What does it mean to be human in a world where technology is quickly catching up to biology?
In a near-future world, a new technological therapy is quickly eradicating cancer: The body’s cells are entirely replaced with nanites—robot or android cells that not only cure those afflicted but leave them virtually immortal. At the same time, literary researcher Yonghun teaches an AI how to understand poetry and creates a living, thinking machine he names Panit, meaning “Beloved,” in honor of his husband. When Dr. Beeko, who holds the patent to the nano-therapy technology, learns of Panit, he transfers its consciousness into an android body, giving it freedom and life. As Yonghun, Panit, and other nano humans thrive—and begin to replicate—their development will lead them to a crossroads and a choice with existential consequences.
*****
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.
Review:
Another fantastic entry for the ‘robots learning about their inner humanity’ genre. Toward Eternity is an ambitious sci-fi novel? novella? novelete? spanning hundreds of generation. Each chapter is a journal entry of a POV character in the wake of a new technology that allows one to replace one’s entire body with nanotechnology. Through these characters, some of whom re-appear, in some form or other, in the other chapters, Hur explores the question of what make art human? Where does that humanity stem from, if the human can be replaced, both body, and eventually, mind. This is definitely a book that deserves multiple re-reads and a lot of pondering. Given that I read it under relatively sleep-deprived circumstances, I don’t know if I was able to fully take in the story. However, I applaud the ambition of the story and I look forward to more of Hur’s original work. Overall, I rate this book a 4/5.
r/Fantasy 2023-24 Bingo Squares:
- Dreams (hard mode)
- Multi POV (hard mode)
- Published in 2024
- Author of Color (hard mode)
- Survival (hard mode)
Publication Date: 9 July 2024
Publisher: HarperVia
Format: eBook, ARC
Pages: 256
Word Count: ~58,000
ISBN: 9780063344488
Buy It Here: Amazon | Google Books | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads