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The End Specialist
“You got me. I don’t want to die. I’m terrified of death. I fear there’s nothing beyond it and that this existence is the only one I’ll ever possess. That’s why I’m here.” (An excerpt from the digital journal of John Farrell, cure age 29)
2019. Humanity has witnessed its greatest scientific breakthrough yet: the cure for ageing. Three injections and you’re immortal – not bulletproof or disease-proof but you’ll never have to fear death by old age.
For John Farrell, documenting the cataclysmic shifts to life after the cure becomes an obsession. Cure parties, cycle marriages, immortal livestock: the world is revelling in the miracles of eternal youth. But immortality has a sinister side, and when a pro-death terrorist explosion kills his newly-cured best friend, John soon realizes that even in a world without natural death, there is always something to fear.
Now, John must make a new choice: run and hide forever, or stay and fight those who try to make immortal life a living hell.
2019. Humanity has witnessed its greatest scientific breakthrough yet: the cure for ageing. Three injections and you’re immortal – not bulletproof or disease-proof but you’ll never have to fear death by old age.
For John Farrell, documenting the cataclysmic shifts to life after the cure becomes an obsession. Cure parties, cycle marriages, immortal livestock: the world is revelling in the miracles of eternal youth. But immortality has a sinister side, and when a pro-death terrorist explosion kills his newly-cured best friend, John soon realizes that even in a world without natural death, there is always something to fear.
Now, John must make a new choice: run and hide forever, or stay and fight those who try to make immortal life a living hell.
419 pages, Paperback
First published August 30, 2011
About the author
Drew Magary
8 books1,070 followersDrew Magary is a correspondent for GQ Magazine, a columnist for Deadspin, and a Chopped Champion. He’s also the author of four books: The Hike, The Postmortal, Someone Could Get Hurt, and Men With Balls. He lives in Maryland with his wife and three children, and enjoys taking long walks.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,883 reviews
March 14, 2012
A testament to unimaginative large-scale misery porn, this book translates everything that's condescending, brainless, and voiceless about lazy dystopian fiction into something approaching bullet-point format.
June 26, 2021
Q:
Death is the only thing keeping us in line. (c)
Horrible and thought-provoking and horrible some more. Dreary world, filled to the brim with hordes of postmortal humans doing everything (like is usual for us, darn!) to make it inhabitable. Gawwwd! Will we ever build the freaking long-range spaceships to fling ourselves from this ovvercrowded earth?? I need me a good space tale to get the horrible visions from this book out of my head.
Q:
You can not hide from the world. It will find you. It always does. And now it has found me. My split second of immortality is over. All that's left now is the end, which is all any of us ever has. (c)
Q:
But everything's always been fucked up. Since the dawn of time. That's why people find each other. For comfort. For shelter. They find their own little crevice in the world, shielded from all the horror. (c)
Death is the only thing keeping us in line. (c)
Horrible and thought-provoking and horrible some more. Dreary world, filled to the brim with hordes of postmortal humans doing everything (like is usual for us, darn!) to make it inhabitable. Gawwwd! Will we ever build the freaking long-range spaceships to fling ourselves from this ovvercrowded earth?? I need me a good space tale to get the horrible visions from this book out of my head.
Q:
You can not hide from the world. It will find you. It always does. And now it has found me. My split second of immortality is over. All that's left now is the end, which is all any of us ever has. (c)
Q:
But everything's always been fucked up. Since the dawn of time. That's why people find each other. For comfort. For shelter. They find their own little crevice in the world, shielded from all the horror. (c)
February 27, 2018
I really loved the first half of this novel. It was disturbing and absolutely divine the way it explored the whole issue of what happens after we cure old age:
A whole world full of fledgling immortals and those people ideologically opposed to it, gradually realizing that the s**t is about to hit the fan when resources run out and we're all stuck with each other. :)
It was delightful and often RATHER disturbing what we all got up to.
And then our MC had his change. He became the End Specialist.
I didn't hate this part, but it wasn't easy to read. I didn't like seeing his soul erode. I liked him for so long. It was like seeing cancer take over a loved one.
But it felt real as hell. This is a novel to read when you want a serious "be careful what you wish for". Make sure no one else gets their wishes. Otherwise, well, it's a Chinese curse. (Apocryphal or not.)
Either way, it's a great novel. Painful and funny and glorious. :) The end is very bittersweet and perfectly in line with the main theme. :)
A whole world full of fledgling immortals and those people ideologically opposed to it, gradually realizing that the s**t is about to hit the fan when resources run out and we're all stuck with each other. :)
It was delightful and often RATHER disturbing what we all got up to.
And then our MC had his change. He became the End Specialist.
I didn't hate this part, but it wasn't easy to read. I didn't like seeing his soul erode. I liked him for so long. It was like seeing cancer take over a loved one.
But it felt real as hell. This is a novel to read when you want a serious "be careful what you wish for". Make sure no one else gets their wishes. Otherwise, well, it's a Chinese curse. (Apocryphal or not.)
Either way, it's a great novel. Painful and funny and glorious. :) The end is very bittersweet and perfectly in line with the main theme. :)
August 24, 2018
This was okay I guess. The book had a really interesting concept - a vaccine discovered that prevents ageing and the effect this has on the world - but the novelty of that world wore off pretty quickly when I realised that the characters were paper thin with no distinguishing qualities. People die in this book, and I think I was meant to feel something for them but I didn't. Throw in some insta love and quite a messy third act and this went from a 3 star to a 2 star, where I was honestly just reading it to finish it. Oh well, onwards and upwards to the next book!
August 3, 2011
The premise of the story is good, a cure for ageing and the whole futuristic world presented here can be some interesting reading. Saying that the plot needed more attention I found the story as it progressed did not engross me the reader enough. The story has a lot going for it the inventive storyline but just missing some key basics that made this read drag on for me which I did not expect.
February 25, 2012
I'm out of book reviewing shape (among other kinds of shape), and it's hard to get back into the swing of things (if there ever was a swing). I always have a number of false starts when trying to write reviews. I usually start off with an idea for a review only to grow frustrated and switch into adjectival blabber.
So after three false starts let's see if I can get this thing reviewed.
What would happen to our world when the cure for aging, and thus dying of old age, is commonly available?
Would you take the cure like I'd expect most people would, or would you oppose the cure at all costs?
Luckily for us, we don't have to seriously make decisions like this yet. We are also lucky because the world Magary paints is alarmingly similar to how I'd imagine things would play out. Within this disturbing, violent and doomed world we see that the story is a ultimately a search for meaning and morality. How can you go wrong with that?
It's hard to say whether I'd take the cure. Part of me is interested in seeing firsthand how we destroy ourselves and it would give me the opportunity to read all of the books I know I'll never get around to with my currently limited life span. However another part of me is afraid of what I'd become if presented with the chance for immortality.
So after three false starts let's see if I can get this thing reviewed.
What would happen to our world when the cure for aging, and thus dying of old age, is commonly available?
Would you take the cure like I'd expect most people would, or would you oppose the cure at all costs?
Luckily for us, we don't have to seriously make decisions like this yet. We are also lucky because the world Magary paints is alarmingly similar to how I'd imagine things would play out. Within this disturbing, violent and doomed world we see that the story is a ultimately a search for meaning and morality. How can you go wrong with that?
It's hard to say whether I'd take the cure. Part of me is interested in seeing firsthand how we destroy ourselves and it would give me the opportunity to read all of the books I know I'll never get around to with my currently limited life span. However another part of me is afraid of what I'd become if presented with the chance for immortality.
March 21, 2012
I was tempted to give this fewer stars because it depressed me so badly. If a cure for aging (but not death) is invented, it turns out that things will go down this way - first it's banned and fringe groups are blowing up the black market doctors who provide the "cure" anyway. Worldwide protests take place, the National Guard kills some protesters & eventually the ban is lifted, so most of humanity goes crazy as we are wont to do. Some paint their faces green & throw acid at others, break into houses & steal cats and let them go somewhere far away - can you just imagine how weird that would be, if you came home & your cat was stolen? A culty Church of Man springs up, claiming that God & the afterlife are clearly not all that since people aren't dying on a regular basis, so why not worship Man instead? I can think of a few reasons why not, see the cat stealing & acid throwing above, but oh well. In an offshot that I found particularly disturbing, a mother gives her baby the cure so she can be a nine month-old forever. In China, they begin to tattoo people's "real" ages on their arms, so if your real age is 50 years old & you still look twenty, off to the gulag to you! Because China is the perpetual bad guy, they also eventually nuke several parts of their own country as a form of population control.
Despite all this doom and gloom, this is a pretty engaging read. I kept at it because I wanted to see what horrors would come next - man beats bad guy to death, alienates the woman he wants to marry, so she accidentally runs front of a bus! Texas makes rape, assualt, and theft death penalty-worthy crimes! U.S. government begins to sanction death squads to take out people who are tired of living, then eventually moves on to criminals tried "in absentia" and the elderly! To top it all off, there's a nasty sheep flu that starts killing millions. I wish the sheep flu would've been expanded on a little bit or left out altogether. There are some confusing little lingo elements; when Sonia gets pregnant again and he says, "You're going G2," what does that mean? And what does WEPS stand for? I also think the end with the whole "Solara Beck, you've haunted me for years because you maybe killed my best friend - let's get married!" bit was preposterous (and this is a HUGE spoiler, but if the WEPS was down after the nuclear explosions, how on earth did he make that final, death-bed upload?). On the whole, this'll keep you going, but don't expect to feel rosy when you finish.
Despite all this doom and gloom, this is a pretty engaging read. I kept at it because I wanted to see what horrors would come next - man beats bad guy to death, alienates the woman he wants to marry, so she accidentally runs front of a bus! Texas makes rape, assualt, and theft death penalty-worthy crimes! U.S. government begins to sanction death squads to take out people who are tired of living, then eventually moves on to criminals tried "in absentia" and the elderly! To top it all off, there's a nasty sheep flu that starts killing millions. I wish the sheep flu would've been expanded on a little bit or left out altogether. There are some confusing little lingo elements; when Sonia gets pregnant again and he says, "You're going G2," what does that mean? And what does WEPS stand for? I also think the end with the whole "Solara Beck, you've haunted me for years because you maybe killed my best friend - let's get married!" bit was preposterous (and this is a HUGE spoiler, but if the WEPS was down after the nuclear explosions, how on earth did he make that final, death-bed upload?). On the whole, this'll keep you going, but don't expect to feel rosy when you finish.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2018
Re-read Feb 2018
I often credit the End Specialist with being the book that got me back into reading, which sounds a bit odd when you take into account that it was a book I grabbed off the shelf of the library I'd been working in for a year and a half. It wasjust such a surprising breath of fresh, rancid air that it reignited my late teen love affair with reading and set me on the path to hipster reader wankerness that I've attained today.
