Playing Dirty by Andrew R Williams

 Playing Dirty is part of a series of books, but I read it as a standalone.

The blurb says:

"Honey Pursamon has a brief - and the file of names is huge!

Set the honey trap! Lure the opposition into bed, get lurid photos and destroy them, one by one!

The Slash and Byrne Progressive Party want to take over the House of Commons, starting with a sleazy sex scandal code-named Operation Trouser Snake. Slash & Byrne also organise a gas attack on Parliament. Who will survive?

Using Ambronootrop to make their members more intelligent and to move along the evolution of the human race, S&B will stoop to new depths."

I actually really enjoyed it. It's very gripping, and very easy to read. Initially I found it a little tricky to keep all the characters straight in my head, but that sorted itself out swiftly enough. I liked all the intricacy and duplicity in the plot. 

Given the prologue, I would have liked Angela to get some kind of revenge/see the downfall of S&B party, but I'm guessing that will be in later books. I didn't feel lost because I hadn't read Superior.  However, I would recommend reading Jim's Revenge and then Superior before reading this one, as the context helps.

Overall, my only disappointment is that the rest of the series hasn't been written yet, and I want to know what happens next!

My Books of 2022

 Happy New Year!

And thank you for letting me have the last year off blogging.  I'll update you all with everything eventually, but for now lets concentrate on the most important things: Books!

I actually read 52 books (1 isn't currently on goodreads), though there were two books that I confess that I didn't finish.  I decided that life it soo short to persevere with books that are either too slow or too boring, when there is so much more out there that I want to read!

I should also say, that though I am going to separate out all the books that I have read this year below, the links won't work until I have written up the reviews.  And I know that some of you are still waiting for the reviews of the books that I read in 2021.  Hopefully, now that I have a bit more time (she says, on the first bank holiday of the year), I'll get around to catching up and filling those in too.

You will notice that some of these books are from my recent A-Z Challenge but that I haven't finished this list.  That's because, when my daughter was going in for her heart surgery, I made sure to download a load of free boxsets.  As they are currently on my kindle, these are what I have been going through more recently.  And I have recently joined my local book club, so I'll be reading two 'random' books each month too.  The first meeting I'm attending is tomorrow, so wish me luck!

So here is the list of books that I read in 2022, though I may have the order slightly wrong in some places. 
For those who prefer visuals, there is a picture below.

Fiction:

• Exodus by Andreas Christensen
• Aurora by Andreas Christensen
• Genesis by Andreas Christensen
• When the Smoke Clears by Lynette Eason
• When a Heart Stops by Lynette Eason
• When a Secret Kills by Lynette Eason
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
• The Monarch of the Glen by Neil Gaiman
• Black Dog by Neil Gaiman
• The Last Safe Place by Ninie Hammon
• The Crown of Thorns by Ian C P Irvine
• Hidden byt Megg Jensen
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
• A Single Step by Georgia Rose
• Reckoning by Megg Jensen
• Hunted by Megg Jensen
• Before The Dawn by Georgia Rose
• The Wedding Pact Boxset by Denise Grover Swank
• Wicked Words by M J Scott
• Patterns in the Dark by Lindsay Buroker
• Pale-Eyed Mage by Jennifer Ealey
• Torn by O M Faure
• Untied by O M Faure
• Chosen by O M Faure
• Thicker than Water by Georgia Rose
• Soul Blade by Lindsay Buroker
• Dragon Blood 1-3 Boxsetby Lindsay Buroker
• Shattered Past by Lindsay Buroker
• Oaths by Lindsay Buroker
• Raptor by Lindsay Buroker
• The Fowl Proposal by Lindsay Buroker
• Heritage of Power Boxset by Lindsay Buroker
• Playing Dirty by Andrew R Williams
• The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan
• Falling by T J Newman
• Jim's Revenge by Andrew R Williams
• Superior by Andrew R Williams
• Andalusia by David Harvey
• The Dark Insite by Solomon Carter
• The Singapore Grip by J G Ferrell

Non-Fiction:

• English Legal System by Emily Finch and Stefan Fafinski
• Legal Profession - Is it for you? by V Charles Ward
• Watching Neighbours Twice a Day by Josh Widdicombe
• Helping your Child with a Physical Health Condition
• Older and Wider by Jenny Eclair
• Parsnips: Buttered by Joe Lycett
• Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Christian Inspirational:

• The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian D McLaren
• Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey
• The Message: New Testament by Eugene H Peterson

My books of 2021

 

Last year, I set myself the target of reading 50 books, which I hit.  I think I've actually read a couple more than 52, as I still (sorry!) have some reviews to write up, and I don't always add them to Goodreads if I haven't done the review.  If you are a Goodreads user, feel free to click this link to follow me there too.

