In post-apocalyptic London, there’s the monotony of life in the Perimeter or the promise of luxury in the Better Life Complex.
In post-apocalyptic London, there’s the monotony of life in the Perimeter or the promise of luxury in the Better Life Complex.
Action & adventure, Dystopian, Visionary & metaphysical
Mike Brooks’ debut novel is an adventure story set in a dystopian future in which our taste for branding, consumerism and artificial reality is boundless. In /The Machine Society/, he weaves together psychological insight, philosophical reflection and spiritual inquiry to give us a novel that is both a deep satire on modern life and a rich metaphor for our longing to find inner peace.
Dean Rogers lives in the Perimeter of New London, holding down a soul-destroying job, surrounded by people who have lost the will to communicate. He is afraid his debts will spiral out of control, resulting in him being cast out of the city, outside of the Security Wall. Meanwhile, in the Better Life Complex, New London’s rich elite live in plastic luxury, unaware of the sinister secrets that underpin their world.
/The Machine Society/ is an original and intelligent sci-fi thriller, and a heartfelt rally cry for the soul’s liberation.
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This typical dystopian scifi novel went really fast and was blended with philosophical ruminations. Avid readers of Mystery and Scifi Novels would love this work. ~ Muthuvel Deivendran, NetGalley
The Machine Society is a dystopian sci-fi novel that moved fast. I liked that even though it was heavily philosophical, it wasn't pretentious. It had many clever aspects to it, such as the branding of education (e.g. "Starbucks University"). I will say that I can definitely see parts of this future society actually happening in real life. My favorite parts of the book was when Dean Rogers, the main character, was playing this virtual reality game in his house. I could see the story being developed further in a follow-up book or series, but I don't know if the author plans on doing that. ~ Rachel Berardinelli, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1758925455
Brooks’s novel includes some clever satirical details. [His] dystopia combines echoes of Orwell and Huxley with present-day concerns about capitalism and technology, but never quite pulls its various components together. Ex-academic Dean Rogers struggles to negotiate the stratified postapocalyptic city of New London. After a perilous incident at his dead-end job, Rogers is plucked from the dismal slums of the city’s Perimeter district, given a makeover, and ensconced in the luxurious enclave of the Better Life Complex, where each citizen is a walking advertisement for a corporate sponsor and all edibles are packed with “healthy” additives. As he learns more about the secrets of the Complex, he endangers himself and those around him, and soon he must either escape or die. ~ PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, http://www.publishersweekly.com/9781785352522
Wow, I'll just take a breath, I need to after reading this book.I loved it, I really enjoy dystopian books when they are well thought out and well written, and this one most certainly was in my opinion.I honestly thought it was one of the best dystopian books I have read in a very long time.I especially liked the references to the book of the title, a book within a book, and some of the ideas made me pause for thought,and made perfect sense.I liked the main characters and cared what happened to them, and it was a real adventure that kept me page turning to the end.I would love to read more by this author,and I really enjoyed this book. ~ Angie Thomas-Davis, NetGalley
A thoroughly gripping and highly intelligent novel, with a wholly plausible, perfectly imagined future - a warning of where present cultural trends may take us - all underpinned with philosophical speculations on the nature of freedom. ~ Steve Taylor, author of The Fall and Back to Sanity
Thoughtful and captivating. A powerful portrayal of a city that's lost its soul. Brooks' vivid depiction of a dystopian future provides a stark critique of modern culture but ultimately a message of hope. ~ Peter Parr, author of Escape to Redemption
