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A review by bookishreveriess
Body of Work: City of Dreams by Kenneth E. Harrell
5.0
Body of Work: City of Dreams by Kenneth Harrell follows the story of nineteen year old Tara in the futuristic city of Avalon. Ever since she was little, Tara dreamed of leaving her life at the meat farm her parents owned and moving to the city. In the city, she could work, save money, and make her dream come true of getting a new body. After being born with a debilitating condition and being stuck to a wheelchair all of her life, she wanted her life to be hers and be free, which is why she ended up joining an Agency to work as a Companion for the rich people of the city. This guaranteed her a Conscious Transfer procedure and a new body to work with but, most importantly, it would get her away from her family and straight into a new life. Now, her job as a companion isn’t easy, but she will do anything to make a life of her own, pay her debts and be free. That includes taking an offer for a job that may be a lot more difficult and darker than it looks.
To be honest, I went into this book completely blind. I was in the lookout for a sci-fi/futuristic novella and had no idea what to expect from it. Thankfully, I ended up being pleasantly surprised by it. Even though it’s a novella, the story felt rich and powerful. It had enough world building, enough character background and it actually captivated me from start to finish. I really didn’t expect this story to be about a Companion but that only made Tara’s story even more interesting. The way the author describes the hardships she had to go through throughout her early years with a troublesome family that didn’t really appreciate her because of her condition and how that changes as she moves to the city and yet she still tries and doesn’t give up. I really loved Tara’s character and how she still managed to be a forgiving and loving character towards people that didn’t really deserve it. I also loved the futuristic feel of this story and how ingrained technology is in every aspect of Tara’s life—except on her night outs with Bjorn.
In the end, Body of Work: City of Dreams ended up being a lot better and a lot deeper than I expected. It may be a short novella, but the author manages to take advantage of every page and introduces us to this dark and twisted futuristic world where the rich eat the poor and people change bodies like they change clothes. What made this story even more interesting is the fact that the author managed to give you a deep sense of how dark this world can be and the things people are willing to do to survive. And the best part? They make sure you don’t forget about it either. To conclude, this novella ended up being a lot of fun and extremely interesting. I loved the pace of the story, the writing, and the world that came to life through these pages and I definitely recommend it for any fans of sci-fi/cyberpunk stories out there!
To be honest, I went into this book completely blind. I was in the lookout for a sci-fi/futuristic novella and had no idea what to expect from it. Thankfully, I ended up being pleasantly surprised by it. Even though it’s a novella, the story felt rich and powerful. It had enough world building, enough character background and it actually captivated me from start to finish. I really didn’t expect this story to be about a Companion but that only made Tara’s story even more interesting. The way the author describes the hardships she had to go through throughout her early years with a troublesome family that didn’t really appreciate her because of her condition and how that changes as she moves to the city and yet she still tries and doesn’t give up. I really loved Tara’s character and how she still managed to be a forgiving and loving character towards people that didn’t really deserve it. I also loved the futuristic feel of this story and how ingrained technology is in every aspect of Tara’s life—except on her night outs with Bjorn.
In the end, Body of Work: City of Dreams ended up being a lot better and a lot deeper than I expected. It may be a short novella, but the author manages to take advantage of every page and introduces us to this dark and twisted futuristic world where the rich eat the poor and people change bodies like they change clothes. What made this story even more interesting is the fact that the author managed to give you a deep sense of how dark this world can be and the things people are willing to do to survive. And the best part? They make sure you don’t forget about it either. To conclude, this novella ended up being a lot of fun and extremely interesting. I loved the pace of the story, the writing, and the world that came to life through these pages and I definitely recommend it for any fans of sci-fi/cyberpunk stories out there!