Chronicling the life of John Farrell, a blogging late-20's fellow who takes the Cure for Aging in 2019 (making him a year older than me), the End Specialist is shown in the form of autobiographical blog posts by John. The timeline of the book covers almost 60 years, from 2019 to the late 2070's, and jumps ahead several times. John's blog posts are our window into his changing place in a world that is slowly but surely tearing itself apart.
I'm not sure whether this format was necessary, or altogether successful - the prologue basically shoehorned in states that these blog posts were all found decades after the fact, and it seems unnecessary to me upon re-reading. Why not just make it an ordinary narrative? As it is, I found myself often wondering "Who would write about this on their Tumblr blog?".
Regardless, the worldbuilding on display is very good, and is the main thing that I remember taking away from it on my first reading. A few reviews label End Specialist as "misery porn", and while I can understand that, I think that it has a message behind the downwardly spiraling story.
As a pessimist and a cynic, I find it entirely believable that when presented with the opportunity to live forever, the majority of the human race would most likely go down a path similar to that written in this book - and as such I love it for being one of the most disturbing and frightening insights into the darkest parts of humanity, and the self-destructive nature of our species as a whole.
It's the sort of book that, when you're done with it (and even several times during it), you want to have a good shower. And whether you appreciate that or not, any creative work that can impress that kind of feeling upon you is worth the time.
I often credit the End Specialist with being the book that got me back into reading, which sounds a bit odd when you take into account that it was a book I grabbed off the shelf of the library I'd been working in for a year and a half. It wasjust such a surprising breath of fresh, rancid air that it reignited my late teen love affair with reading and set me on the path to hipster reader wankerness that I've attained today.
Chronicling the life of John Farrell, a blogging late-20's fellow who takes the Cure for Aging in 2019 (making him a year older than me), the End Specialist is shown in the form of autobiographical blog posts by John. The timeline of the book covers almost 60 years, from 2019 to the late 2070's, and jumps ahead several times. John's blog posts are our window into his changing place in a world that is slowly but surely tearing itself apart.
I'm not sure whether this format was necessary, or altogether successful - the prologue basically shoehorned in states that these blog posts were all found decades after the fact, and it seems unnecessary to me upon re-reading. Why not just make it an ordinary narrative? As it is, I found myself often wondering "Who would write about this on their Tumblr blog?".
Regardless, the worldbuilding on display is very good, and is the main thing that I remember taking away from it on my first reading. A few reviews label End Specialist as "misery porn", and while I can understand that, I think that it has a message behind the downwardly spiraling story.
As a pessimist and a cynic, I find it entirely believable that when presented with the opportunity to live forever, the majority of the human race would most likely go down a path similar to that written in this book - and as such I love it for being one of the most disturbing and frightening insights into the darkest parts of humanity, and the self-destructive nature of our species as a whole.
It's the sort of book that, when you're done with it (and even several times during it), you want to have a good shower. And whether you appreciate that or not, any creative work that can impress that kind of feeling upon you is worth the time.
April 13, 2022
The Postmortal took an interesting premise and fleshed it out into a story that was almost impressively unimaginative in what this future might look like, not only taking an unrelentingly pessimistic view of every event it imagined--as one might expect when picking up a dystopian near-future novel--but simply failing to imagine anything that was even remotely interesting or thought-provoking. We follow a main character who is a wholly mediocre and insufferable stereotype, interacting with a cast of other mediocre and insufferable stereotypes. He somehow manages to fail to have even the barest hint of character growth, despite every woman he cares about being fridged on-page for his sake and his extended lifetime. From the fridging, to "IRL trolls", to several borderline-xenophobic plot points, and the utter lack of meaningful commentary on any facet of society, this book was a slog.
May 24, 2021
3.5
I liked this book. I'm mad at this book. I'd probably recommend it to people but with a warning.
I couldn't set this book down for the first half. Somewhere between 50-75% through, I started losing interest. I enjoyed the story telling, the timeline, the use of interviews and news stories, and the themes and concepts. The beginning had me thinking about my own mortality and what I value about it- but the second half of the book lost that commentary. It started to feel incredibly redundant.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
I was extremely enticed when Solara Beck was mentioned, and was definitely excited for a wild ending involving the chase of her to bring me back to attention. I was expecting a punch- a wake up call from the 60 year redundancy- and what I got was incredibly disappointing.
John's relationship with Solara really annoyed me and is probably why I almost set this book down and didn't finish it with 50 pages left.
We've been intrigued by Solara since the introduction: its 2093 and she's still missing. What is so important about her, why is she missing? John has been chasing her since she "killed" his best friend. In the last quarter of the book we find out she's just an attractive prop who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He immediately trusts her, helps her, and falls in love with her. It happens so fast. With Alison: there is history. Drew builds that relationship to the point where I lost my breath for a moment when she was killed.
With Solara it's about the male gaze. Tell me I'm wrong. She's a generic, one dimensional character with an "impossible body" that we've been chasing this whole book, who doesn't add any value to the story except that she's hot and makes John feel a way he hasn't felt in ages. I definitely did not get his vibe though. I dont understand what he was feeling for her or her for him.
John has been waiting this whole time for a feeling of peace- peace that he sees in the ones he helps let go, peace that his son, David has. He's not ready to die until he finds this peace. Solara somehow gives him this peace, but REALLY???? I dont learn anything from their relationship. It provides nothing. John is 89 years old! He has lived so long, and yet I feel he hasn't learned or grown at all.
I wanted a badass bitch! I wanted Solara Beck to have some crazy secret that ties the last 60 years of the cure together!! I wanted her to shine a light on everything to really make John question everything that has occurred in his life, really make us question our own mortality and if we'd give that up. BUT NOOO!!! Im bummed and mad about it.
ALSO!
We start the book with mention of a "Great Correction." What happened to that? In 14 years, everything has been corrected? I wanted a full circle. Nowhere in the last quarter of the book is this explained. Is it the nuclear war that is just starting? What is corrected? Can we have a follow up by the department of containment from the beginning of the book? The cure is no longer legal? 14 years after nuclear war and we are just good? What is that? I want to know!!! Again, I'm bummed and mad about it.
I could keep rambling about how many awesome ideas in this book didn't flourish the way I had hoped, but I'm done.
I liked this book. I'm mad at this book. I'd probably recommend it to people but with a warning.
I couldn't set this book down for the first half. Somewhere between 50-75% through, I started losing interest. I enjoyed the story telling, the timeline, the use of interviews and news stories, and the themes and concepts. The beginning had me thinking about my own mortality and what I value about it- but the second half of the book lost that commentary. It started to feel incredibly redundant.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
I was extremely enticed when Solara Beck was mentioned, and was definitely excited for a wild ending involving the chase of her to bring me back to attention. I was expecting a punch- a wake up call from the 60 year redundancy- and what I got was incredibly disappointing.
John's relationship with Solara really annoyed me and is probably why I almost set this book down and didn't finish it with 50 pages left.
We've been intrigued by Solara since the introduction: its 2093 and she's still missing. What is so important about her, why is she missing? John has been chasing her since she "killed" his best friend. In the last quarter of the book we find out she's just an attractive prop who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He immediately trusts her, helps her, and falls in love with her. It happens so fast. With Alison: there is history. Drew builds that relationship to the point where I lost my breath for a moment when she was killed.
With Solara it's about the male gaze. Tell me I'm wrong. She's a generic, one dimensional character with an "impossible body" that we've been chasing this whole book, who doesn't add any value to the story except that she's hot and makes John feel a way he hasn't felt in ages. I definitely did not get his vibe though. I dont understand what he was feeling for her or her for him.
John has been waiting this whole time for a feeling of peace- peace that he sees in the ones he helps let go, peace that his son, David has. He's not ready to die until he finds this peace. Solara somehow gives him this peace, but REALLY???? I dont learn anything from their relationship. It provides nothing. John is 89 years old! He has lived so long, and yet I feel he hasn't learned or grown at all.
I wanted a badass bitch! I wanted Solara Beck to have some crazy secret that ties the last 60 years of the cure together!! I wanted her to shine a light on everything to really make John question everything that has occurred in his life, really make us question our own mortality and if we'd give that up. BUT NOOO!!! Im bummed and mad about it.
ALSO!
We start the book with mention of a "Great Correction." What happened to that? In 14 years, everything has been corrected? I wanted a full circle. Nowhere in the last quarter of the book is this explained. Is it the nuclear war that is just starting? What is corrected? Can we have a follow up by the department of containment from the beginning of the book? The cure is no longer legal? 14 years after nuclear war and we are just good? What is that? I want to know!!! Again, I'm bummed and mad about it.
I could keep rambling about how many awesome ideas in this book didn't flourish the way I had hoped, but I'm done.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2022
What an unsettling dystopia!! In this book, the cure for old age is created. However, there are still plenty of unfortunate ways for someone to die.
I really liked the incorporation of mixed media the author used as way of world-building. In fact, this book had little in the way of character development, it was almost entirely a plot-based story, but I really liked that!! I feel like the author just had this idea and created the MC as a vehicle to get to the end result, if that makes sense.
Idk, in theory I probably shouldn’t like this book, but somehow it really worked for me. It was very depressing, and had a lot of disturbing, thought-provoking implications.
I really liked the incorporation of mixed media the author used as way of world-building. In fact, this book had little in the way of character development, it was almost entirely a plot-based story, but I really liked that!! I feel like the author just had this idea and created the MC as a vehicle to get to the end result, if that makes sense.
Idk, in theory I probably shouldn’t like this book, but somehow it really worked for me. It was very depressing, and had a lot of disturbing, thought-provoking implications.
August 30, 2018
DNFed at 75% through
Sorry but I just could not stand the mc, he was DESPICABLE!
SoOoo, before I get into why this guy was the absolute worse, I have to say a few good things about the book first.
Overall, the story was intresting and had a cool premise, and the writitng was actually good. The book was also formated in a really cool way. There was this exploration of some moral themes and humanity as well, and it was done really well and effectively. I actually liked that alot about the book. However......
The main guy managed to ruin all of that for me, ALL OF IT!
and I would like to get into that real quick cuz maaaan, I want to rant about it...like, I just wanted to spill some tea so bad, that for this specific reason, I managed to compile a small list of why and how and for what reasons this dude was so annoying as heck and creeped the hell out of me.
SoOOooooo, put on your seatbelts and ready yourselves for a very ranty and a very unpleasant ride down why this mc sucked a$$>>
ANNNND *drum roll*, the list begins...
1- He acts like an outright creep and a hormonal teenage boy, and he was highkey disgusting at times.
An example, He was watching a puppet show and this happened:
ummm yilkes!
Another example, he was remembering this girl he had a crush on when he was in highschool and he had this to say about it:
Like, is that supposed to be romantic in any way?!! To me, that's just freakin creepy!
There's also this scene where he was laying with this girl in bed and he was STARING AT HER PORES!!! for that, I have no comment.
2- He keeps changing his opinions every two seconds, I sometimes had to wonder if I'm still reading from his point of view!
