Athena's Choice takes place 79 years in the future when a mutated virus spirals out of control killing all men, trans men and some women. The Lazarus gene, however, is a preserved specimen of male replication, and is stolen. Athena is requested by the AI who looks over womankind at present to help solve the crime whilst asking questions such as: should the gene be found? Does it benefit humans to have men in a thriving world? 

I honestly didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. In recent years, there's been many books questioning women's reproductive rights, men's roles in society, gene alterations etc. what I didn't realise was what all these were missing: an invigorating world with lovable and developed characters that aren't so developed there is only personal philosophy, and developed enough that I hoped for each character. Athena wasn't trying to be different or the same, she was just Athena, and she was struggling like the rest of us did at her age. I also appreciate that it was written by a man and didn't end with men being superior or essential, but wanted and useful. I enjoyed the representation of relationships throughout the book and that trans men were included, but I'll admit I did cringe little at every sexual injection. I understand, it's a book about sex, reproduction, genetics, life and whilst it does give a subtle nod to women taking hold of their own pleasure and orgasms, I felt some of it was unnecessary in such a serious plot. 

Over all, Athena's Choice is a thought provoking read with an almost utopia feel with juicy secrets encrypted in every page. The pace was perfect, each character felt necessary even if just to make a short point later and I truly enjoyed the interactions and dialogue which I feel sometimes ruins a good piece of literature.

I got the Audiobook, Athena’s Choice by Adam Boostrom  Narrated by Alex Ford from NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

Athena Vosh lives just like any other teenager from the year 2099. She watches reality shows with her friends, eats well, and occasionally wonders to herself: what would life be like if men were still alive?
It has been almost 50 years since an experimental virus accidentally killed all the men on earth. However, a controversial project is currently underway to bring men back. There's just one catch. The project has been sabotaged.
So begins Athena's Choice. When the police of 2099 are tasked with finding the saboteur, they receive a mysterious command to investigate the otherwise innocuous Athena Vosh. After it becomes clear that the young girl might know more than she lets on, Athena is brought in to participate in the official investigation. Simultaneously, the girl begins to experience a series of cryptic dreams featuring a ruined library and an old book containing the saboteur’s true identity. As the police close in on their prize, Athena finds herself on a journey of her own. Her clue-filled dreams and incorruptible spirit bring her face-to-face with a pair of forgotten truths about happiness and gender. The world waits to see if men will return as Athena fights a separate battle, culminating in the choice that will define her and others' lives forever.

I Decided to get Athena’s Choice as the premise of the story sounded really interesting, as to what the world would be like without men. I must say this is one of those plots that sound good to read and the author actually pulls the story into a good read, which is not always the case.
One of the ways that the book gave some background into the world was the use of having Wikipedia pages in the book, which allows the author to put information out in a way that the reader may already get their information from normally.
The only weakness which some readers may feel is that the ending does not tie up all the loose ends when the book. For me I felt that it worked and took the story to a higher level. However if you like books that close everything up just be warned, although the book is still worth reading.
Narrator  Review
I read this book using an audiobook which was read by Alex Ford, and most of the time I listened, at 1.5 speed and the voice at that speed was still clear.
As an English reader sometimes I find that American accents can lower the enjoyment of the book, however, Alex Ford’s voice allowed me just to concentrate on the story, which is all I want from the Narrators of my audio books.

Recommendation
This was a really fascinating story to read, as it did what all good Sci-Fi novels do, so if you are into books that give you the reader something to think about. Or if you just want a good story to read,  Adam Boostrom’s book is one you should read.
In addition the quality of the Narrator makes reading this book, as an audio book, a strong option, however whatever format you use to read your books, you should read Athena’s Choice.

📖 Book Review 📖
Athena’s choice by Adam Boostrom
Published date - 19th March 2019 (I hadn’t looked at the date when I requested 😂)

So, I am not one for dystopian fiction, I have given up on The Handmaidens tale and 1984 twice, and it took me ages to read VOX as I kept putting it aside.

I LOVED this, and I will now try others in this genre.

I almost wish I had brought the book so I could have got through it quicker, loved the back story and how this ‘new’ world became. I enjoyed following the characters and could really visualise their setting.

This has become my favourite ‘listened too’ of the year.
#adambookstrom #athenaschoice #netgalley #dystopianfiction #bookreview #netgalleyreview #bookcommunity 

Thank you to @netgalley and @IBPA  for allowing me to review.

I don't understand the amazing ratings for this book.  I found it to be super campy and slow moving.  All the men have been killed off by a virus and women are still able to sustain life on the planet.  There is a divide as to whether men should be "brought back to life" or left extinct.  I read 75% of the book before giving up.  The science fiction in the book is just lame, for example food is printed using edible plastic and one person is murdered by consuming food from her printer that was tainted.

It has been almost 50 years since an experimental virus accidentally killed all the men on earth.

