Gunjita and Cav are in orbit.

R&D scientists for pharmaceutical giant Gleem Galactic, they are wealthy enough to participate in rejuvenation: rebooting themselves from old age to jump their bodies back to their twenties. You get two chances. There can never be a third.

After Gunjita has juved for the second and final time and Cav has not, questions of life, death, morality, and test their relationship. Up among the stars, the research possibilities are infinite and first contact is possible, but their marriage may not survive the challenge. So this is a tricky one to write, mostly because…well, I didn’t finish the book. I think this is maybe only the second DNF I’ve had for the blog, and it’s still something I struggle with. It’s that never knowing that really gets to me, you know? Like the what ifs? But I am trying to not only learn to trust my gut on things like this, but also to put a value on my time & not slog through a thing that is clearly not for me.

So, Longer.

It’s a sci-fi novella, about a wife & husband research team, Gunjita and Cav. They are the only passengers on an orbiting research vessel, owned by a pharmaceutical company called Gleem Galactic.

In this world, there’s a process one can go through called juving, basically resetting your biological timer & starting off fresh. Most people (that can afford to) choose to do this in their early 80’s, and wind back to (I think) somewhere in their 20’s? I’m not sure. But young. You can only safely undergo this procedure twice, meaning you can effectively live nearly three lifetimes.

When we meet Cav, he’s in his mid-80’s and has been dragging his feet on juving again. Much to the chagrin of Gunjita, who has, and wants him to join her so they can be youthful together. This is a source of tension & bickering & secrecy & just…weirdness for the two of them.

I found this to be tedious & annoying, really. The dynamic between these two characters didn’t pull me into the story at all, and what I did read involved a whole bunch of waiting around & just…blah. Everything felt kind of odd for odd’s sake, and I bailed. Your mileage may vary, but this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to TOR.COM PUBLISHING for the copy! Longer releases today, 5.28.19