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Go Back
They’re taking our tech.
After journalist Sarah Grimes finally lands the lead story, her life turns upside down. Sure, she exposed the Go Back movement's evil plan to take everyone's tech and pocket all the profit, but that also landed her in a digital detox center, otherwise known as the Center for Behavioral Recognition.
Inside, she finds a man named Chris she met before the roundup. She wants to escape with him, but he disappears and she keeps getting drugged. Thankfully, she teams up with an unlikely ally to escape.
As they all make their way to the headquarters of the resistance, they have to decide how much they're willing to sacrifice for their tech.
After journalist Sarah Grimes finally lands the lead story, her life turns upside down. Sure, she exposed the Go Back movement's evil plan to take everyone's tech and pocket all the profit, but that also landed her in a digital detox center, otherwise known as the Center for Behavioral Recognition.
Inside, she finds a man named Chris she met before the roundup. She wants to escape with him, but he disappears and she keeps getting drugged. Thankfully, she teams up with an unlikely ally to escape.
As they all make their way to the headquarters of the resistance, they have to decide how much they're willing to sacrifice for their tech.
284 pages, ebook
Published April 30, 2025
4 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Emily Wagner
1 book3 followersEmily Wagner is the author of the speculative fiction novel Go Back, (Water Dragon Publishing, forthcoming Spring 2025). She is a former journalist who is always questioning the what ifs of the world, hence her preference for sci-fi/fantasy. She's published in Bayou Review, CornerBar Magazine, Words and Art and Grown Up Story time Houston reading series. She is an alumna of the Taos Toolbox writing workshop and a two-time honorable mention of the Writers of the Future contest. Emily teaches PreK/K ESOL in a Title 1 school. In her free time, she enjoys exploring Charm City, making macrame, re-learning piano, and spending time with family outdoors.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 8, 2025
Early on in Emily Wagner’s taut sci-fi thriller, Go Back, there’s an announcement concerning a draconian measure adopted by the US government. In the author’s compelling novel, Uncle Sam is now unfortunately in bed with a reactionary Luddite organization called the “Go Back Movement,” which has managed to enforce severe restrictions on cell phone usage, leaving citizens worried that what’s coming next may be even worse.
It most definitely is.
When one of the novel’s principal characters, Olivia, proclaims that things like that “can’t happen in America,” I was taken aback. After the Patriot Act, the death of habeas corpus, and a fake news scandal that has nearly bankrupted the credibility of our politicians and the Fourth Estate, we find ourselves in a world eerily similar to that of Wagner’s novel, where things like this are actually happening. Furthermore, the parallels she draws paint a dire picture, and the urgency of this moment in history is all too apparent as the appeal of simplistic solutions becomes a seductive propaganda ploy in a world where people feel smothered by technology, and perhaps even fear the possibility of a transhuman future.
Fortunately, Wagner’s book glorifies neither the Luddite position nor does it advocate for a blind allegiance to a future controlled by digital technology and the algorithmic tendrils of AI.
The story focuses on the lead character, Sarah, a journalist who ends up getting sent to a GB (Go Back Movement) re-education center after publishing an exposé on the organization. She’s tossed into a van with members of a pro-tech resistance group and hauled off to a rehabilitation facility. The place is, of course, a total hellhole, where Sarah gets harassed by a creepy facility doctor. Luckily, she connects with a center employee, Olivia, who is sympathetic to her plight, and along with help from other facility employees, she escapes and takes off on an odyssey across a bleak wasteland.
Olivia tells Chris and Sarah about the “Garden,” the name of a Go Back resistance group, and the two set off across a grim Luddite landscape, suffering injuries and constantly trying to avoid the “sweepers” who could, at any moment, haul them back to the center. A relationship develops between Chris and Sarah, and the novel leaves us grappling with big questions about the role of technology in our lives. But also front and center is the question of our willingness, as citizens, to cede our freedoms to monolithic and anonymous networks of power, whether they be technological or primitive and reactionary.
The irony at the heart of it all is that technology has never been the problem. Rather, it is the misuse of said technology by flawed human beings, often for power and personal gain, that causes our problems, and this book had plenty of content that made me reflect upon this. In fact, the novel reminded me quite a bit of a Yorgos Lanthimos film, his brilliant black comedy, The Lobster, in which Colin Farrell’s character finds himself facing the absurdity of being in a position where he must choose a life mate or be turned into an animal. When he finally does escape his fate, he runs into a resistance force every bit as nuts as the denizens of mainstream society he was trying to escape. In much the same way, we see Chris and Sarah forced to deal with similar crazies, like the hyper-masculine Devon, who actually utters phrases like, “No one asked you, woman.”
Again, it is people, like good ol’ Devon, who will be at the source of our misfortunes with technology.
