America City by Chris Beckett

Although billed as a science fiction novel, I am not entirely sure that it really is one.  Okay, it is set approximately 100 years in the future and we do have some evolved technology:

Drig - Transport system that reads like a cross between a helicopter and the S.H.I.E.L.D. transporter from Avengers Assemble.

Cristal - PDA/smartphone/general communication device.

Jeenee - Personal digital assistant.

Whisperstream - The lovechild of Twitter and Facebook.  Fortunately still appears to have cat videos.

Broadscreen - mass communication device, basically a television.

The best one though is driverless cars that actually work.

Maybe the best bit of the technological aspect of the book is that Chris Beckett does not explain any of it.  Much like Philip K Dick he leaves you to draw your own conclusions about the intent of the technology and how is applies within the wider fictional world.  Not quite sure why this led me to list it and describe it but this is why I read not write!

The premise of the novel is that due to massive global warming the planet is being besieged by extreme storms and weather events.  This has led to deserts in the Southern part of the country and the Eastern Seaboard is known as the Storm Coast.  Mass migration by the "storm trash" and the "dust trash" is a major issue and is set to implode the United States of America.

America City follows Holly and Richard, a pair of delicados, and the efforts of Stephen Slaymaker to become the next president of the USA.  Holly works in PR and has been headhunted by Slaymaker for his campaign to encourage government funded migration to the Northern States - a particularly unpleasant prospect for the Americans already living there.

Herein lies the reason why I think this is not a true science fiction story and is more a novel about the all-pervading reach of Social Media and how it, and the people behind it seeding their agendas into fact, manipulates us all.  We already know that hat we see on our feeds is representative only of our beliefs and not necessarily a true world view and Mr Beckett has expounded on this and shows just how easy we can be manipulated by being told things we "want" to hear.  He also shows just how far political campaigns will go to earn that 1% uplift in their polls - not really a surprise if you have ever watched any election coverage.

This is a well crafted novel that feels more like a prediction of what is to come rather than a "mere" story.  The characters are rounded, especially the cameos from the displaced sections of the stormies and the dusties.  The mechanics of the political campaign itself are actually pretty harrowing as you realise just how far some people will go in the pursuit of power and it does lend itself to conspiracy theories for the current political climate.  The global warming tale is secondary to the politics but is very much a bedrock of the tale.

If Science Fiction is not your genre then do not be put off, this is not your standard, formulaic Sci-Fi.  If Science Fiction is your genre then you will enjoy this book, particularly because it bypasses the normal tropes.

I RECEIVED A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM READERS FIRST IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

**Review originally published October 15th, 2017**