In dystopian fiction literature terms the name of Trafford Sewell should be added to those of Winston Smith and Guy Montag as future anti heroes. With this book Elton has created a totalitarian future that is very, very close to today's society.
He is clever in that he can take a grain of truth, and build it up into a dessert, or the way he can take a current social feeling and build a vast corrupt social structure on its premise. For example I am sure at some point we have all felt the slight social pressure to ask an upset friend online "are u ok hun?" especially if others have already asked this question or similar. In Elton's world failure to do this would be a heinous crime worthy of drawing down a pack of rabid bullies as well drawing unwanted attention from the formal social hierarchy.
In addition he can also work the reverse, he can drill down into that grain of sand to scrutinise its structure, or dissect that feeling into its often complex parts or even slightly change it so that now instead of asking "u ok hun?" out of concern or even formality it is now fear that drives you to ask and quickly before you are noticed and the pack turn on you.
Very topical also in that it describes two plagues or pandemics of measles and mumps. Disease is now rife due to vaccination being illegal... food for thought there.
Imagination, fiction, privacy and certain aspects of science do not exist in this world. Everyone's life is broadcast online including sex and childbirth. It is "1984" for the followers of "Love Island" and "Lord of the Flies" for the Facebook generation.
I think that because Elton's terrifying new society is couched in online speak, with global warming, and the dumbing down of society, the rise of unintelligent"Reality" tv shows it is far more scary than Orwell's or Bradbury's future worlds.
Elton's world has the lobster cooking potential. ie. if you put a lobster into a pot of water and gradually turn the heat up, bit by bit, over time it will cook without realising it is being cooked. That is the scary thing in Elton's book, we are nearly there, we are almost cooked!
Our (anti) hero is Trafford Sewell who works in monolithic government organisation processing various items of data to find obscure connections. I wont go into the plot, which has been done before ie individual battles for freedom from overbearing society. In the end, the fascination for this genre lies in the world that they create, not in the individual plot.
This is the third Ben Elton novel that I have read and one thing I have noted is that he does not go in for happy-ish endings. While this is not a criticism, I now find myself approaching his books with an idea of the outcome. Surely one happy-ish in an odd book or two would add something to the suspense.
To those who may not know Ben Elton, he was brash, loud, in your face political comedian and commentator in the UK in the 80s. He would point out double standards and cruelty in the government's polices and ministers. His style was fast, bubbling prose ending in a crescendo.
His books are of the same ilk. I normally like my books like Werthers original toffees long, slow gentle sweets which are gently soothing. Mr Elton's books are fizzy bangs for the gob! However It does you good to have a blast now and again. Would make for a good episode of "Black Mirror" I thoroughly enjoyed this book and silently weep for our future.
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