For example, he was all against marriage when he was with girl #1 even though he said he loved her, but then he got with girl #2, which he said he loves too, and suddenly marriage was so necessary to him, he spent 2-3 pages telling her they should get married now...like i don't get it, at all!
3- He was so so insensitive I wanted to strangle some empathy into him, just a little!
Example: He was talking to his married sister who was obviously so distressed because her husband wants to leave her, they had kids btw, and there is this divorce party she got invited to and she clearly doesn't want to go, cuz common sense you know...but then our mc says this to her, his freakin sister:
Like how insensitive you have to be to say that to your distressed sister who clearly is talking to you so you could comfort and support her!! AND she had to actually say this to him and knock some sense into his stupid insensetive exsitence:
AND even with that, HE STILL COULDN'T GET IT!! LIKE GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS GUY! like really, he can choke!
and maybe...maybe you thought this was the worst of it, but guess what! IT'S NOT!
After that, his dad dies, and you'd think he'd be emotionally broken and all he could think about is how he'll miss his dead father and how he's gonna go on without him...but no! Literally after 5 mintues from his father's death, he looks at the girl he's going to marry and thinks:
I mean 'sexual liberation'?!! thinking about that after ur father's death... sure, that's absolutly normal!
4- He was acting and thinking so possessively towards his love intrest, it was sooooo creepy and alphamale-ish...
Example: This was his thoughts about how soon, he's going to be married to this girl named Alison and how she's finally going to be HIS, FOREVER!!:
Like, he actually thought the word 'mine' three times in the span of one secand!
5- He got fascinated by another guy who plans to travel the world...I mean, there is nothing wrong about that, until you know they had this conversation about the guy's plans for travel:
The guy: "I'm doing North America and Central America first... should take just under two hundred years. If I'm lucky Russia will invate Ukraine and I can kill two birds with one stone. Maybe bring back a Russion bride to show off to the missus."
And to that, our mc says to the guy: "she'd be okay with that?" , and by she, he means the guy's F*ckin WIFE!!
And so the guy replies: "Why not? I'm not gonna spend a year in a country without sampling the 'culture' if you get my drift"
Yeah, I know, but hold on...that's not it. The guy then when asked about what his wife would be doing while he's away, he says that she herself got a man to keep her busy and that's better cause, wait for it....... He DOESN'T WANT HER TO GET "RUSTY"!!!!
LIKE WHAT!! WHAT!!!!! I'M OFFICIALLY DONE WITH MEN IN THIS BOOK!
Of course, those were not the only reasons why he just destroyed this book for me, but seriously, that's all what my mental and emotional capacity could handle..cuz the mere thought of how awful this guy was just stresses me out and angers me so fuck*ng much!
okay, I'm done ranting. So this is the reason why I decided to dnf this book. like I said, had no issues with the story or the writing overall, but this guy...ugh!!
and I'm sorry, I can not recommend it, cuz despite how unique the story was, I do not want anybody to go through the frustration and anger I went through while reading it from this mc's point of view. Absolutly not!
Sorry but I just could not stand the mc, he was DESPICABLE!
SoOoo, before I get into why this guy was the absolute worse, I have to say a few good things about the book first.
Overall, the story was intresting and had a cool premise, and the writitng was actually good. The book was also formated in a really cool way. There was this exploration of some moral themes and humanity as well, and it was done really well and effectively. I actually liked that alot about the book. However......
The main guy managed to ruin all of that for me, ALL OF IT!
and I would like to get into that real quick cuz maaaan, I want to rant about it...like, I just wanted to spill some tea so bad, that for this specific reason, I managed to compile a small list of why and how and for what reasons this dude was so annoying as heck and creeped the hell out of me.
SoOOooooo, put on your seatbelts and ready yourselves for a very ranty and a very unpleasant ride down why this mc sucked a$$>>
ANNNND *drum roll*, the list begins...
1- He acts like an outright creep and a hormonal teenage boy, and he was highkey disgusting at times.
An example, He was watching a puppet show and this happened:
"One of Ponce de Leon's Puppet crew then started making out with a buxom female Indian puppet. I should have been offended, but I was too busy being turned on."
ummm yilkes!
Another example, he was remembering this girl he had a crush on when he was in highschool and he had this to say about it:
"She was nice to me. She was nice to everyone. Sometimes I got to sit next to her, which was both ecstasy and agony. I’d get to see her in full, and smell her. If she was wearing a skirt, I’d get to see that little crease running up the side of her thigh that made every neuron in my body flare. It took everything in my power to not grab her in the middle of class and consume her entirely."
Like, is that supposed to be romantic in any way?!! To me, that's just freakin creepy!
There's also this scene where he was laying with this girl in bed and he was STARING AT HER PORES!!! for that, I have no comment.
2- He keeps changing his opinions every two seconds, I sometimes had to wonder if I'm still reading from his point of view!
For example, he was all against marriage when he was with girl #1 even though he said he loved her, but then he got with girl #2, which he said he loves too, and suddenly marriage was so necessary to him, he spent 2-3 pages telling her they should get married now...like i don't get it, at all!
3- He was so so insensitive I wanted to strangle some empathy into him, just a little!
Example: He was talking to his married sister who was obviously so distressed because her husband wants to leave her, they had kids btw, and there is this divorce party she got invited to and she clearly doesn't want to go, cuz common sense you know...but then our mc says this to her, his freakin sister:
“See, I would have gone. At least it’s not some boring regular cocktail party. At least there’s some sort of interesting, awkward dynamic to it.”
Like how insensitive you have to be to say that to your distressed sister who clearly is talking to you so you could comfort and support her!! AND she had to actually say this to him and knock some sense into his stupid insensetive exsitence:
“But these are people’s lives being ruined, John. Do you really find it so amusing? What will you say when I have to invite you to my divorce party?”
AND even with that, HE STILL COULDN'T GET IT!! LIKE GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS GUY! like really, he can choke!
and maybe...maybe you thought this was the worst of it, but guess what! IT'S NOT!
After that, his dad dies, and you'd think he'd be emotionally broken and all he could think about is how he'll miss his dead father and how he's gonna go on without him...but no! Literally after 5 mintues from his father's death, he looks at the girl he's going to marry and thinks:
When we’d talked about marriage a few weeks back, I’d told her I was certain I could stay married to her forever. Yet there remained, deep in the back of my mind, the tiniest shred of doubt. It was that eternal male instinct recoiling from the idea of anything other than total sexual liberation...the little animal in my brain was dissatisfied even with that, still yearning for blondes with impossible bodies and unknown motives. I wondered then if it would ever go away.
I mean 'sexual liberation'?!! thinking about that after ur father's death... sure, that's absolutly normal!
4- He was acting and thinking so possessively towards his love intrest, it was sooooo creepy and alphamale-ish...
Example: This was his thoughts about how soon, he's going to be married to this girl named Alison and how she's finally going to be HIS, FOREVER!!:
I had waited for Alison all this time. I had dreamed beyond my wildest hopes of the day that she would be mine. And now she was. She was mine. All mine. No one else’s. Forever, if I chose"
Like, he actually thought the word 'mine' three times in the span of one secand!
5- He got fascinated by another guy who plans to travel the world...I mean, there is nothing wrong about that, until you know they had this conversation about the guy's plans for travel:
The guy: "I'm doing North America and Central America first... should take just under two hundred years. If I'm lucky Russia will invate Ukraine and I can kill two birds with one stone. Maybe bring back a Russion bride to show off to the missus."
And to that, our mc says to the guy: "she'd be okay with that?" , and by she, he means the guy's F*ckin WIFE!!
And so the guy replies: "Why not? I'm not gonna spend a year in a country without sampling the 'culture' if you get my drift"
Yeah, I know, but hold on...that's not it. The guy then when asked about what his wife would be doing while he's away, he says that she herself got a man to keep her busy and that's better cause, wait for it....... He DOESN'T WANT HER TO GET "RUSTY"!!!!
LIKE WHAT!! WHAT!!!!! I'M OFFICIALLY DONE WITH MEN IN THIS BOOK!
Of course, those were not the only reasons why he just destroyed this book for me, but seriously, that's all what my mental and emotional capacity could handle..cuz the mere thought of how awful this guy was just stresses me out and angers me so fuck*ng much!
okay, I'm done ranting. So this is the reason why I decided to dnf this book. like I said, had no issues with the story or the writing overall, but this guy...ugh!!
and I'm sorry, I can not recommend it, cuz despite how unique the story was, I do not want anybody to go through the frustration and anger I went through while reading it from this mc's point of view. Absolutly not!
September 1, 2024
I don’t write reviews.
I enjoyed the ideas presented in this morality fable. I call it a fable, rather than a story, because the events and deaths were too predictably unbelievable. Find a cure, only to die getting the cure. Finally match with your childhood love, only to have her suddenly stupidly die. Etc, etc. Of course this setup was to move us along the trajectory of the main character’s life, to his death. For a book about post mortality, everyone dies.
I think if this idea was attempted by a master of science fiction, we would have received a fully fleshed-out dystopia. From Magary, we get bits and pieces, definitely enough to spur interest and keep you thinking long after the book is finished.
Me? No, I wouldn’t take the cure.
I enjoyed the ideas presented in this morality fable. I call it a fable, rather than a story, because the events and deaths were too predictably unbelievable. Find a cure, only to die getting the cure. Finally match with your childhood love, only to have her suddenly stupidly die. Etc, etc. Of course this setup was to move us along the trajectory of the main character’s life, to his death. For a book about post mortality, everyone dies.
I think if this idea was attempted by a master of science fiction, we would have received a fully fleshed-out dystopia. From Magary, we get bits and pieces, definitely enough to spur interest and keep you thinking long after the book is finished.
Me? No, I wouldn’t take the cure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2011
I was so excited to read this book, I guess it was almost inevitable that it would let me down. It was an amazingly quick read. I read it as an ebook so I don't really have an idea of how thick it is in print; I'm guessing rather thin.
The book is written in the form of blog entries discovered long after the death of their author, and that central conceit is both instantly dated and gives the story no space. Because the idea of a blog is short pointed commentary, there's no room for interpretation and the author just tells, tells, tells. All the fun, exciting shocks that come from a well-told dystopian future novel are blunted by the format, and that's really a shame in the case of The Postmortal because it has SO many good ideas.
I want this book rewritten as a long, The Stand- or World War Z-style book with long, detailed passages of description and tons of characters through whose eyes the reader can see the setting and events. Instead we get a narrator who takes all the shocking developments of a horrific future where overpopulation is destroying the world, and boils them down to soundbites. So disappointing.
The book is written in the form of blog entries discovered long after the death of their author, and that central conceit is both instantly dated and gives the story no space. Because the idea of a blog is short pointed commentary, there's no room for interpretation and the author just tells, tells, tells. All the fun, exciting shocks that come from a well-told dystopian future novel are blunted by the format, and that's really a shame in the case of The Postmortal because it has SO many good ideas.
