The idea is not brand new, but it was developed in an interesting way. In a society where it is possible to somehow hibernate the "self" of the deceased, it becomes possible to implant this "self" in a host body, even if for a limited period of time. But who are these host bodies? For safety reasons they must be young and robust. And what better source of young and robust bodies can there be than the lower strata of society, people who are willing to give up a certain period of their lives in exchange for a substantial sum of money, so that they can live out their dreams?
All right, then? Of course not.
As I said, the plot has been developed in an interesting way, but some contradiction and some naivety in the development of the characters' personalities make it impossible to give the work full marks.

Transhumanism is the area of literary research I hope to go into with my PhD. This one was an excellent alternative window into the school of thought and has left me lots to think about

Secret procedures? The desire to live again? The rich indiscriminately taking advantage of the poor? I'm listening! Jane Rogers had me hooked pretty quickly once I read the blurb for Body Tourists. Science Fiction is one of my favourite genres, and there have been some great experimental SciFi novels lately, such as Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson for example. Body Tourists joins that rank, although it isn't quite as solid as the former. Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have always thought of Science Fiction as one of the key genres that is able to predict and discuss where we might be going. Science and progress have become elemental to our society. If we aren't moving forward, then what are we doing? This in and of itself leads to progress for progress' sake, where the question isn't 'should we' but 'when will we'. It is these type of questions that lie at the foundation of a classic like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Just because Frankenstein has the ability to create life, should he have? Both author and Creature seem to decidedly suggest no, but the fascination is there regardless for the reader. We know it isn't right, that Frankenstein was cruel, and yet we can't help but be in awe of what he achieved. Similarly, H.G. Well's Dr. Moreau is probably certifiably insane and yet there is something that won't let you look away. It is this moral grey area, that contrasts humanity's curiosity with its morality, that elevates Science Fiction for me. Who knows how any of us would act, what choices we would make, if we found ourselves in similar situations, with similar options. If you could, wouldn't you bring your loved ones back?

In Body Tourists we meet an array of characters, all, in some way, involved with the workings of a small clinic that is quietly bringing the wealthy dead back to life for fourteen days, using the bodies of "willing volunteers". Now, I won't go into why those quotation marks are there, but it does hint at one of the interesting themes brought up by Rogers' novel, which is bodily autonomy and how much of your character and personality is decided by your body. Can you sign away your body while your mind rests and not be affected? How different would you be if you were in a different body? It is clearer now than ever that the colour of your skin vastly affects what kind of life you can lead. I was intrigued by the way Rogers worked with the idea that body and soul are separate and yet deeply tied together. Other themes addressed in Body Tourists are the gap between rich and poor, the effects of virtual reality and constant access to screens, and the endless desire to once again meet our departed loved ones. It is the second, the presence of screens and AI everywhere, that balances dangerously between being a little cliche and having meaning.

This is my first novel by Rogers and I really enjoyed her ability to create characters. Body Tourists is low on the science, which is understandable since, like Frankenstein, the science at the heart of the novel does not actually exist. As such, it mostly focuses on the varying experiences of the different volunteers and revived dead. I really enjoyed the back and forth between these different characters, many of which we see reappear in other narratives later on. Body Tourists is told chronologically, but since much of the emotional weight of the book is with characters you might never revisit, it can slow down the reading for you. Body Tourists dorsn't feel quite as groundbreaking as I was expecting, going in. The concept isn't super new, and neither is the idea that screen time may be bad for you. When something like Black Mirror exists, that purposefully pushes the technology we have to the brink, then it is worth for novels to work on a similar level, revealing deeper truths about our own ideas and practices. What "saves" the novel from feeling outdated, for me, was the sheer humanity of most of Jane Rogers' characters. You can connect quite deeply to some of them, which means that Body Tourists has been on my mind every since I finished it. The reader's connection to the characters is what will let the themes suggested by Rogers percolate and develop.

Body Tourists will leave you with many questions about the nature of life and what you would be willing to do for it. Rogers is a captivating writer who elevates these questions.

This post will be featured on A Universe in Words from 6/5/ 2020 onwards.

As much as I love a good sci-fi novel, I must admit I haven’t really been giving them very high starred reviews recently! It may just be an unfortunate run of books or perhaps given the current climate, stories of oppressive government regimes or dodgy science facilities aren’t quite the escapism I need as they hit a little close to home!

