Brink of Life

In the second book of Rick Moskovitz’s futuristic trilogy, the story picks up where the first ends. At this point in the trilogy, it is hard to figure out who is the good guy and who is the bad guy based on the actions of the characters. Brink of Life starts at an unspecified time with an unknown woman waking from a memory-less dream. This mystery woman suffers from apparent amnesia but soon finds out that she is suspected of the murder of her late husband, along with her mystery lover. With the help of some surprising characters, she is able to figure out her true identity and move forward with her true mission in life and try to escape from her past. The story revolves around this mystery woman and her flashbacks, making her life very confusing when she must sort through what is real and what is only being perceived as true.

The reader will continue learning more about the life-altering company from A Stand-In for Dying, as well as agencies that are competing against each other, each with the self-righteous thought of their actions being best for the United States. Much like there is good and bad in the real world, there is also a fine line that people must decide if it’s too fine to cross when it comes to people’s lives and the guilt that is associated with them.
The theme of simplicity versus complexity plays a role in this story. The dispute is between those who believe in the advancement of science and all things technological, those who still believe in the power of the earth to provide food for our nourishment, and the accomplishment of a good day’s work out in the field and around the community.

Again, this is a very futuristic story with laser guns being used instead of just “regular” ones and hover cars that are activated with a fingerprint and fly on their own. Brink of Life is written in a way that there is no problem with seeing the story being played out in your head. Moscovitz did an excellent job of making you question everyone involved in the story, to want to know for certain if their stories are true, and then emotionally relating to them when anything happens. This story is, again, another page-turner that leads the reader one step closer to the final conclusion in this advanced society between good and evil and understanding the fine line between the two.