I want this book rewritten as a long, The Stand- or World War Z-style book with long, detailed passages of description and tons of characters through whose eyes the reader can see the setting and events. Instead we get a narrator who takes all the shocking developments of a horrific future where overpopulation is destroying the world, and boils them down to soundbites. So disappointing.
April 11, 2024
I like quirky, imaginative books like this. Thought provoking look at futuristic medicine. Science fiction. Sometimes funny, sometimes devastating.
August 24, 2011
What if a group of scientists found a cure for aging? Would you want it? This cure doesn't encompass any diseases like cancer, AIDS, or even the common flu. So, while anyone receiving the “cure” would not age, they would still be susceptible to illness or injury. As the book explains, you would only be assured that when you do die, it would not be peacefully in your bed of old age, you pretty much are guaranteed that it will be nothing so easy. There are plenty of other ways to die, and plenty of other people who want to make sure you do. Drew Magary explores these issues and many of the possible results of this so-called "cure" such as overwhelming population growth, the horrific ways people abuse the “cure”, and all of the extreme religious and socio economic repercussions and then presents it in an extremely entertaining and entirely readable narrative.
To say I was blown away by The Postmortal would be an understatement. The cartoon-like cover image and back cover blurb did not prepare me for how crazy-good this book actually was. I wasn't expecting it. This was so cleverly written. I was drawn in by the rich dark humor and the blunt, candid way the story is told. I would describe this as the “much cooler big brother” to all of the other dystopian novels I’ve read. I can literally picture some of these events happening within my own lifetime. And that is frightening.
The Postmortal chronicles one man, John Farrell’s journey into postmortal life, after receiving the "cure". The story is told via John's personal journal and from some of the news articles and blurbs from various news feeds he included in that journal. John is almost an anti-hero, flawed in so many ways but his story is still so compelling. The news articles keep the reader updated on what is going on throughout the world and then John's journal shows how these things are affecting people on a more personal level, how they are living through and with these changes. I thought it was a very original and effective way to present a story.
This world was a terrifyingly realistic place that is all too familiar. The most frightening thing about The Postmortal is that it was so believable. From the strange religious cult to the shady government dealings, and even the mysteriously malevolent "greenies" all of it followed a very conceivable logical sequence. I was both extremely entertained and terrified at the possibility that any of this could actually happen.
The Postmortal was easily my favorite read of 2011. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a thrilling dystopian adventure as well as anyone who simply wants to be thoroughly entertained.
To say I was blown away by The Postmortal would be an understatement. The cartoon-like cover image and back cover blurb did not prepare me for how crazy-good this book actually was. I wasn't expecting it. This was so cleverly written. I was drawn in by the rich dark humor and the blunt, candid way the story is told. I would describe this as the “much cooler big brother” to all of the other dystopian novels I’ve read. I can literally picture some of these events happening within my own lifetime. And that is frightening.
The Postmortal chronicles one man, John Farrell’s journey into postmortal life, after receiving the "cure". The story is told via John's personal journal and from some of the news articles and blurbs from various news feeds he included in that journal. John is almost an anti-hero, flawed in so many ways but his story is still so compelling. The news articles keep the reader updated on what is going on throughout the world and then John's journal shows how these things are affecting people on a more personal level, how they are living through and with these changes. I thought it was a very original and effective way to present a story.
This world was a terrifyingly realistic place that is all too familiar. The most frightening thing about The Postmortal is that it was so believable. From the strange religious cult to the shady government dealings, and even the mysteriously malevolent "greenies" all of it followed a very conceivable logical sequence. I was both extremely entertained and terrified at the possibility that any of this could actually happen.
The Postmortal was easily my favorite read of 2011. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a thrilling dystopian adventure as well as anyone who simply wants to be thoroughly entertained.
April 15, 2023
***NO SPOILERS***
I’m reviewing this years after reading it, and I think it says something that I remember one thing and only one thing about it. That would be a scene in which the narrator, during sex with a sex worker, injects a serum of some sort into her buttock. That’s how silly this book is. The highest praise I can lavish upon it is that it’s readable, hence the two stars--I read it until the last stupid page.
I’m reviewing this years after reading it, and I think it says something that I remember one thing and only one thing about it. That would be a scene in which the narrator, during sex with a sex worker, injects a serum of some sort into her buttock. That’s how silly this book is. The highest praise I can lavish upon it is that it’s readable, hence the two stars--I read it until the last stupid page.
August 29, 2011
You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/08/...
The Postmortal is told from John Farrell’s POV,from 60 years of collected text files that were recovered in 2093. John,a divorce lawyer,decides,after much though,that he’s going to get “The Cure.” The cure in question is the cure for aging,oddly discovered while trying to isolate the gene for hair color during a rather frivolous experiment by a scientist at the U. of Oregon. The problem is that the cure has been banned by the president,so he’s forced to seek it out via the black market. It’s successful,and $7,000 later,John is 29 forever.
John is somewhat charming,a bit arrogant,and more than a little immature,but as the book goes on,events will occur that have the effect of knocking the arrogance right out of him,and then some. A tragedy involving the cure and his roommate is the first sign that things may not always sunshine and roses,and as John lives a life of aimless passivity,events begin unfolding in John’s life,and around the world,that threaten the false patina of happiness that’s settled over this privileged generation. The president finally legalizes the cure,and a “cure” trip to Vegas for a friend only serves to highlight the excesses that are being thrown about so freely now that people feel that they have many more lifetimes ahead of them. Meanwhile,in places like China,babies are being branded at birth with their true birthdays and pro-death terrorists are wreaking havoc on the streets. Remember,the only thing the cure actually “cures” is aging. Anything else is fair game:disease,accidents,murder…you get the idea. With The Postmortal,the hits just keep on coming,and the emotional roller coaster it took me on was pretty brutal at times. This novel will make you think about what you have,how precious life is,and how easily it can slip away. The horrifying implications of The Cure unfold relentlessly,and John will begin to question everything he’s ever believed in.
The Postmortal covers 60 years (with a 30 year break),and is told in very short chapters (in John’s voice),and also media excerpts,which I loved,and which also provided some of the most disturbing material in the book. At turns profoundly sad,humorous,and terrifying,The Postmortal will move you to examine what it means to be human and keep you turning pages until the explosive end.
The Postmortal is told from John Farrell’s POV,from 60 years of collected text files that were recovered in 2093. John,a divorce lawyer,decides,after much though,that he’s going to get “The Cure.” The cure in question is the cure for aging,oddly discovered while trying to isolate the gene for hair color during a rather frivolous experiment by a scientist at the U. of Oregon. The problem is that the cure has been banned by the president,so he’s forced to seek it out via the black market. It’s successful,and $7,000 later,John is 29 forever.
John is somewhat charming,a bit arrogant,and more than a little immature,but as the book goes on,events will occur that have the effect of knocking the arrogance right out of him,and then some. A tragedy involving the cure and his roommate is the first sign that things may not always sunshine and roses,and as John lives a life of aimless passivity,events begin unfolding in John’s life,and around the world,that threaten the false patina of happiness that’s settled over this privileged generation. The president finally legalizes the cure,and a “cure” trip to Vegas for a friend only serves to highlight the excesses that are being thrown about so freely now that people feel that they have many more lifetimes ahead of them. Meanwhile,in places like China,babies are being branded at birth with their true birthdays and pro-death terrorists are wreaking havoc on the streets. Remember,the only thing the cure actually “cures” is aging. Anything else is fair game:disease,accidents,murder…you get the idea. With The Postmortal,the hits just keep on coming,and the emotional roller coaster it took me on was pretty brutal at times. This novel will make you think about what you have,how precious life is,and how easily it can slip away. The horrifying implications of The Cure unfold relentlessly,and John will begin to question everything he’s ever believed in.
The Postmortal covers 60 years (with a 30 year break),and is told in very short chapters (in John’s voice),and also media excerpts,which I loved,and which also provided some of the most disturbing material in the book. At turns profoundly sad,humorous,and terrifying,The Postmortal will move you to examine what it means to be human and keep you turning pages until the explosive end.
April 28, 2012
Reviewed as part of the 2012 Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist.
A few years hence, an accidental scientific discovery has led to a treatment which will halt the process of ageing; barring disease or accident, immortality may be yours – provided you can afford the fee, of course. Divorce lawyer John Farrell has the ‘cure’ (as it’s known) in 2019, weeks before it is legalised in the USA. We then follow his life at various intervals over the course of the following sixty years, during which Farrell ultimately changes career to ‘end specialisation’, facilitating (for a fee) the deaths of those who wish to end their lives, in the manner of their own choosing.
The End Specialist (aka The Postmortal) provides an interesting point of comparison with its fellow Clarke Award nominee The Testament of Jessie Lamb, in that both examine futures with game-changing medical developments, but do so firmly from the vantage-point of one individual. The key difference, I think, is that The Testament shows the outside world from within Jessie Lamb’s frame of reference – which makes for an incomplete examination, but one that nevertheless works as an aesthetic whole; whereas The End Specialist tries to show the outside world from beyond John Farrell’s frame of reference – hence the protagonist includes news reports and link round-ups in the ‘blog entries’ that make up the text of this novel – and, in doing so, reaches beyond itself.
Much of the positive commentary I’ve seen on Drew Magary’s novel – both in reviews and the Not the Clarke Panel at Eastercon – seems to emphasise the extent to which Magary delineates the consequences of the situation he sets up. There are certainly aspects of The End Specialist which ring true, such as the sense of ennui felt by Farrell when he notes that his photo doesn’t change, and wonders if maybe he hasn’t either (‘The time span is invisible. It’s as if I haven’t lived at all,’ p. 84); and I can buy, for example, the idea that some people might be pettily cruel enough to blind or scar immortals out of spite. But much of Magary’s depiction of his wider fictional world (whether within or outside theUS) feels superficial to me, because it is dependent on John Farrell’s interest; and, as a character, Farrell really has only a passing interest in the world beyond his immediate circumstances.
Even when it’s concerned with Farrell’s circumstances, though, The End Specialist falls short. As Dan Hartland notes, Farrell is a fairly anonymous presence; nothing really seems to touch or change him, no matter what he might say in his narration (that’s another way, incidentally, in which the depiction of the world feels flat; no matter how sour life has apparently becomes, the fictional society feels much the same, because the tone of Farrell’s narration doesn’t change). The depiction of the secondary characters is similarly wanting, particularly that of the female characters; it’s true that most of the minor characters, male and female alike, exist to be adjuncts to Farrell, but I gain more sense of his father and adult son as rounded individuals than I do the key women in Farrell’s life. I rolled my eyes particularly at the essentialism of a scene in which Farrell leaves his pregnant partner Sonia rather than get married, because immortality has caused him to realise (as the other men he knows have similarly concluded in their own lives) that he can’t make a lifelong commitment to her – whereas Sonia maintains a desire to fulfil traditional gender roles (and Farrell has no doubts about his ability to commit to his son for however long their lives may be).