Go Back is a fascinating science fiction tale that is every bit as much about our current reality as that of Sarah, Chris, and Olivia. The novel serves to show us that, as a species, we should be finding a balance between the total renunciation of technology and a complete embrace of a digitally-controlled future. Wagner reminds us that we need to start asking the tough questions about how we relate to each other, how we relate to and use our technology, and how this can be done in the service of our humanity instead of being used to empower a small group of people who will decide for us what tech we can use and what it means to be human.
It most definitely is.
When one of the novel’s principal characters, Olivia, proclaims that things like that “can’t happen in America,” I was taken aback. After the Patriot Act, the death of habeas corpus, and a fake news scandal that has nearly bankrupted the credibility of our politicians and the Fourth Estate, we find ourselves in a world eerily similar to that of Wagner’s novel, where things like this are actually happening. Furthermore, the parallels she draws paint a dire picture, and the urgency of this moment in history is all too apparent as the appeal of simplistic solutions becomes a seductive propaganda ploy in a world where people feel smothered by technology, and perhaps even fear the possibility of a transhuman future.
Fortunately, Wagner’s book glorifies neither the Luddite position nor does it advocate for a blind allegiance to a future controlled by digital technology and the algorithmic tendrils of AI.
The story focuses on the lead character, Sarah, a journalist who ends up getting sent to a GB (Go Back Movement) re-education center after publishing an exposé on the organization. She’s tossed into a van with members of a pro-tech resistance group and hauled off to a rehabilitation facility. The place is, of course, a total hellhole, where Sarah gets harassed by a creepy facility doctor. Luckily, she connects with a center employee, Olivia, who is sympathetic to her plight, and along with help from other facility employees, she escapes and takes off on an odyssey across a bleak wasteland.
Olivia tells Chris and Sarah about the “Garden,” the name of a Go Back resistance group, and the two set off across a grim Luddite landscape, suffering injuries and constantly trying to avoid the “sweepers” who could, at any moment, haul them back to the center. A relationship develops between Chris and Sarah, and the novel leaves us grappling with big questions about the role of technology in our lives. But also front and center is the question of our willingness, as citizens, to cede our freedoms to monolithic and anonymous networks of power, whether they be technological or primitive and reactionary.
The irony at the heart of it all is that technology has never been the problem. Rather, it is the misuse of said technology by flawed human beings, often for power and personal gain, that causes our problems, and this book had plenty of content that made me reflect upon this. In fact, the novel reminded me quite a bit of a Yorgos Lanthimos film, his brilliant black comedy, The Lobster, in which Colin Farrell’s character finds himself facing the absurdity of being in a position where he must choose a life mate or be turned into an animal. When he finally does escape his fate, he runs into a resistance force every bit as nuts as the denizens of mainstream society he was trying to escape. In much the same way, we see Chris and Sarah forced to deal with similar crazies, like the hyper-masculine Devon, who actually utters phrases like, “No one asked you, woman.”
Again, it is people, like good ol’ Devon, who will be at the source of our misfortunes with technology.
Go Back is a fascinating science fiction tale that is every bit as much about our current reality as that of Sarah, Chris, and Olivia. The novel serves to show us that, as a species, we should be finding a balance between the total renunciation of technology and a complete embrace of a digitally-controlled future. Wagner reminds us that we need to start asking the tough questions about how we relate to each other, how we relate to and use our technology, and how this can be done in the service of our humanity instead of being used to empower a small group of people who will decide for us what tech we can use and what it means to be human.
August 10, 2025
Emily Wagner’s Go Back is a harrowing and emotionally raw dystopian novel that unfolds in a near-future America where the government, in partnership with an anti-tech movement known as Go Back (GB), launches a sweeping crackdown on technology under the guise of public safety and mental health. The story follows Sarah Grimes, a reluctant tech journalist turned whistleblower, whose life is upended when she becomes entangled in a web of corruption, coercion, and underground resistance. With alternating perspectives and gripping prose, Wagner exposes the consequences of blindly trading freedom for a false sense of order.
The writing is intimate and electric. Wagner has a way of pulling you in and making you feel every drop of fear, anger, and hope. Her characters, especially Sarah and Olivia, are vivid and fully human, both strong and vulnerable in a world that punishes both. The world-building was solid. It's familiar enough to be plausible, but jarring in how quickly things spiral. I especially loved the way Wagner slowly peels back the layers of the GB movement. It doesn’t hit you all at once. It sneaks up, just like the movement does in the story. The slow burn is terrifying because it feels real.
Some of the plot developments were so twisted and bleak that I had to put the book down and catch my breath. There’s a sense of hopelessness that creeps in by design, but I wish there were a few more glimmers of resistance that actually gained ground. Even when characters fight back, they seem to get swallowed by the system. Maybe that’s the point, though. Wagner doesn’t sugarcoat the fight for truth or justice. It’s ugly, it’s thankless, and sometimes, it’s fatal. But there’s beauty in the way her characters cling to humanity, even when it’s stripped from them.
