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| GBU Review: 3/5 Amazon.UK | Amazon.com |
I wasn’t too keen on the
cover. I wasn’t sure what the symbolic silhouette of the people
represented. First glance, it looked like one of those traffic crossing signs
you see outside schools. The author name wasn’t prominent enough and as a thumb
nail, hard to see.
The title was spot on,
though. I liked the way the name ‘The Stratosphere’
seemed to be written in blood or that was my impression anyway. The blurb was bold and strong but the
last lines: And it certainly is not an alien
invasion or zombies. The threat is imminent, and it lies waiting where you
least expect… I’d have liked to have shortened it to: It’s is not an
alien invasion or zombies. The threat is imminent, and it’s waiting (or coming)
… but that’s me being picky. Overall, it’s a strong blurb.
Look inside is the next most
important thing about a book, and this book has a prologue. Again, it’s strong
and draws me in straight away. It asks the question: If
freedom is the power to exercise choice, what would happen in a world where
everyone is free? And I’m left wanting to know what does it mean by
‘everyone is free’? Free to do whatever they like?
Chapter one opens with a girl called Nancy and her ‘gaggle’ friends
waiting to attend a lecture, and the authors draws me a picture of a bolshy
schoolgirl that’s hard to shake off as the story suggests, further in, that she's older. And as Nancy becomes the unlikely hero, I still can't shake her nastiness. There is a little
bit of back story in the first chapter but it’s not overdone.
But still in chapter one, I’m suddenly in another POV of Gus. Gus has
motor neuron, and given that the book is set in the far future I’m surprised
the author chose this disease instead of making one up, because surely, medical
advances would have cured this illness? (This is explained further in the book,
and the story needs Gus to have some
kind of disability).
Bearing in mind that I’m still reading the ‘look inside’ I’m
overwhelmed with many names and their corresponding POVs. It’s a lot to take
in, and I’m struggling to keep my interest in the story (it’s the intriguing
blurb and prologue that keeps me going) as all the characters are introduced at
once.
We’ll, I’m glad I persevered because the concept does push boundaries
and make you think about humankind. It’s a ‘sad’ book; showing the bad side of
human nature, I’d even go as far to say that it’s a horror story.
Affection, love and even sex between real people is rare as is
pregnancy, because people are doing as little as possible to stay alive
just to exist inside the ‘Strat.’ The Professor
who created the Stratosphere has realised his mistake and tries to right his
wrongs, but it seems he’s one person against the rest.
Brian Cox writes a very good, very thrilling, post-apocalyptic book and once through
the boring (and confusing) opening it became extremely exciting. It tells us of
a possible future for human kind if we allow virtual reality to dominate us.
Cox tells me the book has been edited, but editing is not all about
typos or grammar, sometimes you need an editor to rein in the writer’s flow.
Over all, the storyline is very well researched, thought provoking and downright scary. And I do think it's a possible future for us all if we allow technology to take us over.
Over all, the storyline is very well researched, thought provoking and downright scary. And I do think it's a possible future for us all if we allow technology to take us over.
Big Brother is dead.
The real threat is not government.
It is not big business.
It is not artificial intelligence.
It is not your friends, your colleges or your neighbors.
It is not climate change, a comet, or a supernova.
It is not an EMP, WWIII, terrorism or a nuclear accident.
And it certainly is not an alien invasion or zombies.
The threat is imminent, and it lies waiting where you least expect…
