The Postmortal (2011) by Drew Magary is the story about what happens to the world when a geneticist unintentionally stumbles upon the cure for aging, which is at first leaked to the public by way of underground networks and black markets, but eventually released to the general public as a cure that anybody with a few hundred dollars can buy for themselves. The cure does not grant immortality, people can still die from terminal illnesses if they contract them, or by means of physical harm/violence which would kill anybody, but the cure does stop the aging process. So if you get the cure at age 25, you will live the rest of your life looking the same as you did at 25 with none of the visual signs of aging or associated musculoskeletal degradation. None of this is a meaningful spoiler, it's all clearly laid out very early in the book.
The Format
For me, the format is actually one of the most interesting parts of the book. It's told in a series of various journal entries, emails, news transcriptions, headlines, and probably several other forms I'm not recalling immediately off the top of my head. I think Magary's experience as a journalist comes through for him in spades with this format. For me personally, it never felt convoluted, and it served as a very interesting means of worldbuilding that didn't require nearly as many deep dives into various scenes across chapters and time. It felt like he was able to paint a very adequate picture of the world as he went along, which was evident in the behavior of his protagonist as well.
The Protagonist
The main character John is decidedly unlikeable, and definitely done on purpose. At the beginning of the book, we meet him as a mortal 29 year old lawyer who has yet to receive the cure. What's frustrating is that he's often unlikeable in a highly relatable way. His poor decisions (and his good ones) throughout the book are incredibly human, and the degree to which I could envision myself making a lot of similar decisions if I were placed in his shoes is rather unsettling.
The Conflicts
I'll fully admit that there are still parts of this book that I wish got better explanations. I won't be any more specific than that, because I don't want to drop any hints about what potential readers may or may not find out as they go along. But I will say that the general goings-on in the world (and mostly focused on the US, where the book takes place) where the opportunity to cure aging is thrust upon a capitalist society feels disturbingly realistic and in-tune. From the corporate side to the spiritual/religious side to the parasocial/societal side to the legal side, it all feels completely plausible, and that did not feel good (nor is it supposed to).
The Writing
The format of this book being what it is, in my opinion, allows for a bit of leniency when evaluating this book from a technical writing perspective. It's far from perfect, there are times where the prose feels a bit too purple for the context/tone, but overall I think Magary did a pretty solid job with the balance of tone, descriptiveness, and situationally appropriate and relatable dialog. I could probably have done with a bit less simile, but aside from that I don't have a lot to complain about.
I'll also acknowledge that there are some thematic elements which may or may not be realistic for people who work professionally in certain fields. As somebody who does not specialize in any of those fields, I cannot in good conscience speak to their accuracy, and all I can say is that it sounded legit from a layperson's POV. But that's the risk with sci-fi/spec fic, you can't please everybody!
Final Thoughts
I've seen some comments from people who didn't like the ending of this book, but for me personally, I mostly disagree. I think the ending is actually very apt, both story-wise and character-wise. The only thing I wish I got from the ending was more of the above-mentioned conflict explanation. In terms of how Magary chose to finish the book, from a plot arc perspective though, I think he nailed it. The protagonist was given a legitimately complex balance of situational character development and self-induced stubborn developmental stunting (if that makes sense) that felt authentically human.
This was a really fascinating read that I'd absolutely recommend to anybody looking for a (from my perspective) unique dystopian tale. It gets an 8.5/10 for me, and I'm sure will earn a reread at some point later down the line after it has had some time to simmer.
by PsyferRL