Interesting theme here: dead, wealthy people being brought to life for a couple of weeks in the bodies of fit, but poor youth for whom this is the only hope of making some kind of money.

There’s a lot to be said here in terms of morals and ethics, some on the religious front, and some not. In itself, this is ground for deeper discussion, from the value of money vs. one’s body to whether a human being suddenly “reanimated” in a younger body can be trusted with it or will just do whatever, and not care about their “host”, since they go back to being dead after that anyway. One could even argue that the rich are robbing (shall I say “once again”?) other people of something precious, in this case their time and their youth, and potentially more (this is a bit spoiler-ish, but it happens early enough in the novel anyway). Especially since, in the novel’s near future, the discrepancy between the haves and the have-nots has grown even bigger, with “estates” now being entire towns from which their inhabitants just never escape.

The story explores several of these “body tourists”, from different points of view. There’s Octavia, one of the tourists herself; Luke, the scientist in charge of the project; Paula, a host who then has to go back to her life and the aftermath of this experiment; Rick, who wants to bring back his father; and Elsa, a woman whose partner died after a particularly harrowing event in their lives, leaving so much unsaid. Each narrative highlights a different take on the matter when it comes to reflecting on the whole body swapping angle—whether it’s a valid option, or should be banned altogether, or could work but only within a specific framework.

That said, I had a hard time getting into the story itself, in that these narratives don’t seamlessly join each other. Most of the time, I got the feeling that I was reading a collection of short stories forcefully brought together, rather than a complete story. (And for what it’s worth, perhaps it’s actually how it started, before being turned into a novel.) It doesn’t detract from the philosophical aspect, the concept of body tourism itself, but in terms of storytelling, it was jarring in several places, and because of this, a few parts of the various characters’ stories were also glossed over, when they could’ve been interesting to explore as well.

Conclusion: I liked the theme, but the story itself fell flat for me.

Jane Rogers' Body Tourists made me think of Kate Mascarenhas's The Psychology of Time Travel. Both are traditionally male written genres, and the woman's perspective gives it twists where a male author would be less likely to go. In Kate's book, she dipped into what time travel would mean to relationships, how would you be paid, or copy with family deaths, interesting ideas. Body Tourists, likewise, explored relationships - what would you do if you could resolve that dispute you had with somebody who died? The tourists were varied, each bringing something different to the story, but I did feel the end was rushed, and could've done with a bit more expansion. A good read nonetheless, and recommended.

This book is brilliant. A really strong and intriguing concept masterfully executed.

I love the way this book started off light and comical and gradually became darker.

The plot is really well thought out and paced. I loved all the little meta stores that weaved together.

The concept is mind blowing and when I talked about it at work, it sparked a two day debate (and at least 3 sales).

If you like books that make you think about the ethical and moral side of technology then this is one for you.

Jane Rogers takes on an evergreen science fiction trope in her latest book Body Tourists. Not far in the future a precocious scientist who happens to have a wealthy ageing benefactor, discovers a way to implant the stored consciousness of the dead into young bodies. Rogers plot then follows a number of people caught up in this project to explore the social and moral ramifications of such a procedure.
Body Tourists is told from a number of points of view. It starts with Paula and Ryan, a couple living in poverty who are tempted by the ten thousand pounds on offer for being asleep for two weeks (not knowing that it means someone else will use their body for that time). They are the first test subjects although right from the start it is clear that head researcher Luke is not all that good at following his own rules. He reanimates Octavia, a scientific inspiration of his, into Ryan’s body and immediately gives her her freedom with tragic results. But this does not slow him, or his patron down, they pay off Paula and move on to other test subjects, knowing that there are always people willing to take the money.
The rest of the book explores the ethics and morality of the process. It is a strange set up. The dead can only be brought back for two weeks. They remember their past but there is no guarantee that they will then remember if they are reanimated at another time or that they will ever get this chance again. Rogers does find some examples of how this might work for good and ill. A wealthy ageing rockstar brings his father back to life to show him what he has achieved and give him the life he could not have. A woman whose partner was accused of child abuse and then killed before she could clear her name uses the process to gain some closure. But for the others, it is unclear why they are reanimated except that they are old friends of Luke’s wealth benefactor (and grandmother) Gudrun.
Of more interest, perhaps, is the other side of the coin – the young people whose time is being “bought” by the wealthy. In Rogers, vaguely dystopian near future, the gap between rich and poor has grown and rather than using their wealth to improve the lives of the poor, the system is designed to take even their bodies from them (or buy their time as it is described at one point).
There have been plenty of science fiction books and films that have explored the idea of body swapping, or some form of immortality gained by moving between bodies. Rogers take is more of a philosophical investigation. The multiple points of view, most unconnected from each other, are used to investigate different aspects of the issue, but the stakes never feel particularly high and the so the sum of these parts does not result in a particularly engaging narrative.
Body Tourists feels like the type of science fiction written for readers who tend to avoid the genre (as in: “I don’t usually read science fiction but…”). The world building is slight and mainly in the background (including robots taking over jobs, poor people “addicted” to virtual reality and self driving cars) and it plays a well worn science fiction trope completely straight. While this creates some interesting moral conundrums, the whole feels more like a thought experiment than a lived in world. Rogers does finally answer the niggling question of what was may all really have been for by the end but it is an explanation that was fairly obvious from the first few pages.

