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The Immortality Factor Audiobook
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(3.03) - 116 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In this provocative, gripping, and startling novel, bestselling author Ben Bova delivers a knockout read with his trademark blend of cutting-edge science and unrelenting suspense.
Some see stem-cell research as mankind’s greatest scientific breakthrough; others, a blasphemous attempt to play God. Suddenly, the possibility of immortality exists. Two brothers, both doctors, stand on opposite sides of the controversy. To Arthur Marshak, his work is a momentous gift to humanity. To Jesse Marshak, it is a curse. And between them stands a beautiful, remarkable woman that both brothers will do anything to save.
Somehow, before it’s too late, Arthur and Jesse must bridge the gap that divides them…on an issue that could mean nothing less than life or death for millions.
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"I'm liking this book, its written in a multiple first-person narrative style, and is more speculative fiction than science fiction. Very well researched from a scientific/medical perspective."
— Kevin (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Bova gets better and better, combining plausible science with increasingly complex fiction.”
— Los Angeles Daily News -
“Led by the bass tones of Paul Boehmer, the production includes emotional performances from all the members of the cast. The result is lifelike drama that fully engages listeners in the debate.”
— AudioFile -
“Bova’s cautionary medical thriller, the uncut version of his 1996 novel Brothers, explores the political, social, and religious ramifications of what could be humankind’s greatest medical breakthrough—organ regeneration.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“[This] novel engages both mind and emotion…Bova masterfully presents the subtleties of all sides of both personal and scientific issues in a movie-like presentation of court testimony interspersed with chapters of backstory. Guaranteed riveting reading.”
— Booklist -
Given Bova’s extensive catalog of science fiction and nonfiction, there are perhaps few better qualified to address the complex issues surrounding today’s controversial scientific breakthroughs. Toss the convoluted relationship of two brothers into a mix of cutting-edge science versus medicine for the masses, and his new novel engages both mind and emotion. Brilliant corporate researcher Arthur Marshak is on the cusp of an earth-shattering discovery that will cause the regeneration of damaged or severed tissue—organs and even limbs—so that amputees and people with cervical injuries, heart attacks, and strokes may fully recover without surgery. Jesse, Arthur’s younger, humanitarian physician brother, opposes Arthur’s breakthrough, however, because its hefty price tag will preclude using it to treat the poor. When Arthur’s project is evaluated in a “scientific court,” it draws national attention, thanks to an opportunistic evangelist, and pits brother against brother and science against religious ideology. Bova masterfully presents the subtleties of all sides of both personal and scientific issues in a movie-like presentation of court testimony interspersed with chapters of backstory. Guaranteed riveting reading.
— Booklist
The Immortality Factor Listener Reviews
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" A very disappointing read. Ben Bova should definitely stick with science fiction. This style of each chapter being told by a different person is very confusing and rather disruptive. I would recommend that Ben Bova fans give this one a miss. "
— Victor, 8/26/2013 -
" good medical thriller with an interesting sibling rivalry thrown in. "
— Mary, 12/15/2012 -
" I'm sure Bova is better than this. "
— Matthew, 2/25/2012 -
" The Immortality Factor by Ben Bova (2009) "
— Tom, 12/13/2011 -
" Full review at Mostly Fiction Book Reviews. 2008 interview with Ben Bova at Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys. "
— Ann, 4/17/2011 -
" Pretty awesome - but read the 2009 edition (The Immortality Factor) rather than the 1995 Brothers edition. "
— Apneet, 6/13/2010 -
" The Immortality Factor by Ben Bova (2009) "
— Tom, 12/15/2009 -
" Pretty awesome - but read the 2009 edition (The Immortality Factor) rather than the 1995 Brothers edition. "
— Apneet, 10/21/2009 -
" good medical thriller with an interesting sibling rivalry thrown in. "
— Mary, 7/22/2009
About Ben Bova
Ben Bova (1932–2020), American author of more than one hundred books of science fact and fiction, was awarded posthumously the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award. His work earned six Hugo Awards. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in 2005, and his novel Titan won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best science fiction novel of 2006. In his early career, he was a technical editor for Project Vanguard, the United States’s first effort to launch a satellite into space in 1958. He then was a science writer for Avco Everett Research Laboratory, which built the heat shields for the Apollo 11 module. He held the position of president emeritus of the National Space Society and served as president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
About the Narrators
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.
Paul Boehmer is an American actor best known for his numerous appearances in the Star Trek universe, in addition to Frasier, Judging Amy, Guiding Light, and All My Children. He is a 1992 Masters of Fine Arts graduate of the Professional Theater Training Program at the University of Delaware. As a narrator, Paul has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as an Audie Award.
Paul Boehmer is an American actor best known for his numerous appearances in the Star Trek universe, in addition to Frasier, Judging Amy, Guiding Light, and All My Children. He is a 1992 Masters of Fine Arts graduate of the Professional Theater Training Program at the University of Delaware. As a narrator, Paul has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as an Audie Award.
Holly Hawkins is a film, television, and stage actress best known for her role as Lady Large Nose in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. In addition to reading Ben Bova’s Immortality Factor with a full cast, she has been involved in recording two plays, The Lantern and Dot the I & Double Expertise.
Rosalyn Landor is an English-born television, theater, and multiple-award-winning audiobook narrator. Her television credits include Love in a Cold Climate, Rumpole of the Bailey, Sherlock Holmes, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. She has won numerous Audie awards and AudioFile magazine Earphones awards.
Don Leslie has appeared on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theaters throughout the country. He has been heard in thousands of commercials, promos for all the broadcast networks and most cable stations, political campaigns, movie trailers, and over fifty audiobooks.
Judy Young is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.