The Aging Machine
By Paul Robert Schreyer, 2021
Genre: Young Adult Action/Adventure
Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
One of us started reading this book with a big bowl of marble fudge ice cream with extra hot fudge sauce. And raspberries. Mom added peanut butter to make up for any nutritional deficiencies in the berries. This book moved along so briskly, she kept having to refill. To “keep her energy up,” dontcha know. (Insert eye roll here.)
Anyway, I, Kimber the Magnificent, will let Her Momness tell you more about The Aging Machine:
The Story
Desperate to shore up his flagging re-election bid, Governor Lewis gets a new law passed that revises the juvenile justice system and authorizes the use of a new machine. An aging machine. It will allegedly solve the twin problems of juvinile crime and high prison costs.
Wrongly convicted of murder, two fifteen year-old orphans, John and Taylor, are sentenced to sixty years in prison. They’re human Guinea pigs for a new machine that ages them one year in one second. But the machine ages them physically. They remain teenagers mentally.
Who invented the machine, and why? Now septuagenarians, John and Taylor embark on a wild ride to unravel the secrets behind the machine. An alert reporter, Amy, also has questions about the machine and who’s behind it. Mystery abounds as they encounter graft, fraud and corruption at the highest levels. Will they survive long enough to find the truth?
A couple minor issues: How Amy finds the boys in Florida could use further clarity. How the two boys, now in 75-year-old bodies, hot-foot it out of Dr. Scott’s house ahead of Quincy the “psycho cop,” climb onto a moving train and leap into a speeding Lincoln Continental strains credulity a wee bit. Also, the formatting includes a ragged right margin rather than the more traditional justified right margin. Sentences are double-spaced.
Fresh & Nimble
Overall, however, The Aging Machine is fresh, original, and nimble. It’s just plain fun. With plenty of action and a storyline as tight as a drum, this action-packed novel is sure to appeal to its target audience. Ditto anyone who enjoys a rousing good read. Or marble fudge ice cream with blueberries. And peanut butter.
Pages & Paws 
March 4, 2022 at 2:35 pm
Nice review. Now I want some ice cream! Thanks. I think I would want a machine to reverse aging, not increase it. Sounds like a very interesting story.
March 4, 2022 at 3:16 pm
Reverse aging works for me! It was a unique and creative twist on the “time machine” motif.
March 4, 2022 at 3:26 pm
I appreciate the thoughtful review. I know that some of the physical feats performed by the now 75-year olds were a stretch, but I just couldn’t help pushing the limits. It made for some nice action. I worked really hard on keeping the storyline pretty tight. I think it is important in YA action stories to keep the reader turning pages. Thanks again.
March 4, 2022 at 4:02 pm
You’re welcome. Thanks for a good story and thanks for commenting.