I listened to the audiobook of Athena's Choice and very much enjoyed it. I am an avid reader of fantasy and sci-fi and often that means that some books feel very very similar to others but this wasn't the case for Athena's Choice. 

The book grabbed me as soon as I read what it was about and I found it very interesting. If you like dystopian sci-fi this book is for you.

I loved the narrator and she was a pleasure to listen to. I listened at various speeds and the audio sounded nice on all of them (sometimes when you speed up it can sound annoying).

I enjoyed this one a bit more than I thought I would as I don't usually go for this type of story. I wasn't disappointed, the story was great and I would read more from this author and narrator.

Very well told dystopian novel that was easy to read and entertaining at the same time. Highly recommend this book for anyone who feels like the idea is appealing. You won't be disappointed.

I was so intrigued by the manner in which Boostrom shared the history of the Union through Wikipedia entries. It was a very clever way to convey the timeline of the story. I also loved the many innovations he developed in the book. Those who love fashion will want to have the ability to choose the clothing for the next day and it will be designed specifically for them and ready to wear the next day. It can also be recycled so new outfits can be worn every day. Foodies will enjoy the food printer allowing you to select and print the food you want to eat. Although in order to have higher in foods, you must purchase a more expensive model.

I am usually not a fan of dystopian novels, but this one caught my attention and I simply could not wait to find out the ending. The coming of age part of this novel is about Athena and the choices she makes throughout the book which shows her growth from a free-spirited teenager to a young woman who must put her life on the line.

This was an ok book. I didn't hate it, but that fact that the author couldn't even properly end his book put me off. Also this was kind of a chauvinistic view of a world run by women. The main character spends most of her time fantasizing about how strong and masculine men were. Its a fine book just not for me.

I listened to the audiobook version. This setting of the book is the year 2099 and it's centered around a civilization where men are now extinct.  Athena is the main heroine in the dystopian science fiction story. She begins to dream of places she has never been to. She is lonely, sad and feeling incomplete. She wishes for men to return. I really enjoyed this edge of your seat mystery/sci-fi/dystopian story. It is witty and thought provoking.  I recommend this book to lovers of a great plot, sci-fi and a story to get lost in.

I received the audiobook via netgalley! Thank you to netgalley and the author!

I did enjoy this book but there were spots where it was very slow! The synopsis of this book intrigued me but i did find myself pushing through some of it. 

The year is 2099 and it is a world where men are now extinct. and women are controlling the world. I enjoyed to concept of this book and our main character finds herself missing men but something was still missing for me. However, the were some moves the author made in the book that shook me. 

I do recommend reading this book just make sure you push through the slower areas and you will enjoy the end.

Menfolk went extinct about 50 years ago and since then the all woman world has cured hunger, made peace, experienced unprecedented economic growth etc. Kittens stay cute forever and makeup never smears…

Yeah I’m sure womankind could do that but if all men really up and died, one of the first thing they’d invent would be a whole fleet of Magic Mike Bots, just enough AI for pillow talk, Channing Tatum’s body with *ahem* that one appendage replaced with one of those magic rabbit wands - I say this as a gal who’s only interested in other boobies but I know damn well what my fellow ladies would be prioritizing. Now maybe these AI gigalos exist in Athena’s world but I doubt it since she’s has to sketch out her own thirst traps.

Good narration, not a perfectly linear timeline but the narration handles it smoothly. 

Wanted to like it more than I could. Some of the world building felt a bit hollow if not optimistically sexist but that could just be because I’m a female reader watching a world of exclusively women as written by a man.

All the characters felt a bit flat except for the actual robot, probably because less personality is expected from AI.

Captain Bell is too sarcastic and flippant for a well awarded professional.

Honestly if any woman really thought the elimination of males would turn the universe into some kind of lesbian utopia we would have already witnessed the attempt at the first female instigated genocide.

When I read the synopsis of this book, I thought that it was such an interesting concept for a book. A world without men... utopia or dystopia, you decide. 🤣 I love to see how futuristic stories will create our world and I enjoyed this one, though I feel like it was a bit unrealistic for less than 70yrs in the future. I thought that Athena’s character was interesting; she was young but smart, with a longing that she could not quite explain.

I found thenarrator's voice to be very clear and easy to understand. She also did a good job of giving the characters different voices/accents. With that said, I found myself a bit lost during the story. Not only is this told in a non-linear way, but they also have random “Wiki” posts sprinkled throughout the book (some of which I wasn’t sure of the importance). I also found the ending to be very rushed, which is always a bit disappointing.

I received this audio book for review.

This book takes place on the year 2099 and is centered around a civilization where men are no longer apart of civilization, they are now extinct.  Athena is the main heroine in the dystopian sci-fi story. She begins having dreams of places she has never been. She is lonely and feeling incomplete. She yearns for men to return. I thoroughly enjoyed this witty, edge of your seat mystery/sci-fi/ dystopian story. I would recommend this story to anyone looking for a great plot, and a story to get lost in.

