Scan barcode
toonitopia's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lucyremitz's review
4.0
This book is totally gripping. I finished it in a few short sittings and the concept is fascinating. Elements of this future world are not necessarily new if you’ve read some dystopian novels - but the Body Tourism idea is completely psychologically disturbing. The different stories of all involved are short and interesting, with turns you almost expect but really don’t want to happen. Lots of ethical questions about inequality and the future of tech. Really enjoyed and will be thinking about for a while! Wish it was made into a series, as it moved so quickly and felt like could have spent a little more time in some of the characters.
pilebythebed's review
2.0
Jane Rogers takes on an evergreen science fiction trope in her latest book Body Tourists. Not far in the future a precocious scientist who happens to have a wealthy ageing benefactor, discovers a way to implant the stored consciousness of the dead into young bodies. Rogers plot then follows a number of people caught up in this project to explore the social and moral ramifications of such a procedure.
Body Tourists is told from a number of points of view. It starts with Paula and Ryan, a couple living in poverty who are tempted by the ten thousand pounds on offer for being asleep for two weeks (not knowing that it means someone else will use their body for that time). They are the first test subjects although right from the start it is clear that head researcher Luke is not all that good at following his own rules. He reanimates Octavia, a scientific inspiration of his, into Ryan’s body and immediately gives her her freedom with tragic results. But this does not slow him, or his patron down, they pay off Paula and move on to other test subjects, knowing that there are always people willing to take the money.
The rest of the book explores the ethics and morality of the process. It is a strange set up. The dead can only be brought back for two weeks. They remember their past but there is no guarantee that they will then remember if they are reanimated at another time or that they will ever get this chance again. Rogers does find some examples of how this might work for good and ill. A wealthy ageing rockstar brings his father back to life to show him what he has achieved and give him the life he could not have. A woman whose partner was accused of child abuse and then killed before she could clear her name uses the process to gain some closure. But for the others, it is unclear why they are reanimated except that they are old friends of Luke’s wealth benefactor (and grandmother) Gudrun.
Of more interest, perhaps, is the other side of the coin – the young people whose time is being “bought” by the wealthy. In Rogers, vaguely dystopian near future, the gap between rich and poor has grown and rather than using their wealth to improve the lives of the poor, the system is designed to take even their bodies from them (or buy their time as it is described at one point).
There have been plenty of science fiction books and films that have explored the idea of body swapping, or some form of immortality gained by moving between bodies. Rogers take is more of a philosophical investigation. The multiple points of view, most unconnected from each other, are used to investigate different aspects of the issue, but the stakes never feel particularly high and the so the sum of these parts does not result in a particularly engaging narrative.
Body Tourists feels like the type of science fiction written for readers who tend to avoid the genre (as in: “I don’t usually read science fiction but…”). The world building is slight and mainly in the background (including robots taking over jobs, poor people “addicted” to virtual reality and self driving cars) and it plays a well worn science fiction trope completely straight. While this creates some interesting moral conundrums, the whole feels more like a thought experiment than a lived in world. Rogers does finally answer the niggling question of what was may all really have been for by the end but it is an explanation that was fairly obvious from the first few pages.
Body Tourists is told from a number of points of view. It starts with Paula and Ryan, a couple living in poverty who are tempted by the ten thousand pounds on offer for being asleep for two weeks (not knowing that it means someone else will use their body for that time). They are the first test subjects although right from the start it is clear that head researcher Luke is not all that good at following his own rules. He reanimates Octavia, a scientific inspiration of his, into Ryan’s body and immediately gives her her freedom with tragic results. But this does not slow him, or his patron down, they pay off Paula and move on to other test subjects, knowing that there are always people willing to take the money.
The rest of the book explores the ethics and morality of the process. It is a strange set up. The dead can only be brought back for two weeks. They remember their past but there is no guarantee that they will then remember if they are reanimated at another time or that they will ever get this chance again. Rogers does find some examples of how this might work for good and ill. A wealthy ageing rockstar brings his father back to life to show him what he has achieved and give him the life he could not have. A woman whose partner was accused of child abuse and then killed before she could clear her name uses the process to gain some closure. But for the others, it is unclear why they are reanimated except that they are old friends of Luke’s wealth benefactor (and grandmother) Gudrun.
