Jim Kroepfl

Although the book “Merged” by Jim Kroepfl is presented as fiction, it may potentially become a reality in the too distant future. The story revolves around the merging of human consciousness at the moment of death, with that of another human who will carry forth the works of the former. The motivations put forth, beyond financial gain and prestige for the designers of the experiment, as well as success and celebrity for the body enablers, is the flirtatious experience with immortality by those who do not want to depart from the earth realm. However, having 2 minds or souls cohabit the same body is not entirely without its problems, as is skilfully portrayed by the characters. I enjoyed exploring the ramifications of this storyline and recommend its reading to all those who are intrigued with the realm of infinite possibilities. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (mais)

Merged, by Jim and Stephanie Kroepfl, is a fun science fiction read. It tells of a group of sixteen-year-olds who decide to let a corporation merge their minds with those of Nobel prize level experts who are old or dying. The idea is that the young people will work side-by-side with the experts sharing their minds whenever they are asleep. The work the duo accomplishes in their dreamscapes will inform the work of the teen in the real world after he/she awakens.

This is a multiple POV story with the focus shared by 3 of the teens. I recommend it for middle school or high school readers. The story was intriguing and kept my attention. It had a few moments of jarring time jumps--where I started reading a chapter only to realize that days had passed and significant events had occured since the previous chapter. This didn't interfere, however, with my understanding of the plot. I found the connections to famous works of art fascinating. Explanations of each were included in an appendix for those readers unfamiliar with the works. This was an interesting afternoon read.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (mais)