Aaru (The Aaru Cycle #1) by David Meredith

Aaru by David Meredith is the first in a YA Sci-Fi series where death may not be the end of life..

““…Death and the stillness of death are the only things certain and common to all in this future…”
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Rose is dying. Her body is wasted and skeletal. She is too sick and weak to move. Every day is an agony and her only hope is that death will find her swiftly before the pain grows too great to bear.

She is sixteen years old.

Rose has made peace with her fate, but her younger sister, Koren, certainly has not. Though all hope appears lost Koren convinces Rose to make one final attempt at saving her life after a mysterious man in a white lab coat approaches their family about an unorthodox and experimental procedure. A copy of Rose’s radiant mind is uploaded to a massive super computer called Aaru – a virtual paradise where the great and the righteous might live forever in an arcadian world free from pain, illness, and death. Elysian Industries is set to begin offering the service to those who can afford it and hires Koren to be their spokes-model.

Within a matter of weeks, the sisters’ faces are nationally ubiquitous, but they soon discover that neither celebrity nor immortality is as utopian as they think. Not everyone is pleased with the idea of life everlasting for sale.
What unfolds is a whirlwind of controversy, sabotage, obsession, and danger. Rose and Koren must struggle to find meaning in their chaotic new lives and at the same time hold true to each other as Aaru challenges all they ever knew about life, love, and death and everything they thought they really believed.“

This book brought a whole new idea to using technology to advance the world of medicine and quickly became my favorite part.

The concept along behind this book was very interesting, and rapidly brings you into a harsh reality. As one of the main characters is battling a medical condition, we get caught up in the darkness that overcomes many of these patients and loved ones.

The writing really brings out the emotional toll not only with the particular character but also the family surrounding her through these times. I will say that the first quarter of the book takes on the emotional ride, but then it felt like the story twists into a more sci-fi based world.

The plot throughout the book kept my attention, but I felt the writing was dry at some points. Since there is a completely different world to explore, we do get a lot of world-building within the dialogue which felt a little draggy to me.

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. I did enjoy the medical concepts behind the story, and the main characters felt very real mostly at the beginning. There is a lot of mystery with the man and his organization that pops what seems like out of nowhere. I kept trying to fit his place into the puzzle, but the author does a great job in keeping you in minor suspense during these times.

I would recommend this book to readers who like technology in a more humanistic way while also bringing in the YA perspective into the mix. There were times when I felt a little confused and distracted at first with some of the characters, but as the story builds, it seemed to fit into a well-rounded, surprising book.

Published: 9 July 2017

Publisher: Self-Published

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

Pages: 296

How I Read It: eBook from Author

*Disclaimer: I requested a free copy of this book from the Author in exchange for an honest review. All of my book reviews contain my honest opinion only and are not influenced in any way.*

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