Table of Contents
Walter Besant’s 1988 novel travels a century into the future to capture the ghastly image of a Utopian society led by an elite community of researchers who discover the elixir of immortality. The book expresses the effects of our most desired obsession, namely immortality.
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Author: Walter Besant
Genre: Fantasy/Dystopian
Pages: 198
Good reads rating: 3.38 out of 5
My Rating: 7.5 out of 10
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***Warning Spoilers Below This Point***
Can life prolong life artificially? Can science change the laws of human nature? A group of scientists led by Professor Schwarzbaum provides all the answers. After the discovery of an elixir called “The vital Force”, men can live forever without aging.
This Utopian Canterbury society, unfortunately, takes on a new spin. Immorality levels double. Emotional days are bygones and a community in complete apathy remains. No new births happen except in the rare cases of accidental deaths.
Christine makes the replacements for these rare cases of accidental deaths. One day she stumbles on the records of the 19th-century system. Her curious desire allows her to dig deeper into understanding the techniques and methods of the past. It drives her to want to regain this previous way of life. She enthusiastically shares her stories about this old world.
Dr Linister, one of those who affected by the zeal of Christine’s stories, decides to join a rising group of conspirators who believe in the ideologies of the old world. They plan to topple the absoluteness of Dr Grout’s leadership.
The ruler, Dr Grout, who pronounced most of the deaths for the dependent citizens, would come to discover the plans of this group. He sentences Dr Linister to execution and arrests the rest of the organisation. The old world order propagators lose all their hope.
Dr Linister becomes rescued by a group of immortal 19th-century soldiers. They share the same ideologies of the olden era. The two communities live in parallel. One community suffer control from Dr Grout and the other lives freely and in peace with each other.
I rate this story a 7.5 out of 10. Its satiric fullness expresses the irony of our worst insecurities, namely death. It teaches us that what we most desire is not necessarily good for us. Did I enjoy my time reading this book? Absolutely. Would I read it again? Who knows, perhaps a long time from now.
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