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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Unknown Reality in Books

Nov 28, 2019  
Unknown Reality
Unknown Reality
Kurt Chambers | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Chloe lives with her family in what seems to be a fairly normal life. But after meeting a stranger during a trip to the theatre, she starts to realise that all might not be as it seems and her world - and her entire life- might be nothing more than a simulation. Abruptly thrown out of the only existance she has known she has to face up to a different reality. She must adapt to her new circumstances and new reality when all she wants is to return 'home'.

Following on from the young adult fantasy stories of Truth Teller and The Wrath of Siren, Chambers once again sets out to encourage an interest in fiction in young adults, in this case science fiction. Once again he produces an interesting and engaging work, choc full of characters and ideas. Just the first few chapters contain enough material for the average science fiction work but Chambers goes further, layering further nuanced plots and subplots together and managing to spin them together into a terrific ending.

Chloe is a strong protagonist, intelligent and thoughtful while always remaining an 11 year old in outlook and the reader will really root for her and want her to succeed. The world Chambers creates is very well described and imagined, relying on science fiction standards for some parts but carefully avoiding cliche and doing what science fiction does best - highlight some of the folly of the real world.

Yet another terrific book from Chambers, one of those authors who is a 'must read' for my teenage sons.
  
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ClareR (5950 KP) rated Always Greener in Books

Feb 27, 2020 (Updated Feb 27, 2020)  
Always Greener
Always Greener
J.R.H.Lawless | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Always Greener is about a reality TV show in the near future, where everyone is permanently glued to their screens through visual implants or AR glasses (if they haven't got the money). How bad is your life? Because if it's REALLY bad, you're more likely to become a contestant on The Grass is Greener, where you'll be watched 24/7 through your visual implants. There's no off switch, there's no privacy - the public want to see everything.

The first couple of chapters were a little hard-going, but I'm glad I persevered. It's a satire of the reality TV that we have today, and J. R. H. Lawless has taken it to it's furthest point, it's most outrageous end. To be fair, I'm sure it could probably be even more heartless, invasive and damaging, but the contestants are saved, to a certain extent, by a host with a conscience.

I did really enjoy this - but I can't say as it made me feel particularly positive about the future: people used as guinea pigs for drugs and procedures untested on anyone else, with fatal consequences; suicide so commonplace, that it has become a steady job for a group of people who clean up after them - what a way to make a living; the total lack of empathy for people who are less fortunate, reduced merely to a prime-time, all-the-time, streaming slot.

Not a future I would want, but a great book, nonetheless. Its a good read!

Many thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this book to read and review.
  
    Wind Tunnel AR

    Wind Tunnel AR

    Education and Entertainment

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    App

    Easily model basic architectural geometries in 2D and 3D. Augmented reality based drawing mode make...

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ClareR (5950 KP) rated Q: The Novel in Books

Jul 11, 2021  
Q: The Novel
Q: The Novel
Christina Dalcher | 2020 | Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Q is set in the near future - or even an alternative ‘Now’. To say that this made me feel supremely uncomfortable would be an understatement. I kept picking it up, reading a bit, and then putting it down - until I got to the last half of the book where I basically inhaled it.

As a parent and a teacher, I found this novel really disturbing. The author has taken where we are now in our education system, and ramped it up to its most exaggerated end point. And it still didn’t seem completely over the top.

In Q’s reality, children are divided up in to their academic ability and put into one of three tiered schools - Silver, Green or Yellow. It’s a relatively new system, and for teacher Elena Fairchild, it’s a dream to teach in a top tier school, where the children are all motivated and high achieving. But when Elena’s youngest daughter is demoted from a Green to a Yellow school, Elena’s loyalty to the education system starts to disintegrate. And when her husband, who works in a senior position in the education department, refuses to save his daughter from being sent hundreds of miles away to a Yellow State boarding school, Elena decides to act.

Ooh, how I loved this. Yes, it’s uncomfortable reading. Yes, it has Eugenics written large all over it (And Elena’s grandmother even warns her and tells her about her youth under the Nazi regime). And yes, it’s uncomfortably close to reality.
But it was a gripping read with a satisfying end. I would recommend it!