Read Time: 2 Minutes
I read the original version of this years ago, but it has been long enough that I only remembered the broad strokes. For the most part, this felt like going in fresh.
The setup is immediately grim. In this version of the future, turning sixty comes with a mandatory “retirement”, which isn’t as fun as it sounds. A state-sanctioned solution to overpopulation on a planet that is running out of food, clean air, and probably hope.
From there, it leans hard into dystopian territory. Food shortages, a tightly controlled society, and a government that presents as unified while clearly hiding something much darker underneath. It sits somewhere in that familiar space alongside things like 1984, with a bit of The Matrix and even shades of Soylent Green in how it approaches its central ideas.
It is not especially fast paced, but it moves steadily. More a slow unfolding of what is really going on than a constant barrage of action.
Some of the ideas are genuinely unsettling. The way humans are used as a resource, whether for energy or something worse, gives it a properly bleak edge. There is a creeping sense of detachment too, particularly with Hank, who starts to lose pieces of his humanity as the truth of the system becomes clearer. That part was handled well.
Where it struggled a bit for me was the narration.
Jeff Bower’s performance did not quite land. Character voices felt fairly generic and sometimes leaned into stereotype, which made it harder to distinguish between them. It pulled me out of the story more than once, which is never ideal, especially for something that relies on atmosphere.
As for the second edition itself, I cannot really compare it closely to the original. Too much time has passed since I read it. The core story still holds up though, even if some of the influences feel quite familiar.
Overall, it is an interesting listen with some strong dystopian ideas and a few genuinely unsettling moments. Not one I would rush back to, but something I could see revisiting down the line.
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