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Dell Zero
Into a sexless, controlled society of drug-induced immortals comes Dell, a rare, untainted human with female characteristics.
"I call myself Dell, but my name is unrecorded. I've always been hidden, sheltered by my guardians on the outlands of the Chapter. Now my guardians are gone, reassigned. They will not remember me.
"I am young. I want to be loved, to be touched. Is there anyone in the Chapter like me?
"I have no number. My identity band is false--it hangs loose, unconnected to my veins. It won’t get me into the Chapter. If I do get in, I’ll live forever, but I know what forever is like for my guardians. I will no longer be me.
"I am Dell--Dell Zero--untransformed and mortal. I will make my own way."
"I call myself Dell, but my name is unrecorded. I've always been hidden, sheltered by my guardians on the outlands of the Chapter. Now my guardians are gone, reassigned. They will not remember me.
"I am young. I want to be loved, to be touched. Is there anyone in the Chapter like me?
"I have no number. My identity band is false--it hangs loose, unconnected to my veins. It won’t get me into the Chapter. If I do get in, I’ll live forever, but I know what forever is like for my guardians. I will no longer be me.
"I am Dell--Dell Zero--untransformed and mortal. I will make my own way."
230 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 7, 2014
11 people are currently reading
439 people want to read
About the author
Carol Ervin
27 books125 followersI’ve been lucky. Years ago, I wanted to live on a farm, and my husband said “Let’s do it.” When personal computers were introduced, I wanted to know about them and have one, and lucky me, the school where I taught offered a course in Basic. When we bought our first computer, I discovered the writer’s best friend--word processing. (Before that, I could not write without crossing out most of a typewritten or handwritten page, and progress seemed impossible.) When I wanted to shift from teaching to writing, the first Macintosh computers came out, and I was lucky enough to offer, along with technical and business writing, the first “desktop publishing” in my county. And when finally I had the leisure to give a lot of time to a novel, my husband didn’t merely tolerate my commitment, he encouraged it.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 14, 2015
I was honestly a little surprised to see how few reviews this book has. Excellent story, interesting characters, and a nifty piece of world-building. It feels like a dystopia, but unlike a lot of of other stories, the world seems to have slowly deteriorated rather than experiencing a sudden apocalypse. The people living in this world seem to have no idea how they got where they are, what might be wrong, or how to fix it. The two main POV characters are great - one pulled into society more or less against her will, and the other representing the masses who go about their lives with the sense that something just seems "off". Everyone is confused, and we get to learn about the world and how it works at about the same pace as they do. It reminded me a little of Hugh Howey's Wool, in the sense of mystery and wonder it conveyed. Would definitely recommend if you're looking for something a little different.
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August 12, 2014I won't rate my own books, but I love all the people in this book.
August 12, 2014
Is immortality desirable without joy? Is a content slave still a slave? Can civilization survive without renewal? Dell Zero is a literary dystopia that doesn't shy away from heavy questions. Seen through the eyes of two very different characters, the novel shows a world that has chosen safety and stability above all by eliminating not just human emotions, but whole concepts and traditions. Love, family, and even simple physical pleasures are all gone, replaced by obedience and unthinking desire to work. Immortality is both a prize and a burden, but most citizens, thanks to constant chemical manipulation don't really care one way or another- until the carefully designed system begins to break apart…
The book is not a fast read, and present-tense style takes some getting used to, contributing to the overall sense of detachment. It's hard to care about the characters who don't care that much about themselves, but that it partly the point. Even the most harrowing parts of the story are told in the same even tone, and although it sounds counter-intuitive, the effect is sometimes greater than it would have been with more graphic descriptions. As the characters grow and change throughout the story, and as pieces of the puzzle that makes the novel's world come together, the reader gets more emotionally involved, almost in parallel with the characters. The author's choice of style is brave, and unlike many beginner authors who come up with a cool concept but don't know how to use it, she manages to pull it off.
This is by no means light pleasure reading, but neither is it unrelentingly dark - a good balance for a work in the dystopian genre. The ending strikes just the right note and leaves space for a sequel (series?) while still leaving the reader satisfied after the challenging journey.
Recommended to dystopia fans who may be looking for something not overtly political, yet still exploring big themes of human existence.
