Lost in a Good Book

Published: 22nd November 2018
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 220
Format: Ebook
Genre: Science Fiction
★   ★   ★ – 3 Stars

The future’s here and it’s great. You can live for a very long time, you can experience the dream in virtual reality, and you can even worship David Hasselhoff. But not everyone is feeling fulfilled …

If you like dark humour and scathing satire, then you will relish experiencing tomorrow’s outlandish world through the eyes of its colourful cast of characters.

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book by the author for review.

I read the forward before starting because I thought it would be a good preparation for this story and I was right. The unique format and the short story/chapter style certainly needed some context beyond the blurb.

It didn’t take long to get into the flow of this futuristic world. Initially you can see a semblance to our own society, albeit in the near future, but before long it descends into a strange future where the issues of today are heightened and reflected back on us with strange new technologies and obsessions at the forefront.

The format and writing style is a clever choice and one that works especially well for this kind of story. The short snippets and chapters focus on key characters but also random, often unnamed characters and scenes offering up a rounded view of the wider world and society. Portman also cleverly circles back as we see a few reoccurring lesser characters throughout the timeline.

At times I felt that it was perhaps too long, but I understand that in following Terrance’s life it needed to be long. I enjoyed the satire and the reflection of the society, the only issue is around the halfway mark I felt it had run its course and I was growing tired of a few characters but thankfully it picked up again. One thing that kept me going was the things happening away from the main characters; I enjoyed the subtle reflections of the changing society and the snippets of life from these brief chapters and scenes.

The short chapters are certainly a benefit and the jumps in time allow a lot more narrative to be covered, especially with a plot like this. Terrence’s story is woven throughout alongside these reoccurring and one off characters and an overview of how society is progressing further into the late 21^st century and 22^nd century.

The story has three main parts, starting with the everyday before coming to the revolution then the inevitable rise of the machines. While not a complete overhaul, there is a demonstration of what the world would look like if everything was automated and the impact that has one humanity and society.

The language is an odd balance of satire and mockery, definitely dark humour. I liked the sardonic tone and the frustration of Terrance in his life, each key character had a definitive voice and there is a lot of humour and reflection that is recognisable in today’s society. One thing I noted was that while the narrative is meant to be inclusive of all genders, sexualities, and religions, there are multiple cases of trans people being referred to as “he/she” which satire or not, sat weirdly with me.

I enjoyed the far future world we see at the end, especially seeing teenagers trying to understand the old world in comparison to their current one was humorous. The impact of virtual reality and other advancements means they’ve ended up in a slightly Wall-E-esque world minus the spaceship.

If science fiction and dark humour are your thing then this will certainly be enjoyable. It is bizarre but there is a charm to it as well. There is a lot to take from it and a lot of little gems to enjoy.

You can purchase Tomorrow’s World via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Wordery | Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust