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Positron #1-3
Positron, Episodes 1 - 3
In the saucy but sinister Byliner Serial "Positron," Booker Prize–winning author Margaret Atwood takes readers on a thrill ride to the near future, where a totalitarian state collides with the chaos of human desire.
"As seamless as a stocking, and shockingly believable" is how "The Globe and Mail" describes "I'm Starved for You," the first episode of Positron. In it Atwood maps the world of Consilience, an Orwellian society in which it's the lawful who are locked up, while, beyond the gates, criminals wander the wasted streets of America.
Stan understands the Faustian deal he and his wife, Charmaine, have made. In exchange for a house, food, and what the online brochure hails as "A Meaningful Life," they've chosen to become guinea pigs in this new social order. The couple know that to break the rules is dangerous; but, driven by unrelenting boredom and lust, they do it anyway and betray each other and the system.
In "Choke Collar," the second and steamiest episode of the series, they get their comeuppance: Stan finds himself the sexual plaything of a subversive member of the Consilience security team and in no time is made a pawn in a shadowy scheme to bring Consilience crashing down.
Meanwhile, Charmaine is being held indefinitely at Consilience's prison, Positron, for her own sins of the flesh: a torrid affair carried on with another resident. How far she'll go to regain her good name and position is anyone's guess, especially Stan's. In "Erase Me," installment number three, the couple learn the hard way that marriage can be murder.
The sexually charged and morally complex stories of Positron are like a trip to a deviant funhouse. Stay tuned for the final episode of Atwood's dystopian dark comedy, and discover whether anyone can overcome the greatest treachery of all: human nature.
"As seamless as a stocking, and shockingly believable" is how "The Globe and Mail" describes "I'm Starved for You," the first episode of Positron. In it Atwood maps the world of Consilience, an Orwellian society in which it's the lawful who are locked up, while, beyond the gates, criminals wander the wasted streets of America.
Stan understands the Faustian deal he and his wife, Charmaine, have made. In exchange for a house, food, and what the online brochure hails as "A Meaningful Life," they've chosen to become guinea pigs in this new social order. The couple know that to break the rules is dangerous; but, driven by unrelenting boredom and lust, they do it anyway and betray each other and the system.
In "Choke Collar," the second and steamiest episode of the series, they get their comeuppance: Stan finds himself the sexual plaything of a subversive member of the Consilience security team and in no time is made a pawn in a shadowy scheme to bring Consilience crashing down.
Meanwhile, Charmaine is being held indefinitely at Consilience's prison, Positron, for her own sins of the flesh: a torrid affair carried on with another resident. How far she'll go to regain her good name and position is anyone's guess, especially Stan's. In "Erase Me," installment number three, the couple learn the hard way that marriage can be murder.
The sexually charged and morally complex stories of Positron are like a trip to a deviant funhouse. Stay tuned for the final episode of Atwood's dystopian dark comedy, and discover whether anyone can overcome the greatest treachery of all: human nature.
126 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2012
23 people are currently reading
725 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Atwood
662 books89.2k followersMargaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa and grew up in northern Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and her master's degree from Radcliffe College.
Throughout her writing career, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and honourary degrees. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood's dystopic novel, Oryx and Crake, was published in 2003. The Tent (mini-fictions) and Moral Disorder (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her most recent volume of poetry, The Door, was published in 2007. Her non-fiction book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth in the Massey series, appeared in 2008, and her most recent novel, The Year of the Flood, in the autumn of 2009. Ms. Atwood's work has been published in more than forty languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. In 2004 she co-invented the Long Pen TM.
Margaret Atwood currently lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.
Associations: Margaret Atwood was President of the Writers' Union of Canada from May 1981 to May 1982, and was President of International P.E.N., Canadian Centre (English Speaking) from 1984-1986. She and Graeme Gibson are the Joint Honourary Presidents of the Rare Bird Society within BirdLife International. Ms. Atwood is also a current Vice-President of PEN International.
