“Book Review: Transference”

Reviewed by Joe Walters

A strong sci-fi premise leading to twists and turns galore in Transference.

We have discovered the secret of eternal life. All you have to do is transfer your soul over to a different body, and poof, the ailments of your previous body are gone. But what happens if this power is governed by the wrong man?

Thaniel Kilraven has been banished to a different planet and a different body. Even worse, he’s mere days away from being executed despite being almost objectively innocent. When he reveals to his captors who he truly is, they start asking questions—and his fellow captives start planning their escape.

Kilraven must do whatever he can to make it back to his wife, while figuring out whether or not it’s his mind making the decisions bubbling up within him or if it’s his new body’s. Even if he does escape, he’ll have his hands full with taking down the corrupt prophet and making sure this power doesn’t stay in the wrong hands. With similarities between our world and Kilraven’s, Transference succeeds in getting the reader to look inward toward humanity.

This novel is a great example of how a premise can interact effectively with a plotline. In a world that has figured out eternal life, we’re bound as spectators to encounter about as much mystery and speculation as we could ask for–and author B.T. Keaton gives it to us.

The premise is strong on its own, but it’s the fully established plotline that has the right knack for making you think. In particular, I really enjoyed the fact that people still feel like themselves even when they’re in a different body, lending plenty of reader-curiosity about what is a soul and what happens to it after your body’s demise.

Transference is rife with graphic imagery, including action-packed escapes that make it all the more cinematic. With a protagonist who needs something both personal and external and with a powerful antagonist to go against, this novel has all the makings of a great sci-fi thriller novel.

While I would recommend this book to those who enjoy sci-fi, there are a few things that made me hesitate in it, too. First, it’s fairly difficult to orient ourselves in the world at times, especially with the amount of characters running in and out of each scene. Also, I do wonder from time to time if each scene is as necessary to include as it ends up being; since this novel is a bit on the longer side, it probably would have been helpful to get a little of my reading time back and to move quicker in the plot.

Overall though, this is a satisfying science fiction thriller to behold. As long as you don’t mind the occasionally difficult scene opening, take a chance on Transference and venture through a world that is equal parts unique and curious.

Paperback: 392 pages

ISBN: 978-1645701507

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