This read like an episode of Black Mirror, set in a world realistic enough to be believable yet terrifying in its differences. Really easy to get drawn into the world of the characters, who were (mostly) likeable yet flawed due to outside influence or circumstance.

Body Tourists by Jane Rogers

In the near future, England is divided. The rich live well, as they’ve always done, in the south while the poor are ghettoed in the northern Estates. There is no shortage of poor people. Many if not most jobs have now been replaced by robots. Making a living is nigh on impossible. The only way to live well is to inherit money. But the poor have one thing that the wealthy want more of – time. When the wealthy die they are ‘backed up’, their consciousness digitally stored waiting for a host body in which it can be implanted. And that’s where scientist Luke Butler comes in. He has used his aunt’s wealth to develop technology that will transfer the consciousness of the dead into the healthy young bodies of especially selected poor people. In return for losing two weeks of their lives, the poor are rewarded with £10,000, a mighty sum in these dystopian days. And so now the rich can be resurrected for two glorious weeks which means an opportunity to say a final goodbye, to right a wrong, or to make the same mistakes all over again. What could possibly go wrong?

Body Tourists has an irresistible premise and I couldn’t wait to read it. The structure works well. We follow the stories of Luke and his rich aunt, but we also spend time with a series of people, one at a time, who either make the step of bringing a loved one back to life for two weeks, or who decide to become hosts themselves. And then there are the others, the families and friends of those who become hosts, and have to deal with a kind of loss of their own. This is a fascinating and horrible society. Money is so precious and so scarce. People have to make decisions they shouldn’t and the consequences can be awful for them.

There is some great worldbuilding here. The descriptions of the northern estates are especially compelling. People are effectively sedated by their virtual reality games, turning themselves into zombies, while a few fight back setting up gyms and dance studios, anything to get people to engage with a real world that cares nothing for them. I really enjoyed the chapters that we spend here, especially with Paula whose life is transformed by her experiences as a host. There are other stories that are really moving, that of the teacher accused of a terrible crime whose lover never got the chance to say she was sorry for disbelieving her, or disturbing, such as the man who brings his father back to life so that they can try and reboot their relationship. These are the very real strengths of Blood Tourists.

I did have issues with the novel, mostly involving the character of Luke Butler, who is just too unpleasant. He and other characters are too light, mostly those involved in running the clinic, and the whole idea of bringing people back to life for only two weeks seems flawed. How would they ever be expected to give up life again? How could you get anything from two weeks when there’s a death sentence at the end of it? And then there’s the unsatisfactory idea of the paradise island where they’re all sent. Well, not all, and that raises another issue about why some body tourists are allowed to have contact with loved ones and others aren’t. In other words I loved a lot about the ideas behind this novel but I would have liked them explored with more depth and consistency. This is a short novel, a longish novella really, so perhaps it could have been longer. I would certainly have liked to have read more. There is so much going for Body Tourists and, above all else, it’s a fun read and a fascinating portrayal of a near future dystopian England.

Other review
The Testament of Jessie Lamb

Set in 2045 the story follow multiple points of view that a affected by the ability to implant minds of the dead into living donor bodies for 2 weeks.
I really enjoyed the varied voices of the different characters, it really did a lot to expand the story enabling you to see it from multiple points of view.
The plot was terrifyingly likely and I did a really great what would be realistic portrayals of the situation.
However I don’t feel this book was any different to other books of its type; Zed, Suicide Girls, and The Farm (a look at the plausible future and advancements)

Body tourism, or where the wealthy borrow the bodies of poor teens for 14 days has so much promise as a premise, but I'll be honest,I felt like it was a bit jumbled and difficult to understand and follow in places. It's a lot like Altered Carbon in some ways, but in others, not quite.
The characters were all believable and delineated well, but there were just some areas that just didn't quite work out for me.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton/Sceptre for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Body Tourists’ by Jane Rogers in exchange for an honest review.

London, 2045. In this near future robots are everywhere. There has been great strides including a recent breakthrough that allows a full digital memory transfer into a synth though there are concerns that they are no longer human.

Now a brilliant young researcher has taken this concept further and in his small, private clinic has perfected a procedure that implants the consciousness of the wealthy dead into the bodies of healthy teens from poor estates in exchange for thousands of pounds. This ‘body tourism’ only lasts for fourteen days. What could possibly go wrong?