On the level of prose, I’m still struggling to see The End Specialist as a worthwhile read. The scene I mentioned earlier, where Farrell is reflecting on his unchanging appearance, stands out to me for its writing; as did one in which an end specialism client describes his wish to become one with the sea. But the rest feels unremarkable, even when the novel takes on the shape of a thriller in its second half – and a thriller can’t do its job if it doesn’t have gripping prose.
Frankly, I’m baffled as to why this book is on the Clarke shortlist. However I look at The End Specialist, I see a novel which is mediocre at best – and sometimes considerably poorer. What I can’t see is any way in which it could be considered one of the six best science fiction novels of the year.
A few years hence, an accidental scientific discovery has led to a treatment which will halt the process of ageing; barring disease or accident, immortality may be yours – provided you can afford the fee, of course. Divorce lawyer John Farrell has the ‘cure’ (as it’s known) in 2019, weeks before it is legalised in the USA. We then follow his life at various intervals over the course of the following sixty years, during which Farrell ultimately changes career to ‘end specialisation’, facilitating (for a fee) the deaths of those who wish to end their lives, in the manner of their own choosing.
The End Specialist (aka The Postmortal) provides an interesting point of comparison with its fellow Clarke Award nominee The Testament of Jessie Lamb, in that both examine futures with game-changing medical developments, but do so firmly from the vantage-point of one individual. The key difference, I think, is that The Testament shows the outside world from within Jessie Lamb’s frame of reference – which makes for an incomplete examination, but one that nevertheless works as an aesthetic whole; whereas The End Specialist tries to show the outside world from beyond John Farrell’s frame of reference – hence the protagonist includes news reports and link round-ups in the ‘blog entries’ that make up the text of this novel – and, in doing so, reaches beyond itself.
Much of the positive commentary I’ve seen on Drew Magary’s novel – both in reviews and the Not the Clarke Panel at Eastercon – seems to emphasise the extent to which Magary delineates the consequences of the situation he sets up. There are certainly aspects of The End Specialist which ring true, such as the sense of ennui felt by Farrell when he notes that his photo doesn’t change, and wonders if maybe he hasn’t either (‘The time span is invisible. It’s as if I haven’t lived at all,’ p. 84); and I can buy, for example, the idea that some people might be pettily cruel enough to blind or scar immortals out of spite. But much of Magary’s depiction of his wider fictional world (whether within or outside theUS) feels superficial to me, because it is dependent on John Farrell’s interest; and, as a character, Farrell really has only a passing interest in the world beyond his immediate circumstances.
Even when it’s concerned with Farrell’s circumstances, though, The End Specialist falls short. As Dan Hartland notes, Farrell is a fairly anonymous presence; nothing really seems to touch or change him, no matter what he might say in his narration (that’s another way, incidentally, in which the depiction of the world feels flat; no matter how sour life has apparently becomes, the fictional society feels much the same, because the tone of Farrell’s narration doesn’t change). The depiction of the secondary characters is similarly wanting, particularly that of the female characters; it’s true that most of the minor characters, male and female alike, exist to be adjuncts to Farrell, but I gain more sense of his father and adult son as rounded individuals than I do the key women in Farrell’s life. I rolled my eyes particularly at the essentialism of a scene in which Farrell leaves his pregnant partner Sonia rather than get married, because immortality has caused him to realise (as the other men he knows have similarly concluded in their own lives) that he can’t make a lifelong commitment to her – whereas Sonia maintains a desire to fulfil traditional gender roles (and Farrell has no doubts about his ability to commit to his son for however long their lives may be).
On the level of prose, I’m still struggling to see The End Specialist as a worthwhile read. The scene I mentioned earlier, where Farrell is reflecting on his unchanging appearance, stands out to me for its writing; as did one in which an end specialism client describes his wish to become one with the sea. But the rest feels unremarkable, even when the novel takes on the shape of a thriller in its second half – and a thriller can’t do its job if it doesn’t have gripping prose.
Frankly, I’m baffled as to why this book is on the Clarke shortlist. However I look at The End Specialist, I see a novel which is mediocre at best – and sometimes considerably poorer. What I can’t see is any way in which it could be considered one of the six best science fiction novels of the year.
September 6, 2011
There's a lot to really like about this book. Most reviews mention this book's ability to dismantle the concept of immortality down to its absolute bare bones and explore every possible negative outcome, and that is really true: Peter Pan babies! Cycle marriages! Meaninglessness of professional sports records! Birth date tattoos!
What's funny is that the narrative device (the text is a blog kept by the narrator recovered at a later future date) reminded me a lot of The Handmaid's Tale. In actuality is only funny if you're comparing Drew Magary and Margaret Atwood, not "a near-future dystopic book where the text is presented as the narrator's blog" and "a near-future dystopic book where the text is presented as transcripts of tape recordings made by the narrator." But comparing Drew Magary and Margaret Atwood is pretty funny.
I also loved and found lacking The Postmortal and The Handmaid's Tale in a lot of similar ways. I've said before that a lot of books make me want not the book that the author wrote but a children's social studies textbook from that author's universe that tells me more about the world the author built and less about the characters the author created. The Postmortal and The Handmaid's Tale are two books that come the closest to giving me all the social studies textbook details that I want (The Postmortal is able to do this more deftly with the intercalary chapters where the narrator is "sharing links" in his blog, which I want to criticize as clumsy narrative cheating but it's also giving me exactly what I want so it seems hypocritical to complain). But both books feel slightly hollow because of a lack of emotional resonance with the narrator.
The lack of emotional resonance in The Handmaid's Tale is something I didn't notice until I re-read it about a decade after my first reading. The Handmaid's Tale creates emotional identification (especially if you're a woman, obviously) and also uses the flashback structure to create an emotional build-up. But when I'm reading the book, I don't really care about the dead husband or the budding romance with the driver nearly as much as I think I was supposed to care.
With The Handmaid's Tale, some of this can be chalked up to a meta-intention to remove the reader from Offred's emotions and desires even when we're in her own POV because that's how much she's been stripped of agency. In The Postmortal, John Farrell is in a position of pretty significant privilege (white, male, educated, affluent to the point that he's able to purchase the cure while it's still black market), so his problems for most of the novel are emotional problems, not problems of institutional oppression. And I just don't really care about his relationship problems. The women in his life are introduced at moments that seem intended to create narrative catalyst, but I just really, really, really didn't care.
One thing I did respect about The Postmortal is its commitment to straightforward chronological narrative. Like I said above, I think The Handmaid's Tale (and many other books I have enjoyed and even loved, like The Sparrow) relies on flashback structure to create emotional resonance. A book about immortality feels like one where a non-linear narrative is practically prerequisite, and I found it refreshing that the story believed it could be told linearly on its own merits. I'm not sure if that was true, but I respected the attempt.
What's funny is that the narrative device (the text is a blog kept by the narrator recovered at a later future date) reminded me a lot of The Handmaid's Tale. In actuality is only funny if you're comparing Drew Magary and Margaret Atwood, not "a near-future dystopic book where the text is presented as the narrator's blog" and "a near-future dystopic book where the text is presented as transcripts of tape recordings made by the narrator." But comparing Drew Magary and Margaret Atwood is pretty funny.
I also loved and found lacking The Postmortal and The Handmaid's Tale in a lot of similar ways. I've said before that a lot of books make me want not the book that the author wrote but a children's social studies textbook from that author's universe that tells me more about the world the author built and less about the characters the author created. The Postmortal and The Handmaid's Tale are two books that come the closest to giving me all the social studies textbook details that I want (The Postmortal is able to do this more deftly with the intercalary chapters where the narrator is "sharing links" in his blog, which I want to criticize as clumsy narrative cheating but it's also giving me exactly what I want so it seems hypocritical to complain). But both books feel slightly hollow because of a lack of emotional resonance with the narrator.
The lack of emotional resonance in The Handmaid's Tale is something I didn't notice until I re-read it about a decade after my first reading. The Handmaid's Tale creates emotional identification (especially if you're a woman, obviously) and also uses the flashback structure to create an emotional build-up. But when I'm reading the book, I don't really care about the dead husband or the budding romance with the driver nearly as much as I think I was supposed to care.
With The Handmaid's Tale, some of this can be chalked up to a meta-intention to remove the reader from Offred's emotions and desires even when we're in her own POV because that's how much she's been stripped of agency. In The Postmortal, John Farrell is in a position of pretty significant privilege (white, male, educated, affluent to the point that he's able to purchase the cure while it's still black market), so his problems for most of the novel are emotional problems, not problems of institutional oppression. And I just don't really care about his relationship problems. The women in his life are introduced at moments that seem intended to create narrative catalyst, but I just really, really, really didn't care.
One thing I did respect about The Postmortal is its commitment to straightforward chronological narrative. Like I said above, I think The Handmaid's Tale (and many other books I have enjoyed and even loved, like The Sparrow) relies on flashback structure to create emotional resonance. A book about immortality feels like one where a non-linear narrative is practically prerequisite, and I found it refreshing that the story believed it could be told linearly on its own merits. I'm not sure if that was true, but I respected the attempt.
May 16, 2012
Bajo una u otra forma, la inmortalidad forma parte del repertorio habitual de la ciencia ficción pero no recuerdo ningún título en el que sea el tema principal de una novela o, al menos, no con el enfoque de Drew Magary.
El punto de partida de The Postmortal (publicado en español con el título Eterna Juventud por Minotauro) es simple: de forma casi accidental la humanidad descubre un tratamiento que interrumpe el proceso de envejecimiento convirtiendo a todos aquellos con acceso a él en post-mortales de facto. La muerte sigue siendo una posibilidad, pero morir de viejo deja de ser inevitable y el impacto de esa nueva realidad, cada vez al alcance de más gente, lo cambia todo.
La propuesta de Drew Magary es una lectura absorbente, sugerente y… deprimente. A partir de una idea a la que pocos le haríamos ascos (¿o no os habéis planteado nunca las ventajas de la inmortalidad?) Magary advierte del peligro de conseguir nuestros deseos, al menos bajo las particulares condiciones en las que la inmortalidad irrumpe en este libro. En el mundo post-mortal de Magary la falta de fecha de caducidad de la especie parece más una prórroga que una auténtica eliminación. Ningún área de la existencia humana, psicológica, sociológica o ecológica, escapa a las consecuencias de la cura del envejecimiento y del ciclo de muerte y renovación que nos vincula al planeta y a nuestros semejantes. No pretendo estropear el placer (la angustia) que supone ir descubriendo esta sociedad post-mortal pero tratad de imaginar, por un momento, que podría significar para el mercado laboral la desaparición de la necesidad de jubilación, o la irrelevancia del concepto de más allá para las religiones o de algo tan preocupante hoy en día como la superpoblación si el flujo de nacimientos no se ve compensado, al menos en parte, por la desaparición de parte de la población. Por no hablar de la fuente de desigualdades que puede provocar la falta de acceso al tratamiento de las clases más desfavorecidas. La inmortalidad como algo al alcance la sociedad no es algo nuevo en el imaginario de la ciencia-ficción pero suele darse en contextos en los que la falta de espacio o recursos vitales no son un problema, ya sea a través de la colonización de otros planetas (como sucede en algunas novelas de Alastair Reynolds o Peter F. Hamilton ) o por el traslado de la conciencia a soportes no biológicos autosuficientes (los ejemplos son innumerables pero sólo mencionaré a mi apreciado Greg Egan ). Suele ser, en definitiva, una ventaja indudable. La novedad del libro de Magary es convertir el planeta post-mortal en una olla a presión. La cura del envejecimiento llega demasiado pronto y la bendición se torna maldición, desviando la utopía hacia una distopía sorprendentemente descorazonadora.
