The Fight for Immortality by Peter Arthur‏

Jack Cousins is 16 years old and still in high school. But the hopes and plans his family have for his future are never going to happen.

New technological advances spread around the world and cause radical changes to Earth. Jack's girlfriend becomes ensnared by promises of adventure beyond the stars.

Earth is rushing into the future where the entire population will be threatened by forces of incalculable power.

When Jack discovers his girlfriend is exposed to crushing danger, he is compelled to take extreme measures that thrust self revelation upon him and determine what he must do next.

In the face of impossible odds, this young man must accept the challenge and fight for immortality - or die.

Every one in awhile a book comes along that's incredibly difficult to review.  This is just such a book.  There's so much depth to discover that it can't possibly be covered in a few short paragraphs.  It's like looking at an origami version of the Taj Mahal.  You can get an idea of what it is, but there's just no way to convey the magnificence.  Bear with me and I'll do my best.

This is not light reading.  It took me over 3 days and the only reason I was able to finish within that time was a nasty little flu bug, rendering me incapable of doing much besides reading.  Set aside a week minimum for this one.  It's worth every second of reading time, but you definitely don't want to rush it.

The description above doesn't even come close to describing the book.  I really don't want to put much more of a description on here though, because I don't think I can do it without adding some spoilers.  I can tell you this much, the media finally gets what is coming to them, and it's hilariously wrong!  

Earth and it's inhabitants are portrayed accurately.  The main characters that we have are just astounding.  Not only are they multi-dimensional, but you carry them with you through the book.  There are a lot of them, but it's not difficult at all to keep them straight.  Each one will capture a piece of you, whether it be your heart, your mind, or your emotion.  It's impossible to sit back and read this book without being moved in some way.

For  me, the highlight of this book was in the complete unexpectedness.  I read the first few pages and was expecting technical starship science fiction.  You know the type, where Scion 4 has to fix his flux capacitor in order to maintain the galactic emissions control, or some such rot.  This ending up being nothing like that, however.  The book actually takes place on Earth and starts out at a baseball game.  The rest of the book, well, most of it, takes place on Earth.  It's definitely science fiction and otherworldly, but it's also on our home planet, so despite all of the horrors that we witness there's still a bit of a safety net and comfort backdrop.  Not only that, Arthur has taken one of the greatest gifts of a writer and used it to his advantage; there is no limit. Anything can happen.  If you can imagine it, it can exist in your book.  Most of the happenings in the book, and the technology, are beyond the imagination of most people.  It's even beyond the imaginings of most of the characters in the book, but Arthur will make you believe in it.

This is not a fast-paced read, but it's definitely riveting.  I can honestly say it's one of the most engrossing books I've read recently.  If you're a hardcore sci-fi reader, this is a must have for your shelf.  If not, you may just enjoy it for the pure pleasure of it.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  Shawn