by Jason Stotts
As a writer myself trying to get my first book published, I know how hard it is to get a book in front of a publisher, let alone get them to read it. To actually take it all the way to publication is quite the achievement today, when publishers would much rather go with established writers, even if their work is trite, than to try something new. So, my cynical side thought that this was going to be one of those books that was crap, but that got published anyway because Leonard Peikoff is Kira’s father and the publisher thought they could leverage that fact.
I was, thankfully, very wrong.
Living Proof is an excellent book and an amazing book for a first time author. The writing is tight, the plot is motivated, and the story is gripping. Living Proof is one of those books that you don’t want to put down until you’re finished.
The story is set in a dystopian future (is it dystopian if it’s nearly real now?) where the christian religion has taken control of much of government and has declared all fertilized eggs to be full legal persons and their death to be murder. This complicates everything from miscarriage to in vitro fertilization. The heroine, of course, is not happy with that state of affairs and has a very selfish reason to motivate her to want to work against the laws. I dare not say too much more lest I give away interesting plot points, but if you’re looking for a good book and you want to support a great up and coming Objectivist author, go buy Living Proof!