La estructura de la novela responde a un artificio que para mí no acaba de funcionar, aunque mi valoración general del libro es muy positiva: el descubrimiento, once años después del fin del libro, de la tableta personal de John Farrell en la que escribió sus pensamientos durante los últimos 60 años de su vida, los 60 años posteriores al descubrimiento de la cura del envejecimiento. El prólogo explica que Farrell era una persona muy meticulosa que utilizó una aplicación llamada LifeRecorder para registrar todas sus interacciones personales, editadas luego para darles la forma de libro con la que ha llegado a nuestras manos. Me imagino que el objetivo de este pretexto es aumentar la ilusión de realismo de la narración pero para mi es un esfuerzo innecesario y lo que consigue es todo lo contrario. Por mucho que el propio texto justifica la meticulosidad con la que se han consignado los diálogos y los pensamientos de Farrell, a medida que avanza el libro se vuelve más y más difícil imaginar que este perdiera un solo momento en elaborar su archivo. Pecata minuta que no va más allá del prólogo y que no afecta para nada al funcionamiento del resto de la historia. De hecho, aunque el interés de lo que explica se mantiene a lo largo del conjunto del texto, la acumulación inicial de textos más o menos inconexos dedicados a explicar la difusión y el impacto de la cura va ganando en potencia a medida que la narración de John Farrell se vuelve más personal. Para mi, a pesar de que me han llegado opiniones opuestas, la historia va de menos a más hasta alcanzar un clímax final fenomenal. Hay aspectos concretos del argumento que no estoy seguro de creerme del todo, especialmente en relación con su vida sentimental hacia el final del libro, pero que aumentan la complejidad del libro en el plano emocional y energizan el desenlace. El estilo de escritura de Drew Magary es transparente y funcional, sin aspavientos pero sin problemas evidentes. La concatenación de capítulos muy breves le da al libro un ritmo ágil que seduce y aumenta la sensación de cambio vertiginoso que sufre la sociedad a partir de la aparición de la cura. Me ha parecido un debut muy interesante y sin duda estaré pendiente de su próximo libro.
¿Os ha pasado alguna vez, al hablar de un libro o una película, que os dáis cuenta de que el libro ha dejado una huella mayor de lo que pensábais mientras lo leíais? Es lo que me ha ido pasando a lo largo de la semana que he tardado en ordenar mis ideas e ir escribiendo esta reseña. No es algo que suceda siempre (incluso puede darse el caso contrario, como me pasa a mi con los libros de Patrick Rothfuss) y en mi experiencia significa que el libro es más de lo que parece en primera instancia, que explica algo que merece ser explicado y por ello merece ser leído. The Postmortal cala. Hace pensar seriamente en cosas que, por otro lado, no estan tan lejos del alcance de la ciencia. Es una lectura ágil que no requiere más de 3 o 4 tardes pero que acompañará a nuestra imaginación durante largo tiempo. Le caen 4 de las 5 estrellas posibles de Goodreads y recomiendo vivamente su lectura.
El punto de partida de The Postmortal (publicado en español con el título Eterna Juventud por Minotauro) es simple: de forma casi accidental la humanidad descubre un tratamiento que interrumpe el proceso de envejecimiento convirtiendo a todos aquellos con acceso a él en post-mortales de facto. La muerte sigue siendo una posibilidad, pero morir de viejo deja de ser inevitable y el impacto de esa nueva realidad, cada vez al alcance de más gente, lo cambia todo.
La propuesta de Drew Magary es una lectura absorbente, sugerente y… deprimente. A partir de una idea a la que pocos le haríamos ascos (¿o no os habéis planteado nunca las ventajas de la inmortalidad?) Magary advierte del peligro de conseguir nuestros deseos, al menos bajo las particulares condiciones en las que la inmortalidad irrumpe en este libro. En el mundo post-mortal de Magary la falta de fecha de caducidad de la especie parece más una prórroga que una auténtica eliminación. Ningún área de la existencia humana, psicológica, sociológica o ecológica, escapa a las consecuencias de la cura del envejecimiento y del ciclo de muerte y renovación que nos vincula al planeta y a nuestros semejantes. No pretendo estropear el placer (la angustia) que supone ir descubriendo esta sociedad post-mortal pero tratad de imaginar, por un momento, que podría significar para el mercado laboral la desaparición de la necesidad de jubilación, o la irrelevancia del concepto de más allá para las religiones o de algo tan preocupante hoy en día como la superpoblación si el flujo de nacimientos no se ve compensado, al menos en parte, por la desaparición de parte de la población. Por no hablar de la fuente de desigualdades que puede provocar la falta de acceso al tratamiento de las clases más desfavorecidas. La inmortalidad como algo al alcance la sociedad no es algo nuevo en el imaginario de la ciencia-ficción pero suele darse en contextos en los que la falta de espacio o recursos vitales no son un problema, ya sea a través de la colonización de otros planetas (como sucede en algunas novelas de Alastair Reynolds o Peter F. Hamilton ) o por el traslado de la conciencia a soportes no biológicos autosuficientes (los ejemplos son innumerables pero sólo mencionaré a mi apreciado Greg Egan ). Suele ser, en definitiva, una ventaja indudable. La novedad del libro de Magary es convertir el planeta post-mortal en una olla a presión. La cura del envejecimiento llega demasiado pronto y la bendición se torna maldición, desviando la utopía hacia una distopía sorprendentemente descorazonadora.
La estructura de la novela responde a un artificio que para mí no acaba de funcionar, aunque mi valoración general del libro es muy positiva: el descubrimiento, once años después del fin del libro, de la tableta personal de John Farrell en la que escribió sus pensamientos durante los últimos 60 años de su vida, los 60 años posteriores al descubrimiento de la cura del envejecimiento. El prólogo explica que Farrell era una persona muy meticulosa que utilizó una aplicación llamada LifeRecorder para registrar todas sus interacciones personales, editadas luego para darles la forma de libro con la que ha llegado a nuestras manos. Me imagino que el objetivo de este pretexto es aumentar la ilusión de realismo de la narración pero para mi es un esfuerzo innecesario y lo que consigue es todo lo contrario. Por mucho que el propio texto justifica la meticulosidad con la que se han consignado los diálogos y los pensamientos de Farrell, a medida que avanza el libro se vuelve más y más difícil imaginar que este perdiera un solo momento en elaborar su archivo. Pecata minuta que no va más allá del prólogo y que no afecta para nada al funcionamiento del resto de la historia. De hecho, aunque el interés de lo que explica se mantiene a lo largo del conjunto del texto, la acumulación inicial de textos más o menos inconexos dedicados a explicar la difusión y el impacto de la cura va ganando en potencia a medida que la narración de John Farrell se vuelve más personal. Para mi, a pesar de que me han llegado opiniones opuestas, la historia va de menos a más hasta alcanzar un clímax final fenomenal. Hay aspectos concretos del argumento que no estoy seguro de creerme del todo, especialmente en relación con su vida sentimental hacia el final del libro, pero que aumentan la complejidad del libro en el plano emocional y energizan el desenlace. El estilo de escritura de Drew Magary es transparente y funcional, sin aspavientos pero sin problemas evidentes. La concatenación de capítulos muy breves le da al libro un ritmo ágil que seduce y aumenta la sensación de cambio vertiginoso que sufre la sociedad a partir de la aparición de la cura. Me ha parecido un debut muy interesante y sin duda estaré pendiente de su próximo libro.
¿Os ha pasado alguna vez, al hablar de un libro o una película, que os dáis cuenta de que el libro ha dejado una huella mayor de lo que pensábais mientras lo leíais? Es lo que me ha ido pasando a lo largo de la semana que he tardado en ordenar mis ideas e ir escribiendo esta reseña. No es algo que suceda siempre (incluso puede darse el caso contrario, como me pasa a mi con los libros de Patrick Rothfuss) y en mi experiencia significa que el libro es más de lo que parece en primera instancia, que explica algo que merece ser explicado y por ello merece ser leído. The Postmortal cala. Hace pensar seriamente en cosas que, por otro lado, no estan tan lejos del alcance de la ciencia. Es una lectura ágil que no requiere más de 3 o 4 tardes pero que acompañará a nuestra imaginación durante largo tiempo. Le caen 4 de las 5 estrellas posibles de Goodreads y recomiendo vivamente su lectura.
September 12, 2016
First of all, I have to say the choice of writing the book in the format of John's blog is just brilliant. It's an odd choice, stylistically, but it's incredibly effective here, giving a touch of realism we'd lose if Magary had gone with a more traditional first-person narrative.
A lot of The Postmortal is bleak. This book doesn't think much of mankind (or anything else, really) and is more than willing to push that viewpoint at us. Given that Drew Magary has made a name for himself as a humourist, anyone expecting to find that same style and tone in this book will be in for a shock. This is a dark look at immortality and humanity, taking the viewpoint that people will screw up anything given to them. It starts off gently, with reactions to the initial news of The Cure being varied and believable. Certainly I can see fundamentalists being violently opposed to unnaturally extended lives, I can see it being a hot button issue in the news and on the streets, and I can see the powers that be taking extreme caution before allowing something like The Cure to be administered to the public.
Immediately, the idea of eternal youth starts affecting people. People don't feel like they have to mature or grow up now; since they have hundreds of years to live their lives, another few decades or so of partying before they settle down won't matter. Views on marriage change, too: when the vows meant spending 80 years of growing old together, the needs were different from making a promise to spend eternity with the same person.
This was an incredibly thought provoking book. It challenged me on several different subjects, the sort of thing to stay with you long after you put it down. It's not easy reading and a lot of the time it wasn't particularly enjoyable, but it was always engaging.
Unfortunately, the writing is also uneven. It starts well, but somewhere around the halfway point the story starts to drag and doesn't really pick up again until close to the end. Part of this might be because while the format of storytelling was well chosen, the protagonist may not have been. I never warmed up to John, although I'm not sure I was supposed to. He's selfish, apathetic, and occasionally violent, but given the book's opinion of humanity, that's perhaps par for the course. I have no doubt John's temperament was deliberately chosen to highlight the issues in the society he finds himself living in, but it gives the reader one less thing to be engaged with. I didn't care what happened to John any more than he cared about what happened to the people around him.