The book is not a fast read, and present-tense style takes some getting used to, contributing to the overall sense of detachment. It's hard to care about the characters who don't care that much about themselves, but that it partly the point. Even the most harrowing parts of the story are told in the same even tone, and although it sounds counter-intuitive, the effect is sometimes greater than it would have been with more graphic descriptions. As the characters grow and change throughout the story, and as pieces of the puzzle that makes the novel's world come together, the reader gets more emotionally involved, almost in parallel with the characters. The author's choice of style is brave, and unlike many beginner authors who come up with a cool concept but don't know how to use it, she manages to pull it off.
This is by no means light pleasure reading, but neither is it unrelentingly dark - a good balance for a work in the dystopian genre. The ending strikes just the right note and leaves space for a sequel (series?) while still leaving the reader satisfied after the challenging journey.
Recommended to dystopia fans who may be looking for something not overtly political, yet still exploring big themes of human existence.
February 18, 2015
I'm really not a science fiction fan; however, I did enjoy this book, especially the characters! I did find the story interesting, but it left me with so many questions -- maybe that was Ervin's purpose, though. This is a book I will readily recommend to friends and readers who are sci-fi fans.
August 12, 2014
Great read! Most unique plot and lovable characters. Ervin sets a fast
pace that will keep you turning pages. The ending is absolutely delightful. I still have a big smile on my face.
pace that will keep you turning pages. The ending is absolutely delightful. I still have a big smile on my face.
August 5, 2016
Dell Zero by C. L. Ervin is a post-apocalyptic novel in which characters live ideal, peaceful, passive, carefree existences; as long as they conform to a politically imposed norm. Ervin presents readers an alternative social reality. It is very complete, so the reader will have to do a bit of work to keep up. There are lots of characters which are described in great background detail. I used a highlighter and had to refer back occasionally to verify which character I was following. That is because I read the book over a three-day period. If you are a fan of imagining what a different world might look like or what needs a social organization must fulfill to succeed; this is the book for you. If I had known it would be this detailed, I would have scheduled the time to read and finish it in one sitting.
Dell is the protagonist, 0 might be described as a generational name. Inhabitants of this society have numbers to describe how many times they have undergone a “transformation,” a process that extends their lives. Theoretically, nobody has to die. There is a cost; it seems that those with higher numbers (like 356) have difficulty remembering their previous lives. That might be due to the transformations themselves or it might be due to the drugs prescribed and ordered for all the population in order to maintain a docile society. There is Vitasat, that keeps workers on track by encouraging passivity, there is Vitamood which makes everyone at all levels feel good, Vitapurge which brings on the transformation and prolongs life, and Vitacure for curing illnesses and speeding up recovery from wounds. Additionally, there are nutrition packs which may have a drug and the requirement that everyone wears a wristscreen with a communication or tracking portal so that aberrant behavior can be dealt with through the administration of the appropriate drug.
There is no need for population control; this balanced society has zero births and zero deaths. There would be no story if there were no outlaws. They exist but they do not want to live in the well-regulated societies. They have access to the same drugs, but a few don’t want to take them. Fewer drugs and lower dosages allow the reappearance of free will. Those with free will recognize the injustices suffered by those assigned to lower order occupations that will never allow for advancement or recognition of potential. One of the byproducts of the outlaws is people like Dell. The number zero means she is a “natural,” a person in a society so structured that sexual reproduction is not practiced, advocated, or remembered. She has yet to be subject to the transformation ritual. Dell is not pleased with this. Since she is unregistered, she can’t travel freely. She can’t visit the cities and has to avoid capture by bands of catchers. Were she to be caught, she would be transported to the city, receive a wristscreen and portal, have drugs administered to her, and would be assigned a job. Perhaps she would be a med-tech but she might also be assigned to duties in security, transport, creative activities, fabrication, or the mines. This last is to be feared, miners are the lowest caste; it is more punishment than an assignment based on merit. These negatives cannot be appreciated by young Dell. She looks forward to capture and welcomes it when it happens.
Fortunately for Dell, there are some drugged denizens who are becoming increasingly aware of the flaws of their society. They look at people like Dell as a hope for a better future. Dell works in a more competent fashion, voices more opinions, and finds solutions to problems more effectively than her very much older drugged colleagues. One rebel, Oliver, shows her how to survive as a worker without attracting the attention of guards. Dell admires another rebel, Renggo, who seems to have no function other than to create chaos. John, a med-tech, and Pomeroy, both a med-tech and a pharma-analyst, begin to watch out for Dell in a mentor type relationship. Another fortunate point in Dell’s favor is a breakdown in the availability of drug supplies that assure compliance and bliss for the general population. Fewer drugs give rise to increased self-awareness which leads to a swelling of the outlaw or resistance population.