Throughout her writing career, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and honourary degrees. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood's dystopic novel, Oryx and Crake, was published in 2003. The Tent (mini-fictions) and Moral Disorder (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her most recent volume of poetry, The Door, was published in 2007. Her non-fiction book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth in the Massey series, appeared in 2008, and her most recent novel, The Year of the Flood, in the autumn of 2009. Ms. Atwood's work has been published in more than forty languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. In 2004 she co-invented the Long Pen TM.
Margaret Atwood currently lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.
Associations: Margaret Atwood was President of the Writers' Union of Canada from May 1981 to May 1982, and was President of International P.E.N., Canadian Centre (English Speaking) from 1984-1986. She and Graeme Gibson are the Joint Honourary Presidents of the Rare Bird Society within BirdLife International. Ms. Atwood is also a current Vice-President of PEN International.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 21, 2013
Margaret Atwood write a salacious novel? Gasp! Well, not quite, but close enough. "Positron" is a serialised e-book set in an what some critics have called an Orwellian future where the chaotic state of crime and lawlessness has almost pushed the average American suburban neighbourhood into the fringes, and the overflowing prisons are no longer able to effectively contain the seedier elements who threaten the rest of the population.
In order to restore some semblance of stability and safety, an idealised compound called Consilience (resembling that of a gated community) is established. The trick to this is that those law-abiding citizens who opt into this safe haven share their homes with the "Alternates" by voluntarily spending alternate (of course) months in the prison surrounds of Positron. In this way, full employment is ensured, and no one in the community is ever homeless.
Into this strange social order enters regular all-American couple Stan and Charmaine; he of the regular Joe variety who works in a motor shop in his civilian life and a chicken coop tender when in Positron, while she is a squeaky clean demure blonde who wears button-up blouses but has a much more ominous job as Chief Medications Administrator, who is responsible for the transit of the seriously criminal to another sphere. They never meet their Alternates who inhabit their house when they are in Positron, and vice versa when they are in Consilience. But all that changes when Stan discovers a love note under a refrigerator by a Jasmine to a Max, whom he assumes to be the Alternates he has been wondering about.
So far, so clean - so where's the sex in all this? What ensues as Stan gets more and more obsessed with "Jasmine" and her shenanigans with the voracious "Max", is a spiral downwards into the deeper workings of Consilience, as Stan risks the stability of his life with Charmaine to feed his wanton desires. Having read this far into all 3 episodes, the following two episodes look promising; a little bit like "Stepford Wives"-meet-"1984".
In order to restore some semblance of stability and safety, an idealised compound called Consilience (resembling that of a gated community) is established. The trick to this is that those law-abiding citizens who opt into this safe haven share their homes with the "Alternates" by voluntarily spending alternate (of course) months in the prison surrounds of Positron. In this way, full employment is ensured, and no one in the community is ever homeless.
Into this strange social order enters regular all-American couple Stan and Charmaine; he of the regular Joe variety who works in a motor shop in his civilian life and a chicken coop tender when in Positron, while she is a squeaky clean demure blonde who wears button-up blouses but has a much more ominous job as Chief Medications Administrator, who is responsible for the transit of the seriously criminal to another sphere. They never meet their Alternates who inhabit their house when they are in Positron, and vice versa when they are in Consilience. But all that changes when Stan discovers a love note under a refrigerator by a Jasmine to a Max, whom he assumes to be the Alternates he has been wondering about.
So far, so clean - so where's the sex in all this? What ensues as Stan gets more and more obsessed with "Jasmine" and her shenanigans with the voracious "Max", is a spiral downwards into the deeper workings of Consilience, as Stan risks the stability of his life with Charmaine to feed his wanton desires. Having read this far into all 3 episodes, the following two episodes look promising; a little bit like "Stepford Wives"-meet-"1984".
June 30, 2016
I gobbled up these three episodes in three sittings. I can't wait for episode number four!
What will happen to poor Stan? What will happen to bubble-headed Charmaine? And what's with the weird relationship between Phil and Jocelyn?
In these three episodes, Atwood has managed to make me a believer in serialized stories.
What will happen to poor Stan? What will happen to bubble-headed Charmaine? And what's with the weird relationship between Phil and Jocelyn?
In these three episodes, Atwood has managed to make me a believer in serialized stories.
January 4, 2024
This has been sitting on my kindle for maybe a decade, and now I know why. Wowee this was bad. Usually I love Margaret Atwood, but this was like a bad impression of an Atwood novel. The premise doesn’t make any sense except as an unoriginal elbow nudge of “Hey, isn’t suburban life basically like prison? Right? Right?” The characters are paper thin and seemingly were dropped into place with no history. And it feels like she’s writing it serially, not just releasing it serially. Woof.
July 12, 2014
Margaret Atwood is writing a serialized dystopian story? Here's all my money! Give me each episode as it's published please!
Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is one of my favorite novels of all time, and her Oryx and Crake trilogy is excellent. When I came across this series of three chapters browsing the "Kindle Shorts" website, I purchased it immediately and devoured it in three days. Written for the online site Byliner in an effort to bring back serialized fiction, the story picked up steam after the first chapter when fans wanted more, including television producers who want to turn the story into a series.
The world of Positron is a new society in which victims of the world's failing economy and rising crime rates willingly enter a walled compound where a large prison fuels the local economy. Every citizen has a counterpart with whom they trade places once a month, first living in the outside world of relative freedom in a government-provided house, then incarcerated while providing the type of manual labor that helps society function. There is of course a dark underbelly to this world and nothing is as it seems.
There are trademark Atwood motifs here, principally her thematic focus on the ways in which sex motivates our every move and the ways in which society's attempts to clamp down on our voracious sexual appetites only serves to fuel them, but Atwood is one of the great authors who can write about this potentially seedy topic without making the literature feel seedy itself. The characters here aren't as clearly drawn as in her dystopian novels, but they are amusing and realistic, their internal monologues providing a light-hearted humor that underscores the dark gravity of their situations.
I'm eager for future installments, and I look forward to a potential television series based on Atwood brilliant creations!
Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is one of my favorite novels of all time, and her Oryx and Crake trilogy is excellent. When I came across this series of three chapters browsing the "Kindle Shorts" website, I purchased it immediately and devoured it in three days. Written for the online site Byliner in an effort to bring back serialized fiction, the story picked up steam after the first chapter when fans wanted more, including television producers who want to turn the story into a series.
The world of Positron is a new society in which victims of the world's failing economy and rising crime rates willingly enter a walled compound where a large prison fuels the local economy. Every citizen has a counterpart with whom they trade places once a month, first living in the outside world of relative freedom in a government-provided house, then incarcerated while providing the type of manual labor that helps society function. There is of course a dark underbelly to this world and nothing is as it seems.
There are trademark Atwood motifs here, principally her thematic focus on the ways in which sex motivates our every move and the ways in which society's attempts to clamp down on our voracious sexual appetites only serves to fuel them, but Atwood is one of the great authors who can write about this potentially seedy topic without making the literature feel seedy itself. The characters here aren't as clearly drawn as in her dystopian novels, but they are amusing and realistic, their internal monologues providing a light-hearted humor that underscores the dark gravity of their situations.
I'm eager for future installments, and I look forward to a potential television series based on Atwood brilliant creations!
June 19, 2013
I read Margaret Atwood's I'm Starved For You over a year ago not knowing (or who knows what the original plan/intent was?) that it was going to be an on-going series. While I thought that short-story was a quite nice standalone work with a helluva kicker of an ending, l was curious to see where it would go. But know having now read this omnibus of sorts of the first 3 "episodes" -- a re-read of Starved, plus Choke Collar and Erase Me -- I am thinking I should have left well enough alone.
