
Lifers: A Novel
Release Date: Tuesday, October 15th, 2024
Published by: SparkPress
Pages: 314 pages
ISBN 13: 9781684632763
ISBN 10: 1684632765
In 'Lifers: A Novel', Keith G. McWalter presents a gripping speculative fiction tale set in 2050, where a man on the run must navigate a society grappling with the ramifications of an artificial genome that drastically extends human lifespan, amid rising tensions between generations and political factions.
Available At
Full Description
Electric with compelling action and trenchant social commentary and perfect for fans of Nikki Erlick’s The Measure, this genre-straddling work of speculative fiction examines ageism from a new and challenging perspective.
"Lifers is a fast-paced, cautionary tale about the human quest for longevity that shocks and captivates as it unveils the realities of mortality, ageism, and the power of loyalty and love."—Ann Hagedorn, author of Sleeper Agent and Beyond the River
In the year 2050, the man known as Zinn is on the run from the consequences of his greatest creation: an artificial genome that wildly increases the human lifespan. His “Methuselah gene” has gone viral, and he’s being hunted by Adele, a semi-retired CIA biowarfare specialist who hopes to find a way to reverse the genome’s effects before it’s too late.
As the longevity plague spreads, populations explode, economies are upended, and intergenerational resentments boil over. Adele searches for a cure while her former lover, Dan Altman, and his wife, Marion, wealthy political operatives both, become leaders of a movement of hundred-plus-year-old “lifers” and fight to create a sanctuary for the ultra-aged in the wilds of Colorado. Meanwhile, the Altmans’ son, Nolan, thinks he has the answer to the longevity crisis: a suicide pill that kills after one year, a death wish algorithm that will influence the super-aged to take it, and his beautiful daughter, Claire, who is a spokesperson for the growing anti-lifer backlash and the head of the federal government’s new Department for Longevity Management.
Combining a hugely topical premise with a vein of social-political satire,
"Lifers is a fast-paced, cautionary tale about the human quest for longevity that shocks and captivates as it unveils the realities of mortality, ageism, and the power of loyalty and love."—Ann Hagedorn, author of Sleeper Agent and Beyond the River
In the year 2050, the man known as Zinn is on the run from the consequences of his greatest creation: an artificial genome that wildly increases the human lifespan. His “Methuselah gene” has gone viral, and he’s being hunted by Adele, a semi-retired CIA biowarfare specialist who hopes to find a way to reverse the genome’s effects before it’s too late.
As the longevity plague spreads, populations explode, economies are upended, and intergenerational resentments boil over. Adele searches for a cure while her former lover, Dan Altman, and his wife, Marion, wealthy political operatives both, become leaders of a movement of hundred-plus-year-old “lifers” and fight to create a sanctuary for the ultra-aged in the wilds of Colorado. Meanwhile, the Altmans’ son, Nolan, thinks he has the answer to the longevity crisis: a suicide pill that kills after one year, a death wish algorithm that will influence the super-aged to take it, and his beautiful daughter, Claire, who is a spokesperson for the growing anti-lifer backlash and the head of the federal government’s new Department for Longevity Management.
Combining a hugely topical premise with a vein of social-political satire,