This next year, I've set myself the even more modest target of 24 books in a year.  This is because I barely wait whilst the girls are dancing anymore, so I have less time to read actually structured into my week.  I also (before last week) hadn't read anything since about October.  I had less free time, and in December you have to watch as many made-for-TV crappy Christmas movies as you can.  It's the law.

Here's a pictorial summary of all the reading I did last year, and I'll give a link to each review below.

Fiction

• The Dark Side of the Sun by Terry Pratchett
  
• Red White and Blues by Rysa Walker
  
• Ember by Jessica Sorensen
  
• Forgotten by Don and Stephanie Prichard
  
• Genesis Code by Eliza Green
  
• Happiness is a Smoking Gun by Alaine Allister
  
• I Spy, I Saw Her Die by Ian C. P. Irvine
  
• Juliette and the Monday ManDates by Becky Doughty
  
• Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
  
• Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson
  
• The Legacy of the Key by S L Morgan
  
• Mouse Tails by Sonny Collins
  
• Nocturne by Kat Ross (The Fourth Talisman Series)
  
• Out of a Dream by Rosemary Hines
  
• Pancakes and Corpses by Agatha Frost
  
• Quantum by Patricia Cornwell
• Rift by Andreas Christensen
  
• Season of Hope by Dayo Benson
  
• Taste by Mary E Twomey
  
• Ugly Girl by Mary E Twomey
  
• The Vine Witch by Luanne G Smith
  
• The Wave at Hanging Rock by Gregg Dunnett
  
• Yesterday by Amanda Tru
  
• Meadowlark by Melanie Abrams
• Brainrush by Richard Bard

Non-Fiction

• Trim Healthy Mama Plan by Barrett and Allison
  
• I Can Make You Thin by Paul McKenna
  
• The Diet Trap Solution by Beck & Beck
  
• The Obesity Code by Jason Fung
  

Christian Inspirational

• Women Rising by Meghan Tschanz
  
• Finding Intimacy With Jesus Made Simple by Matthew Robert Payne
  

Rift by Andreas Christensen

 

As I read a lot of free kindle books, many are self-published, and many are the result of writing competitions.  When that happens, I find it interesting to see how common starting points can result in totally differing books.  Now, I don't know if that has happened with Rift, but there are definite initial similarities to The Hunger Games: Once a year a group of newly graduated (from High School) students get selected for Service to the State.  The students don't get a choice in where they serve, or whether they serve, but get taken from their home towns and villages for the greater good.

The blurb says:

In the ruins of what was once North America lays the Covenant, a nation forged by the iron will of the Moon people, who descended from their dusty refuge on the Moon after the Fall. The Moon people are wealthy, ruled by a strong government who protects its citizens from the dangers from outside their borders. Their greatest achievement is having learned the secret of immortality, and every citizen has the opportunity to live nearly forever if they choose to, a life of riches and abundance.

The English are the descendants of the original inhabitants of this place, and they live very different lives from that of the Moon people. They only live to serve the greater good, and citizenship is something few have the opportunity to earn. At the age of fifty all non-citizens are subjected to mandatory euthanasia. In order to maintain a sustainable society, they are told.

Every year a number of girls and boys at the age of eighteen are selected for Service to the State. The brightest and most talented are sent to become Students. The strong, the fighters and the athletes become Janissaries, a band of soldiers protecting the northern border from the enemies of the Covenant. The Wardens, a secretive organization known to operate far to the west, near the Rift, which makes up the border to the wastelands, sometimes choses one or two initiates, but nobody knows what becomes of them. And then there is the Corpus, where the whip rules and backs are bent.

