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Trading Time
In a Brazilian favela, a young couple is aging before their very eyes. In a New York biomedical research organization, a ground-breaking trial is allowing researchers to harvest time from individuals and redistribute to those who want more. In a Manhattan office block, a highflying lawyer finds himself grappling with a moral and ethical dilemma. Suddenly you are able to buy yourself more time. But should you? Julia Madison is about to take a break from her career in the family corporate law firm. A little disheartened by the excesses around her, she decides to travel to Brazil to work with some of the poorest people there. Geoff Madison is on the verge of retirement, feeling his age and ready to slow down. His long-time best friend and client, Larry, is just the opposite. Full of life and energy, he is excited by the massive breakthrough his research company has made into harvesting time from one human, to give to another. He wants Geoff to represent him in this, the biggest opportunity of his life. Geoff isn't sure, but Larry plows on anyway, beginning trials with this new method. Gabriel and Isabella live in a favela and willingly give up some of their years for the money they are offered. But the drugs haven't been checked rigorously enough and they are aging early—and quickly. By chance, Julia meets Gabriel and hears his shocking story. As Gabriel and Isabella's bodies race towards their untimely demise, Julia vows to bring their case to trial back in New York, placing her father's friendship with Larry at risk and causing Geoff to think carefully about right and wrong as he faces his own terminal diagnosis. A twisting and twisted drama that spans the favelas of Brazil to the courtrooms of NYC.
320 pages, ebook
First published July 23, 2020
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 3, 2020
Fascinating!
I whizzed through this unique book
The story is based around a new ‘procedure’ that basically gives the option to sell time from your life to someone who is willing to pay for it, so, for example a very poor person in the poorest of nations would be happy to sell a set amount of their life to say a billionaire in America...and that is where the problems start, greed and non compliance of legal issues re trials
The book starts ( and quite a lot of it is based ) in the Favelas of Brazil, the raw and real descriptions of which had me there experiencing every sense and imagining how scary it would be to live your life there, we meet Gabriel and Isabella deemed to a life of poverty who are offered enough money to build a fine life, if they partake in these trials, of course they have no real idea what they are agreeing to and what side effects they may encounter....
Enter Julia Madison, a lawyer from old money, part of the 1% er’s, she goes to Brazil for a year ‘out’ to work with the people of the Favelas ,what she discovers rocks her world and everyone else’s as she tells the rest of the world what is really going on
Their are political elements from very current issues in the book but not given in the preachy, high handed way they are given in some books of late ( think Brexit opinions, the environment etc ) and this together with a very easy to follow story, a real flowing writing style, easily identifiable characters and a seriously interesting idea made for a different and enjoyable read
My only moan would be a very quick ending where I would have instead liked to see more on what happened to the characters after the main event, that said it’s a great book
10/10
5 Stars
I whizzed through this unique book
The story is based around a new ‘procedure’ that basically gives the option to sell time from your life to someone who is willing to pay for it, so, for example a very poor person in the poorest of nations would be happy to sell a set amount of their life to say a billionaire in America...and that is where the problems start, greed and non compliance of legal issues re trials
The book starts ( and quite a lot of it is based ) in the Favelas of Brazil, the raw and real descriptions of which had me there experiencing every sense and imagining how scary it would be to live your life there, we meet Gabriel and Isabella deemed to a life of poverty who are offered enough money to build a fine life, if they partake in these trials, of course they have no real idea what they are agreeing to and what side effects they may encounter....
Enter Julia Madison, a lawyer from old money, part of the 1% er’s, she goes to Brazil for a year ‘out’ to work with the people of the Favelas ,what she discovers rocks her world and everyone else’s as she tells the rest of the world what is really going on
Their are political elements from very current issues in the book but not given in the preachy, high handed way they are given in some books of late ( think Brexit opinions, the environment etc ) and this together with a very easy to follow story, a real flowing writing style, easily identifiable characters and a seriously interesting idea made for a different and enjoyable read
My only moan would be a very quick ending where I would have instead liked to see more on what happened to the characters after the main event, that said it’s a great book
10/10
5 Stars
July 2, 2020
How much is life worth? Should the rich be able to buy ‘life’ from the poor? In this moral, ethical, practical medical science fiction novel we’re forced to examine our own beliefs as a poor couple from Brazil sells years of their lives so those years can be bought by the richest 1% to prolong their lives. Best friends face off in this excellent moral drama. I received an advanced digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
September 16, 2021
Futuristic, Engrossing, Unique.
Trading Time is a unique book about exactly that the futuristic ability to trade Time from one person to another. Set in part in both 🇧🇷 Brazil and 🇺🇸 America.
Julia is a character I could certainly relate to, the need to research and follow clues. I loved making each new discovery with her.
I loved the mystery that surrounded this book. I wanted to find out exactly who was behind it all. It thoroughly engrossed me.
Overall I was a 4 star read for me. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a little bit of mystery and a science fiction. As the two genres come together in this novel.
Thank you to Antoinette Rock for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Trading Time is a unique book about exactly that the futuristic ability to trade Time from one person to another. Set in part in both 🇧🇷 Brazil and 🇺🇸 America.
Julia is a character I could certainly relate to, the need to research and follow clues. I loved making each new discovery with her.
I loved the mystery that surrounded this book. I wanted to find out exactly who was behind it all. It thoroughly engrossed me.
Overall I was a 4 star read for me. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a little bit of mystery and a science fiction. As the two genres come together in this novel.
Thank you to Antoinette Rock for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
July 29, 2020
Fast-paced scientific thriller about the moral vagaries of developing a breakthrough technology that could rocket mankind’s progress but at horrific expense to certain populations. Owen Martin delivers a very well-written book that quite believably invokes both the slums of Rio and the moneyed world of white shoe lawyers and upper society in New York; the characters have depth and the details realistic. The premise of the story - large pharma finds a way to harness longevity by extracting “time” for money from poor segments of society, and on-selling them to the rich - reminded me of a more condensed version of Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park (but with human subjects), mixed with the social commentary and unrest found in Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust. Although this is a shorter book, the characters are well developed and even the putative villain gets a sort of empathetic portrayal at the end. I was impressed by the author’s command of technical business aspects - market structure, trading conventions, patent law - and while he did not delve deeply into them, you could sense the story may be written by a current or ex-practitioner of finance or law. The story meanders into moralizing more than a few times but the author does a good job of pointing out that “wrong side” in this case can make sound, fair and compelling arguments too.
Overall, an engaging read. Thank you to NetGalley and RedDoor Books for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. I truly enjoyed it.
Overall, an engaging read. Thank you to NetGalley and RedDoor Books for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. I truly enjoyed it.
December 1, 2020
I am always fascinated by books that are about that strange old concept of time, so this is a title that immediately caught my eye - and I am so very glad it did, because this is a book that I ended up reading in almost a single sitting, which doesn't happen often dear reader...
This is a story based on the development of a new medical procedure that can harvest time from a donor and transfer it to another - the theory being that someone can choose to sell some of their lifespan to make money to improve their own lot at the expense of a few years, and similarly a buyer can extend their own allotted time on the Earth by purchasing a little extra.
While this may not be a new idea in the realms of fiction, this is the kind of storyline you normally come across in a book firmly in the science fiction genre. It's not a surprise then that I was expecting this to be a thriller with a hard sci-fi edge, in the Michael Crichton mould. What is surprising is that while it certainly does have echoes of Mr Crichton they are rather of the more reflective kind than he is normally associated with, and to spice things up nicely, somewhere along the way, they have also been firmly spliced onto a John Grisham legal drama - so more of a love child of the two shall we say?
This is actually a book rather light on science, beyond proposing that a new procedure exists, but this matters not a jot because the story itself is about the ethical issues surrounding such a development, rather than the ins and outs of the procedure itself. Instead the crux of the matter lies in whether or not it is right to take a portion of someone's lifespan and give it to another person at all, and there is a tough legal battle to be fought before a decision can be made by the courts.
Of course, this is made all the more interesting by the fact that the procedure in question is the province of a global corporation under the remit of a less than scrupulous American business man who is keen to make as much money as he can from it - and he is not too careful about following the letter of the law along the way. This aspect of the tale provides a delicious thread of menace to the proceedings that allows our author to spin this as a thriller both on more familiar New York City ground and in the steaming favelas of Rio, alongside the courtroom drama element.
I really enjoyed the way Owen Martin throws up so much thought provoking material in his telling of this story. Along with the more obvious moral considerations about the buying and selling of time, there is so much about how we can effectively ease poverty; the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable by the rich, particularly by global corporations; the influence of business and money making decisions on ethical considerations; the, possibly misguided, imposition of first world sensibilities on the developing world; the freedom of an individual to make their own, albeit difficult choices; the way campaigns are fought in this social media age; and interestingly, the role of activism in fighting for justice.