What a fascinating premise! As it was published on 14 November and I knew within a few pages that it was my kind of novel, I elected to purchase its audiobook edition with six narrators giving voice to its characters to listen alongside reading the eARC.

It is very much an ensemble piece moving between various narrative viewpoints.

Interestingly 2045 is the year predicted for the Singularity by futurist Ray Kurzweil. This is the point when he stated that humans will become “hybrid of biological and non-biological intelligence.” What Rogers suggests in this novel is that who benefits from these innovations is likely to be an entitled minority.

‘Body Tourists’ could have emerged as a very technological focused SF novel but I felt that it strikes a good balance between its innovative plot and strong characterisations. I certainly found that I cared about the fates of the various characters.

Rogers has created a dystopian scenario that is quite plausible including the increasing divide between the wealthy and poor in society and the willingness to push the boundaries of life extension for the privileged.

Rogers presents the ethical and social issues behind the new technology impartially encouraging the reader to consider these themselves including the existence of the soul and how that would factor into the equation. In this respect I found the voice of Mary, the devout mother of one of the hosts, was particularly powerful.

An intelligent, thought-provoking work of literary science fiction that is extremely readable and transcends genre.

I now plan to look into reading her back catalogue as I was deeply impressed.

I really enjoyed this dystopian take on the not too distant future. In the UK people are more polarised into rich and poor than ever. The poor are confined to estates in the north of England rife with drug taking and despair, where people are wired up to virtual reality 24 hours a day to escape their lives. People are looking for anything to lift them from these circumstances so when offered a large amount of money for scientific research a couple from one estate jumps at the chance to earn life changing money.

Scientists have been looking for a way of helping those who are cryogenically frozen to live again. One company has found a way of transferring consciousness into a different body and is looking for guinea pigs to test their new idea on. They are offering ten thousand pounds for the use of the donor’s body for two weeks. Then while their consciousness sleeps for a while, their body is used by someone rich to live life again in a much younger body. These are the body tourists of the title; paying for two weeks in a young fit body to do it all over again. However, as with all such ideas, it is never as simple in practice. There are complications and ethical dilemmas the scientists didn’t imagine and it isn’t long before there are deaths on their hands. For families who wanted to spend time with a loved one again there is the psychological difficulty of getting used to them in a different, much younger body. How do they fit back into their families and what of relationships become blurred?

I have read all of Jane a Rogers back catalogue and wrote about her novel Promised Lands for my undergrad dissertation. This is another great piece of writing showcasing her incredible imagination and grasp of the complexity of human relationships. I loved it.

Body Tourists is a thrilling dystopian tale set in 2045 and is a compelling and thought-provoking page-turner. I read this at the same time as watching Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror and this book is somewhat similar in that it focuses on how technology and its advancement impacts society and both the positive and negative connotations this can have. The premise is a fascinating one; eminent Wunderkind scientist Luke Butler has found a way to take the preserved mind of a dead person and transfer it to someone who is still alive. When the digital memories are transplanted into the host body, they inhabit the space for a mere 14 days and this begs the question: what would you do if you could live again for a fortnight? For taking part in the experiment the host bodies are paid £10,000 for their silence but one of the first people to be involved is not able to return to his normal self and dies with his death being covered up by those in charge of the experiment.

This is a beautifully written science fiction novel which falls into the literary genre; I was absolutely riveted and thoroughly enjoyed my time reading it. But this is so much more than just a gripping plot as it explores philosophical questions about life and death and has a lot to say on the huge wealth divide between the upper and lower classes in society. It is very much reflective of real-life with those on the breadline making money through being part of the trial as a host but unable to afford to actually have their memories cryogenically frozen and transplanted whereas the affluent can easily afford to take part and effectively come back to life for a fortnight. It is compulsively readable and an intensely thought-provoking slow-burning story which at its heart is plot-driven but a lot of attention has been paid to the cast of characters too. An unsettling and completely absorbing concept and a potent, heady mix of excellent characterisation, complex plotting and social commentary make this a must-read for speculative fiction fans. Many thanks to Sceptre for an ARC.

A disturbing and unsettling read that I couldn't put down and gave a lot of food for thought.
it's a great example of contemporary speculative fiction and I was fascinated by the well crafted plot and the incredible world building.
I found that everything was excellent: the plot, the world building, and the cast of characters.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This story is told in multiple viewpoints, as we are introduced to a number of characters who become involved in this experiment. Inevitably, there are some who stick in the mind more than others. Paula is stranded on one of the thousand estates where the working class forced into unemployment as their jobs are now automated, are housed. Many retreat into VR worlds as an escape, while existing on sub-standard food, sub-standard education and sub-standard opportunities. She uses the money she gets for renting out her body to open a dance studio for the youngsters who don’t want to live in a virtual world and inevitably, it is her students – unusually fit and healthy – who are targeted for Luke’s experimental process. I loved her struggles, both practically and ethically, to live the life she wants against a background of poverty and deprivation.

