Barrabas Madzimure is banished to the desert planet Eridania for his many crimes. Slaves to the Church and to the will of its prophet Jovian, a charismatic figurehead who rules everything on Earth, Madzimure and his cohorts toil underground digging endlessly for the substance eridanium—the source of Jovian’s alien power.
But Madzimure can no longer hide from his past. Facing execution, he claims … execution, he claims to have once been Thaniel Kilraven, transferred decades earlier into the body of Madzimure against his will. Under interrogation the stories of both men are brought to light, and the terrible fate of the lost Kilraven bloodline is revealed.
Madzimure escapes, knowing the only way to salvage what’s left of the Kilraven name and confront his destiny—and Jovian—is by facing them head on. But the horrific truths he finds on Earth might be the undoing of all mankind. What if everything humanity believed about civilization was a lie? Will anything or anyone be left from the fallout?
The story of a grim personal mission, Transference takes the reader on a heart-racing journey through rebellion, revenge, and revelation by way of the soul’s search for identity.
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This is not a book about faith and it’s not a religious book, though both of those concepts are there in spades. You’re introduced to the story more or less in the middle. The main characters dash from the starting line, and then fill in their backstories along the journey. That threw me off at the beginning. It’s an interesting way to start a novel in the least, if this is indeed the first of a duology or a trilogy. Keaton, I think, maybe ought to be commended for that kind of a bold move. I say this simply because it’s easier to fail writing a book in a such a way than it is to actually pull it off.
Perspectives alter from character to character roughly every other chapter – give or take – and these changes between them give a much deserved and real-world depth to material. These changes might however distract at times because it can take a few sentences to gain your footing. At the end of the day there’s a strength given to the story because Keaton’s future world is not only seen through the eyes of Madzimure, our “protagonist,” but from both masculine and feminine viewpoints.
There’s some really fascinating things to behold in Transference, especially from the supporting characters that pop in and out, weaving their own motivational webs. Octavian, Iyov, Terra (or Trash Heap), The Prophet, and Corvus all make this a very interesting stumper of a read. I think many readers will not find it hard to see that the writer is asking some pretty big questions. The process of transference, for example, which is the main crux of the plot, allows for the souls of human beings to be transferred between bodies. This process “proves” the soul exists, so that question being answered then points to an even bigger question – if we can’t create our own soul, then where (or from whom) did it originate? There’s quite a few revelations I would love to spoil, but my better judgement always wins out…….. and I’d hate to steal those moments from you.
I highly enjoyed this well-crafted sci-fi mind-bender, and I’m inclined to say I suspect that Keaton isn’t finished with this universe. I received a free copy of this book from BookSirens in exchange for my honest evaluation, and I enjoyed it enough that I’ll be getting the paperback for a second read.
We have explored our galaxy and still have so much left to discover. Earth has been the only planet that has the ability to sustain human life, but what if there can be other planets for us to travel to? In the future, what if we can opt into a new life in another galaxy? What if we had the technology to live eternally by cloning our bodies? Would it be ethical? Technological advancements have come a long way, and still have so many possibilities left to uncover. Some are quite amazing, but others are frightening. Keaton submerges readers into a future Earth that has so much opportunity to offer in the way of technology, but as we all know, opportunity in the wrong hands can inevitably lead to power hunger and a spiraling downfall of mankind or even one’s own demise as we’ve seen in world leaders in the past.
A man named Barrabas has been sent to another planet, a mining planet known for housing criminals of the Church. The Church has immense power in this future that Keaton has created and the Prophet rules the Earth. A false Prophet, according to many. Barrabas and a band of cohorts plan on taking over the mines and what better way than by using knowledge to succeed. One man has been sent to search out the true identity of Barrabas, knowing that he has undergone the tricky business of this technological concept known as transference. This means that anyone could potentially be walking around in a body that they were not born with. Getting back to Earth and back to his family is the only thing that Barrabas cares about and he is willing to do anything to make it happen. He knows that he was a man who had a wife, a mother, and two sisters. He also wants answers as to why he was transferred into Barrabas’ body and that may cost him his life…a second time.
