The Feed, by Nick Clark Windo, is set in a world where communication and curation of experiences has moved almost entirely on line. To enable individuals to manage this, a brain implant has been developed that allows users to access data and upload content using their thought processes. The Feed offers news and social media; it allows for private and public settings, group chats and on line ordering of goods. Everything is backed up so memories have become data that may be accessed and shared at will. Advertising is individually tailored with updates on a subject’s health and desires monitored in real time, enabling purchases to be made. Reading and writing are regarded by many as obsolete skills.
The protagonists of the tale are Tom and Kate, a young married couple expecting their first child. Tom dislikes the ubiquity of The Feed and urges Kate to spend time with him off line. Having become used to instant access of any data desired this is a difficult ask, and one her family disapproves of as they expect to always be in touch. Tom’s antipathy towards The Feed stems from his upbringing. His father created the technology and Tom was the first child implanted in utero. He resents that he has been treated as an experiment with the lack of empathy and potential risks this entails.
In a world that has become reliant on technology, chaos ensues when The Feed goes down. It is not just the on line access that has failed. Certain users appear to have changed personality, taken over by inexplicable, deadly urges. Nobody can predict who will be next, or who they will kill.
The timeline jumps forward six years. The population has been decimated with many remaining people and animals turning feral. Tom and Kate are living in a makeshift camp with a few other survivors trying to eke out an existence without the practical knowledge of how basic implements and machinery can be made to work. Growing up they had no need to learn such things as they could refer to The Feed for all information. Now those who have any memory of skills such as electronics, filtration systems or growing food are valued. They still, however, require fuel, and other camps will fight to the death to protect what they regard as theirs.
The lack of trust between groups of people reminded me of Mad Max, the lengthy journeys undertaken of Lord of the Rings. There is no fantasy element but there are perils and a need to push through pain and lack of sleep. The explanation as to why certain people were changed required a leap of faith but was adroitly introduced.
As with any dystopian fiction there is behaviour redolent of today. The users of The Feed gave little thought to the environmental cost of their continual consumption. Those who chose to opt out were regarded as eccentric and not taken seriously. After The Feed went down the world became a desolate place to be. The fight to survive was violent and intense although it made me wonder, not for the first time, if our world would be better without the human race.
I read this book in a day which demonstrates the taut construction of the plot and the skillful flow of the writing. At its heart is an exploration of what defines an individual. It may be bleak but this is a compelling read.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Headline.
neverimitate 