Bodies: A Romantic Bloodbath by Moses Yuriyvich Mikheyev
Authenticity is at risk when genetically altered clones begin replacing the population, whether it’s spouses desiring improvement in their partners, or parents wishing for healthy children. Leo Oaks and his girlfriend find themselves getting deeper and deeper in a world full of secrets, where a wrong move could result in losing their life to a lab-grown copy.
(WARNING: This review contains minor spoilers.)
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I thank Moses Yuriyvich Mikheyev and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity.
It’s always a bold move to try and appeal to fans of such and such an author, in this case Stephen King. Bodies: A Romantic Bloodbath began with the introduction of Vince Nilsson, a misogynistic high school genius that just happened to be the most capable murderer in the world (seriously, he completely aced that totally unrealistic double murder in the beginning), as well as the sole individual responsible for perfecting human cloning. Let’s face it, clones replacing people is thought-provoking in itself, so the potential was definitely there, but it missed the mark. The truth is that I found so SO many issues here, and it wasn’t the graphic content I didn’t connect with – my tastes lean toward mature themes in general – but more at just how disjointed and uneventful the entire book felt from the get-go. The POV constantly shifted from first-person to third, and there were pages and pages of chunky dialogue with multiple characters making nonsensical decisions – I was either in a state of boredom or disbelief. The bouts of violence and death that did occur were either glossed over or, as I mentioned above, extremely far-fetched. I really believe it could’ve benefited from more extensive feedback overall.
In conclusion: I didn’t like Bodies: A Romantic Bloodbath, but I’ll admit it touched on some interesting subjects relating to identity. In a futuristic setting, it followed several characters in their experiences with illegal cloning and a mysterious corporation named Emergence. I had a difficult time getting through it, all told, as the majority was either people sitting around talking philosophy or making stupidly ridiculous mistakes.
It just wasn’t for me, I’m afraid.
© Red Lace 2021
Red Lace Reviews 