Editor’s Note:
Dead Forever is a Science Fiction Adventure dispensed as a Trilogy. Each book offers pieces of a puzzle that was too tough for me. Truth be told, I solved the puzzle at the same time as the hero–when the author gave us the answer. All three books are reviewed here for your pleasure.

Awakening: Dead Forever Book One

Carl Brown is a homeless man who suffers from migraines so bad he takes black market drugs everyday. The headaches get worse whenever he tries to think about the past. So, he sleeps under a bridge that gives him a view of the bright lights of the city he’ll never get to visit, and he dreams. “Dreams are better than real life,” he says.

Then he’s targeted by soldiers who look and dress the same way–black plastic jackets and black hair cuts in the shape of a helmet: black on black, BOB’s he calls them. Carl is about to learn that he’s been living on the edge of a conformist society of virtual immortals, a dumping ground for people who aren’t willing to meet society’s demands. Now the conformists (or The Association) have a new solution for aberrant citizens: they are eliminated by erasing all memory of past lives and then being banished to a lonely corner of the galaxy. Yes, they will keep reincarnating as all people do, but there will be no continuous memories on which to build. There’s even a phrase for it: Dead Forever.

But Carl is rescued just before he becomes a Popsicle ready for shipment. And he finds his problems, rather than being over, have just begun. Carl is really Adam. He has a mind control device embedded in his head that, once removed, allows him to think freely but still leaves him with no memory of his many past lives. Yet he’s expected to reclaim his place as the planet’s resistance leader. Thus begins a very human Awakening that culminates in a battle situation where he will either remember who he is or die with no memory of how to come back from the dead.

Review

In a conformist society that reincarnates, insurgents are eliminated by erasing the memory of past lives. A reluctant hero escapes the Dead Forever process, but stricken with amnesia begins a quest to awaken his memory then confront the enemy. Eager to arouse his past, a flirtatious member of the rebel team shows him the life he once enjoyed, and more.

I found Awakening, the first book in a trilogy called Dead Forever to be fast moving and fun to read: a good science fiction romp that doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. The author was mildly heavy handed when proposing certain beliefs or concepts, but I was looking for these. Most readers won’t notice.

This was a professionally written and solidly edited book that I feel is well worth the price and time you’ll spend on it. Cool science concepts made believable and an interesting storyline by an author who’s unafraid to have some fun while he’s writing. A great example of micro-publishing.

Apotheosis: Dead Forever Book Two

Adam is an important man, perhaps the leader of the resistance against the planetary destroying “Association.” We’re not sure, because Adam isn’t sure himself.

You see, Adam is in an extremely dangerous line of work: he gets killed a lot. And while he’s dead, the man’s past lives are open to him. He doesn’t like this at all. He dislikes it so much, in fact, that he chooses not to remember his past lives when he acquires a new body.

His friends, having been through this many times, won’t help him remember who he is. It’s my belief (it’s not spelled out in the story) that these people feel that since Adam chooses to forget, it’s up to him to remember what he’s lost. As you might imagine, friend and foe having access to endless knowledge and skills, while he’s for the most part an amnesiac, makes it almost impossible for Adam to do his job.

Adam, typical of many of his lives (this is only inferred), muddles his way through a civil war on an alien planet where he’s viewed as a god, where he does battle with a human who does believe and act as if he was a god, and where he’s ultimately forced to mediate peace talks he knows in his gut will fail in the most horrific of ways.

Review

Apotheosis: The fact or action of becoming a god; deification; Glorification, exaltation; crediting someone with extraordinary power or status; A glorified example or ideal; the apex or pinnacle (of a concept or belief). In short (and in this novel), elevating someone to the level of a god.

The second book in the Dead Forever series opens with Adam in this exact fix. The two warring races indigenous to the planet on which he finds himself insist on treating Adam as a god. Adam finds this inconvenient, as he’s only interested in finding his missing lover. But as time progresses, he discovers the only way he’s going to get what he wants is to end the war. Much of Apotheosis deals with this situation, but the writing lacks the sense of speed I experienced in the first book. Although, there’s a good chance the author’s multiple surprises near and at the end of the book may be more dramatic because of that pacing.

Perhaps it would be best just to say I believe Apotheosis is another solid science fiction adventure from William Campbell, one with a unique idea that drives it ever forward. At the end of it all, I didn’t resent the slower pace, and I enjoyed the continuing complexities of Adam’s life.

Resonance: Dead Forever Book Three

Damian is a strange boy who has memories from past lives. Sometimes these memories are useful, like knowing that the reason we have earwax is to keep out bugs–they don’t like the smell of the wax. And sometimes there are memories he would give anything to forget… The boy is growing up during the cold war, and there are days it appears that nothing will stop the coming rain of bombs. Damian remembers what it feels like to die that way. He never wants to experience it again. But adults aren’t interested in disruptive behaviour and an overactive imagination. Those in the school system are the worst; they see a child in need of therapy and medication. Thank goodness for a mother willing to stand behind her boy when he needs it most.

As an adult, Damian’s notions prove true when he encounters people from a distant past, also reincarnated on Earth. They tell him his name is Adam, and one friend seems especially eager for Adam to remember who he is. But are these people, who seem to know each other very well, friends or enemies? Why have they all collected on Earth at this time and in this way? The answer is sure to surprise you. It also provides the missing (and I believe needed) bridges between the three novels, bringing each clearly into focus. Awakening… Apotheosis… Resonance. Science Fiction as original as it comes. I hope you enjoy the series as much as I did.

Publisher: http://www.glydevanspress.com/
Author: http://www.deadforever.com/


Copyright, Clayton Clifford Bye 2011