Athena's Choice

By: Adam Boostrom

Narrated by: Alex Ford

What if a viral pandemic put women in charge of the planet?

Athena Vosh lives just like any other teenager from the year 2099. She watches reality shows with her friends, eats well, and occasionally wonders to herself: What would life be like if men were still alive?

It has been almost 50 years since an experimental virus accidentally killed all the men on earth. However, a controversial project is currently underway to bring men back. There's just one catch. The project has been sabotaged.

So begins Athena's Choice. When the police of 2099 are tasked with finding the saboteur, they receive a mysterious command to investigate the otherwise innocuous Athena Vosh. After it becomes clear that the young girl might know more than she lets on, Athena is brought in to participate in the official investigation. Simultaneously, the girl begins to experience a series of cryptic dreams featuring a ruined library and an old book containing the saboteur’s true identity. As the police close in on their prize, Athena finds herself on a journey of her own. Her clue-filled dreams and incorruptible spirit bring her face-to-face with a pair of forgotten truths about happiness and gender. The world waits to see if men will return as Athena fights a separate battle, culminating in the choice that will define her and others' lives forever.

©2019 Adam Boostrom (P)2019 Adam Boostrom

Love it!

After the Y fever killed off all males, females continued to live on. However, many of them miss the presence of something they have never have. In the future, scientists are trying to reverse the Y-fever, to bring back males, but not everyone wants them to come back. So when Athena Vosh, a teenager in the year 2099, is contacted by the Third Core to help resolve the issue of the missing data, she finds herself in the middle of an interesting dilemma. The fate of mankind lies in her hands. Will she bring them back or let the world move on without them?

I absolutely loved this book. I thought the idea of it, the worldbuilding, and the characters were all phenomenally done. Not only did we get an awesome look of technology in the future, we get to ponder the idea of what would happen to the world if one gender was somehow eliminated. This story had everything that makes a great read—food for thought, suspense, romance, angst, and mystery.

Narration was done in a way that beautifully brought each character to life. Words were clearly enunciated and it was easy to lose myself listening.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Interesting.

I was given this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the book was going to be different, but it wasn't bad. The world was cool, but you have to suspend disbelief with some of the cultural representations. It didn't bother me, even though I'm a guy. It's just a book. But even so, I felt it was a little extreme in its portrayal.

The characters were fun, though, so I didn't mind xD

Fresh! Invigorating! Bold!

I was given a copy of this in hardback but as a business owner and mom of twins my reading time is limited to audiobooks so I bought the audio and was immediately whisked into this future world absent of men. Several things blew me away about this book and one of them is Boostrom, a first time author mind you, can write women including teenagers with the best of them. I had to keep checking Boostrom was not a woman. The depth and complexities of his characterizations and the world building is astounding. Another thing about this book was the subject matter. It is not enough to say his work is thought provoking as Boostrom forces you to confront and question what perhaps, before reading his book, you never would have in essence your own sense of morality. It is no wonder Boostrom's debut won numerous awards.

And now onto the narration. Alex Ford has the kind of voice she just want to curl up in to. There is a purity to her sound that is aurally pleasing and her range is exceptional. Beyond this Ford displays her artistry as she embodies character after character with nuance subtlety and even humor. Her voice has a razors edge at times and one beat later it is like the the softness of a fuzzy blanket bringing warmth and radiance.

In my opinion this is the perfect pairing. I look forward to reading more of Boostrom and hearing more of Ford. Both are superstars in my book!

Great futuristic novel!!

This novel kept me interested from the start! Set in the future where everything is automated & men do not exist, Athena plight makes you really think about human nature & choices. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is in to Sci-fi or futuristic settings!
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Unique twist on an apocalypse/pandemic

I really enjoyed the thought that was put into this work. It
leaves you to ponder what if this really happened? Can society ever truly be at peace with ourselves and nations across the globe? I feel like I'm not articulating very well the dilemmas that could come from an event such as this. Which way is best? I don't think anyone is qualified to make that big of decision alone. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Best book I’ve read all year

I’ve read over 80 books so far this year and this is truly the best one.
It was thought provoking, heart wrenching and completely plausible. I am a completely straight polyamorous woman. I can’t imagine life without the two men I love.... yet this book made me do just that, imagine life without men. I too have experienced violence from men but I’ve also experienced such love and tenderness as well. I would be a lonely heart. The way the story unfolds with all of the little side additions, it was just amazing. I didn’t want it to end. While Adam says people ask him what Athena’s final choice was I feel I know 100%....and it was given away with her final few lines. How perfect that I had a raindrop on my windshield at the same time she felt one on her face. This story and these characters will stay with me for a lifetime. I was moved..... no other way to say it.
This book was amazing!
Narration was excellent. Alex did and excellent job. Her voice was perfect for each character.
I was voluntarily provided this review copy at no charge by the author, publisher and or narrator.

Surprisingly amazing

I was surprised by this book! I love science fiction. The advanced tech in this book was described I such a way that made it easy to envision and desire. The pursuit of self and knowledge was truly inspiring. I even cried at a few parts. It was easy to relate to as a women. The whole female cast was also refreshing. And the fact that a man wrote this makes it even more relevant as it really expresses human nature In females as mistakes that we could make to protect.
His moral In this story is truly insightful and I think even men should read it! I do feel like a sequel is necessary! Leaving it with a question is intriguing but also frustrating!
The narrator was pretty good. I tend to lean towards male narrations but I would listen to her again!
Recommend 10/10

Chris Y.

A visionary book about a dystopian future! I really appreciated the vivid imagery that the author converts... made me really think about what the future is going to be like.

When’s the movie coming out???

Ignore the implausibility and a short time frame

This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by this author and I would listen to another. I enjoyed this book and it’s concepts. I am rating the book based on ignoring all of the issues and the unlikelihood’s I find in this story. Rating it based on the mystery and intrigue and my overall enjoyment of the book, I’ve put it at a 4/5.

Of course if you delve too deeply into it, there are a lot of unanswered questions… Like how you can lose half the population of the world and within 48 years be more advanced scientifically and socially. To have citizen benefits so that no one has to worry about work or money anymore? How is that possible? How did they create fully automated hydroponic farms, massive wind farms – who did the labor? Who had the knowledge? I don’t think any of that is implausible except for the short timeframe. In fact, I think a society of only women would accomplish all this.
I would think there would be a lot of upheaval- reordering of jobs, issues educating or training more women to take on the previously male held jobs, drastic measures to ensure women would be able to reproduce, struggles for leadership. There would likely be a standstill of a lot of relied upon systems due to the loss of so many people running them. How could they maintain the garbage disposal, energy production, food production, communications, medicine? I imagine the women would move to convene in central locations to make these conveniences available. I think all this could be done, but computer/ robotic enhancements would take more time.
Then again, we are not privy to what scientific advancements were already in place prior to the death of all men. Maybe they already had pills to provide oxygen to your body to prevent lactic acid buildup, implants for sensations, ability to edit genomes?
But I don’t think that’s what this point of this book is- it is to ask the question - if all men disappeared from the world would they truly be missed? Are they an integral part of society or do they prevent social evolution and peace?
Athena, the police officer, the AI, the dreams… they all provide a wonderful mystery that involves the stolen genome, the reason why it was created and why it was stolen. The book ends on a major cliffhanger that makes the reader/listener not think about the mystery and events leading up to the end of the book, but the overall hanging question… are men integral, and if they were gone, should they be brought back?

This is the first book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Alex Ford ) and I would listen to another. I think she did great giving each character a distinct voice. She does not read with an over animated style. Her style is perfect to make the book seem like it was happening in my head instead of just listening to someone reading to me.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Great premise, good story and a couple issues

Note: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

3.5*

A premise like this always intrigues me. Men are gone and women now rule alone, while also debating whether they should bring men back? It's a very interesting thought experiment in itself without a whole book to encourage the process.

The story brings up a lot of questions and seems quite relevant in today's social climate. On the surface things look good: technology has advanced greatly, people are living mostly in harmony and poverty seems to have been eradicated (at least in the part of the world this is set). It appears to be a fairly utopian society despite the massive hardship the population endured just decades ago, but things are definitely not as they seem. The story is fast paced and there is always something happening that is relevant to the main plot. I loved the blend of futuristic sci-fi with social themes and in my opinion some of the best stories are those that tackle current issues in a totally different setting.

I would love to say that this was a 5 star read and I found nothing lacking, but there are some issues I have and they invariably made me rate this book at 3.5 stars. Firstly, I hesitate to call this "feminist" because I don't believe feminism means women ruling in place of men; to me feminism's core is equality between all genders. Second, I found the handling of non cisgendered people to be lacking; transmen are briefly mentioned as an afterthought rather than something that was fully fleshed out. Finally, the science of some of the workings of the society wasn't explained. This is not a hard sci-fi novel nor does it claim to be but some crucial things like how the women are conceiving children without men would have been nice to know (but this is probably just me and many readers likely just want to enjoy the story).

On a last note, I'd like to point out that this book has an open ending. Whether this means there will be a sequel or you're expected to form your own conclusions is not entirely clear, though I suspect it's the latter. This may not sit well with some readers and while I myself am not a huge fan of open endings, I think this was one of the better ways to handle it.