Prologue and Chapters 01 - 05: Soul Identity

Please use this thread to discuss Prologue and Chapters 01 - 05: Soul Identity.

A single and sort of immature 15-going-on-30-something guy working with his parents as a freelance security consultant for what seems to be TSA, gets drawn into a secret society because he wants to grant his heretofore dismissed/neglected neighbor a life-affirming wish. I could live without all the "sirs". It's not that the writing is horrible, but so far the story is a little too simple.

He does seem a little immature, doesn't he? Cocky too. But it is written with a sense of humor I can appreciate. There is some salvation for him in that he feels terrible and embarrassed that he can't remember his neighbor's name. I know I have been there, and it makes him seem more real.

I get that maybe Madame Flora wasn't aware that it was a fax machine, kind of, but not really, but then why were Bob and Archie so secretive about it....makes no sense to me.

All that said, I am flying through it and enjoying the ride, I just have to work a little harder on my suspension.

I name all of my neighbors (and their pets), so that part was highly relatable! I also work remotely in the area described, so that's entertaining in a way (I live in Washington State, but my accounts are in the Eastern Shore/Annapolis/Baltimore area). We'll see if he can carry the complexity of his premise with what is seeming like a shaky plot/narrative so far. I'm not giving up, but I'd rate the first 5 chapters about a 2.5....maybe a 3 because I don't totally hate it. He's doing better with his first-person narrative pace than a lot of self-published authors. They usually have me feeling car sick.

i found the writing style very easy to get into, there was no obstacle in the writing that drew unnecessary attention to itself for me, so before i knew it i was "going in".

looking forward to getting back into it.

I grew up in New England and I have been all over the areas he is describing in Mass. That part is fun since I live in the Midwest now and although I love it here I sometimes feel a little homesick. I am somewhere around chapter 9 so I should have something to say in the next thread pretty soon.

I've read the first 3 chapters, I think this is the first time I've read a self-published novel so I am curious about how this might be evident as I read on. I looked up the author's website, some interesting insights to who this guy is. Funny that the other recent book that I read on Booktalk (The Martian) was also written by a geek, although Batchelder is a computer geek. I suspect he enjoys writing in the way that Scott Adams enjoys doing Dilbert cartoons.

I thought the 'Santa' character's struggle with purpose began the existential thread in this book, there had to be this thread otherwise the novel would be a mere tech romp. His attempt to grasp at purpose by connecting with his future soul is an intriguing variation of the standard idea of reincarnation because it brings an element of deliberate planning for the future, so some semblance of purpose. Really not unlike cryonics and the chance you could come back from the dead, albeit in the same body?

And just so American that this is a for-profit venture .. I imagine the lawyers will be the big winners ...

I think more men would fly if they received security checks like that!

I think you are right about "Santa" Giselle, and it is an interesting angle to explore, how many ways people find purpose in their lives, and are there some people who do just fine without one? Surely there must be a hedonist or two out there who really only exist to enjoy whatever they enjoy.

ahhhh but existing to enjoy only what you enjoy might not be typically hedonistic if you enjoy the furtherance of you fellow humans.

or am I only justifying my hedonism

True youkrst, but then we must delve into WHY you enjoy the furtherance of your fellow humans? Is it just privately knowing someone else's life is better, or that you made that happen? and then, do you keep it to yourself or do other people need to know you are responsible for it like those people who only do nice things just so they can put a status on FB how nice they are for helping someone out? I mean whatever the motivation, some good happened, right? But which one is humanitarian, and which is hedonism, and which is being an attention whore?