Those who complete their Service, may become citizens. And although they will never be equal to the Moon people, they will have access to all the riches and opportunities granted by the Covenant leadership to its citizens.

As Sue is nearing Selection Day, she secretly hopes to be chosen, despite having to leave her mother and brother behind. She doesn't crave glory or wealth though. A man or woman with citizen status can do a lot of good, and although few return to their home towns, Sue hopes to return to give her family a better life on the other side of Service.

But the Covenant is rotten to the core, and as she begins to learn its secrets, Sue must question everything she has always taken for granted. Soon she will find herself in dire peril, for she has seen the truth and there will be no turning back after that...

This science fiction dystopian trilogy is set more than two centuries after the events of Exodus, in a future dystopian society forged from the ashes of global disaster.

Yeah yeah, I know that my two favourite genres are SciFi and dystopia, so when I come across a book that starts a series I will get absorbed and buy the whole series.  I know that it will be of no surprise to you to discover that has happened again, and I ended up buying and reading Covenant and Legacy too, but it had to be done - honest!!

So, Rift follows the story of Sue.  She is well educated and wants to go into Service so she can eventually become a Citizen and help her family have a better life.  She becomes an initiate to the Janissaries - military service designed to keep the English and the Moon people safe from the French and other outsiders, thankful to have avoided service to the Corpus - chain gangs used to mine the earth for raw materials often resulting in illness and death.

During her time with the Janissaries, Sue becomes captured by the French and is treated humanely in a hospital - nothing like the monsters and imagery that she has been fed with.  She discovers more corruption and starts to question everything to do with the Covenant and the Moon people - the saviours and masters of the English.

An amazing series.  The author is really good at conveying the emotion, thrilling, cliff-hangers and menace as you get your head around this future dystopia for Earth. Loved it.

I hadn't actually realised that this series is a sequel to The Exodus Trilogy, and not having the previous knowledge, did not distract from this series at all.  I have added the previous series to my wishlist.

 

Book Organisation

Ok, so I have gone through all my past Book Reviews and tried to classify them, so that if you wanted to find a certain type of book that would be easy to do now.  All you have to do is look at the Word Cloud on the right, squint a bit, and then choose the genre you're looking for.

If you have read something based on my recommendation and think that I have missed a classification (from the list below), please comment and I will add it.  Depending where you read, there are 7 or 8 main classifications of genre (I have made sure I covered them all) but there are also 150+ subgenres and classifications that I can't always see the difference between.  As such, some things you'll have to give me artistic license for, such as grouping Paranormal under Fantasy, rather than giving it its own classification.  And I'm surprised to see that despite reading a load of Stephen King and James Herbert as a teen, I haven't got any Horror listed.  That's probably the only addition that I would make.

And, you will notice that some of the links give more than just books listed, especially in the non-fiction list, but you'll just have to cope with scrolling down to find the books for those.

So here is the list of classifications, so that if you did want to find something quickly, you can either click the link below, or the word cloud.

Fiction:
Adventure
Chick-Lit
Childrens
Classic
Cosy
Dystopia
Fantasy
Horror (No link yet, as there are no books yet)
Mystery
Romance
Sci-Fi
Thriller
YA

Non-Fiction:
Bible
Childrens
Christianity
Feminism
Non-Fiction
Real Life
Recipe
Weightloss

Genesis Code by Eliza Green

Genesis Code is G in my series of A-Z of Fiction Titles. It's a story that focusses on 3 different locations: Earth, Exilon 5 and beneath the surface of Exilon 5.

The blurb says:

Investigator Bill Taggart will stop at nothing to find his missing wife. But standing between him and the truth is a secretive alien species on a distant planet. When his government pushes him to observe the species ahead of plans to relocate Earth’s population, Bill veers off course and straight into the path of one alien.

The surprising confrontation forces Bill to question whether the investigation into the savage species is needed. But when official government intel disagrees with the cold hard facts, he worries there might be another reason for the relocation plans.

A snap government order leaves the investigator in limbo and facing off against a new enemy that is more dangerous than the first. Worse, this enemy appears to live close to home.

A devastating set of plans is soon revealed that will destroy the lives on two worlds. And Bill is caught in the middle. Can he stop chasing ghosts long enough to save humanity from the real enemy?

I really enjoyed this book, and the next in the series is already on my wishlist.  It is set in the future when pollution on Earth has got so bad, that the human race has no choice but to relocate.  After searching the skies, Exilon 5 is a planet that would be perfect after a bit of terraforming.  Unfortunately, there is already a species that lives there, who are then forced underground.  The Indigenes want to know why people have taken over their planet and what they can do to stop themselves being wiped out.

After Days: Affliction or America Falls: Hell Week by Scott Medbury

I read Affliction (After Days Book 1) as my A in my new A-Z challenge; however, when coming to write this review, I have discovered this series has been rebranded.  What was one book, Affliction, has now been split into two books in the America Falls series: Hell Week and On The Run, as such you can not read Affliction anymore, so I won't link to that.

This book is very timely and apt, though with some differences! It follows Isaac, a teenager, as he learns to adapt to the new world.  After a sudden outbreak of a deadly virus in Korea, the virus was contained before being discovered on American soil.  Unfortunately, it wasn't too long before it was obvious that the virus was a biological weapon, and only people of Chinese heritage or who hadn't finished growing (ie children) we safe from death - though arguably they may have a worse fate having survived.  Isaac meets other children on his travels, and becomes the natural leader of the group as they struggle to get to a safe haven in the Drake Mountains.

The blurb of Hell Week says:

Infection. Invasion. Chaos. A weaponized virus ravages the U.S. somehow leaving children and young adults unscathed. As hundreds of millions die, for those left, surviving the virus is only the beginning…

Isaac Race thought he'd found a new family and home. A new Life. He had, but it's all about to be snatched away. When an ambitious enemy launches a sneak attack on the USA, his peaceful life is shattered and Isaac, by his very nature a loner, must band together with a ragtag group of survivors to make their way to a sanctuary, three states away in the depths of a vicious east coast winter.

It won’t be easy, the invaders aren't the only dangers unleashed in a world suddenly turned upside down, and if they're going to survive, they'll need to be resourceful and ruthless and rely on others in a world where trust has been shattered.

I loved this book.  It is really gripping; I just hope that splitting it into two hasn't diluted it too much.  It has been written in a very clever way, in that it alludes to some horrific and gruesome things, but doesn't elaborate, so it is up to you what you imagine (and such, could be suitable for younger readers).  When I was looking for this book on Amazon, and initially couldn't find it, I was disappointed, as I would like to finish the rest of the series; so I am glad that the series is still there under an alternative name (even though I think there should be some reference to the change on at least Hell Week's write-up).
A good book.

The Forever Man: Book 1: Pulse by Craig Zerf

 Pulse by Craig Zerf is the last book in my alphabet challenge, and it was a good one to end on!

The blurb says:

His training prepared him for anything. This invasion will test his limits…

American Embassy, London. Master Gunnery Sergeant Nate Hogan stands for integrity. But he’s not equipped to face violent solar flares that decimate the population, plunging survivors into war and chaos. Following a strange compulsion to leave his post for Scotland, Hogan discovers massive radiation from the cosmic disaster has transformed him into a superhuman.

But after a savage army of Orcs arrives in the UK through a rift in time and space, he’s hopelessly outnumbered by the bloodthirsty horde. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, he embarks on a desperate quest to alter the course of history.

Can Master Gunny Hogan win a one-man war against a powerful foe and prevent the end of humanity?

As I chose this book based on author's name, I hadn't read the blurb until I copied it just now.  I have to say, though, that I don't think this is a good write-up, as by the end of the book, the army of Orcs haven't actually invaded yet...

To me, this is a book of 2 stories, and as yet (probably because they haven't interacted) they are almost totally distinct.  

Firstly, you have the post-apocalyptic fiction: a Pulse of unknown origin, leaving the sky looking like the Northern Lights, has occurred, wiping out all electrical devices.  Cars stop on the motorway, planes fall out of the sky, and humans are plunged back into the dark ages, and with that, a loss of civilisation.  Master Gunnery Sergeant Nathaniel Hogan decides that his best course of action is to leave the American Embassy in London, where he was stationed, and to head north.  On his way, he comes across a private boarding school and stays to help them defend themselves against potential looters and discovers that he is The Forever Man.

