84K

• by Claire North
• saw it on Ton's list - https://www.zylstra.org/blog/2019/08/84k-by-claire-north/

From a review on Kobo:

Gripping dystopia view into the near future. Bound by love for friends and family amongst the ruins of corporate takeover of the social system.

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/84k-3

Sounds right up my street.

I started reading it last night and am liking it already. The writing style has grabbed me.

So far, there is an ambulance service that requires a subscription, and 'voluntary' team building that you have to pay for, and docked pay if you don't go.

Although I read it a long long time ago, for some reason 84K put me in mind of Catch-22… I guess the sense of odd characters trying to get by in a world of generally accepted absurdity.

-—

Still reading through and very much enjoying 84K. One of best books I've read for a while, so far. It's a really unconventional writing style, and it's great. Very poetic. A refreshing change to that kind of generic stilted cyberpunk patter you get in a lot of near-future fiction.

It's a pretty sad book though. It's somewhere between Kafka, Brazil and 1984. The way it captures some of the potential awfulness of a fully corporatised society, I find it much more depressing than a lot of the cyberpunk dystopias. Cultural hegemony is much more terrifying than a cabal of bad guys.

-—

I finished 84K a few days back.

Loved it. It was both a page-turner and fantastically written. A very unique style.

Also grim, sad, and sitting in that disconcerting place of being far-fetched but also not so far from the current truth.

I think I would probably read it again - I feel like I'd discover a second layer of enjoyment a second time through. Which is a sign of a good book for me.

I think I would probably read it again - I feel like I'd discover a second layer of enjoyment a second time through. Which is a sign of a book that'll be a long-time favourite for me.

Some things that will stick in my head - the patty-line. Ragers. Sponsored towns.

Finished it June 2020.

—

Neoliberalism.