Ectopia by Martin Goodman

by Martin Goodman

Interzone review, September 2013 - Barbara Melville: "Ectopia sounded rich and edgy from its cover blurb alone, promising themes of gender, medicine and identity - topics I loved to see explored in speculative fiction. The book lived up to my expectations, with just a few minor caveats. Ectopia is a terrific novel with excellent characterisation, world-building, narration and dialogue. It's also thematically strong, exploring the connections between binary concepts, including male versus female, gay versus straight, and soulful versus soulless. The result is a story of great depth, raising questions about who we are and how we define ourselves.
By far the best thing about the book is its narration. As with A Clockwork Orange and 1984, the world is built by language, meaning there is little cumbersome exposition or other authorial intrusions. Steven is a brilliant narrator with a thrilling tale to tell. His language sculpts this reality in a striking, penetrating way, often combining beautiful observations with cutting colloquial realism."
A modern teenage dystopia. The world has seen no girls born for sixteen years. Karen was the last girl and Steven her twin. Their Dad's of the old school. He turns their garden into a fortress. His children may yet be the future of the world, if they can escape in time. Think HUNGER GAMES or a CATCHER IN THE RYE for the Doom Generation.

Genres: Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Science Fiction Fantasy

Paperback

First published June 20, 2013

Reviews

[Carm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oof… This was draining. Dystopian futures aren’t meant to be breezy though, so I can’t exactly complain that I didn’t get exactly what I paid for. This story explores themes of environmental decline, gender identity and human evolution… racism, misogyny and homophobia are prevalent throughout. Physical, mental, emotional and sexual abuse by a parent also get a spotlight. This was by no means fun to read, but it pushed my buttons and disturbed my peace.

[Sarah Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A literary marathon. Steven, the narrator takes you into his world and you run with him, breathless in a fictional London suburbia, dry and arid from the effects of global warming. The first person present tense gives this novel an immediacy and urgency that suits its dystopian theme. It's a book about being young and angry at the mess your parents' generation made of the world. It's dystopian, but its positive too - the young people are so vital, open to change, fighting to survive, to find their own identities. Big themes: gender identity, environmental deterioration, parental abuse pack a punch. The story keeps you running on, like Steven, trying not to feel the enormity of it all. Tip top read.

[Miranda Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Goodman is an exceptionally versatile writer and this, his latest novel, works very well, both as science and as fiction. It is constantly surprising (one of my definitions of a good novel) and I really like the way he plays with ideas about gender and identity. The immediacy of your writing means that the research and information never become heavy. The teenage twins at the centre of this story of dastardly bio-engineering are convincing and sympathetic and it is a really gripping read.

[Kathy Ding · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've had this on my to-read list since I started creating my Goodreads want to read list and it sorely disappointed me. I saw the keywords dystopia, future, a Children of Men esque background and I was in! Even the first chapter was hard to get through. This was NOT an enjoyable read/listen. I even read the reviews claiming how hard it is to read it and I scoffed, telling myself I'm made of tougher stuff and that I could stomach weird, intense situations. But no...everyone was right and not only was this book unreadable, it really should have never been published. It's not really that the writing was so bad or anything but that the story was so intensely negative and the cursing was incessant and that everything was just a shock factor with no substance. We are presented with a bleak future...the bleakest of futures but the breakdown of the nuclear family was the most baffling aspect. I could not understand the despicable parental characters had me wincing. This was a waste of time with no real pensive value behind the terrible shock. My drive to search for extra unique titles now has to be tempered by the quality and meaning of the work. I shall be more careful next time in my choice!

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I liked the premise of this book, but boy, was I wrong! The author explains somewhere that this was almost unpublishable - a story that was rejected by many publishers, who cast doubt on it ever seeing the light of day. It is a difficult book. Speculative, but not Sci-Fi, because it does not really explain the speculative elements. It is ultimately a character story, and with a hard ending, perhaps shocking, certainly unsettling. The whole book is deliberately unsettling.

I vacillated between giving it 2 or 3 stars. As per Goodreads categories, three stars means "I liked it", and I can't really say I did. However, in the end, I recognised there was good writing here and an attempt to say something profound. That I did not like the character of the protagonist much is clearly the author's decision, so it is cleverly done. All the same, I can't recommend it, and as I treat 3 stars as a recommendation, it will have to be 2.

[Just This · Rating 3 out of 5]

a weird & different fucked-up teen dystopia. a bit misogynistic? disappointing ending.

[Maaike · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF: 43%

[Kristin (Blood,Sweat and Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ectopia is a book that can best be described as a mash-up of Children of Men and A Clockwork Orange if set against the 1980's London Punk scene. This book is as bizarre as it is disturbing and yet for some odd reason I couldn't tear myself away from it.

Ectopia is a dark book. It is set in a world that's been literally Fucked up by Humanity. For whatever reason no Females be them Animal or Human have been born for well over a generation and the youngest one left and last born spends her time stuck in her house under the wanting eye of her overprotective Father. While this premise sounds very promising it isn't really executed all that well. We never get any really in depth answers as to why Karen is the last born female and why Animals can't breed female offspring either. I also would've liked to learn more about the girls born around Karen. Yes she was the last but what about all those born a day, week, year before her? The details on the other girls is kept to a minimum and for what purpose? To make Karen seem more special or simply because the Author didn't want to really go into depth beyond the limited scope of his Dystopic world?

Now while Karen is certainly a major part of the book it is actually her Gay twin Steven who takes center stage. Now I have no problem with Gay Protagonists but I do have a problem with Assholes and Steven definitely is one of those. He's just so damn unlikable and even during the ending which let's be honest royally sucked for him I still didn't care all that much about him. Steven and his goon Teensquad are the Clockwork Orange part of the story and for me that just didn't work. Sure I guess the Author could be commended for exploring Gender and Identity roles but I didn't set out to read Propaganda and this read like the biggest one of them all.

Lastly, I found the world building severely lacking. As I mentioned above we never really get any reasons to how things ended up so badly. Sure we learn how they are trying to "correct" the problem but that doesn't really feel like enough in the grand scheme of things. Also what the hell is with all the graphic masturbation in this book?? Sure no new females are being born but they still exist. You'd think they'd be telling everyone and anyone to try screwing each other in the hopes of a baby female being born but then I guess this wouldn't be a disturbing Dystopian or something.

Final Thoughts
If you enjoy speculative fiction and Dystopian books that take not just a walk but a run on the dark side then Ectopia is probably for you. However, if you're one who likes a story with a happy ending and lots of in depth world building then you'll probably want to pass this one by. In the end while I did enjoy Ectopia enough to finish I don't think it is a book that I will read again any time soon. With that being said, I will be rating Ectopia by Martin Goodman ★★★.

Originally reviewed @Blood,Sweat and Books.

*Copy reviewed provided by Netgalley. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in an which way for providing them.

[April (The Steadfast Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This book was hard. Really hard.

Think A Clockwork Orange, The Handmaid's Tale, and 1984 all mashed together. I think that I really liked it. I kept thinking of the old adage, 'If men could get pregnant, then abortion would be a sacrament.'

This is a dark near-future dystopia. I dislike the term 'gritty' but I can't think of a better adjective for this novel. It's told primarily from the point of view of Stephen-turned-Bender who is about as an unreliable narrator as you get.

Gender issues and identity are expertly explored. Karen and Stephen as twins and Karen is the last girl to be born. I agree with a previous reviewer that it would have been nice to have a better fleshed out worldview in this dystopia. Why are there no more girls being born? What exactly is Cromozone? I don't mind being left with questions but the 'world building' constructed in this novel left me a little empty.

There seemed to be an overemphasis on Stephen's teensquad and I think that cutting down large portions of those sections might have made the novel more accessible.

It requires a careful reading and does lend to questioning what reality really is and how we define it. If you love dystopias and speculative fiction - then this one might be for you - but it is incredibly heavy and although it's not that long, it takes time wade through the narrative.

[Becca Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads giveaways.

4.5 Stars!

This book is about a fucked up family in a fucked up future. I loved this book.
Longer review to come....

[Shawna Briseno · Rating 1 out of 5]

ARC provided by NetGalley:
Too weird and scattered for me. Description was great but it required too much concentration to keep up with the story.