Kopi Chrysalis

Kopi Chrysalis: A World in Transition by Rick Bohm is book two in a series. It is a beautiful love story set against a very near future that is experiencing an exponential growth in technology, a period in history dominated by artificial intelligence with well-developed, human-sized robots. In a highly changing and eclectic techno-centric culture, a beautiful relationship develops between two people from two different and distinct backgrounds, Kopi and Hanna, who are separated by distance. Because they live far from each other, they’ll have to overcome huge challenges to be together. Can they succeed in holding on to each other at a moment when everything is rapidly changing around them? And could theirs be the fate that awaits humanity somewhere along its path toward maturity or dehumanization?

Kopi Chrysalis: A World in Transition begins in a very brilliant way, and readers will not find the need to seek answers in the previous installment. Rick Bohm knows how to fill in the blanks without delving into unnecessary backstories or coming across as explanatory. It begins with action, an attempt on Kopi’s life, and insights into his gifted mind. He experiences lucid dreams, a gift developed after the loss of Alice, his robotic friend. This book explores very powerful themes and current issues and questions about the future of humanity. The conflict is really huge and explored at different levels throughout the story. Change is something we have to deal with, but what if the change we are compelled to live with robs us of our dignity and of our freedom to choose, and what if it violates our values?

Rick Bohm has successfully and masterfully handled a subject that is contemporary: change in a highly digitized civilization. It is interesting to notice how he explores the deep fears that millions of people are already having. What will become of our values when technology starts leading our lives? The characters are compelling and memorable, and the writing is so tight and beautiful it will be hard to put it down. This is a prophetic book that anyone conscientious about the fate of humankind will be keen on reading.