Go Back is not just a story about tech or politics; it’s about control, freedom, and the price of silence. This book is for readers who love thought-provoking and emotionally intense dystopias like The Handmaid’s Tale or 1984. If you’ve ever wondered how much you’d be willing to sacrifice for the illusion of safety or how quickly a society can be undone, this one will resonate with you.
The writing is intimate and electric. Wagner has a way of pulling you in and making you feel every drop of fear, anger, and hope. Her characters, especially Sarah and Olivia, are vivid and fully human, both strong and vulnerable in a world that punishes both. The world-building was solid. It's familiar enough to be plausible, but jarring in how quickly things spiral. I especially loved the way Wagner slowly peels back the layers of the GB movement. It doesn’t hit you all at once. It sneaks up, just like the movement does in the story. The slow burn is terrifying because it feels real.
Some of the plot developments were so twisted and bleak that I had to put the book down and catch my breath. There’s a sense of hopelessness that creeps in by design, but I wish there were a few more glimmers of resistance that actually gained ground. Even when characters fight back, they seem to get swallowed by the system. Maybe that’s the point, though. Wagner doesn’t sugarcoat the fight for truth or justice. It’s ugly, it’s thankless, and sometimes, it’s fatal. But there’s beauty in the way her characters cling to humanity, even when it’s stripped from them.
Go Back is not just a story about tech or politics; it’s about control, freedom, and the price of silence. This book is for readers who love thought-provoking and emotionally intense dystopias like The Handmaid’s Tale or 1984. If you’ve ever wondered how much you’d be willing to sacrifice for the illusion of safety or how quickly a society can be undone, this one will resonate with you.
July 15, 2025
A Sharp, Timely Dystopian Debut That Grabs You and Doesn’t Let Go
Go Back is the kind of speculative fiction we need more of, bold, relevant, and driven by a deep curiosity about the world we’re heading toward. Emily Wagner’s background in journalism shines through in every page, giving this dystopian story a gritty realism that feels all too plausible.
The premise, what happens when a group wants to take away everyone’s tech under the guise of “saving society”, feels eerily close to home in today’s world of digital overload and algorithmic control. The protagonist, Sarah Grimes, is smart, vulnerable, and determined, and watching her navigate the sinister “Center for Behavioral Recognition” kept me completely hooked. The pacing is tight, the stakes are real, and the tension never lets up.
Wagner’s writing is sharp, immersive, and full of subtle commentary. She never hits you over the head with a message, but it’s all there, quietly unsettling and thought-provoking in the best way.
If you’re into dystopian fiction with brains and heart, something that echoes classics like 1984 or The Handmaid’s Tale, but with a modern twist, this one’s for you.
Highly recommend.
Go read Go Back. Then sit with it. Then talk about it.
Go Back is the kind of speculative fiction we need more of, bold, relevant, and driven by a deep curiosity about the world we’re heading toward. Emily Wagner’s background in journalism shines through in every page, giving this dystopian story a gritty realism that feels all too plausible.
The premise, what happens when a group wants to take away everyone’s tech under the guise of “saving society”, feels eerily close to home in today’s world of digital overload and algorithmic control. The protagonist, Sarah Grimes, is smart, vulnerable, and determined, and watching her navigate the sinister “Center for Behavioral Recognition” kept me completely hooked. The pacing is tight, the stakes are real, and the tension never lets up.
Wagner’s writing is sharp, immersive, and full of subtle commentary. She never hits you over the head with a message, but it’s all there, quietly unsettling and thought-provoking in the best way.
If you’re into dystopian fiction with brains and heart, something that echoes classics like 1984 or The Handmaid’s Tale, but with a modern twist, this one’s for you.
Highly recommend.
Go read Go Back. Then sit with it. Then talk about it.
January 7, 2026
A Sharp, Unsettling Dystopian Thriller That Feels Uncomfortably Close to Home
Go Back delivers a chilling and timely exploration of control, technology, and resistance. Emily Wagner crafts a tense narrative that pulls readers into a world where convenience becomes captivity and questioning authority comes at a dangerous cost. Sarah Grimes is a compelling protagonist whose fight for autonomy mirrors modern fears around surveillance, misinformation, and enforced compliance. The pacing is tight, the stakes escalate naturally, and the psychological pressure inside the detox center is particularly haunting. This is dystopian fiction that does not rely on spectacle alone, but on ideas that linger long after the final page.
Go Back delivers a chilling and timely exploration of control, technology, and resistance. Emily Wagner crafts a tense narrative that pulls readers into a world where convenience becomes captivity and questioning authority comes at a dangerous cost. Sarah Grimes is a compelling protagonist whose fight for autonomy mirrors modern fears around surveillance, misinformation, and enforced compliance. The pacing is tight, the stakes escalate naturally, and the psychological pressure inside the detox center is particularly haunting. This is dystopian fiction that does not rely on spectacle alone, but on ideas that linger long after the final page.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews