SciFi

Rollback, Robert J Sawyer - 07.07.07 *****

Robert J sawyer is one of my favorite scifi authors and in his newest book, Rollback, he has once again taken a unique idea and explored its' moral and ethical boundaries.
Thirty-eight years ago, Dr Sarah Halifax decoded and translated the first radio message from an alien civilization light-years away. A reply was sent, and now, 38 years later, a second message has arrived! Sarah, now in her mid-80's, is thought by many to be the key to unlocking this second message as well, but with her deteriorating health, she may not live long enough to so. When an extremely rich businessman offers her a rollback - a medical procedure, costing billions, that could return her physical age to her mid-20's - she accepts with the condition that her husband of 60 years receive the same treatment. Unfortunately, the rollback doesn't work for Sarah at all, but magically transforms her husband into a young man again, leaving them both with interesting dilemmas and struggling to deal with his new found youth and the seeming age difference between the two, while Sarah must find a way to deal with the message from stars before it's too late.
As always, Sawyer writes a stunning novel about what it means to be human in an ever-progressing world of technology.