This is an intelligent, page turner of a book that will both entertain you and leave you with some intriguing issues to mull over. So far it has gone a bit under the radar, but I hope my review will help garner a few more fans for Owen Martin's novel, because I thoroughly enjoyed it!
This is a story based on the development of a new medical procedure that can harvest time from a donor and transfer it to another - the theory being that someone can choose to sell some of their lifespan to make money to improve their own lot at the expense of a few years, and similarly a buyer can extend their own allotted time on the Earth by purchasing a little extra.
While this may not be a new idea in the realms of fiction, this is the kind of storyline you normally come across in a book firmly in the science fiction genre. It's not a surprise then that I was expecting this to be a thriller with a hard sci-fi edge, in the Michael Crichton mould. What is surprising is that while it certainly does have echoes of Mr Crichton they are rather of the more reflective kind than he is normally associated with, and to spice things up nicely, somewhere along the way, they have also been firmly spliced onto a John Grisham legal drama - so more of a love child of the two shall we say?
This is actually a book rather light on science, beyond proposing that a new procedure exists, but this matters not a jot because the story itself is about the ethical issues surrounding such a development, rather than the ins and outs of the procedure itself. Instead the crux of the matter lies in whether or not it is right to take a portion of someone's lifespan and give it to another person at all, and there is a tough legal battle to be fought before a decision can be made by the courts.
Of course, this is made all the more interesting by the fact that the procedure in question is the province of a global corporation under the remit of a less than scrupulous American business man who is keen to make as much money as he can from it - and he is not too careful about following the letter of the law along the way. This aspect of the tale provides a delicious thread of menace to the proceedings that allows our author to spin this as a thriller both on more familiar New York City ground and in the steaming favelas of Rio, alongside the courtroom drama element.
I really enjoyed the way Owen Martin throws up so much thought provoking material in his telling of this story. Along with the more obvious moral considerations about the buying and selling of time, there is so much about how we can effectively ease poverty; the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable by the rich, particularly by global corporations; the influence of business and money making decisions on ethical considerations; the, possibly misguided, imposition of first world sensibilities on the developing world; the freedom of an individual to make their own, albeit difficult choices; the way campaigns are fought in this social media age; and interestingly, the role of activism in fighting for justice.
This is an intelligent, page turner of a book that will both entertain you and leave you with some intriguing issues to mull over. So far it has gone a bit under the radar, but I hope my review will help garner a few more fans for Owen Martin's novel, because I thoroughly enjoyed it!
August 19, 2023
The concept seemed interesting. A company is developing a way for people to sell some of their lifespan to those who are willing to pay to live longer. Although there is no attempt to clarify how this works, we do learn that something is taken from the donors, which can be "banked" until it is put into the body of a buyer.
The company is doing human "testing" without legal approvals. The "results" are that donors age rapidly, suffering many symptoms of old age. Receivers appear much younger than their real age and are more healthy and active than they should expect. All of which is indicative that the company is already doing a LOT more than just testing.
The problem is that the book reads like a doctoral thesis, with many characters able to instantly spout well rounded academic arguments of the pros and cons of the process.
Geoff, a wealthy lawyer, and so-called friend of the billionaire company owner, decides to retire from his company rather than give legal advice on the technology. Let's get one thing straight - the billionaire is a real nasty, whose main joy comes from showing off his wealth, and putting other people in their place. I don't understand how a smart and sensitive feller like Geoff fails to understand the difference between a friend and a client. Maybe money talks louder than he likes to pretend.
Geoff's family are drawn in as well. Daughter Julia, cliched do-gooder, discovers facts about the illegal activities and tells her father. Her older brother is a cliched practitioner of "little sister hazing". Doesn't matter, the brothers are both of no importance to the story, and the wife is a waste of space as well.
The facile ending is "wrapped up" neatly in relatively few pages, reminding me of stories about naughty children leaving packages of doggie doo on the doorstep.
The idea had potential, but there was a complete lack of tension in telling the tale.
Rating 2.3.
The company is doing human "testing" without legal approvals. The "results" are that donors age rapidly, suffering many symptoms of old age. Receivers appear much younger than their real age and are more healthy and active than they should expect. All of which is indicative that the company is already doing a LOT more than just testing.
The problem is that the book reads like a doctoral thesis, with many characters able to instantly spout well rounded academic arguments of the pros and cons of the process.
