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A review by kate4ez
The Immortals by Tracy Hickman
2.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. The premise is interesting, but the story is quite dated already. Much of the plot is based on the idea that advances in communication technology will make Americans eager to toss away all civil liberties and embrace fascism and American Idol-style decision-making based solely on tiny snippets of government-controlled information. Massive atrocities go completely unreported. Millions die, entire cities are destroyed, and no one notices. Where are the families and friends of all these millions, not to mention the soldiers being executed on a daily basis? The author clearly didn't anticipate cell phone cameras, twitter, facebook or you tube.
A second gripe is that the author has a poor understanding of the immune system. If the V-CIDS virus "resets" the immune system, that is not the same as having no immune system. Our bodies are exposed to new viruses all the time. Why would people die of colds or flu when their immune system is functioning? They wouldn't. Give them some antivirals already.
Third problem--the characters didn't behave in ways that made sense to me. For example, the inmates outnumbered the pastor's bullies about 1000 to 1. Why would they put up with beatings and murder? My least favorite part was that whole bit with Amanda. Catatonic little girl melts the heart of every man in the camp, who suddenly all want to be her daddy. In a five-day span she goes from catatonic orphan to screaming to playful to sick to dead. And despite all their own problems and losses, somehow the loss of that one child is the most devastating thing to happen to the entire camp? Not buying it.
Getting back to the original premise of this as an AIDS concentration camp, it doesn't make sense that they would lump together gays and lesbians in the camp.. Lesbians aren't likely to have AIDS. They are a low-risk group. Why would they have rushed out to get the AIDS vaccine? Plus, the treatment of the gay and lesbian inmates revealed, at least to me, the author's lack of empathy. All the gay characters are described as having unfeeling parents who either try to fix them or have nothing to do with them. For example, Michael says he doesn't even know Jason and has nothing in common with him. Really? All those years of childhood were completely obliterated when Jason came out? I cannot sympathize with a parent who can't see their child as anything more than their sexual orientation. Even back when this book was written, many people had openly gay family members who were loved and treated with respect. The author should have known this.
On the plus side, the audio quality was good and it was free. It kept me entertained on a long road trip. Although the part about Amanda screaming made me feel stabby. Was it really necessary to add piercing child screams to the audio? I'll take your word for it that she was screaming.
A second gripe is that the author has a poor understanding of the immune system. If the V-CIDS virus "resets" the immune system, that is not the same as having no immune system. Our bodies are exposed to new viruses all the time. Why would people die of colds or flu when their immune system is functioning? They wouldn't. Give them some antivirals already.
Third problem--the characters didn't behave in ways that made sense to me. For example, the inmates outnumbered the pastor's bullies about 1000 to 1. Why would they put up with beatings and murder? My least favorite part was that whole bit with Amanda. Catatonic little girl melts the heart of every man in the camp, who suddenly all want to be her daddy. In a five-day span she goes from catatonic orphan to screaming to playful to sick to dead. And despite all their own problems and losses, somehow the loss of that one child is the most devastating thing to happen to the entire camp? Not buying it.
Getting back to the original premise of this as an AIDS concentration camp, it doesn't make sense that they would lump together gays and lesbians in the camp.. Lesbians aren't likely to have AIDS. They are a low-risk group. Why would they have rushed out to get the AIDS vaccine? Plus, the treatment of the gay and lesbian inmates revealed, at least to me, the author's lack of empathy. All the gay characters are described as having unfeeling parents who either try to fix them or have nothing to do with them. For example, Michael says he doesn't even know Jason and has nothing in common with him. Really? All those years of childhood were completely obliterated when Jason came out? I cannot sympathize with a parent who can't see their child as anything more than their sexual orientation. Even back when this book was written, many people had openly gay family members who were loved and treated with respect. The author should have known this.
On the plus side, the audio quality was good and it was free. It kept me entertained on a long road trip. Although the part about Amanda screaming made me feel stabby. Was it really necessary to add piercing child screams to the audio? I'll take your word for it that she was screaming.