I also enjoyed the storyline of Elsa and Lindy, another memorable subplot that particularly chimed with me, as I’m also a teacher. I felt their story was poignantly portrayed and the passages when they were able to fully express their love for one another were beautiful. There is also the tale of Richard K, successful pop musician who made it after his dad died and now he’s well into his middle age, would like to have the chance to reconnect with his father again.

Rogers could so easily have made this a far more polemic read, but I liked the fact that this wasn’t a completely dark tale of the haves preying on the have-nots – until it suddenly was… That ending packed a real punch and was all the more devastating because it seemed all too plausible – although thankfully, I think the actual science behind this premise is a very long way down the line.

This very readable story is both engrossing and thought provoking – I always love it when science fiction does that. And while the overall premise isn’t a particularly original one, I thoroughly enjoyed Rogers’ treatment. Highly recommended for readers who might like to sample a strong science fiction read, but are nervous of the techie bits.

The ebook arc copy of Body Tourists was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book
9/10

I was very interested in the concept of being a "tourist' in a young persons body for 14 days. `However, once i got over the mechanics, the book failed to engage me. It was well written but somehow not pacey enough for me. i could not empathize enough with the characters.

A really good read, fabulous characterisation and an engaging story that I was eager to get back to.
An interesting concept, would you be willing to host someones mind in your body for 2 weeks in return for £10,000 ? The poor selling their bodies to the rich is a disturbing concept but with technological advances maybe not beyond the realms of possibility.

The year is 2045. The divide between rich and poor is greater than ever. Enter Luke Butler. Funded by his aunt Gudrun, he is recruiting young and healthy hosts for his research into digital memory transfer. He needs young, fit and healthy bodies and also those who are willing to have their silence bought with the sum of ten thousand pounds. The mainly rich patrons are those who have been cryogenically frozen. Paula and her boyfriend Ryan are the first to take part in the experiment. They will go to sleep for two weeks while someone else's digital memory will be transplanted into their body, giving the deceased another chance to live - they will be body tourists. However, all does not go well for Ryan and he doesn't return. His death at the hands of his body tourist is covered up with secrecy clauses, and Paula, making the best of the situation she is in, demands more money from Luke Butler to start a dance studio for her community. As she attempts to rebuild her life with a new partner and baby, the past is set to return to haunt her. New recruits are needed and Luke Butler knows there are plenty of desperate young people willing to take part.

Body Tourists is a really interesting concept, and raises questions of morality. Is there ever a benefit to somebody returning to life? Is it fair that only the rich can access this? Is the future as bleak as this book predicts with bots taking over the role of caregivers and teachers? Is the future addiction likely not to be drugs or alcohol, but VR?

The story of Elsa and Lindy shows the other side of the debate in a beautiful narrative about second chances and redemption.

Overall, a really well-written, thought-provoking and original concept that challenged as much as entertained.

This is another one where it looked fantastic on paper but in reality, I just couldn't get into it despite reading until 25%.
This one is set in a future where cutting-edge and secret technology allows a digitally stored dead consciousness to be uploading into a living person hence the term body tourist.
While I found the idea extremely intriguing the actual execution here was less so.
This was in itself well written I just found it monotonous and slightly tedious.
I threw in the towel a quarter way through as I had no inclination to proceed further with this which was unfortunate as I was initially excited to embark with this one.
Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Body Tourists.

Absolutely enthralled me from the first page. Incredibly astute depiction of a dark but tender dystopian world. Fascinating science brought close to home.

Think Black Mirror crossed with The Handmaid’s Tale, mixed with some Virtual Reality and a healthy dose of human kindness.

I loved the subtle differences in the voices of the characters. The topics of race, gender, sexuality, family loyalty, moral corruptness, financial instability, all mixed with the very scary realisation that this is already happening somewhere in the world...

I immediately want to read all the other works written by this author. Outstanding.

I was really enjoying this until the final part of the of it and then the story started to meander a bit, thus losing the traction the author had built up. The slowing down started in the most exciting part of the novel with all the different narrative lives changing dramatically but the tone being a snail's pace now.
The wide variety of characters were really interesting and for the most part they were fleshed out. There were a couple of moments where I did not care about the characters but these were only momentary blips and I carried on enjoying the novel. It was an interesting concept but the tone was a bit too inconsistent at the end.

This book could easily have been written by Charlie Brooker as an episode of Black Mirror. With its focus on the impact of technology on society and the ways in which this might work both positively and negatively, it shines a light on the inequalities of our current society and implies that technology might only exacerbate these. It explores the consequences throuugh several different characters to give you a very well-rounded view, and I thought each little part of the story was done very well. As such it's an interesting look at a potential future.