DESCRIPTION:

"It begins, “Don’t read The Book.” All information, past and present, is controlled by The Book, a handheld digital reading device that exists in a paperless, sustainable, dystopian future that looks shockingly similar to our own. Among the multitude of Book lovers, we find Holden Clifford, a simple sprinkler fitter who is content with his small life. Through his favorite story, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden discovers an inconsistency between the digital version and a rare paper page, preserved in the form of “recycled” wallpaper in the bathroom of his favorite Chicago bar, The Library. His quest for answers leads him quickly beyond the page to discover a secret library of books and a man named Winston who explains the subtle, potent censorship of every story ever written. Equipped with excerpts from unedited novels, alongside a group of like-minded readers called the Ex Libris, Holden dedicates himself to freeing the world from the grip of the Publishing House. His heroic mission draws him hastily into a dangerous scheme to overthrow the Editors of The Book and save the last remnant of printed words left on the earth. As his mission unfolds and a haunting reality about the government’s capacity to outwit the minds of the public begins to reveal itself, Holden is forced to accept that the only way to succeed may be to sacrifice himself and the one thing they love more than life – books."

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REVIEW:

A dystopian horror novel that seems to be predicting the not-so-distant future.  An interesting concept with the occassional clunky paragraph and odd turn of phrase.

Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library - Et...

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Found this in a Little Free Library and was intrigued by the title. 

Overall, this was an entertaining book. Obviously it is a bit outdated as pretty much all of the problems presented could have been solved with the incorporation of cellphones. Because of this, I think some young readers may have a difficult time with the book. 

Honestly, I was a bit annoyed at the start, because the kids just make silly decision after silly decision. That's probably just me being a grown up. Young readers may have an easier time seeing the story from the children's perspective.

It was also a bit silly that the reader knows about the presence of the librarian from the second chapter. Without this knowledge, I think the story would have been spookier and the situations seem more dire. Knowing there is an adult is right upstairs (and being able to guess what the scary stuff was) made the plot a little dull.

However, halfway through the book, I found it very interesting. I liked the scenes in which they explore various areas of the library and Jo-Beth's idea on how to save the building. The ending was heartwarming and made me smile. It really kind of felt like two separate stories from beginning to end, one spooky and one adorable. 

Overall though, I thought it was a good story that was well-written and interesting. A bit out of date, but could still be followed today with the knowledge that cellphone usage wasn't as prevalent when the story was written and children definitely weren't walking around with there own phones.

(Original Review, 1980-11-28)


In response to a SF fan query about computers that can interpret law, I just finished "Why Call Them Back from Heaven" by Clifford Simak. Although a minor feature of the story, the law of the land dictates the use of jury trials in which the jury is a machine. A couple of paragraphs is devoted to a discussion of how the use of machines has caused lawyers to stick strictly to the letter of the law and objective facts instead of the "sympathy tricks" and other appeals to emotion that are often used in modern day jury trials.

If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.