More significantly, the treatment of the Cure was inconsistent. It allegedly prevents aging, not just in the way a person looks but in their health as well. Things like Alzheimer's were prevented by The Cure, however many years after receiving the Cure, a character has a heart attack, and when they go to the hospital, try to give their apparent age rather than their true age. They're told there's no way they'd be having a heart attack at that age and sent to the part of the hospital for "postmortals," or people who have opted for immortality. In order to be having a heart attack, they must be older than they seem... but, uh, since the Cure was supposed to keep their innards as young as their outside, this just confused the bejeebers me.
Then there's the whole issue of mental age versus physical age. Yeah, it makes sense that given extra time people would delay "growing up" as much as possible. But there's only one character who really seems to feel or act older than her apparent age, and the book spans probably 80 years, with most of the characters having been given the Cure in the early part of that, when they were in their 20s or 30s. I may have noticed this more because I was waiting for it to come up, so when it was only dealt with briefly and in one character, I was disappointed.
In spite of these flaws, it was as previously stated both engaging and thought provoking. If you want something with a bit of depth, something to give you a bit of food for thought rather than just handing you a story, this should do the job nicely.
A lot of The Postmortal is bleak. This book doesn't think much of mankind (or anything else, really) and is more than willing to push that viewpoint at us. Given that Drew Magary has made a name for himself as a humourist, anyone expecting to find that same style and tone in this book will be in for a shock. This is a dark look at immortality and humanity, taking the viewpoint that people will screw up anything given to them. It starts off gently, with reactions to the initial news of The Cure being varied and believable. Certainly I can see fundamentalists being violently opposed to unnaturally extended lives, I can see it being a hot button issue in the news and on the streets, and I can see the powers that be taking extreme caution before allowing something like The Cure to be administered to the public.
Immediately, the idea of eternal youth starts affecting people. People don't feel like they have to mature or grow up now; since they have hundreds of years to live their lives, another few decades or so of partying before they settle down won't matter. Views on marriage change, too: when the vows meant spending 80 years of growing old together, the needs were different from making a promise to spend eternity with the same person.
This was an incredibly thought provoking book. It challenged me on several different subjects, the sort of thing to stay with you long after you put it down. It's not easy reading and a lot of the time it wasn't particularly enjoyable, but it was always engaging.
Unfortunately, the writing is also uneven. It starts well, but somewhere around the halfway point the story starts to drag and doesn't really pick up again until close to the end. Part of this might be because while the format of storytelling was well chosen, the protagonist may not have been. I never warmed up to John, although I'm not sure I was supposed to. He's selfish, apathetic, and occasionally violent, but given the book's opinion of humanity, that's perhaps par for the course. I have no doubt John's temperament was deliberately chosen to highlight the issues in the society he finds himself living in, but it gives the reader one less thing to be engaged with. I didn't care what happened to John any more than he cared about what happened to the people around him.
More significantly, the treatment of the Cure was inconsistent. It allegedly prevents aging, not just in the way a person looks but in their health as well. Things like Alzheimer's were prevented by The Cure, however many years after receiving the Cure, a character has a heart attack, and when they go to the hospital, try to give their apparent age rather than their true age. They're told there's no way they'd be having a heart attack at that age and sent to the part of the hospital for "postmortals," or people who have opted for immortality. In order to be having a heart attack, they must be older than they seem... but, uh, since the Cure was supposed to keep their innards as young as their outside, this just confused the bejeebers me.
Then there's the whole issue of mental age versus physical age. Yeah, it makes sense that given extra time people would delay "growing up" as much as possible. But there's only one character who really seems to feel or act older than her apparent age, and the book spans probably 80 years, with most of the characters having been given the Cure in the early part of that, when they were in their 20s or 30s. I may have noticed this more because I was waiting for it to come up, so when it was only dealt with briefly and in one character, I was disappointed.
In spite of these flaws, it was as previously stated both engaging and thought provoking. If you want something with a bit of depth, something to give you a bit of food for thought rather than just handing you a story, this should do the job nicely.
October 29, 2014
Drew Magary will even get me to read Deadspin (sports? what are sports?), so I was thrilled to finally get The Postmortal. The concept of the book is really fun: science has finally discovered a cure for aging. Once you've received the cure, your body will stay at the same age forever. It's possible to die from a heart attack -- or just from someone stabbing you several times in the torso -- but, with proper precautions, anyone who gets the cure and becomes a postmortal can live forever.
For the rest of the book, Magary details exactly why this would be a terrible scenario. His protagonist, John Farrell, left behind a record of his thoughts and observations after receiving the cure, as well as a plethora of current news articles and headlines. (It's especially funny that Slate still exists in 2040.) The book covers about sixty years of John's life, from his cure to his eventual career as an "end specialist," someone who kills postmortals who no longer wish to stay alive.
Unfortunately, I think Magary is best at writing about real people and celebrities; here, he's bad at ascribing actual characteristics or motivations to his cast of characters. Almost every single one is flat, underdeveloped, and cliched. His characters are utterly incapable of having a realistic or emotional conversation, and his protagonist, John, is a black hole of charisma. The conversations between John and John's dying father are especially painful. The closest that the book comes to sincerity is when John's sister talks to him about her failing marriage, but even those conversations sound stilted and silly.
It seems like Magary really wanted to explore the different consequences of the "cure" without being bogged down by a narrative. One of my favorite sections involved John going to a wealthy businessman's house, which he's outfitted for survival during a nuclear or apocalyptic war; there's no real reason for John to be there, and he hardly speaks at all. There's also an interesting article from China, where doctors tattoo birthdates onto babies' arms.
This would have been more enjoyable without John as a protagonist, and that would have hidden some of the gaping holes in the worldbuilding, too (as someone else here says, how does that economy even pretend to function?). The concept is interesting and Magary pulls out some fun twists, but it's not enough to save the book. Not recommended.
For the rest of the book, Magary details exactly why this would be a terrible scenario. His protagonist, John Farrell, left behind a record of his thoughts and observations after receiving the cure, as well as a plethora of current news articles and headlines. (It's especially funny that Slate still exists in 2040.) The book covers about sixty years of John's life, from his cure to his eventual career as an "end specialist," someone who kills postmortals who no longer wish to stay alive.
Unfortunately, I think Magary is best at writing about real people and celebrities; here, he's bad at ascribing actual characteristics or motivations to his cast of characters. Almost every single one is flat, underdeveloped, and cliched. His characters are utterly incapable of having a realistic or emotional conversation, and his protagonist, John, is a black hole of charisma. The conversations between John and John's dying father are especially painful. The closest that the book comes to sincerity is when John's sister talks to him about her failing marriage, but even those conversations sound stilted and silly.
It seems like Magary really wanted to explore the different consequences of the "cure" without being bogged down by a narrative. One of my favorite sections involved John going to a wealthy businessman's house, which he's outfitted for survival during a nuclear or apocalyptic war; there's no real reason for John to be there, and he hardly speaks at all. There's also an interesting article from China, where doctors tattoo birthdates onto babies' arms.
This would have been more enjoyable without John as a protagonist, and that would have hidden some of the gaping holes in the worldbuilding, too (as someone else here says, how does that economy even pretend to function?). The concept is interesting and Magary pulls out some fun twists, but it's not enough to save the book. Not recommended.
March 26, 2016
I was expecting something funny and light, but The Postmortal turned out to be surprisingly serious and somewhat disturbing. I really enjoyed it, although the final section dragged a little and the stuff with Solara just didn't really work for me. The Solara storyline seemed like it came out of nowhere. The story of how the world copes with an ageless population was fascinating and some of my favorite parts of the book were the news articles and transcripts that didn't deal so much with John's personal life.
It's not perfect. John is pretty unlikeable as a character and the whole concept that it's his journal or blog doesn't totally work. I remember there was one paragraph in the article about Graham Otto that would never in a million years appear in a real work of journalism, and that kind of thing bothered me a little throughout.
But I really liked the novel despite its flaws. One of the blurbs inside the cover compares it to Soylent Green, and I did feel some similarities to Harry Harrison's Make Room, Make Room! in the descriptions of an overcrowded world teeming with starving people.
I find it hard to talk about what I really liked about it without spoiling the very things I enjoyed, so, whatever. I liked it.
It's not perfect. John is pretty unlikeable as a character and the whole concept that it's his journal or blog doesn't totally work. I remember there was one paragraph in the article about Graham Otto that would never in a million years appear in a real work of journalism, and that kind of thing bothered me a little throughout.
But I really liked the novel despite its flaws. One of the blurbs inside the cover compares it to Soylent Green, and I did feel some similarities to Harry Harrison's Make Room, Make Room! in the descriptions of an overcrowded world teeming with starving people.
I find it hard to talk about what I really liked about it without spoiling the very things I enjoyed, so, whatever. I liked it.
January 29, 2012
I picked this up because it was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, and it jumped into my arms at the public library.
I like the premise of the story, and the overarching storytelling technique. The premise is that an American scientist discovered the cure for aging, and the main narrator in the story had the cure. Most of the book chapters are accounts from his e-mail or the news during the time, and a few break and go into plain narrative.
This isn't just an idea book though. The author takes the idea and really follows it through, decades later, to see what would truly happen to a world society that had the potential not to age. There are changes in religion, the family unit, war, and government control. Somehow it all feels like it goes on too long (I started consistently looking for how many pages I had left around 240), but I'm not sure what to cut. Maybe the love story. Maybe the final career. Maybe the bizarre ending. Maybe some of the side tidbits that are thrown in just to show one detail of the issues with never aging (interesting, but not as critical to the central story). It isn't bad, but all these side trips keep the book from being as riveting as I think it could have been.
I like the premise of the story, and the overarching storytelling technique. The premise is that an American scientist discovered the cure for aging, and the main narrator in the story had the cure. Most of the book chapters are accounts from his e-mail or the news during the time, and a few break and go into plain narrative.
This isn't just an idea book though. The author takes the idea and really follows it through, decades later, to see what would truly happen to a world society that had the potential not to age. There are changes in religion, the family unit, war, and government control. Somehow it all feels like it goes on too long (I started consistently looking for how many pages I had left around 240), but I'm not sure what to cut. Maybe the love story. Maybe the final career. Maybe the bizarre ending. Maybe some of the side tidbits that are thrown in just to show one detail of the issues with never aging (interesting, but not as critical to the central story). It isn't bad, but all these side trips keep the book from being as riveting as I think it could have been.
March 4, 2015
This book is one of those amazing game changers that you only get once in awhile. While it is fiction, what happens in the book would almost certainly happen in the real world, were those situations presented to us. That makes it even more intense. I can't explain it, just read this book!!!
July 10, 2013
http://www.rantingdragon.com/review-o...
What if you could simply stop aging? This is the question that lies at the heart of Drew Magary’s debut novel, The Postmortal. Told through what is essentially a series of electronic diary entries written by a man named John Farrell, The Postmortal chronicles the near-future where a cure for aging has been discovered and humanity has taken its first tentative steps toward immortality.
