The Cure by Eve Smith @evecsmith @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours #speculativefiction #thriller #bookreview

I am delighted to share my review today for The Cure by Eve Smith. This is another brilliant, thought-provoking story about finding a cure for a disease, but that has a side effect of something completely different! I absolutely adore this author’s books and always eagerly await her next book.

My huge thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for arranging my spot on the Blog Tour and for my copy of the book from the publisher Orenda Books.

Living forever can be lethal…

Ruth is a law-abiding elder, working out her national service, but she has secrets.

Her tireless research into the disease that killed her young daughter had an unexpected the discovery of a vaccine against old age. Just one jab a year wards off age-related diseases, guaranteeing long, healthy life.

But Ruth’ s cure was hijacked by her colleague, Erik Grundleger, and his elderly billionaire backer, who hunger for immortality, and SuperJuve – a premium upgrade – was created, driving human lifespan to a new high. The wealthy elite who take it are the Supers, and the population begins to rocket.

Then, a perilous side-effect of SuperJuve emerges, with catastrophic consequences, and as the planet is threatened, the population rebels, and laws are passed to restore life ends at 120. Supers are tracked down by Omnicide investigators like Mara, and executed.

Mara has her own reasons for hunting Supers, and she forms an unlikely alliance with Ruth to find Grundleger.

But Grundleger has been working on something even more radical and is one step ahead, with a deadly surprise in store for both of them…

MY REVIEW

Once again this author has absolutely nailed her latest book. The Cure is a delve into a society that has access to living a longer life.

When Dr Ruth Hammond is looking for a cure for her daughter’s life-limiting disease, a side effect of this drug is that it can prolong life. Ruth doesn’t want anything to do with side effects but others do and the project takes a turn she does not expect. While she works on her project she sees the other one taking the world by storm. Initially, it is limited to those who can afford it so Rejuve is born, and the NHS takes it on for those who are prepared to live a fit and healthy lifestyle.

The next form of Rejuve is something that adds years to someone’s life, this is something that is definitely for the super-rich. with this increase in life expectancy then the world becomes overpopulated and something has to be done. An age limit is imposed.

I do adore dystopian and speculative fiction and this author does it so very well. While we like to imagine life is not like is in her novels, there is something that does make you stop and think. This novel is no different as the author delves into genetics, disease and illness, life expectancy and what happens with an increasingly older population. She definitely explores many avenues in this book and some took me by surprise as she takes a step further. This turns the story into a darker and more profound book as dilemmas are put on the table and adds a psychological side to it.

There are a few characters in this book, but each has an essential role, one of the main ones alongside Ruth is Mara, an officer who tracks down those who are exceeding their years. Many of the other characters are part of the story whether in the past or the present and there are some that are in both settings.

I do like how the author builds a picture of a landscape that becomes unrecognisable, with more housing there is less green space. Some megacities have evolved as towns, villages, suburbs and other cities have joined and become vast. The population has to be fed so there are mentions of food supplies, the emphasis the governments place on keeping yourself healthy, working ages and so many other things that would cause an impact on society as we know it.

The thing with this book is the way the author takes the situations we are already experiencing and then takes them to a natural future. I know these thoughts, as much as we would like to to be impossible, could become an actuality, and it makes you stop and think about where we are going in the future as far as genetics, population growth, climate changes and all the other things that are explored in this book. I think this is a book that creates more talking points, so would be brilliant for Book Clubs to discuss.

Another brilliant story from this author and one for those who like speculative fiction and dystopian novels but also thrillers, crime and psychological thrillers. It is one I would definitely recommend.

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