"A fascinating futuristic thriller"
Ten millenniums into the future, the solar system is a
human utopia as mankind has achieved God-like status with
near immortality. However, at the millennial High
Transcendence gala, Phaethon Prime of Rhadamanth meets a
Neptunian who insists they are old friends, but Phaethon
fails to recognize the individual. Though the latter is
part of a nonstandard neuroform renowned as pranksters,
Phaethon believes the Neptunian and wonders why he recalls
nothing about what has happened to him over the past five
centuries. Phaethon begins investigating his memory loss. He learns
that he volunteered to temporarily surrender his memories
to a government storage facility in an attempt not to use
them for three months in order to inherit the estate of his
deceased father. If he breaks the agreement, Phaeton faces
exile and a loss of immortality. However, he worries that
his lack of recollection could prove threatening to the
lifestyle of the Golden Oecumene that comprises every
sentient being in the solar system. In spite of the moral
dilemma Phaethon feels in exile and begins his quest to
find his stored memories. THE GOLDEN AGE is a great futuristic science fiction that
genre fans will absolutely love. The story line is
fabulous as the heroic Phaeton struggles between his own
needs and that of the greater good while he does not grasp
either. The only weakness in Mr. Wright's strong debut is
that the audience needs to wait for the release of the
second book to learn what happens to Phaethon. This left
this reviewer crashing from a reading high. To avoid major
disappointment I suggest waiting for the concluding novel
in order to read both together. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted April 8, 2002
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