AUTHOR: Laurie Penny
PUBLISHER: Tor.com
PUBLISHING DATE: October 18, 2016
FROM GOODREADS: Time is a weapon wielded by the rich, who have excess of it, against the rest, who must trade every breath of it against the promise of another day's food and shelter. What kind of world have we made, where human beings can live centuries if only they can afford the fix? What kind of creatures have we become? The same as we always were, but keener.
In the ancient heart of Oxford University, the ultra-rich celebrate their vastly extended lifespans. But a few surprises are in store for them. From Nina and Alex, Margo and Fidget, scruffy anarchists sharing living space with an ever-shifting cast of crusty punks and lost kids. And also from the scientist who invented the longevity treatment in the first place.
Everything Belongs to the Future is a bloody-minded tale of time, betrayal, desperation, and hope that could only have been told by the inimitable Laurie Penny.
MY THOUGHTS: This is another novella from Tor.com which was sent to me from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. I have to admit I love this new idea Tor has taken and ran with and it's a great way to be introduced to some new-to-me authors and commit to reading some things which I might not give a chance were they longer works of fiction.
"Everything Belongs to the Future" takes place in the far future at Oxford University. When the story starts, someone is writing letters from prison and the story unfolds in glimpses of the past as well as current events. The secret to eternal life has been found and is now being marketed in the form of a tiny pill. While this sounds like a great thing, it turns out only the rich are able to afford this fountain of youth and its discovery has made an already tenuous class system even worse. In the novella, there is a band of ragtag artists, who along with the pill's creator, are out to overthrow this system and create havoc in an already unstable world. They believe everyone should be given the same opportunity to eternal life and are displeased that only the rich are benefiting.
I admit to liking many of the characters in this book but a few things didn't quite work for me. It was an awful lot of information to flesh out in 96 pages and I actually think a longer work would have complimented to story better. Also, I never really felt a strong attachment to any of the characters because there wasn't much room for development. However, I can totally see society acting the way it was portrayed and the author did an excellent job of making a statement to the reader. It was interesting to see where the story traveled and I was mostly pleased with the resolution. If you like science fiction and short stories, I doubt you could go wrong giving this take a chance.
RATING: 3 PAWS
This does sound intriguing, Barb, but I can understand a lack of connection with characters when it seems a large portion of the 96 pages was spent on the info dump. So I agree that a longer book would have made for a more rounded story. :) I'm glad you're enjoying these Tor books.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting, but maybe better if it was a full length novel? This is why I don't read a lot of novellas. I like characters to have time to develop. I'm glad you didn't hate it though. :D
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