I still enjoyed the dystopic world that Atwood creates here, people trading places on a monthly basis between a prison (Positron) and a Mayberry-ish suburbia (Consilience). While that premise alone defies some logic, Atwood lost me in the next two episodes with things that did not make sense to me. Without getting too spoiler-ific, my sticking point was how a participant in this social experiment has the control/power/access to manipulate the system and furthermore how these manipulations can go undetected (or at least not easily resolved) by what I assume to be an all-knowing, all-controlling Big Brother-y cabal that runs this world.
It could well be that I have just not got to the part where this is explained/unveiled, but given that the Positron series appears to be open-ended at this point I don't feel I have the patience, the memory/recall, or perhaps, worse yet, the interest to keep coming back for new installments every six months (??) or so. What started out so strongly, just now seems to be on unsure footing.
So while I thoroughly enjoyed the premise, as well as Atwood's prose, imagination and dark humor, I am thinking a serialized work-in-progress is just not my thing.
I still enjoyed the dystopic world that Atwood creates here, people trading places on a monthly basis between a prison (Positron) and a Mayberry-ish suburbia (Consilience). While that premise alone defies some logic, Atwood lost me in the next two episodes with things that did not make sense to me. Without getting too spoiler-ific, my sticking point was how a participant in this social experiment has the control/power/access to manipulate the system and furthermore how these manipulations can go undetected (or at least not easily resolved) by what I assume to be an all-knowing, all-controlling Big Brother-y cabal that runs this world.
It could well be that I have just not got to the part where this is explained/unveiled, but given that the Positron series appears to be open-ended at this point I don't feel I have the patience, the memory/recall, or perhaps, worse yet, the interest to keep coming back for new installments every six months (??) or so. What started out so strongly, just now seems to be on unsure footing.
So while I thoroughly enjoyed the premise, as well as Atwood's prose, imagination and dark humor, I am thinking a serialized work-in-progress is just not my thing.
November 25, 2014
Positron by Margaret Atwood 3.5/5
The "book" consists of four novellas. I'm Starved For You, Choke Collar, Erase Me, and The Heart Goes Last.
Dystopian setting, rather Orwellian. Our protagonists, a married couple, live in what I believe the closest I can come it would be called a Company Town. Atwood has a fine sense of the bizarre, and I could almost call this a Bizarro World setting. For those unfamiliar with that concept, here is a wiki link to explain. http://en.wikipedia....i/Bizarro_World
While the comparison is not exact by any means, it is somewhat appropriate. Perhaps with a dash of The Stepford Wives thrown in.
Early on we find that the people that sign into this Town have signed a contract that excludes their ever leaving, even in a box. Many sign up mostly because of the horrible conditions that exist "outside", rampant crime, roving gangs and the like. There is shared housing, one couple occupies a home for a month while another couple is in the town prison. Then on the first of every month they switch places. The four novellas consider all the peculiarities that can follow from such an arrangement. Atwood is tackling a plethora of issues to do with freedom, and just what humans may give up, or acts they will commit for a comfortable life.
I don't want to commit spoilers, so I'll leave it at that. Suffice it to say that the story pulled me along, wanting to know what happens in the next installment. Of course number four was a sort of cliff hanger, so I'll be looking out for the next installments to come along. Having purchased them on Kindle, they were very inexpensive.
The "book" consists of four novellas. I'm Starved For You, Choke Collar, Erase Me, and The Heart Goes Last.
Dystopian setting, rather Orwellian. Our protagonists, a married couple, live in what I believe the closest I can come it would be called a Company Town. Atwood has a fine sense of the bizarre, and I could almost call this a Bizarro World setting. For those unfamiliar with that concept, here is a wiki link to explain. http://en.wikipedia....i/Bizarro_World
While the comparison is not exact by any means, it is somewhat appropriate. Perhaps with a dash of The Stepford Wives thrown in.