Living forever—that’s great, right?
Maybe not. The cure for aging that sparks the world of The Postmortal guarantees that its recipients will never get any older; they won’t feel any older, they won’t look any older, and they won’t be able to die of natural causes. It might seem great in concept, but it’s not as wonderful as you might believe; The Postmortal addresses the consequences of eternal life head-on. One character points out that retirement is no longer an option. A young woman suddenly realizes that she is always going to get her period. As the doctor who gives John Farrell the cure says, not being able to die a natural death only ensures some other form—starvation, disease, perhaps a knife to the heart in some dark alley. The Postmortal takes a serious look at what it would mean to never age, and it’s rarely a positive look.
It’s not post-apocalyptic, it’s pre-apocalyptic
The Postmortal is a curious book in that it’s certainly an apocalyptic story, but it’s not post-apocalyptic. Rather, this is the story of humanity rushing straight into an apocalypse—and in a way, that makes it even darker and more depressing than the typical grim tones of post-apocalyptic settings. In The Postmortal, the future promises only to be ever-worse than the present, and there’s no way to stop its inevitable coming. It’s not cynicism, it’s just reality—a very, very unpleasant reality.
While The Postmortal certainly has a satirical edge—and even a few funny moments scattered throughout—I wouldn’t describe it as a light or comedic book by any stretch of the imagination. This book is very, very dark, and it is not a fun read. It even feels like Magary is trying to channel George R.R. Martin at some points; whenever the characters get a little taste of happiness, something has to come along and ruin their lives. I don’t mean any of this as a complaint, however, because Magary handles this aspect of The Postmortal spectacularly. He has a talent for creating emotionally engaging characters very quickly, so it hurts to see them continually and unfairly beaten down by the world. There was one scene in particular that hit me very hard; I had to put the book down, and I spent the rest of the day in a foul mood. Only one other book has ever been able to punch me in the gut with that much force, so I commend Magary for being able to pull it off.
Stumbling over the finish line
For all its strengths, there was one aspect of The Postmortal that just didn’t click with me. There is a particular plot thread that is introduced late in the book, and I found it both uninteresting and unbelievable—which was made all the more prominent in comparison to how grounded and genuine the rest of the book felt. Rather than stay consistent to the very last page, The Postmortal devolves into something that comes across as cheesy and very “marketable.” While I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a betrayal of the rest of the book, it just does not mesh with what came before, and it taints an otherwise incredible reading experience. As someone who is often disappointed by endings, this would normally hurt my opinion of the book significantly; however, since the rest of The Postmortal is just that good, it wasn’t a dealbreaker for me.
Why should you read this book?
Bothersome plot thread aside, The Postmortal is an absolutely amazing book. While I was making my way through the first three hundred pages or so, I was fairly convinced that it would rank amongst the best books I’ve ever read, and although the final section of the book knocked it down from that potential status, those first three hundred pages remain stellar literature. If you like books that challenge you, disturb you, and sweep you into terrifying fictional worlds that feel all-too-real, then The Postmortal is for you. If you like books with complex characters, razor-sharp writing, and fresh ideas, then The Postmortal is for you. I guess what I’m trying to say is: if you like great books, then The Postmortal is for you. Go read it.
What if you could simply stop aging? This is the question that lies at the heart of Drew Magary’s debut novel, The Postmortal. Told through what is essentially a series of electronic diary entries written by a man named John Farrell, The Postmortal chronicles the near-future where a cure for aging has been discovered and humanity has taken its first tentative steps toward immortality.
Living forever—that’s great, right?
Maybe not. The cure for aging that sparks the world of The Postmortal guarantees that its recipients will never get any older; they won’t feel any older, they won’t look any older, and they won’t be able to die of natural causes. It might seem great in concept, but it’s not as wonderful as you might believe; The Postmortal addresses the consequences of eternal life head-on. One character points out that retirement is no longer an option. A young woman suddenly realizes that she is always going to get her period. As the doctor who gives John Farrell the cure says, not being able to die a natural death only ensures some other form—starvation, disease, perhaps a knife to the heart in some dark alley. The Postmortal takes a serious look at what it would mean to never age, and it’s rarely a positive look.
It’s not post-apocalyptic, it’s pre-apocalyptic
The Postmortal is a curious book in that it’s certainly an apocalyptic story, but it’s not post-apocalyptic. Rather, this is the story of humanity rushing straight into an apocalypse—and in a way, that makes it even darker and more depressing than the typical grim tones of post-apocalyptic settings. In The Postmortal, the future promises only to be ever-worse than the present, and there’s no way to stop its inevitable coming. It’s not cynicism, it’s just reality—a very, very unpleasant reality.
While The Postmortal certainly has a satirical edge—and even a few funny moments scattered throughout—I wouldn’t describe it as a light or comedic book by any stretch of the imagination. This book is very, very dark, and it is not a fun read. It even feels like Magary is trying to channel George R.R. Martin at some points; whenever the characters get a little taste of happiness, something has to come along and ruin their lives. I don’t mean any of this as a complaint, however, because Magary handles this aspect of The Postmortal spectacularly. He has a talent for creating emotionally engaging characters very quickly, so it hurts to see them continually and unfairly beaten down by the world. There was one scene in particular that hit me very hard; I had to put the book down, and I spent the rest of the day in a foul mood. Only one other book has ever been able to punch me in the gut with that much force, so I commend Magary for being able to pull it off.
Stumbling over the finish line
For all its strengths, there was one aspect of The Postmortal that just didn’t click with me. There is a particular plot thread that is introduced late in the book, and I found it both uninteresting and unbelievable—which was made all the more prominent in comparison to how grounded and genuine the rest of the book felt. Rather than stay consistent to the very last page, The Postmortal devolves into something that comes across as cheesy and very “marketable.” While I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a betrayal of the rest of the book, it just does not mesh with what came before, and it taints an otherwise incredible reading experience. As someone who is often disappointed by endings, this would normally hurt my opinion of the book significantly; however, since the rest of The Postmortal is just that good, it wasn’t a dealbreaker for me.
Why should you read this book?
Bothersome plot thread aside, The Postmortal is an absolutely amazing book. While I was making my way through the first three hundred pages or so, I was fairly convinced that it would rank amongst the best books I’ve ever read, and although the final section of the book knocked it down from that potential status, those first three hundred pages remain stellar literature. If you like books that challenge you, disturb you, and sweep you into terrifying fictional worlds that feel all-too-real, then The Postmortal is for you. If you like books with complex characters, razor-sharp writing, and fresh ideas, then The Postmortal is for you. I guess what I’m trying to say is: if you like great books, then The Postmortal is for you. Go read it.
September 13, 2017
This book is okay. I loved the start of it. The concepts and ideas it created were great, and the world building was wonderful. Those are the points that made it work. Where it missed for me was in the characters.
The story is told from the point of view of a man that illegally receives a "cure for aging," leaving him forever 29 years old.
Sadly, the 29 year old protagonist never seemed very likable, and having the entire story from his perspective was difficult at times. I wanted to know other characters better, to see other things happening in this world better, but everything being from the perspective of a character I wasn't a fan of made it lose some points from me.
Like I said, the world created is great. The direction the world heads is incredibly interesting, but seen from this one individual wasn't enough for me. I would've loved maybe two or three others living at the same time and seen the world through their eyes as well.
The story is told from the point of view of a man that illegally receives a "cure for aging," leaving him forever 29 years old.
Sadly, the 29 year old protagonist never seemed very likable, and having the entire story from his perspective was difficult at times. I wanted to know other characters better, to see other things happening in this world better, but everything being from the perspective of a character I wasn't a fan of made it lose some points from me.
Like I said, the world created is great. The direction the world heads is incredibly interesting, but seen from this one individual wasn't enough for me. I would've loved maybe two or three others living at the same time and seen the world through their eyes as well.
May 20, 2023
There are novels that should have stayed in the wide ruled composition books they no doubt were birthed in, and this is a prime example.
What can eternal life get you? Why, multiple lifetimes of female tropes. The "Meaning of (his) Life" can now come in multiples! I'm sure that romance novels directed at woman have similar cringe worthy scenes and terrible man-tropes*, but dear god - just. please. stop. man sci-fi writers.
I bought this book out of love though. Your Team Sucks is what I look forward to every August as much as the regular season. Buying and reading a Magary book seemed like the least I could do to pay for years of him feeding my boiling Roethlisberger hatred, but I guess I shouldn't have done it on the cheap choosing via sale rack.
I'm not sure how you can say so little in so many pages, but Magary manages. The background concept could have been an obvious, but interesting, launch point for a novel, but unfortunately instead:
Your Book Sucks.
*One of the benefits of working in a female dominated industry is getting to overhear straight woman talk trash about their partners and all the (very graphic) things they would do to Chris Hemsworth if they could corner him in a dark room.
What can eternal life get you? Why, multiple lifetimes of female tropes. The "Meaning of (his) Life" can now come in multiples! I'm sure that romance novels directed at woman have similar cringe worthy scenes and terrible man-tropes*, but dear god - just. please. stop. man sci-fi writers.
“You’re very sneaky,” she said.
I held nothing back. “I want to marry you. I want to marry you and be that child’s father. You don’t have to agree to it. I just wanted to say it to you because it feels good to say it. It’s all I say in my head when I look at you now.”
She laughed. “Who are you?”
“Not who I thought I was.”
She kicked back in the seat and ate a fistful of cereal. “You make me feel my age, John.”
“I’m sorry if I do that.”
“No, it’s a good thing. No one makes me feel that way. You look at me like you wanna share a lemonade with me.”
“I can go back in and get one right now, if you like. Finest lemon-flavored high-fructose corn syrup you’ll ever taste.”
I bought this book out of love though. Your Team Sucks is what I look forward to every August as much as the regular season. Buying and reading a Magary book seemed like the least I could do to pay for years of him feeding my boiling Roethlisberger hatred, but I guess I shouldn't have done it on the cheap choosing via sale rack.
I'm not sure how you can say so little in so many pages, but Magary manages. The background concept could have been an obvious, but interesting, launch point for a novel, but unfortunately instead:
Your Book Sucks.
*One of the benefits of working in a female dominated industry is getting to overhear straight woman talk trash about their partners and all the (very graphic) things they would do to Chris Hemsworth if they could corner him in a dark room.
March 14, 2024
Wow. Einfach Wow. Die Idee des Unsterblich-Seins kollidiert mit allem, was man sich dazu vorstellen kann & weit darüber hinaus. Ein Roman, der mich wirklich getroffen, abgeholt und zum Nachdenken gebracht hat. Zum Nachdenken darüber, dass alles, was wir für erstrebenswert halten könnten, viel mehr als zwei Seiten hat, die so große Auswirkungen nach sich ziehen, wie wir sie uns in unseren schlimmsten & besten Träumen nicht ausmalen können…
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