Geoff, a wealthy lawyer, and so-called friend of the billionaire company owner, decides to retire from his company rather than give legal advice on the technology. Let's get one thing straight - the billionaire is a real nasty, whose main joy comes from showing off his wealth, and putting other people in their place. I don't understand how a smart and sensitive feller like Geoff fails to understand the difference between a friend and a client. Maybe money talks louder than he likes to pretend.
Geoff's family are drawn in as well. Daughter Julia, cliched do-gooder, discovers facts about the illegal activities and tells her father. Her older brother is a cliched practitioner of "little sister hazing". Doesn't matter, the brothers are both of no importance to the story, and the wife is a waste of space as well.
The facile ending is "wrapped up" neatly in relatively few pages, reminding me of stories about naughty children leaving packages of doggie doo on the doorstep.
The idea had potential, but there was a complete lack of tension in telling the tale.
Rating 2.3.
June 9, 2021
I was sent this copy by @rockantoinette who wanted to share her friends work. This book is gripping, thought-provoking and well written.
The story depicts the concept of ‘life’ becoming a commodity that can be harvested, sold and bought. Individuals in poverty were able to sell ‘time’ of their life, in exchange for money and the rich can buy extra ‘time’ for a price. The novel explores themes related to moral ethics and social-economic status. I think the plot makes for a great piece of literature that stays with you and allows you to discuss the concept with friends and family.
The main characters, Geoff and Julia, are relatable and you form a connection with them as you move through the book. I personally wished other characters were developed more, such as Beatriz and Marie, so we know more about their past and why they are involved in the novels plot.
Overall, I would really recommend buying this great novel and share with me your thoughts.
@bookcaseheadspace
The story depicts the concept of ‘life’ becoming a commodity that can be harvested, sold and bought. Individuals in poverty were able to sell ‘time’ of their life, in exchange for money and the rich can buy extra ‘time’ for a price. The novel explores themes related to moral ethics and social-economic status. I think the plot makes for a great piece of literature that stays with you and allows you to discuss the concept with friends and family.
The main characters, Geoff and Julia, are relatable and you form a connection with them as you move through the book. I personally wished other characters were developed more, such as Beatriz and Marie, so we know more about their past and why they are involved in the novels plot.
Overall, I would really recommend buying this great novel and share with me your thoughts.
@bookcaseheadspace
August 17, 2020
The story is based on an a Big Pharma company developing a procedure where they can take time from one person and give it to another. Hence the title of the book.
In this case it’s the rich buying time from the poor. The idea is a transfer of wealth. A Win-Win. The poor receive money to better their lives, to get away from poverty, while the wealthy get more time to enjoy their lives and money....
Based predominantly in the favelas of Brazil, around a young couple who have been taken advantage of, this eye opening and thought provoking thriller is something very different from anything I’ve read.
It will certainly make you pose questions to yourself and indeed society as you read this tense and cleverly plotted thriller.
A book that’s come at a time when we can all realise just how precious life is.
The writing style is inviting, easy to read and paced very well, it’s an intriguing storyline very unique in its ideas and a book I read in two sittings as you want to know what’s coming. What does come isn’t at all what I was expecting but it is a satisfying conclusion though maybe just a little rushed.
I’d recommend this exciting and compelling thriller to all readers, I think it can fit into many genres and though a very serious idea in itself it’s not a heavy read that weighs you down in medical talk. It’s a very easily accessible to any reader.
4🔥🔥🔥🔥
In this case it’s the rich buying time from the poor. The idea is a transfer of wealth. A Win-Win. The poor receive money to better their lives, to get away from poverty, while the wealthy get more time to enjoy their lives and money....
Based predominantly in the favelas of Brazil, around a young couple who have been taken advantage of, this eye opening and thought provoking thriller is something very different from anything I’ve read.
It will certainly make you pose questions to yourself and indeed society as you read this tense and cleverly plotted thriller.
A book that’s come at a time when we can all realise just how precious life is.
The writing style is inviting, easy to read and paced very well, it’s an intriguing storyline very unique in its ideas and a book I read in two sittings as you want to know what’s coming. What does come isn’t at all what I was expecting but it is a satisfying conclusion though maybe just a little rushed.
I’d recommend this exciting and compelling thriller to all readers, I think it can fit into many genres and though a very serious idea in itself it’s not a heavy read that weighs you down in medical talk. It’s a very easily accessible to any reader.
4🔥🔥🔥🔥
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews