Book Review: Joy: A Novel of the New Frontier by B.R.M. Evett

JOY: A Novel of the New Frontier by B.R.M. Evett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Exciting and imaginative post-apocalyptic story of a near-future United States.

Joy: A Novel of the New Frontier by author B.R.M. Evett is a new science fiction adventure set in a near-future post-apocalyptic United States, where much of the country’s population has been wiped out by a series of climate and medical disasters. Over the ensuing years of chaos, an exclusive medical treatment facility in Boston known as The Elysium Spa had lost contact with the outside world and its sister facilities around the country but had continued to function, caring for its registered clients under an all-encompassing protocol that maintained their renowned program of Joy. In the Joy program, clients’ unconscious bodies, safely ensconced in a warm, protective bath, are constantly monitored and regulated to continually experience their maximum pleasure and well-being while moving through a pre-set life cycle that includes reproduction of the next generation of clients and eventually aging out at 75 years and undergoing The Apotheosis and returning to the ultimate essence of the Universe.

Throughout their stay at The Elysium, the clients are cared for by an android, carefully created to resemble a human being. Tender Number 7 cares for a Guest Group of 10 clients: five males and five females, each one in a different life stage. As the story begins, a category six hurricane is raging outside the Boston facility. Still, that day’s procedures continue as scheduled and include a treatment for one of the females, Virgo, on an upper floor of the building. As the procedure is concluding, the storm knocks out the facility’s power and mainframe computer and floods the lower floors; Virgo and Tender Number 7 are the sole survivors. Even though Elysium had been out of touch with the outside world for decades, Tender decides to move the helpless, dreaming Virgo to the nearest sister facility in New York City, and when the storm recedes, begins the long journey afoot with her in his arms, not realizing how the world has changed in the decades since he went into the facility.

Tender is a goal-oriented and pure personality tasked with safeguarding and optimizing his clients’ Joy experience. As an android, he operates under human programming and, while aware that the best choice for Virgo, at times, may be to harm another human, it is not the optimum response. So, as he and Virgo encounter the harsh realities of a changed world, he must sometimes be very creative in how he pursues his plans. Virgo, although physically a 15-year-old girl, has only known the solitude and sublime satisfaction of Joy in her warm, jellied bath pod, experiencing only ecstasy in her every living moment. When she awakens outside of the pod in Tender’s arms, she experiences physical need and discomfort for the very first time, much like a newborn after birth. For her, everything is about regaining Joy and fulfilling her needs. Leaving the bewildering and difficult reality far behind. It was interesting to watch as she reacted and adjusted to simple physical urges and slowly became a part of her surrounding environment.

The author has created a wonderful contrast between the small, isolated world of the spa and the world at large. As the danger of the hurricane passes, they encounter few humans, but those they do all serve to disrupt or delay their journey, some for many weeks at a time. The pair represents possible new resources to almost everyone they come in contact with, a tool to be used and discarded. However, Tender proves to be a resourceful protector as they escape from one harrowing situation after another.

The author’s descriptions were vivid and immersive, making the cinematic story so compelling it flew by. While Tender is non-human, he displays the highest and most honorable characteristics of any human hero, and even the innocent, emotionally toddler-like Virgo is engaging and someone you’ll want to root for. Along the way, the survivors they meet are the catalysts for some of the most unexpected plot twists ever, guaranteeing I did not want to put this book down until the final page was turned.

I recommend JOY: A NOVEL OF THE NEW FRONTIER to readers of science fiction, dystopias, and post-apocalyptic tales.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

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