As the ideal society breaks down through a series of accidents and breakdowns, the reader will see the reemergence of human nature traits that are not desirable. Senior security officers Hercules and Atlas vie for power. The pinnacle of power is the Landlord. When the reader gets to the chapter in which the landlord is described, the reader can judge the value of perpetual life. Will the reader make the same choices as the characters in the book? That is not possible because the characters make varied decisions. Which character(s) would the reader follow?
There are not a lot of surprises in this story. There are a lot of well thought out “what if” situations. If you are the type of reader who likes Soylent Green (a movie) or Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, you will probably enjoy this book.
One of C. L. Ervin’s works in historical fiction, The Girl on the Mountain, encouraged me to read this book. I intend to read more of her work in that area.
Dell is the protagonist, 0 might be described as a generational name. Inhabitants of this society have numbers to describe how many times they have undergone a “transformation,” a process that extends their lives. Theoretically, nobody has to die. There is a cost; it seems that those with higher numbers (like 356) have difficulty remembering their previous lives. That might be due to the transformations themselves or it might be due to the drugs prescribed and ordered for all the population in order to maintain a docile society. There is Vitasat, that keeps workers on track by encouraging passivity, there is Vitamood which makes everyone at all levels feel good, Vitapurge which brings on the transformation and prolongs life, and Vitacure for curing illnesses and speeding up recovery from wounds. Additionally, there are nutrition packs which may have a drug and the requirement that everyone wears a wristscreen with a communication or tracking portal so that aberrant behavior can be dealt with through the administration of the appropriate drug.
There is no need for population control; this balanced society has zero births and zero deaths. There would be no story if there were no outlaws. They exist but they do not want to live in the well-regulated societies. They have access to the same drugs, but a few don’t want to take them. Fewer drugs and lower dosages allow the reappearance of free will. Those with free will recognize the injustices suffered by those assigned to lower order occupations that will never allow for advancement or recognition of potential. One of the byproducts of the outlaws is people like Dell. The number zero means she is a “natural,” a person in a society so structured that sexual reproduction is not practiced, advocated, or remembered. She has yet to be subject to the transformation ritual. Dell is not pleased with this. Since she is unregistered, she can’t travel freely. She can’t visit the cities and has to avoid capture by bands of catchers. Were she to be caught, she would be transported to the city, receive a wristscreen and portal, have drugs administered to her, and would be assigned a job. Perhaps she would be a med-tech but she might also be assigned to duties in security, transport, creative activities, fabrication, or the mines. This last is to be feared, miners are the lowest caste; it is more punishment than an assignment based on merit. These negatives cannot be appreciated by young Dell. She looks forward to capture and welcomes it when it happens.
Fortunately for Dell, there are some drugged denizens who are becoming increasingly aware of the flaws of their society. They look at people like Dell as a hope for a better future. Dell works in a more competent fashion, voices more opinions, and finds solutions to problems more effectively than her very much older drugged colleagues. One rebel, Oliver, shows her how to survive as a worker without attracting the attention of guards. Dell admires another rebel, Renggo, who seems to have no function other than to create chaos. John, a med-tech, and Pomeroy, both a med-tech and a pharma-analyst, begin to watch out for Dell in a mentor type relationship. Another fortunate point in Dell’s favor is a breakdown in the availability of drug supplies that assure compliance and bliss for the general population. Fewer drugs give rise to increased self-awareness which leads to a swelling of the outlaw or resistance population.
As the ideal society breaks down through a series of accidents and breakdowns, the reader will see the reemergence of human nature traits that are not desirable. Senior security officers Hercules and Atlas vie for power. The pinnacle of power is the Landlord. When the reader gets to the chapter in which the landlord is described, the reader can judge the value of perpetual life. Will the reader make the same choices as the characters in the book? That is not possible because the characters make varied decisions. Which character(s) would the reader follow?
There are not a lot of surprises in this story. There are a lot of well thought out “what if” situations. If you are the type of reader who likes Soylent Green (a movie) or Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, you will probably enjoy this book.
One of C. L. Ervin’s works in historical fiction, The Girl on the Mountain, encouraged me to read this book. I intend to read more of her work in that area.
July 19, 2025
I did enjoy this post apocalyptic adventure! I liked it was a young lady that is the main character & I found I was always on her side hoping she would succeed in this dying world! I will look for more by this writer as I found it an interesting read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews