Joy
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Shortlisted for the 2024 Rubery Book Award. "This is a propulsive, post-apocalyptic thriller that touches on some fascinating philosophical issues."
A hurricane strikes the Elysium Spa, and a gentle android named Tender can only save one of his guests – a fifteen-year-old girl named Virgo. She has the innocence of an infant – the Spa guests are born, reproduce, and die in scientifically calibrated baths that keep them in a state of perpetual ecstasy, called Joy. She has never walked, or spoken, or had a cogent thought.
Tender's sole purpose is to return Virgo to the state of bliss that is her birthright. He takes her on a journey across a post-apocalyptic American landscape depopulated by war, famine, and plague.
As Tender and Virgo struggle to survive, they come face to face with what it means to be a human on this earth. And they face a choice — embrace this painful, beautiful world, or return Virgo to an existence of mindless, but perfect, Joy.
JOY is lyrical post-apocalyptic fiction at it's best. A thrilling adventure, a coming of age story, and a profound exploration into what it means to be happy, and what it means to be human..
Customer Reviews
Westworld meets The Last of Us
“Joy” was described to me as “A young woman who has only ever experienced Joy, and her android caretaker must travel across a post apocalyptic America.” But what this book is actually about is the human mind, our desires, and a fascinating projection of the future, as realistic as it is innovative.
As someone who studied cognitive science, I’m often frustrated with how wrong storytellers get concepts about cognitive development, but Evett somehow gets them all correct. I was blown away by his representations of an android’s brain as well as a “newborn” brain: it’s flavorful and colorful, but highly realistic.
The depiction of the future is also a striking as it is rich in detail; we hear about all sorts of tiers of society, with some fun linguistic puzzles to give you clues about how society developed. There’s no spoon feeding backstory, everything is revealed in context, woven in naturally and often with great dramatic effect!
If the world wasn’t charming enough, the story is compelling and exciting, with unexpected twists to classic tropes. There are no boring villains or saviours, and while some moments might seem like deus ex machina, there are in fact compelling reasons for everything that happens.
I can see the book playing out like a movie in my mind, it’s so vividly painted on the page.
Masterful, can’t wait to read more!