Beautiful Monsters

by

Julian Christian

"…it took just 4.7 seconds for everything to change…"

Beautiful Monsters by Julian Christian is frightening and tragically realistic in some instances, yet it offers a plausible look into a future manipulated by AI. Vance Mercer was at the top of his profession: a wildly successful cover model, a face women dreamed of, and a guarantee of romance becoming a bestseller should he grace its cover. It took just 4.7 seconds for his marketability and future to evaporate when the autonomous vehicle he was in experienced a software glitch and crashed. Now, Vance was out to regain his life, maybe not the one he'd always envisioned, and revenge was on his new bucket list. 

Vance's life was one in a billion, and though we don't know him before the accident, he's an engaging and sympathetic character afterwards. He's a tragic figure, especially as he dissects his past while recuperating from surgery after surgery. His introspection is brutal, laying open every insecurity he has. 

That is, until he gets the HoloMask 9000, with dermal interface sensors surgically embedded, that project a perfect recreation of his face from before the accident. Now able to leave his apartment with renewed confidence, he gets to work on a project he'd dreamed of while in the hospital. The result, Romscape, was unlike any other entertainment system ever developed. Its NeuraSynth technology used direct neural connections to its users to immerse them in the imaginary world of a romance novel, one in which they felt physically there. As profits soared, Vance began to ignore his chief scientist's concerns about the effects of their product on users' brains. 

"Just as he used technology to create an artificial version of himself that was more appealing than reality, Romscape created artificial experiences that were more satisfying than authentic life." Consequently, many users spent more time living their artificial lives than being present in their real ones. This sad state is all too real for some individuals. While this situation is often the fodder for jokes, we all probably know someone who spends their life online, chatting, going on quests or missions, with their closest friends being individuals they've never met in real life. 

The story makes for absorbing reading, especially Vance's early juxtaposition from vulnerable introspection to cold businessman and beyond. After he acquired his HoloMask 9000, which successfully camouflaged the damage to his face, he began to resent the people who treated him with the deference he previously had enjoyed at the height of his celebrity, remembering the looks, the pity, and the eventual abandonment he'd experienced when he was still recuperating and undergoing surgical interventions. He goes from fearing that, all along, he was just a pretty face, and yet after spending eight long years developing the amazing technological marvel that was Romscape, he still centered his worth on his looks, "feeling his scars were the most authentic thing about him." 

Christian's writing style is immersive, easy to read, and easy to 'fangirl' over; his use of language is stunning. While there were some repetitions and the discussion of some things, such as Dr. Chen's research into the effects of long-term Romscape usage on their clients, went a little long for my tastes, I noted so many wonderful turns of phrase while reading that I finally had to stop highlighting them and just enjoy the great story. By the way, the dialogue, descriptions, and behavior of the AI romantic leading man toward the female client in Romscape was dead on. 

I recommend BEAUTIFUL MONSTERS to readers of science fiction, romance, and thrillers. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tours.