Early on we find that the people that sign into this Town have signed a contract that excludes their ever leaving, even in a box. Many sign up mostly because of the horrible conditions that exist "outside", rampant crime, roving gangs and the like. There is shared housing, one couple occupies a home for a month while another couple is in the town prison. Then on the first of every month they switch places. The four novellas consider all the peculiarities that can follow from such an arrangement. Atwood is tackling a plethora of issues to do with freedom, and just what humans may give up, or acts they will commit for a comfortable life.
I don't want to commit spoilers, so I'll leave it at that. Suffice it to say that the story pulled me along, wanting to know what happens in the next installment. Of course number four was a sort of cliff hanger, so I'll be looking out for the next installments to come along. Having purchased them on Kindle, they were very inexpensive.
December 16, 2013
The first and third episodes of this serialized story were quite good, but there was a bit of a lull in the second episode. Atwood has introduced an interesting -- though credulity straining -- dystopia. If anything, the peculiar mechanics of the story's world will serve as an interesting plot device. They also provide an opportunity for commentary on the increasingly corporatized prison system, though whether or not that opportunity will be seized is still an open question.
By the end of the third episode, a couple of the characters are starting to become interesting. A few good twists have been thrown in, though the first one was the best. For a work of episodic, serialized fiction, the best measure of quality would be the reader's desire to read future episodes, and by that measure Positron is a success.
By the end of the third episode, a couple of the characters are starting to become interesting. A few good twists have been thrown in, though the first one was the best. For a work of episodic, serialized fiction, the best measure of quality would be the reader's desire to read future episodes, and by that measure Positron is a success.
May 16, 2013
This is a future society in which the residents spend one month in prison and one month as a regular citizen. I have to say I’m glad I bought the 3 episodes together otherwise I wouldn’t have continued after the first one. The second episode picks up in pace and it’s when the plot starts to thicken. The conspiracy begins to reveal itself and what seems to be their perfect world isn’t as it seems. It would seem that regardless of the future society that power can lead to corruption and greed. I haven’t read any of Margret Atwood’s books so I can compare them to anything else but this is probably something that I would continue to follow.
June 12, 2013
I'm not sure if I liked this or not. The story was an easy read and I love dystopian fiction, even if you can't seem to find a book that is NOT a dystopian story these days! I just didn't understand the society Atwood created. I don't really understand the need for the prison side of this community. It seems unnecessary in the face of the type of communal living Consilience is trying to achieve.
Maybe the other stories will make things more clear.
This first story is really just an introduction to the greater storyline. I don't see how one could decide not to read the remaining stories unless they absolutely hated this first part.
Maybe the other stories will make things more clear.
This first story is really just an introduction to the greater storyline. I don't see how one could decide not to read the remaining stories unless they absolutely hated this first part.
July 12, 2013
I found this book because Amazon tricked me into believing that the latest MaddAdam book was available. I'm a huge MA fan and really needed a fix, so I thought 3.99, I'll give it a shot. After five pages, I felt like I was in the middle of a Philip K Dick novel- which is awesome! The premise is pretty cool, though not thoroughly flushed out. I do like the idea of the normal people imprisoned and the criminals running wild on the outside- very Halliburton prison industrial complex. So these were great, would highly recommend if you need a light summer dystopian read. Can't wait for the next ones...
February 15, 2013
This is in e-book form (or downloaded from the Web) only, not available in Real Book far as I can tell. Sci Fi by Atwood is usually intelligently and imaginatively conceived. This one's fun, too: about a time a little in the future where almost no one can find or hold a job, where material goods are scarce, violence gaining...you get the picture. Big Government comes up with full employment plan and sets up a test run, volunteers only (but no going back once you've volunteered), and it involves spending half your life in prison. Page turner, so far.
February 15, 2013
GREAT little serial novellas by Margaret Atwood. Takes place in a near future dystopia where everyone spends a month in prison and then a month in town as a 'civilian'. Everything is monitored and peaceful. You get three meals a day, a job, and a place to lay your head every night. The catch. Once you sign into this experimental new town, Consilience, you can't get out.
Has elements that feel a little reminiscent of 'The Handmaid's Tale' in it.