Of more interest, perhaps, is the other side of the coin – the young people whose time is being “bought” by the wealthy. In Rogers, vaguely dystopian near future, the gap between rich and poor has grown and rather than using their wealth to improve the lives of the poor, the system is designed to take even their bodies from them (or buy their time as it is described at one point).
There have been plenty of science fiction books and films that have explored the idea of body swapping, or some form of immortality gained by moving between bodies. Rogers take is more of a philosophical investigation. The multiple points of view, most unconnected from each other, are used to investigate different aspects of the issue, but the stakes never feel particularly high and the so the sum of these parts does not result in a particularly engaging narrative.
Body Tourists feels like the type of science fiction written for readers who tend to avoid the genre (as in: “I don’t usually read science fiction but…”). The world building is slight and mainly in the background (including robots taking over jobs, poor people “addicted” to virtual reality and self driving cars) and it plays a well worn science fiction trope completely straight. While this creates some interesting moral conundrums, the whole feels more like a thought experiment than a lived in world. Rogers does finally answer the niggling question of what was may all really have been for by the end but it is an explanation that was fairly obvious from the first few pages.
goyvonreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
moonilism's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
3.75 stars for some light sci-fi and an interesting idea. It took me a bit of time but maybe around the halfway mark I was enjoying this book and the many voices Jane Rogers was capable of capturing. I honestly don't remember how I heard about this or why I even put it on my TBR but it was something slightly different for me and paid off! Could easily be an episode of Black Mirror, now that I think about it, and I mean that in a good way. The concept is well-explored for a 200 page book and it does well to contextualise the procedure as something that only people of a certain class can afford, and the social dynamics around that too. Overall a decent read :)
doessusanwrite's review
5.0
To get the awkwardness out of the way first - I read this book ages ago but just wasn't quite ready to review it until now. Why? Well on a superficial level this book is enjoyable if somewhat to creepy read. Great - just my kind of book. Unfortunately, if you even analyse it slightly then the narrative becomes terrifying. Set at some point in the near future, the story revolves around a clinic and those who use the clinic to benefit their lives. If only it were that simple.
You see this is a classic body swap, reminiscent of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (what an underrated, and also incredibly dark, show), where the exploitation of the young and desperate is facilitated by impressive brain doctors and shady rich folks. In Dollhouse, those exploited are mostly criminals whos only other option is a prison sentence. In Body Tourists those being exploited are not criminals but those who had the misfortune to be born poor and want a life out of poverty. In both cases, the customers are rich people, the only difference being that in this book the paying customers are the families of the people inserted into the bodies, unlike dollhouse where the brain scientists design the perfect person for the customer to enjoy.
Setting aside the absolute horror of the storyline, it is not hard to imagine the social politics that led to the society as written. It seems to be the way we are heading - the rich get richer and the poor poorer, provided with a fragment of what it is like to have anything you want (in this case virtual reality allows those living on the estates freedom from the grimness of their lives). This is already happening - the accessibility of mobile phones and devices is distracting those who otherwise would feel helpless in their situations.
4.5 stars out of 5. Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for an advanced egalley.
You see this is a classic body swap, reminiscent of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (what an underrated, and also incredibly dark, show), where the exploitation of the young and desperate is facilitated by impressive brain doctors and shady rich folks. In Dollhouse, those exploited are mostly criminals whos only other option is a prison sentence. In Body Tourists those being exploited are not criminals but those who had the misfortune to be born poor and want a life out of poverty. In both cases, the customers are rich people, the only difference being that in this book the paying customers are the families of the people inserted into the bodies, unlike dollhouse where the brain scientists design the perfect person for the customer to enjoy.
Setting aside the absolute horror of the storyline, it is not hard to imagine the social politics that led to the society as written. It seems to be the way we are heading - the rich get richer and the poor poorer, provided with a fragment of what it is like to have anything you want (in this case virtual reality allows those living on the estates freedom from the grimness of their lives). This is already happening - the accessibility of mobile phones and devices is distracting those who otherwise would feel helpless in their situations.
4.5 stars out of 5. Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for an advanced egalley.
madrugada_dorada's review
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia
Minor: Murder
whatsamreads's review
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
edenjoyce_23's review
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved the concept and liked the story, enjoyed the socioeconomic connotations and how innate racism was explored. Good sci fi book that will stay with me!