While this book sounded interested in the blurb I truly struggled to get through it.  I almost gave up on it but I forced myself to finish it.  I liked the idea of having all female characters but it wound up being really really confused by all the similar characters.  I also found the narrator to be kind of monotonous and boring.  I couldn't focus so I finished in the ebook version.

A future where men have been wiped out.....what an interesting premise, and one which made me intrigued in the story. Sci-fi is not my go to in the book world, unless there is some horror involved, so I was a bit hesitant.  Well, I am very proud of allowing myself something different as I truly did enjoy this story. There were a few moments where the vocabulary and dialogue was a bit much for me, but I figured this was done to bring their way of interacting with one another to life. I especially enjoyed the use of news articles as well as wikipedia articles to bring background information into the story. I did this as an audiobook, and it a totally worked brilliantly.  I was not expecting the loss of some characters, and was surprised that I was affected by it. I would definitely encourage those with an interest in scifi to check this one out!

3.5 stars. 

Athena's Choice is the 2nd book that I've read this week about what life might be like in the late part of our current century.   In this book, a bio-engineered virus killed off all of the men on Earth during the 2050's.   Life goes on for the women and they continue advancing technology and science.   By the 2090's there are women who have never seen men.   Some of them want to bring men back using a genome.   Athena is a young women who gets wrapped up in a plot to steal the genome and in the course of things she learns more about not just her own past but society's past. 

I like the first part of this book better than the latter third.   I enjoyed the world-building and hearing about all of the tech that this near-future society had.   Athena was a likable character and I was curious to see how her story played out.  Although the book is written by a man, there is a definite feminist bent to this story.  Many women in the future dystopian society feel that men were the root of all evil and that they are better off without them.  The story was an entertaining quick read, but in the end something missed the mark with me in how everything wrapped up.

Who runs the world? Girls.
IN ATHENA’S CHOICE, WOMEN HOLD ALL THE POWER -- AND FIND THEMSELVES QUESTIONING THE MEANING OF HUMAN EXISTENCE.
--
Part of growing up is realizing that adults make mistakes. As adults, we learn that there are some mistakes that we can choose not to repeat.

The titular heroine of Athena’s Choice learns this lesson in the hardest way possible, when through great personal loss the 19-year-old discovers that she may be the only person on earth who can right a terrible wrong committed long ago.

The story takes place in 2099, fifty years after a virus has killed all the men on the planet. Women have rebuilt the world with feminine values -- there is no war, poverty, or hunger. Artificial intelligences and other technologies have eliminated all manual labor. The most important currency in this near-utopia is cooperation, as women work together to make the world a better place.

Though the technology exists to engineer babies of both sexes, the scientists of 2099 have long ago learned that any male babies, once born, would die of the virus. So for fifty years, doctors have only made female babies that are raised by female parents. 

The plot of Athena’s Choice mirrors the story of creation in the Christian Bible, and author Adam Boostrom uses apples -- sometimes, quite heavy-handedly --  to symbolize forbidden knowledge, like the Biblical “tree of knowledge” from which Adam and Eve ate apples, causing them to be cast out of paradise.

At the start of the book, the women of Athena’s world are having a debate. Assuming they could engineer males who are immune to the virus, should they? Would the return of men fill a missing piece of women’s hearts and psyches? Or would men bring an end to world peace and a return to violence and greed? Should women remain forever as a lone sex in this paradise they’ve built without men?

These are difficult questions for anyone to consider, and Boostrom does a great job of communicating the teenage Athena’s confusion and disbelief as immense decisions are thrust upon her. Before her story ends, she must answer an age-old question for all of humanity -- what should we do with the knowledge that we have?

This was not a genre that I typically read - but the synopsis was intruiging. 

I enjoyed this foray into life in the future - especially the details of the day to day life, with all of its digitally printed clothes and high tech conveniences. Interesting to see the way a world filled with women in the high ranking positions was run. 

The world is 50 years on from a virus that killed off all of the men, accientally. While the means of propagating the species has been found, men are still missed by many of the population, and a project to reintroduce men is underway, However, this project has been sabotaged. 

Teenager Athena finds herself embroiled in the investiagtion of the sabotage, and ends up, eventually with a very distinct choice to make. 

I foud the chracter of Athena was well done, and enjoyed the plot of the investigation. However I found the ending lacking. While it didg make me think, which was the whole idea of course, I would rather have had a definitive ending to the story,

This book has an interesting plot that gets the reader curious to read the book. A world devoid of men. Why? How? Then you remind yourself that the author is a man and the storytelling is limited by his brain creating women characters and plots. This book has potential and could probably make for a great B Sci-fi movie with hot Heroines. It is limited and distracting with the choice of storytelling. The characters are never quite developed enough to attach to. The book is ambitious and pretentious in the fact that is seems to want to be meaningful. Honestly it just leaves the reader with a bad aftertaste.  Almost like word mansplaining. I almost wanted to throw the book away when the AI started explaining what feminism should be. Overall this book is unmemorable at best.