The story isn't over yet. Bet your bottom dollar I'm looking for installment 4.
Has elements that feel a little reminiscent of 'The Handmaid's Tale' in it.
The story isn't over yet. Bet your bottom dollar I'm looking for installment 4.
January 13, 2014
I've read Atwood's "Handmaid's Tale," and told myself I'd get around to her other stories. By comparison, Positron isn't really like that book at all. It is weird, but not so weird that I think this is groundbreaking for a dystopian society. Feels like Stepford Wives meets 1984 meets Parable of the Sower in a way, but more tongue-in-cheek and lighter. It is humorous and wry. I don't particularly care for the short episodic format. I'd rather this were novel length instead of a series of short-story sized installments.
January 19, 2013
Really more of four stars, because Margaret Atwood is the queen of tasteful (read: literary) sci-fi, in my Little BoPeep opinion, but at the same time, nothing here to be totally passionate about. I do love that Atwood is doing serial e-episodes, Dickensian in the digital age. She's such a mirthful one!
April 3, 2013
I don't know about this. None of the characters are likeable nor particularly interesting. And when they're placed in a setting that strains credibility, well, I'm not in a rush to continue into the next episodes. But as a devotee of Atwood the Great and Powerful, I'll probably give her the benefit of the doubt and finish it when the next episode(s) come out.
September 12, 2013
Not sure where this is going, but I am very curious to find out -- just bought #4.
The only thing that annoys me is the catching-up expository ... I know it's a serial, but when you read them all right in a row it seems awkward to rehash the plot of the previous episode. That said, she does it reasonably elegantly.
The only thing that annoys me is the catching-up expository ... I know it's a serial, but when you read them all right in a row it seems awkward to rehash the plot of the previous episode. That said, she does it reasonably elegantly.
June 12, 2014
The world of the series is captivating but I wanted a tad more exposition about how & why things got so bad outside Positron which would help me understand why someone would ever sign on to be a part of it. Also I didn't exactly like either of the main characters and didn't have as much sympathy for them as maybe I needed to really love this. But I will be reading the next installments!!
May 5, 2013
Why oh why did I start reading this? I love Atwood's work, especially the more dystopian books. I knew I'd get hooked - and now I'm stuck in the middle of this serialised novel, madly waiting the next instalment. Please release the next episode!
June 16, 2013
I just love this series. It evokes both the serial fiction of Conan Doyle/Dickens days and the Golden Age of science fiction yet is completely current. Very intriguing dystopian set-up. Well-paced and delightfully gritty. I have a particular fondness for the recurring evil knitting motif.
January 26, 2013
meh... intriguing up to the point where it feels a bit like a series
February 15, 2016
I loved this first story in this series. Delighted to find out there are more episodes. It didn't disappoint. Anxiously awaiting the rest of the series.
December 30, 2013
Hilarious! It was a cracker. Margaret Atwood letting loose in a real fantasy style story. I do so love her writing. Loved the twists.
June 23, 2013
Another dystopian tale from Margaret Atwood. Enjoyable, but nothing earth-shattering.
August 15, 2013
Eh...fills the time between books
August 22, 2013
The first three episodes of an e-book serial, these stories set up a dystopian future, establishing the characters and the dramatic tension. I'll definitely keep reading.
September 16, 2013
In the same future as MaddAdam, but not as good as the trilogy. And interesting reflection on marriage and on how the difference between everyday life isn't that distinct.
January 9, 2014
This is part of a new genre of episodic e-books published over a period of time. It's not Atwood's best, but even sub-par, she writes about dystopia better than anyone else.
November 10, 2013
I think I love every word Margaret Atwood has ever written but this is brilliant. A more adult version of Handmaids tale? Dystopian fiction by the master!
November 16, 2013
For an Atwood piece, it was slightly underwhelming. For a dystopian novel in general, it's solid.
December 25, 2013
Chilling. Excellent story as always from Margaret Atwood.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews