Reviewed by:
Michael Thal
Genre:
Science Fiction
Approximate
word count:
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes &
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Author:
Graduating from
Pepperdine University with a Masters in Business Administration in
2012, Narbeh Avanessian became the Product Marketing Manager at
Digital Extremes, a Los Angeles firm. Avanessian enjoys his downtime
writing science fiction and studying video games.
Description:
Alexander the
Great is said to have uncovered a healing “river of paradise” in
the fourth century B.C. Juan Ponce de Leon searched for the Fountain
of Youth in Florida circa 1474. Throughout history man has been
seeking the key to immortality. Thus is the premise of Counterfeit
Youth.
By the tender age
of 18, Jackson Riley had witnessed the early deaths of his parents.
The multi-billion dollar heir of a major corporation became obsessed
in finding the secret of longevity. However, once he went public with
his scientific breakthrough, the bedlam began.
Narbeh Avanessian
takes readers from Jackson’s early days in 2036 as he faced his
father’s battle with lung cancer to 2052 when privately funded
researchers studying Jackson’s blood and DNA uncover the secret
Alexander the Great and Ponce de Leon couldn’t find.
Appraisal:
Counterfeit
Youth is well written and edited. The
premise of the story held this reader’s interest from beginning to
end. The two areas of weakness in this novella were character
dialogue and character development.
Too often the
dialogue seemed forced and unnatural. Jackson Riley’s obsession, a
kind of madness, was told to the reader, not shown. Girlfriend Nicole
wasn’t three-dimensional and felt like a stick-character. When
Nicole returned after leaving Riley 14 years later, her words and
reaction to Jackson’s success didn’t follow her behavior. This
reader perceived her to be a deeper character, but the author
neglected to bring that out in dialogue and storyline.
However, the plot
was compelling, the page-count around 70 pages made this novella a
worthwhile reading experience.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No
significant issues.
Rating: ***
Three Stars
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