Troubles

by Ian J. Miller

In a future where energy shortage leads to the collapse of economies and debt-ridden governments, the wealthy live in gated communities, while the rest exist on residue-ridden food handouts in the lawless wastelands that were once cities. In the Green Zone, two parents want a better life for their children. Jacob Adams fixes things for people in the nearest gated community. Lawrence Foster, an expert sniper, enforces order. Henry Adams has an ill-fated crush on Suzie Foster, but when his father is murdered, Lawrence executes the gang and with the bounty, he sends Susan to college, to become a lawyer. He also teaches Henry the art of killing and as he dies from the residues, he leaves Henry the means to maintain order.

The invention of fusion power finally gives economic growth, and giant monopoly corporations begin to form. David Sheldon acquires companies cheaply and forcibly, and on sells them to corporations. Suzie joins a corporation and thanks to her father's ruthlessness, she is employed to acquire and absorb companies. Henry believes in a return to a time of personal freedom and opportunities, but law, order and justice is now based on user pays, and the wealthy win, unless they are dead. Then David Sheldon and Suzie Foster turn their attention to the Green Zone. Only the most ruthless can survive.

Genres: Science Fiction

407 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2012

About the author

I am a semi-retired chemist, PhD from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and during this PhD my results came out on the wrong side of a scientific debate that was going on at the time. This story is being told on my scientific blog http://my.rsc.org/blogs/84 from October, 2012 onwards. The net result of this was I became perhaps a little skeptical of how science proceeds, and later, when invited to write a scientific book, I began "Elements of Theory". I was somewhat too slow, and the fact the editor found out that I was not a professor did not help. The project was orphaned, but I continued, and four volumes are now available on Amazon as ebooks. The first shows how to form theory, and provides seventy problems to test theory-forming skill. The second involves an alternative theory of planetary formation and biogenesis. The third elaborates on my alternative interpretation of quantum mechanics, while the fourth surveys biofuel technology, an area in which I have spent much of my scientific career

I had also tried writing a novel as an undergraduate, which was rejected four times, after which I gave up, however some time later I revisited this, and later self-published. However, I was barred from publicity through a different commercial venture, and I found selling this novel without any advertising somewhat difficult. About 1990, with spare time, thanks to the financial crisis, I began writing a future history, which is now being self-published as ebooks. Two of these, Puppeteer, Troubles involve a future in which we do nothing to address declining oil supplies, and hence involve a dystopian future. Red Gold, and the "First Contact" trilogy involve a future with Martian settlement and a major Federation of countries, and is thus also involving an economic future in which resources become scarce. The last, Jonathon Munros, illustrates the problems of evil androids. The Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy is partly about military strategy, partly about what science is really about, and partly about how humans could live in an advanced alien society.

Reviews

[Merril Anil · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Susan Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this well written story. The author had encapsulated the scenarios so well I was quickly drawn in and engaged immediately.
There are lots of twists and suspense in the plot which is well constructed around the characters’ lives – all of whom are realistic.
If you want to dive head first into a novel and become submerged in its details then this is the book for you. It’s not a quick read, that’s for sure, but certainly worth the effort.

[Richard Bunning · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the book starts we are already on the other side of a dystopian meltdown. The rebuild, worldwide will be painfully slow, but progress will be made. The story is set in one small area, the area that will be served by one new power station. Some of the wealthy, in their gated communities have come through a worldwide conflagration relatively unscathed, not so most of the population.
There is a lot of excitement, heaps of intrigue, and a very clever interplay of characters in the plot. Sometimes the detail was actually too clever for me, to mathematically complex, but I breezed on to find, as I suspected, that the maths of who did what to whom and when didn't particularly matter. The story is in the series of results from the complex interplay of competing and variously empowered players.
I don't hesitate in giving this book five stars, but the proof-reader needs eliminating and replacing before the next book, just as unceremoniously as are so many of Miller's characters that fail to keep pace with this developing new social, material and financial order. One more edit would be more than worthwhile, so I hope Miller organises just that.
Miller's writing style is robust, eloquent, and fashionable short of superfluous adjectives and adverbs. This Hemingwayesque style is popular, certainly, though less plot detail and more expansive description would have enriched the reading for me. I would have liked to have been given a few more colours from the peeling paint, and a deeper penetration of the souls driving the characters. I enjoy more ingredients than a plot demands. But as it is the word count is fairly long, as I said, we see a complex sum.
The author is an intellectual thinker, with many scientific and social views about where the future might go. Miller combines this with writing very engaging fiction that works on so many levels. I certainly enjoyed reading 'Troubles'. Miller does just exactly what all good speculative fiction writers do, entertains with aplomb whilst providing food for both frivolous and serious thought.

[Audrey Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, in an afterword, calls this book a futuristic thriller. It is set in the 2150s, as the world attempts to emerge from a period of lawless violence known as the troubles, precipitated by energy resource shortages. The book opens with a successful test of a fusion reactor, which promises abundant energy for the future. This is the science fiction aspect of the story.
The plot creates a series of problems and proposes a variety of solutions, embodied in a number of characters. The two primary characters, Henry Adams and Susan Foster, are young people who come of age in this milieu and follow different careers. They are sufficiently fleshed out that I came to care about what happened to them. Henry is often indecisive and overwhelmed by events, a characteristic which makes him relatable and a bit annoying. Susan is a realistic rationalist.
Other characters are mainly types--bankers, criminals, industrialists, lawyers, engineers, businesspeople. There are enough of them that I sometimes struggled to remember who was who and how they related to one another. It's important to remember these details, however, because almost everyone is trying to deceive someone.
The plot is carefully constructed to show different approaches to rebuilding an economic and social structure. Free enterprise versus monopolies versus unprincipled greed are played out in scenes where characters' thought processes and arguments are described in detail. There are also action sequences in which strategies are also played out step by step. Problems addressed include the role and function of government, and a police force corrupted by government failure.
Despite the focus on business, with meetings, negotiations, offers, and deals, this is a violent world. Many quite brutal killings are carried out in the course of the story, not always by the bad guys. This adds a significant element of tension which kept my interest, especially in the final chapters, which present a shocking twist and its consequences.
The prose is plain and direct, but not elegant or polished. There are some humorous turns of phrase, especially in tense situations.
This is an interesting read, but not an easy one. It is a book relevant for the present time, when many of the issues it examines are visible in the real world.

[A.G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very difficult to put down once you were into the story. There were some parts that slowed down a little but then the author switched POV and brought it all back together. The author paints a very good scenario of a possible future for the human race.
Troubles is set in the near future where governments are no longer effective and Earth has used up most of the natural resources. Corruption has ran rampant and money is basically worthless. It is where everyone for themselves and life is cheap. The hope of the story is the return to a time when it was basically free to walk down the street and not get mugged or killed. Corporate, police and the rich don't have to worry, they live in the gated communities where they are somewhat safe.
Henry, the man character of the story finds himself being trained to be a sniper the law and order man of the green zone. He inherits the task of killing anyone that robs, or kills someone else in the green zone. He becomes the judge, jury and executioner but he wants to change that way of life by working to return the green zone and its inhabitants to law and order without the gun.
Susan is the daughter of the man that trained Henry and is the second main character. Some parts of the story is told from her POV. She is just as deadly or more so than Henry but not as quick to kill as she is.
Here is a link to Ian's book that you will find yourself unable to put down! http://www.amazon.com/Troubles-Ian-Mi...