to 8 have lived up to the promise of chapter 1. I like that the amortality project is taken as something we already know about and there's not lots of details into the nitty gritty of how it's done, that just lets us get on with the story.
Finished!
Ho ho, we got the nitty gritty at the end, that was the whole point of the book! I got to the point this morning which confirmed that the murderer was who I'd suspected all along and then I just HAD to finish it. It was a good book, an original story (not that I've read Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan, which the author says is a similar premise), but it was a little predictable in that I was always a couple of steps ahead of Ronan. I've always thought though that this is because as readers we don't get all the extraneous information that the characters get, we only get the salient points.
Anyway, it's worth investing a bit of your time in, enjoy!
I found this book due to the first chapter being on Tor.com. Once I read that then I had to get the bookshop to order it. So far chapters 2 to 8 have lived up to the promise of chapter 1. I like that the amortality project is taken as something we already know about and there's not lots of details into the nitty gritty of how it's done, that just lets us get on with the story.
Finished!
Ho ho, we got the nitty gritty at the end, that was the whole point of the book! I got to the point this morning which confirmed that the murderer was who I'd suspected all along and then I just HAD to finish it. It was a good book, an original story (not that I've read Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan, which the author says is a similar premise), but it was a little predictable in that I was always a couple of steps ahead of Ronan. I've always thought though that this is because as readers we don't get all the extraneous information that the characters get, we only get the salient points.
Anyway, it's worth investing a bit of your time in, enjoy!
September 22, 2014
This book interested me for a variety of reasons. First the cover caught my eye, so naturally I read the back of the book and found the idea interesting. Amortals is about a Secret Service Agent who is amortal, which means that when he dies they take a backup of his brain and load into a clone. This was a concept that interested me.
There are a lot of your typical, almost cliche, tropes for a special agent book, especially in the beginning. You know, the "I work alone" but still be forced to take a partner (that the agent eventually accepts). The, "you can't fire me, I quit". And the whole, cut off from family thing, just to name a few of them.
Now, while I found these things really noticeable, and even groaned a little at them, I didn't find them distracting from the story.
The story itself is very fast paced and the plot is a good one. The characters are a lot of fun to read and the world is very well thought out. I would say that I really likes this books, and I wold most definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a science fiction novel to read.
There are a lot of your typical, almost cliche, tropes for a special agent book, especially in the beginning. You know, the "I work alone" but still be forced to take a partner (that the agent eventually accepts). The, "you can't fire me, I quit". And the whole, cut off from family thing, just to name a few of them.
Now, while I found these things really noticeable, and even groaned a little at them, I didn't find them distracting from the story.
The story itself is very fast paced and the plot is a good one. The characters are a lot of fun to read and the world is very well thought out. I would say that I really likes this books, and I wold most definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a science fiction novel to read.
Read
January 26, 2011Takes off running, makes a few detours, and packs a lot of thoughtful socio-economic science fiction in around the action-movie-style murder mystery. Clones, conspiracies, and the meaning (or value) of life.
December 4, 2010
Nice development of the Main Character and good story line. I would read a sequel,
February 1, 2011
What an interesting and entertaining little sci fi tale.
May 9, 2012
Fresh, creative, exciting, and fun
June 6, 2014
Ok book, lousy ending....
August 31, 2017
Good book. Sarcasm. Amoral immortals. Insidious plot to rule the world Illuminati style. Gangs. Rockets. Explosions....what's not like.
The only issue I have is the ending. It seemed like there should have been more. There is no definite resolution. I suspect it was written that way, but still felt lacking. Maybe the second book will explain more.
The only issue I have is the ending. It seemed like there should have been more. There is no definite resolution. I suspect it was written that way, but still felt lacking. Maybe the second book will explain more.
August 4, 2022
Started off as a good, interesting futuristic high concept thriller, but like a lot of this genre the storyline gradually disappeared up its own ass. Also the ending was terrible, it ended so abruptly it felt like 50 plus pages must be missing from my copy!
September 10, 2012
The premise: ganked from BN.com: THE VERY BEST PERSON TO CATCH YOUR KILLER…IS YOU.
Matt Forbeck arrives as the new king of high-concept - with a blockbuster action movie in a book. In the near future, scientists solve the problem of mortality by learning how to backup and restore a persons memories into a vat-bred clone. When Secret Service agent Ronan "Methusaleh" Dooley is brutally murdered, he's brought back from the dead one more time to hunt his killer, but this time those who wanted him dead are much closer to home.
FILE UNDER: Science Fiction [Future Thriller / Cheat Death / Rogue Agents / Who Killed Who?]
My Rating: It's a Gamble
Depending on how familiar you are with the general premise, this book may be the most original thing ever or the most generic thing ever. For my buck, I found the book to be appropriately entertaining with some surprising meat on its bones, ideas and concepts where explored that I wouldn't have expected from a book that's just begging to be adapted into an action movie. The action of the book sometimes was over-the-top, and the ending is a little abrupt in terms of loose strings (and by that I mean it really does end well, until you start asking what happens next, and then the brain is boggled), but as a whole, it's entertaining. Some things I predicted, other predictions I missed completely, which leaves me glad I read the book, though I suspect it's one I'll also completely forget about reading. That's not a slam on it either: there's lots of entertainment that people consume and enjoy and then completely forget about when the next shiny thing comes along. This is one of those for me. However, if the premise engages you, definitely give the book a shot. It's worth reading (and there's lots of fun extras in the back), even if you do end up forgetting about it later. :)
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay. I'll talk about plot points in vague terms, so if you want to read the full review, just click the link below, which takes you directly to the full review, which is in my blog. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.
REVIEW: Matt Forbeck's AMORTALS
Happy Reading!
Matt Forbeck arrives as the new king of high-concept - with a blockbuster action movie in a book. In the near future, scientists solve the problem of mortality by learning how to backup and restore a persons memories into a vat-bred clone. When Secret Service agent Ronan "Methusaleh" Dooley is brutally murdered, he's brought back from the dead one more time to hunt his killer, but this time those who wanted him dead are much closer to home.
FILE UNDER: Science Fiction [Future Thriller / Cheat Death / Rogue Agents / Who Killed Who?]
My Rating: It's a Gamble
Depending on how familiar you are with the general premise, this book may be the most original thing ever or the most generic thing ever. For my buck, I found the book to be appropriately entertaining with some surprising meat on its bones, ideas and concepts where explored that I wouldn't have expected from a book that's just begging to be adapted into an action movie. The action of the book sometimes was over-the-top, and the ending is a little abrupt in terms of loose strings (and by that I mean it really does end well, until you start asking what happens next, and then the brain is boggled), but as a whole, it's entertaining. Some things I predicted, other predictions I missed completely, which leaves me glad I read the book, though I suspect it's one I'll also completely forget about reading. That's not a slam on it either: there's lots of entertainment that people consume and enjoy and then completely forget about when the next shiny thing comes along. This is one of those for me. However, if the premise engages you, definitely give the book a shot. It's worth reading (and there's lots of fun extras in the back), even if you do end up forgetting about it later. :)
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay. I'll talk about plot points in vague terms, so if you want to read the full review, just click the link below, which takes you directly to the full review, which is in my blog. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.
REVIEW: Matt Forbeck's AMORTALS
Happy Reading!
March 4, 2010
I really enjoyed this novel. It's gripping, exciting, imaginative... It's set in an America of the near-ish future, when death has been defeated, but only for the rich. The hero, Ronan Dooley, has been murdered, but being amortal he is back to find his own killer. Of course, amortality comes at a price, as Dooley soon finds out.
Ronan Dooley's like a cross between Jason Bourne and James Kirk. He's reckless and arrogant, but definitely one of the good guys. As he deals with distant relatives and colleagues both mortal and amortal, the author explores what a life without the finality of death would be like, and that really adds depth to what would otherwise be just a macho adventure novel.
Tis a very accessible sci-fi novel, a smooth and compelling read that gets you asking questions about the world. It would make a great film, but it's a great book anyway so read it, whether you like scifi or not!
Ronan Dooley's like a cross between Jason Bourne and James Kirk. He's reckless and arrogant, but definitely one of the good guys. As he deals with distant relatives and colleagues both mortal and amortal, the author explores what a life without the finality of death would be like, and that really adds depth to what would otherwise be just a macho adventure novel.
Tis a very accessible sci-fi novel, a smooth and compelling read that gets you asking questions about the world. It would make a great film, but it's a great book anyway so read it, whether you like scifi or not!
September 6, 2016
It’s year 2168, and Secret Service agent Ronan Dooley is investigating a savage homicide, of which he happens to be the victim. In fact, this is the eighth time Agent Dooley has died in the service of his country.
Several of Ronan’s lifetimes ago, he took a bullet meant for the president. His heroic death won him the honor of becoming the first participant in Project Amortal: a medical procedure where the deceased’s mind and memories are downloaded into the brain of an exact clone. The project was initially intended for heads-of-state or those whose public service had proven exceptional, but of course the few with the means to afford it could sign-up too.
When I started this book, it seemed apparent that the character of Ronan Dooley is somewhere between the likes of James Bond and Dirty Harry: a typical action hero, easily found in any number of 70’s/80’s action movies or TV shows... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Several of Ronan’s lifetimes ago, he took a bullet meant for the president. His heroic death won him the honor of becoming the first participant in Project Amortal: a medical procedure where the deceased’s mind and memories are downloaded into the brain of an exact clone. The project was initially intended for heads-of-state or those whose public service had proven exceptional, but of course the few with the means to afford it could sign-up too.
When I started this book, it seemed apparent that the character of Ronan Dooley is somewhere between the likes of James Bond and Dirty Harry: a typical action hero, easily found in any number of 70’s/80’s action movies or TV shows... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
November 8, 2016
Amortal - Abysmal. I had to finish the book as I'm weird like that but all the way through I was thinking how rubbish, stupid and ridiculous this book was. There are plenty of books I've started reading, not liked then really enjoyed so it's not that my mind was made up and couldnt be changed. This book was terrible in every way, the story made no sense, the dialogue was atrocious and childish, the technology was retarded, the whole plot was just plain stupid and a mish mash of about 15 other great ideas stolen to make one terrible book. The phrase that made me cringe every time I heard it, (about 400) nano servers.
May 24, 2011
Two and a half stars. One of the big mysteries took over two hundred pages--maybe closer to two hundred and fifty--between me figuring out and the main character figuring it out/having it revealed to him. Some parts were really exciting, but most of the villains weren't believable to me. I actually think this would have worked better as a movie--I kept thinking that a good actor could sell me the lines, even if the writer couldn't. The ending was very abrupt, with no perceptible denouement.
May 21, 2014
This book deserves a solid 4/5. It was interesting, and the plot was worth it, but the main character...well...I'd often want to slap him :D Other than that the book was good, keeping me in suspence, not knowing how it ends...this gives it a good detective element for I had enough information to guess but enough to guess right. All in all....a good book but it didn't engage me enough to love it :)
September 6, 2015
I have not finished the whole book "Amortals" by Matt Forbeck. Unfortunately, I did not find it worth my time. I found the part I read to be a watered-down, annoying and generally inferior copy of Altered Carbon. And decided I might just as well read that book again instead.
January 5, 2012
I was really looking forward to reading this, as I find the basic concept intriguing. I've already read Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan and loved it - not saying this is a rip-off, just similar basic concepts.
While I loved this book for the ideas, (I thought about the stuff in this book alot while not reading it), I found the story telling & character building side of it a bit thin.
While I loved this book for the ideas, (I thought about the stuff in this book alot while not reading it), I found the story telling & character building side of it a bit thin.
January 22, 2012
Very clever little book, written in a read-me-fast style. Forbeck did a great job of projecting a not-too-distant future where one technological advance has slowed all the others. Looking forward to a movie being made of this book.
A fast read, an interesting read, an enjoyable read. Well worth the read.
A fast read, an interesting read, an enjoyable read. Well worth the read.
July 29, 2016
Popcorn book about immortal Secret Service agents. Lots of fun, really. Not much to say about it, though.
(I think I’m missing a book I read here — can’t remember what it could’ve been. I know I got unexpectedly bogged down in the new Thomas Covenant and decided to set it aside until I can do a complete re-read of the new series.)
(I think I’m missing a book I read here — can’t remember what it could’ve been. I know I got unexpectedly bogged down in the new Thomas Covenant and decided to set it aside until I can do a complete re-read of the new series.)
November 23, 2011
Action aplenty but in the end just another american story of megalomania thwarted.
The ending was brief and unfulfilling.
The ending was brief and unfulfilling.
September 13, 2012
The second book by Forbeck I've read. Decent SF, and the plot kept me guessing. Reminded me of The 6th Day with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews