Sharp and Dangerous Virtues: A Novel

by Martha Moody

It’s 2047 in Dayton, Ohio. In response to food and water shortages, the U.S. government has developed an enormous, and powerfully successful, agricultural area—the “Heartland Grid”—just north of the city. In the meantime, in the wake of declining American power a multinational force has established itself in Cleveland. Behind these quickly shifting alliances lies a troubling yet tantalizing what will the American future look like? Sharp and Dangerous Virtues is the story of ordinary people caught in situations they had never planned for or even imagined. There are Chad and Sharis, a married couple with two sons, holding out for normal life in their decaying suburb; Tuuro, a black church custodian whose false confession of murder is used for political purposes; Lila, Dayton’s aging, lonely Commissioner of Water, who dreams of being part of the “pure” existence of the Grid residents; and Charles and Diana, idealistic lovers trying desperately to preserve the nature center that has become their refuge. What will these people do? What choices are left for them, and what choices have been taken away? Whom and what can they trust? Novelist Moody—known for her vivid portrayals of complicated characters and relationships in novels such as Best Friends and Sometimes Mine —weaves together cataclysmic events and the most intimate of human emotions to create a future that seems achingly real. Sharp and Dangerous Virtues will change the way you think and feel.

Genres: Science Fiction, Survival, Dystopia, Fiction

400 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2012

Reviews

[Eli Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was jarring. Its dystopian future seems distressingly plausible, and the characters are incredibly believable in their attempts to make a normal life for themselves during war.

[Ted · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dystopian novel in which world events are played out in and around Dayton, OH. I didn't much like the writing style - each chapter is divided into short subchapters which follow different characters in the book. They constant jumping around from one person/group to another was annoying to me as I wished the author took more time to follow one character before jumping to another. I never got to the point that I cared about any of the characters nor about what happened to them. The book's events never convinced me they could possibly happen so I had to push myself to finish the book.

[Roger Hoehn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could not get interested in the characters. Ending was not satisfying.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this definitely took me a minute to get into, this is a highly underrated entry into the world of realistic dystopian fiction. I'm going to be thinking about this one for books to come...

[Cam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dystopian future for an America that nearly joins the rest of the world collapsing from a post-Great Recession economic collapse in the near future. What saves America, but results in unintended consequences, is a renewal plan to isolate and rebuild a large swathe of the plains from Ohio to the Mississippi called "the Grid." Over time, the Gridians develop a separate sense of identity and the rest of the world, lead by a unified Africa and jealous Canada, invade northern Ohio and try to gain control of The Grid. Dayton become the focus of the conflict, with various locals playing pivotal roles in the novel. Their experiences and perspective end up explaining the impact for every-day people of the Grid program, the international interventions, and the role of other forces like geography and history on their lives. This is one for literary science fiction fans or dystopian fans more in love with characters than world-building. Real science here (water management, agriculture, nature preserves) not the fantasy, space-opera or magical styles mainly featured in sci-fi and there are more nuanced characters and musings on fate and morality, on humanity, and important virtues in crisis and peacetimes.

[Debe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sharp and Dangerous Virtues was a little different twist for me. I'm not usually a reader of dystopian fiction, but I like the way this author writes and decided to choose it for a book discussion. I'm glad I did. It probably helps that I knew many of the locations cited, but I also found the characters interesting and the plot thought-provoking. What if the United States had to ration its food, level middle America and build a giant agricultural area surrounded by walls just north of Dayton, Ohio? What if Dayton had the most abundant source of water and it had to be rationed? Other world powers play a minor part but, above all, the characters stayed human.

[Giselle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most fun thing about this book for me was that it takes place in Dayton...and it is filled with Dayton locations and Dayton history. One of the main characters is even a UD professor. The story itself was not good enough that I would recommend it to someone who didn't know Dayton.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about a third of the book and just couldn't get into it. I would think if you weren't from the Dayton area, it would be incredibly difficult to care at all.

[Kymberlee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't even finish it. The book was dry and droned on and on.

[Hatezel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, could not finish. Ohio snore.

[Laurel Wolfe]

Will not rate.