Body Tourists was a nice refreshing change to some of the sci-fi I have read recently but it isn’t without its faults. The story is intriguing and reminded me a little of the movie ‘Get Out’ – the wealthy dead are reanimated into the bodies of young, poor volunteers for two weeks to live out one final lifetime before being put to rest. It’s a great concept and makes for a pacey read that I finished in about 2 sittings. I would perhaps argue it’s a little too short – at only 270 pages there’s actually a lot more world building and character background that I was crying out for but also a lot of things I felt could actually be edited out. I wanted to know more about the wider world – the bots who are integrated into everyday life and the people in society that are against them. We learn a few things in context of the characters but it would have been great to get a wider look before jumping into the project. We also jump a lot from perspective to perspective and particularly early on it’s hard to tell which character is which and what their relevance to the story is. This is very apparent in the story of Elsa and Lindy, their earlier chapters would make a great short story but seemed randomly thrown in when mixed up with all of the other storylines. The ending explores some interesting questions as to the culpability of a guest’s actions but actually this bit which should have been the climax of the piece is almost skipped over sadly and we don’t really understand what happened or why. If we had perhaps got an insight into the Guest who had been transferred it would have made a little more sense and tied it all together nicely.

One of my biggest problems with the story was the realism. This is a scientific trial and as such must have gone though funding and testing and greenlighting for human experimentation. Luke is extremely unrealistic as a character and makes some very stupid decisions. He brings guests back in bodies that are a different sex and ethnicity which must be very jarring for the subjects. He also is fine to let people leave the facility or travel around unsupervised. He puts up initial reservations about it and then seems to go ‘yep that’s fine’ to anyone who asks despite the initial death of one of his hosts. For someone who would want his study to be greenlit, he doesn’t seem to have any motivation for allowing the guests to do this and as such it seemed like a very odd choice and made for a frustrating read at times.

Overall, I would say that Body Tourists is a great concept but one I think needs a bit of expanding, editing and reworking before it becomes a 5 star read. Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton – Sceptre for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book but I just couldn’t.

There was a lot of description which I generally find difficult to read so it was partly that the style of the book didn’t work for me.

But I also didn’t like the complete lack of respect for the host bodies. That the lead scientist had sex with a body that was playing ‘host’ to a dead scientist and for no apparent reason either. There was no relationship there, it just seemed to sex for the sake of it and made the whole story feel a bit seedy.

Not for me I’m afraid.

An interesting premise that Rogers uses to explore multiple ethical conundrums of identity, the soul, and death. The writing is good but sometimes fell flat for me.

An original idea for a story, this shows a few of the good and bad scenarios for letting someone take over another persons body. However, it largely traded on the negative and moral issues rather than rounding out the plot a bit more. This was a good read and nicely written characters, but the plot could have been taken so much further

An enjoyable read which takes the concept of body hacking to its extreme, in a world where it is possible for the dead to be reincarnated through ‘borrowing’ the body of a live host. Through following a number of different characters Jane Rogers exanibes the pros and cons of such an idea, with some chilling outcomes.
Although the idea is good, and the wriitng generally excellent, I felt the structure of the book didn’t make it as compelling as it might be. It felt like a series of short stories on a theme chopped and and fitted back together, whereas the ending felt rushed and rather lame.

I did enjoy this book but I was frustrated with it too. The idea of downloading a person's memory and implanting it after death into a new young body isn't new and I'm sure it appeals to most people on some level. What I fudnt understand was why, having given someone this chance, you would then cart most of them off to an island for two weeks with a bunch of strangers. In the blurb you are given the impression that the selected individuals would get the opportunity to right wrongs, tie up loose ends, have a last chance with loved ones. For most of these characters that doesn't happen.
The plot brings up very interesting ethical questions and I would have liked these examined in much more detail. There are too many individual stories to have any depth and Luke, in particular, was a very shallowly drawn character.
My thanks to netgalley for this copy.

This was a Sci-Fi from the scientific point of view. Brains from wealthy people are frozen and then transplanted into younger bodies so that the donor can experience life in a younger body for a limited amount of time i.e. 14 days. It costs an exorbitant amount but they obviously feel it is worth the costs and they are completely free to do exactly what they want and there is the danger!! Fascinating concept but rather unprincipled.

Speculative fiction with a fabulous premise - what if you had a chance to come back after death? Two weeks of extra life, in a fresh new body... How would you spend your time? Righting wrongs? Tying up loose ends? Having a blast? This novels brims with ideas but, for me, got watered down by so many narrative perspectives vying for attention.

I found this book interesting and thought-provoking; it would make a good book-club choice. However, I wasn't really gripped by it; the story was quite similar to a lot of other books of this type, and I felt it lacked real impact. I would still recommend it though.

An intriguing idea. Young, impoverished, healthy people are offered payment in return for their bodies taken over for two weeks by the long deceased. Set in the near future, it is a world that is familiar and seen from several viewpoints. An enjoyable read.

A very unique concept for a story, it really makes you wonder. What would happen if you were to "rent" a body for two weeks and have your dead loved one again? Jane Rogers has written an excellent imagining of that principle without any of the spiritual driven discussions. She has developed an excellent cast of characters, some very definitely out for themselves, and placed them into a society that feels that money is all the privilege you need to justify any action. The genre maybe scifi but the story is a good read for everyone.

The premise of this is great, and really interesting. I found the start of the book quite fast paced, but didn't find that the second half slowed in pace. The story is set in the not so distant future, and makes you think about how body tourism could eventually become reality.

Body Tourists by Jane Rogers is based on an interesting concept where people who have have become deceased (largely old and wealthy) can be brought back to life for a temporary period to enjoy life or to give loved ones closure, using the body of a young fit person. The story is told from different characters, the person who created the technology enabling people to be bought back, the person financing the venture, the people brought back and those bringing back their loved ones, as well as those loaning their bodies for the venture. I thought it was a really interesting idea and the pros and cons of such a concept were told really well with experiences of body tourism that go well and some not so much. The idea raises questions of morality and really makes you think that if such technology was available would you take up such an experience.

To get the awkwardness out of the way first - I read this book ages ago but just wasn't quite ready to review it until now. Why? Well on a superficial level this book is enjoyable if somewhat to creepy read. Great - just my kind of book. Unfortunately, if you even analyse it slightly then the narrative becomes terrifying. Set at some point in the near future, the story revolves around a clinic and those who use the clinic to benefit their lives. If only it were that simple. 

You see this is a classic body swap, reminiscent of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (what an underrated, and also incredibly dark, show), where the exploitation of the young and desperate is facilitated by impressive brain doctors and shady rich folks. In Dollhouse, those exploited are mostly criminals whos only other option is a prison sentence. In Body Tourists those being exploited are not criminals but those who had the misfortune to be born poor and want a life out of poverty. In both cases, the customers are rich people, the only difference being that in this book the paying customers are the families of the people inserted into the bodies, unlike dollhouse where the brain scientists design the perfect person for the customer to enjoy. 

Setting aside the absolute horror of the storyline, it is not hard to imagine the social politics that led to the society as written. It seems to be the way we are heading - the rich get richer and the poor poorer, provided with a fragment of what it is like to have anything you want (in this case virtual reality allows those living on the estates freedom from the grimness of their lives). This is already happening - the accessibility of mobile phones and devices is distracting those who otherwise would feel helpless in their situations. 

4.5 stars out of 5. Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for an advanced egalley.

This was very interesting and different story and plot, somewhat scary if it could happen lol I read it quite quickly too as it was fast paced and just a pleasure to disappear into this world. Would recommend.

This is not my usual kind of read but I spotted it on SJHigbee’s blog and her post made me want to read it and I’m so glad I did. This is set in a future where a private clinic has pioneered a medical technique that enables people to be brought back to life by having their memory bank transferred into young people’s bodies for fourteen days at a time. It’s a chance for people to put things right, to say a proper goodbye to their loved ones. The story is told from multiple viewpoints – the people who are brought back, the people who agree to give up their body for a time and the people running the clinic. There is so much in this novel, it’s so moving to think of having the chance to spend time with a loved one again and to have one more conversation so that really got to me. The novel is also so much about the ethics of paying people to sacrifice their own body for two weeks, the secrecy surrounding what actually happens and the way the truth is buried if anything goes wrong. It really is such a thought-provoking novel and it’s one that I’m sure I’ll be thinking about for a long time to come. I recommend this one, and if you’re not sure it’s your type of book I urge you to give it a try.

This was a thought provoking read, what if you could come back for 2 weeks after death in the body of someone else. It raises many thought provoking subjects; how can a download of someone’s consciousness be a person, therefore is the whole endeavour for the benefit of the person requesting their ‘resurrection’. It isn’t real. Also the payment for the loan of the body is going to attract the vulnerable and poorest members of society, would this be morally acceptable? I enjoyed reading the different stories within the one book, some amused me and others saddened me. It was a very good concept, well written and I look forward to the next book from Jane Rogers.