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are living in a time of rapid technological advancement. It’s staggering to
think that I remember my dad giggling at the novelty of sending an “electronic
mail”, when our daily lives are now dominated by the internet and smartphones.
Emergent technologies like 3D printers, self-driving cars and aerial drones
have entered our collective consciousness seemingly overnight.
The
third novel by American writer David Wong (the pseudonym of Jason Pargin)
explores a near-future where astounding technologies are unremarkable. Futuristic
Violence and Fancy Suits (Titan Books) drops us into a world where Blink –
an all-seeing social network, tracks your every move, nightmarish villains have
superhuman augmentations and Mexican food is delivered via drones.
Our
protagonist, Zoe Ashe, is a young woman living in a trailer park somewhere in
rural Colorado with her mother and very smelly cat (affectionately named Stench
Machine). Zoe finds herself inheriting unimaginable wealth when her estranged
father dies suddenly in an explosion.
This
is the first of Wong’s novels set outside the so-called Soy Sauce
Series (John Dies at The End and This Book Is Full of
Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don’t Touch It). While his previous works
contrast horror and comedy with tremendous success, Futuristic Violence attempts
to replicate this juxtaposition within the Science Fiction genre.
The
book is unmistakably David Wong – Beginning his career as a humour columnist –
Wong, executive editor of Cracked.com,
stays true to his trademark absurd prose. He constructs a story that is
simultaneously harrowingly plausible and laugh-out-loud ridiculous – a violent,
dystopian fiction with plenty of fart/penis gags.
The
majority of the book takes place in the bizarre city of Tabula Ra$a. Described
by our protagonist as “a butt that farts horror”, this cyber-punk
metropolis brings to mind Blade Runner and Neal Stephenson’s Snow
Crash.
The
novel’s villain, Molech, is an amalgamation of many contemporary fears in the
internet age. His vulgarity, misogyny and racism, along with the enhancements
which provide his platform, epitomise him as an internet troll. Indeed, the
author is no stranger to this sub-culture.
The
themes explored in Futuristic Violence raise questions about
the dichotomy of technology and the internet – while it allows human
achievement to ascend to new heights, it also enables the bleakest depravity.
Wong teases us with these issues, but they are so thought-provoking, not
examining them more thoroughly is an opportunity missed. While the book is a
page-turner, the author has a tendency to break off chapters mid-moment.
Perhaps if Wong had more confidence in the reader’s attention span, the
structure of the book would have been more robust.
Zoe's
overly naïve position – thrust into a new world by her mysterious late father –
is a premise that I could compare unfavourably with Ernest Cline’sReady
Player One. Fortunately, while Wong’s book is sprinkled with pop-culture
references, they do not overbear the plot, as was the case in Cline’s novel.
Above
all, Wong’s intention was to make this book funny and fascinating, and he
succeeds. While the book may lack the philosophical weight of his
previous work, Futuristic Violence is still an absolute joy to
read – I eagerly anticipate the fourth David Wong novel.
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