Reviewed by: Keith Nixon
Genre: Dystopian
Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words
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Author:
Ryan Bracha started out in film, writing and directing his
first feature. He wrote the follow up whilst living in Paris. More recently the
author turned to novels and novellas. His debut, Strangers Are Just Friends
You Haven’t Killed Yet, was three years in the making. He lives in
Yorkshire with his wife and a cat.
Description:
Britain in
an alternative near future is run as a dictatorship. The government, run by
Prime Minister Robert Lodge, controls everything through the Network, a version
of the world wide web. Criminals are judged by the public, often receiving
death sentences for the smallest of misdemeanors.
Enter Paul
Carter, originally a man who embraced the new order for personal gain, but he
killed a man, seen by all over the Network. Now a licensed gang, the Network
Cutting Crew, is hunting him down. Carter evades capture and links up with a
small group of people living outside the law and he unwittingly becomes a
resistance leader, fighting for a return of old Britain.
The problem
is his cousin is put on trial and more than likely will be executed, Carter has
just 24 hours to free him.
Appraisal:
Paul Carter is a Dead Man is a major departure for Bracha. If
you’ve read any of the author’s previous work you will be aware he tends to
write challenging, often swear word laden novels people either love or hate.
Here there
is no swearing, in fact in future Britain it is banned and is a punishable
offence. Citizens use alternative, standard words to express themselves. In
addition there is a style change, a mix of first person / present tense
(Carter) and third person / past tense. It works well and has the benefit of keeping
the pace clipping along throughout.
There’s
also the dystopian angle, New Britain is not too dissimilar from today. Social
network dominated (although to a greater extent). Modern, but tightly
controlled. The vestiges of government, but a dictatorship. Free choice is very
limited, about the only element a citizen can do freely is vote on public
trials. Scotland is no longer part of New Britain, having resisted the changes.
It’s walled off, lawless and exiled from the Network. No one really knows what
goes on there.
Really,
peeling back all of the above, this is an age old story of one man and his
friends against the establishment, trying to make the world a better place for
people he will ultimately never meet. Carter is initially unwilling to be put
in this position, and rails against it, mainly driven by the desire to free his
cousin, then save his friends.
The author
is not someone short of confidence, but this is a stiff project to undertake. Paul Carter… is part of a trilogy and I
look forward to seeing the other installments.
FYI:
Nothing of
note.
Format/Typo Issues:
Nothing of
note.
Rating: ***** Five Stars
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