The Year 2076
May 5, 2008 at 9:15 pm 2 comments
I just finished reading an interesting story today. Go check out http://www.2076book.com/ to get your free copy and read it yourself. It’s a little over 200 pages, but it’s a fairly fast read as the sentences are small in both length and content. There are a few more obvious errors than you would expect from a print edition from a well-known publishing house, but that’s OK, it’s easy to overlook. Don’t let the seemingly simplistic writing structure fool you though, there is some deep thought-provoking ideas in play. It may be that the author (Robert VanDyke) is trying to come up with his own version of the (in)famous 1984 Orwell classic. While a little rough around the edges, 2076 is bound to make you think twice about some of the things you see in your everyday life today. Is this where it’s really leading?
The plot is regarding life in the times of 2076, and it follows some interesting possibilities in technology and politics that are in place now. Huge apartment towers where you literally never have to go outside? Yup. An access card that is your “universal” ID card? Yup. Everything automated? Yup. Privacy? None. A political system that cares little for your existance? Essentially. Total control by the faceless government, backed by muscled goons of it’s private enforcement teams? Got that too.
Influences appear to be the current state of affairs in the early years of the 2000s, this book expands on the possibilities of where this could end up. We have politicians pushing to have everything done “for our own good,” plus our increased reliance on computer and robotic automation, plus a focus on removing any type of weapon, while forcing non-stop survielance. Does this really lead to a safer place for us to live? Not really. The bad guys still have guns, and the cameras only catch crimes after they happen
Does the reality of today lead up to the reality of the book 2076? Hard to say, but it sure has an eerie way of making it sound likely. We sure could be heading in that direction. The good part is that the main characters in this book are fed up with their society, and they want to make a change. They want some of America’s freedoms back. They are a small outlaw band, but they make the people in charge take notice of them. Is this a 1984 sequel, or is this a call to arms? Should we already have noticed 1984 and just need a wake-up call?
Read the book. Think about the politics. Think about the struggle. Think about how the technologies and politics of today really can make this society happen. Should we let this happen? Should we fight back now while it’s a lot easier to control?
Entry filed under: Conspiracy, Digital Life, Government, Media, Randomness. Tags: .
1.
watercooler | October 29, 2009 at 9:31 am
Recently, there was a rash of views on this online book review, coming from a now defunct Wikipedia page, plus the author’s own site (at http://robertvandyk.com/roblog/2008/11/review.html ).
Thank you, Robert, for my review of my review. And as your posting states, yes, the errors I was referring to was grammatical and typographical. It does not take away from the story, it just goes to show how hard it can be to get everything taken care of, even with a group of reviewers.
Just for the fun of it, I went and re-read this book, and my feelings are the same. It’s a great story, and I have recommended it to friends. It’s also still troubling to read as it does remind me of what could happen in the not-so-distant future.
2.
watercooler | February 16, 2010 at 5:35 pm
Re-reading my review, I would like to make a clarification. Although I don’t like the original wording, I will let it stand and hope this comment suffices.
When I stated “simplistic writing structure” it was meant in no way to be derogatory. I meant the writing mirrored what you would expect normal people to say. Many writers have their characters speak in a way that you would never hear someone on the street talk, but in a way that is more grammatically correct. It can read nicely although it give a feeling of fakeness.
This books’s structure makes it a very fast-paced read because you are reading the same way you would talk, and the same way you would be spoken to. It was refreshing, thank you.