This story is amazing.  It is really horrific in places (not graphic, but not suitable for younger teens) as you see the worst of human kind.  There are some characters that restore your faith in humanity too, as they band together to help each other and those less fortunate than themselves.  Some of the characters are a bit stereotypical - Americans who think they'll solve the pulse after a day or two, an Irish priest who likes his drink a bit too much... and it annoyed my unnecessarily that one of the character's name is spelled wrong (I can understand it, because I imagine a lot of people don't realise it's pronounced Keeva, but I daresay that Irish travellers would actually spell the name Caoimhe), but tbf, that is me nit-picking.

Secondly, you have the story of aliens: Stereotypical grey, humanoid aliens are in a war with an Elven army, when the Life Light disappears.  The Life Light is the source of their magiks (sic) so they determine that they need to pack up and follow the Life Light across the universe, as they have many times before. The realise the Life Lights have moved to Earth, so gather together their army of Orcs and Trolls and prepare to invade Earth.

This story is just a bit random.  I get, from the description, that this book is meant to be "genre-bending", but these two stories are so separate, I feel that they should be separated.  What species are these aliens? Why are they in a war with Elves? Why are they using Orcs and Trolls and other created creatures?  As none of these questions are answered, I feel that this first book could have not mentioned the aliens at all, and it would be better.  Or, because you want to introduce them before the second book, maybe an epilogue introducing the aliens and the start of their journey to Earth.

Overall, I have really enjoyed this book, and I have added the rest of the series to my wishlist.  I want to find out what happens next to The Forever Man, and see whether he helps many other people.  This book hints at his destiny (and the blurb says he is to go up and fight against the invading aliens) so I do want to know what happens next. 
I just need to get through the majority of the unread books on my kindle first.

Plague 99 by Jean Ure

As I didn't have a U in my alphabet list, Plague 99 by Jean Ure was recommended to me by friends.

It is aimed at teens/YA and is about a plague that has appeared and affects the UK... timely!

It is about a young 13yo (I think) girl called Fran, who goes off on a youth camp for the summer, and returns to a deserted London.  Away at camp, nobody had any idea what was going on in the rest of the world, and Fran has to come to terms with the impact the virus has had on her family as she struggles to survive.

The blurb says:

Almost overnight a plague has wiped out the population of England. The only survivors seem to be three very different teenagers. Together they must come to terms with the man-made devastation around them. Fran, Harriet and Shahid have the power to rebuild society, but do they have the courage?

As the book starts, I think it is very obviously written for teens, however, don't let this put you off reading it.  The plot progresses, and you become drawn into their world, and it is interesting to see things from the view point of a teen.  Surviving is not easy for Fran or anybody else who remains.  She meets a boy from her class at school and with her best friend Harry, they try to make sense of everything around them, and determine what they need to do and where they need to go to for food and shelter.

Despite the beginnings, I really enjoyed this book.  So much so, that I was going to buy and read the second book in the trilogy immediately - the only thing that stopped me was that it no longer focuses on Fran, and I was desperate to find out what happened next in her story.  I have added the subsequent books to my wishlist, and I have recommended this book to DD1 (12yo).  I really enjoyed it.
 

Black Virus and Black Rust by Bobby Adair

We're in the middle of a pandemic.  What better way to pass the time than to read about a pandemic that sweeps the whole world?

Black Virus is a short story prequel about the virus itself...

Virus. Chaos. Survival.

Alienated in a world where he doesn’t fit in, Christian Black survives because he’s different. Then the virus came, and made the world turn different, too.

Now people are dying by the million. Food supplies are short. Riots are blazing through the streets, and Christian’s only goal is to keep his family alive. But safety lies far from the city, and just getting out will be tougher than anyone knows.

...whereas Black Rust is set 15 years later, and is about how people deal with the aftermath.

The virus came, and the world fell into an abyss.

Starvation camps, corporate farms, endless ghettos, and failed states darken a future where most of the population has been twisted by the disease.

To protect itself, a corrupt system pays Christian Black and others like him to exterminate violent degenerates who would destroy what's left of the world. Unfortunately, a mistake has been made and Christian has put too many of the wrong ones to death.

