You Cannot Kill the Root

by Nathan Kuzack

In the future the citizens of civilised society are required to take part in the System, a grand attempt at tackling wealth inequality. After poor but brilliant Wesley Moon inexplicably fails his career aptitude test, ending his dream of becoming an astronomer, his introduction to an underground resistance group reveals the System is a sham, its machinations designed by a clique of wealthy elites called the Consortium.

As Wesley is targeted by more than one faction over his suspicious test result, he comes to realise the Consortium is responsible for far more than just the System, leading him into a world of covert surveillance, robot assassins and secret space stations – and, ultimately, horrifying truths about the future of humanity.

Genres: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Dystopia

315 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 28, 2023

Reviews

[Roy Mendes · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's kind of hard giving this a rating. On the one hand, you can tell that the author put a lot of thought into his setting and the situations playing out in the novel. On the other, however, it feels like the story relied too hard on exposition. The world is vivid and I understood where the plot was going and how it was being built up, but a lot of the book was also either explaining the world and its history, or waxing very deeply philosophical about the core elements of the book.

And this isn't to say it's bad, but it often felt like multiple chapters were devoted to going over the same thing. A lot of telling was going on, but not very much showing depending on where you were in the book.

Please note: I've shelved this as "gay sci-fi" due to the rep in the book, there is no romantic arc in the story. Wesley's sexual orientation is sort of up in the air. He seems physically attracted to a woman but also emotionally attracted to a man. As well we have multiple LGBT characters including a lesbian, someone who by personal description appears to be pansexual, and a trans man; all of whom are protagonists.

I do recommend this book. It's very relevant to today's world and provides a strong analysis about what may happen should humanity as a whole not course correct.

[Mayhem-RW · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You work for the System, and the System works for you.” In the not-too-far future, there are no governments, only corporations. The populace, the ninety-nine percenters, believe they still have a voice by electing their officials, but they don’t work for you. They work for the one percent. However, there is a small group of dissenters who want to do something about the current state of affairs. What they find out is worse than their worst nightmares, and what is done because of it has consequences for all. This is capitalism at its worst and what it will do to you and the planet in search of profit.

A lot of political rhetoric. The physical world-building gives you a good sense of where the character is. The ethereal world-building is mostly personal. The character’s interaction seems like it could be real. The character’s history is a part of the story.

This fictional science-fiction tale is a technological crime and mystery thriller. I give this story four stars out of five stars.

[Tony Duxbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this look at a future Britain in which the rich elites have and control everything. The System runs everything. It controls everyone's lives, except the super-rich. If you don't fit in you end up in the Brokelands. One young man falls foul of the system and is contacted by a resistance group. Soon he is running for his life. Recommended reading.