Genre:
Dystopian
Description:
“The
world of corporate greed runs rampant after the government's
dissolution has left police, fire, and all other services in the
hands of privatized businesses and wealthy investors.
John and
Dianne Irwin are doing everything they can to shield their son,
Junior, from the world's ever-expanding corruption. Dianne's junkie
sister and her clueless entitled parents don't help. Even more,
Dianne's livelihood as a painter has been deemed obsolete, and the
tighter money gets, the closer they find themselves a mere tragedy or
illness away from ruin.
With the
class divide ever widening, debtor prisons for the lower and middle
classes overflowing, disease ravaging the country, and resources
running dry, the Irwins must survive the battleground generated by
those who would crush the lower classes for their own gain and those
who've waged a war against them, against a corrupt system ruled by
The Private Sector.”
Author:
“In
addition to writing dark speculative fiction for over twenty-five
years, Lisa (Leigh M.) Lane has sung lead and backup vocals for bands
ranging from classic rock to the blues, performed the National Anthem
for the opening of a Dodgers game, dabbled in fine arts, worked in
retail management, earned her black belt in karate, and accrued a
moderate level of expertise in animal care and behavior. She holds a
BA in English and graduated from UNLV Magna Cum Laude. She currently
resides in the dusty outskirts of Sin City with her husband, an
editor and educator, and one very spoiled cat.”
For more,
visit Ms. Lane's website.
Appraisal:
The main
element of a dystopian novel is to take a political direction the
world or a particular country is moving and imagine the negative
repercussions of going too far in that direction. In the US those who
are political conservatives sometimes believe that a for profit
business is preferable to accomplish certain tasks that are
traditionally done by a government agency. For some things, trash
collection for example, this can work out okay. But at some point it
goes too far.
The world
chronicled in The Private
Sector is way past that point.
The government has been dissolved and all services are provided by
private companies. Competing police and fire organizations serve (to
stretch the meaning of that word) the same areas with the residents
hiring and paying the agency they choose. The result isn't pretty. I
found myself thinking the premise wasn't credible because no one
would think going to this extreme was a good idea. Then I considered some of
the political rhetoric I've heard in the past and decided it wasn't
that far-fetched, after all.
FYI:
Some adult
language and adult situations.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No
significant issues.
Rating:
**** Four Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate
word count: 60-65,000 words
2 comments:
Thank you for the lovely review, BigAl!
Thanks for dropping by, Leigh.
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