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indigo78180's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I only read this because I was at the beach and had already exhausted my personal supply of physical books. Altogether, the book is still somewhat entertaining, but its entertainment value is vastly overshadowed by its weird white male matrydom-fantasy. The book claims to deal with the ideas of faith, truth, science, and personal freedom to exercise the intellect, but what really comes across is the main character, Trafford, and the underground organization he falls in with, the Humanists', strong fixation on evolution as the ultimate truth and hope for the future. Furthermore, the novel fails to address how Trafford's erotic obsession with privacy and secrecy is really a power fantasy; he wants what is revealed to him, yet is supposed to be secret. He wants what others will not give him (their secrets) and is smug in his knowledge of the (illegal, in this world) privacy of other people's lives. The novel criticizes the "blind faith" of the masses and identifies (or attempts to, arbitrarily) the traits in those who are intellectual; however, it fails to point out the glaringly obvious problem of governmental/religious abuses of legal power, which is the source of the people's ignorance and "blind faith" in the first place. In the end, Trafford commits his life to starting the spark of what he hopes will be a revolution, but even a passing scan of his plans shows his lack of foresight and common sense. To sum up, this novel is not the worst for passing time, but it will induce a lot of eye-rolling.
jojobear's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
painfreepill's review against another edition
3.0
The book wasn't really a new concept, however I enjoyed the world, the satire and I believe the overall message was a good one. It kept me entertained so much so that I had an interest in wanting to discover more about the world itself and was slightly disappointed that more of it was not mentioned.
The book is definitely a more modern take (and sometimes quite funny) version of 1984 and I'm glad I got to read through it. I would recommend it to anyone who hates entitled, promiscuous, over-sharing evolution denying nit-wits; you will most likely enjoy this.
The book is definitely a more modern take (and sometimes quite funny) version of 1984 and I'm glad I got to read through it. I would recommend it to anyone who hates entitled, promiscuous, over-sharing evolution denying nit-wits; you will most likely enjoy this.
tetipea's review against another edition
1.0
My neighbour traded me this book for my copy of Neal Stephenson's Anathem and I can say with great confidence that he got the better end of the deal. Science fiction is good when it extrapolates a future that's plausible enough to make us think about our current reality and where it's heading. Ben Elton is apparently so daft he is unable to extrapolate anything accurately, and instead envisions a future where the people he hates on facebook rule the world. He also reveals himself to be intensely misogynistic and actually rather classist. It's quite clear he's the type of man to denigrate the Kardashians for being airheaded while ignoring their self made business empire. This book is a steaming pile of fat-shaming, slut-shaming, upper middle class wank. Save yourself the pain of reading it and just hit yourself in the head with it repeatedly - it will provide the same experience in less time.
sashkello's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad book, keeps you entertained throughout. But... while referencing Orwell, it borrows from 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 so heavily that it feels more like a modern remix than a standalone full-fledged novel. A lot of cliche criticisms of modern society which aren't really deep or new or unique... Overall, I don't regret reading it - as I said, it is rather entertaining, but I wouldn't revisit it again.
josie146's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kiiouex's review against another edition
4.0
call me a prole but this is 1984 by way of Idiocracy and it's a lot more fun
shahrun's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first Ben Elton read. I must say I was most intrigued by the blurb (on the back of the book), and was quite keen to start. Once I did though, I felt like I was making a big mistake. It took me a few chapters to orientate myself and feel comfortable in this strange new world he had created. Then some thing magic happened, it strangely started to make sense. And the world wasn't actually that alien to me. It was kind of Big Brother (TV show) meets Live Aid meets the Bible! And the way kids are growing up these days with social media, it's not even that far fetched that the world could end up exactly like this in 100 years (or maybe even less). I'd be interested to read some of his other books now I think.