B.T. Keaton has an eccentric world filled with original characters and immensely powerful technological creativity. Fear of the unknown makes this story hard to put down and difficult to keep reading all at the same time. While this story begins slowly due to the introduction of a new world and complex characters, it does pick up pace considerably quickly about halfway though. It is a bit difficult to understand what is happening for a little while and we believe this is due to a lack of descriptiveness of the characters in the beginning. Once Barrabas leaves Eridania, it becomes easier to distinguish characters. Most of the questions that a reader may formulate in the beginning do get answered even though it is quite complex with an underlying religious tone. Overall, the story is worth the read and is recommended for readers who enjoy sci-fi and dystopian fiction.
An electronic copy of this book was provided to Turning Another Page by Reedsy Discovery and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a four-star rating to Transference by B.T. Keaton.
A truly fabulous book! I find it insane that it’s this author’s first novel! The characters were well rounded, the premise of the story was fascinating. Highly recommend this book and hope to see more from the author soon!
Keaton weaves a tale that explores identity and the morals of overreaching powers in Transference. A thrilling story that keeps the reader guessing, with a unique blend of philosophy and action that I thoroughly enjoyed. We see the horrors of a future Earth enslaved by the power of immortality, controlled by lies from a man who sees himself above God. Throughout the book, we are given chapters from multiple perspectives, which Keaton has expertly differentiated between with changes in tone and speech. This story should have been confusing—where sometimes characters are more than one person in a body—but with the author’s calculated measure, it is reigned in and enthralling. I really enjoyed this book, and I believe readers will find it equally unforgettable.
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Transference
Author: B T Keaton
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 20
Stats
Editing: 9/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Content: 10/10
Cover: 10/10
Of the 20 readers:
20 would read another book by this author.
20 thought the cover was good or excellent.
17 felt it was easy to follow.
20 would recommend this book to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 7 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 8 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
Of all the readers, 5 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’.
19 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
20 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
“I thought this was very different to the usual sci-fi I read. It’s more character-led than plot-led and the central premise of soul transference is very clever and well thought-out.” Male reader, aged 52
“Not only is this sci-fi novel highly original, it’s also well written and cleverly plotted. The characters, particularly Madzimure/Kilraven, jump off the page. This is a gritty, thought-provoking gem of a book!” Female reader, aged 37
“This is not an easy read; the plot is complex with a lot of twists and it will make the reader work to keep up. But it’s worth it. The tech is understandable and the author worked hard with his characters offering enormous depth to them, particularly for this genre. There’s a little light humor here and there and elements of spirituality. All in all, it’s a complex and highly enjoyable read.” male reader, age 29
To Sum It Up:
‘A superbly plotted sci-fi thriller packed with so many twists and turns, you’ll feel dizzy. A silver medal winner and highly recommended!’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
This debut novel by B.T. Keaton is pretty good. I love the premise. What, generally, is seen as good becomes evil – or at least compromised in “Transference.” There is also a science fiction story going on as well. The weaving of these two disparate elements is done expertly. I love the whole flipping of the expectations.
It is also a fine piece of writing. “Transference” is chock full of wonderful elements. There is cloning. There is the big bad. There is this worker-overseer injustice in the mining community. There are other worlds in “Transference” as well. There is Eradania. There is another planet called Fornax. There is the creation of the idea of human history and it being all connected by the few who have control of the transference technology. Keaton tells a complicated story to understand the idea of swapping souls and cloning. To Keaton’s credit I was never lost. I loved the cultish devotion of people when they were let in on the possibility of eternal life.
The main character is the ancient soul of Barrabas, the king of thieves. Because there is a lot of cloning and soul transfers, Barrabas becomes many people and ends or concentrates in the character of Doctor Octavian trying to control the uncontrollable. What I really enjoyed was the villains. They are not 2-dimensional or typical villains. As a reader it is nice to read well-developed enemies. Lord Alpha, Kilraven and Jovian, the Prophet, are smart and brilliant foils to Octavian and the others.
My favorite line is, “Eternal life? What you’ve done is deny her death! Souls are not your toys. Our souls and our bodies are meant to be as one…. They’re united!” I love the philosophical dilemma running through the entire story. The tale, though laced with many plots, is a wild and fun ride. Thoroughly enjoyed the reading and highly recommend to fans of SciFi and intricate plotlines of good versus evil.