Lifers: A Novel

When the boomers stop dying, hope and chaos collide. A gripping future history of science, love, and the power of community.Deep in the cells of a young woman's body, something new is moving, seeking, replicating itself: an artificial genome, part protein, part algorithm, that will shatter the limits of her lifespan and that of every human being on earth. She is patient zero of a pandemic of extreme longevity for which there is no cure but a chosen death.  Populations explode, society's ingrained ageism turns deadly, and one extraordinary family confronts the social and political implications of life without end as it navigates violent ageism, the politics of scarcitry, love rivalries, and dreams of an ageless utopia in a trans-generational struggle to redefine what it means to be mortal.  Equally perfect for fans of The Measure and The Ministry for the Future, conjuring a near-future world of skin-chip networks, eVTOL travel, full-body tattoos and delayed suicide drugs, Lifers is an electrifying work of speculative fiction, a searching interrogation of the quest for longevity, and a lyrical accounting of the cost of life without end.  "A fast-paced, cautionary tale about the human quest for longevity that shocks and captivates as it explores the realities of mortality, ageism, and the power of loyalty and love." -- Ann Hagedorn, author of Sleeper Agent and Beyond the River "If Ann Patchett wrote sci-fi, this is what it might look like. A great read with a thought-provoking premise, and a sure-fire conversation starter for that dinner party you're dreading." -- Arlene Dillon, journalist and former President of the White HouseCorrespondents' Association Read more