Laws have been broken. Punishment comes for Christian, but he will stop at nothing to keep his freedom.

Fortunately, the Brisbane Strain is nothing like the Coronavirus we're currently dealing with.  Rather this is type of zombipocalypse - though those badly affected by the virus become degenerates, rather than zombies who die and come back to life.

These are two thrilling stories, and even though Christian Black is portrayed as 'different' and needing a therapist, actually he doesn't seem that different to me.  He just makes hard choices and sometimes goes too far.

At the very end of Black Rust there is a twist in the plot that I didn't see coming (and I like it when I don't see them coming!).  According to Amazon, the next book is due out August 2016 and to my knowledge it hasn't been written yet.  If/when it does, I would happily read what happens next in the saga.

The Ravagers by Alex Albrinck

I've still been working through my list of books from my old kindle that I had bought, but hadn't read.  Now I have a new one, there's a feature where I can automatically see all the books that I have and haven't read, so I don't need to keep my paper list any more.  Anyway, The Ravagers by Alex Albrinck was next on my list to read, so I have read it this month.  Having read previous books by him, I knew I wouldn't be able to put this down, and I wasn't wrong.

The blurb says:

In the distant future, humanity staggers as wave after wave of population decimating catastrophes push humanity near its extinction point.

A gift from the past provides them a way forward, and soon the human race is exploding its numbers, recreating civilization, generating art and commerce, and expanding its technological capabilities. The growing human civilization also bring back the concepts of war; East and West wage an eternal detente, neither side willing to attack, neither willing to announce peace.

In the midst of resounding success, a dark force conspires against humanity: the unleashing of a shockingly deadly, destructive weapon that will leave humanity on the brink of extinction once more.

Five people must deal with the launch of this weapon, work to survive, atone for their role in its creation, and try to discover and thwart the plans of those who launched it. 

Before it's too late. Before everything is gone.

The Ravagers is set in the future and refers to our time as "The Golden Ages".  It is interesting because it has advanced technology in some areas, but not in others (for example, no air travel) and people are scattered around the world in densely populated, walled citiplexes, that keep everyone safe from the beasts that roam the land.  One of the ways that technology is advanced, is in the area of weaponry - Ravagers are robots that can deconstruct any material (except Diasteel!) down to its atomic constituents, before using those elements in order to create more ravagers.  As such, a few can easily become a thick oily sea of ravagers ravaging the country.

It took me barely a week to read all the books in this series.  I don't want to go into too much information, but there were some surprises that actually did surprise me!  There were also some I could spot too, but was riveting nonetheless.  This series is set in the same universe as the aliomenti series, but you certainly don't have to have read that to read this - I personally recommend you read both!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

A friend shared this diagram on facebook, as a commentary on our current political situation.  Having read Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World and A Handmaid's Tale, I may have accidentally on purpose shown DD2 the Buy Now/1-Click Button on Amazon and whoops, it arrived in my Kindle...

The Blurb says:

The hauntingly prophetic classic novel set in a not-too-distant future where books are burned by a special task force of firemen. Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books. The classic novel of a post-literate future, 'Fahrenheit 451' stands alongside Orwell's '1984' and Huxley's 'Brave New World' as a prophetic account of Western civilization's enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity. Bradbury's powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which over fifty years from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

I did not know the story before I started reading the book, and as a book loving person, I hate the idea of burning books.  Even if you disagree with the book, they should be kept.  But it was timely as it reinforced that maybe Biblical Storytelling should make a comeback as a mainstream tool for Evangelism and sharing God's Word?

Though I don't think the book is suitable to young children, my DD2 was interested in what was happening, so every couple of chapters I would paraphrase the plot so she could understand.

One of the central things in the book is the idea that people don't need to think anymore, just have a TV the size of a wall (or instead of one) and have multiple screens competing for your attention all the time, and you will be 'happy'.  Books are not good for you because they encourage thinking, interpretation, and potentially bad conversations, whereas if you spend all your time only talking about superficial things like what happened in the latest reality TV series with your virtual 'family', then that is just fine.  The TV will tell you everything you ever need to know, and you should not question it, else you dare to feel bad emotions.

This is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the counter balance between a dystopian future and the reality we currently find ourselves.