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Greenfields: A Novella
Set in the future in the fictional land of Aradmore, this story by William Graham (author of "The Red Planet Trilogy" and the "The Red Planet President") chronicles the struggles of James and Helena and their family. After a climate disaster, society is now run by a group of corporate leaders called the Titans, who live in gleaming cities while ordinary workers like James and Helena are forced to live in Reservations. All laws are made and privileges are held by the Titans. No one is allowed to live past the age of seventy-five. Residents of the Reservation struggle to survive. But James and Helena decide they must break away and they leave on a trek to the district of Greenfields, where they can start their lives over again. "Greenfields" is a thrilling story of how one family fights to overcome social injustice. Also see William Graham's "A Clear View: Collected Novellas."
53 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 18, 2015
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14 people want to read
About the author
William Graham
78 books69 followersPoet, novelist, and travel writer William Graham holds a BA and MA in English and a MS in Communication from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He lives in Stowe, Vermont.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 12, 2017
Review for Greenfields is long overdue. I think it was back in May that I promised to read it in a month :/
To be fair, author did send it to my Audible US account instead of UK so... there you go. Don't mix up letters, kids. Or countries :)
As for the book, I pretty much liked it. It wasn't extravagant in any way, but promises an interesting sequel.
Already mentioning a sequel, huh? It's probably because of the abrupt ending. Not dedicating more than a page to an epilogue seriously docked a whole star out of my enjoyment.
The introduction is good, though. Dystopian to my liking.
No spoilers, but humanity survived a disaster. Ones who lived, flocked to powerful Titans (Talk about ego!) who are essentially wealthy and entitled . And they get jobs - if it will please Titans in any way. Or not - if not.
Make Titans great again!
Well, some people didn't like that and tried to make a difference. Since bodies can't really function with bullet holes in them, some other people who were also unhappy tried a different approach. They chased the elusive Greenfields.
No one was ever there. Or, at least, there wasn't any proof of it. Most people haven't even heard of it, but determined few decided to find it.
And so the journey begins!
But it's nearly the end of the book now, and we come to that above-mentioned abrupt ending >_<
Annoying as hell. And it's written in 2015, so we know there's no sequel. And there won't be one.
What's going for the book is that it's short. Super-short. 74 minutes. And the narrator is good. And the story could have been very good.
After all experienced, it's a hit and miss. 3* is both generous and not.
This book has been provided to me free of charge by the author.
To be fair, author did send it to my Audible US account instead of UK so... there you go. Don't mix up letters, kids. Or countries :)
As for the book, I pretty much liked it. It wasn't extravagant in any way, but promises an interesting sequel.
Already mentioning a sequel, huh? It's probably because of the abrupt ending. Not dedicating more than a page to an epilogue seriously docked a whole star out of my enjoyment.
The introduction is good, though. Dystopian to my liking.
No spoilers, but humanity survived a disaster. Ones who lived, flocked to powerful Titans (Talk about ego!) who are essentially wealthy and entitled . And they get jobs - if it will please Titans in any way. Or not - if not.
Make Titans great again!
Well, some people didn't like that and tried to make a difference. Since bodies can't really function with bullet holes in them, some other people who were also unhappy tried a different approach. They chased the elusive Greenfields.
No one was ever there. Or, at least, there wasn't any proof of it. Most people haven't even heard of it, but determined few decided to find it.
And so the journey begins!
But it's nearly the end of the book now, and we come to that above-mentioned abrupt ending >_<
Annoying as hell. And it's written in 2015, so we know there's no sequel. And there won't be one.
What's going for the book is that it's short. Super-short. 74 minutes. And the narrator is good. And the story could have been very good.
After all experienced, it's a hit and miss. 3* is both generous and not.
This book has been provided to me free of charge by the author.
October 20, 2017
I was pleasantly surprised by Greenfields. At 77 pages it’s a lot shorter than what I usually read, but its length allowed me to fully enjoy it by listening without interruption.
It’s a dystopian (yay!) novella set in a fictional land called Aradmore. We follow James and Helena as they decide to restart their lives in Greenfields, a place they’re not even sure exists but must be better than the conditions they’re forced to live in. It’s easy to spoil the story, so I’ll just leave a quote from the book which shows how similar Aradmore and its people are to our own:
"Once you see the workers as human beings with names and histories and not just as numbered resources, you cannot come to any other conclusion that we must to something to help them."
I was sad the book ended, really. We’re not told details of how things work or how society got to that point, but we don’t need them: the world of James and Helena feels real and relatable even without lengthy explanations. William Graham did a wonderful job building a world and telling a story in a straightforward way, but it’s easy to see how “Greenfields” could be developed into a much larger one.
About narration, I didn’t feel as if Michael Gilboe did his best job in the dialogues and that brought narration points down a few notches. His voice is crisp and clear and worked great for descriptive parts, but I didn’t feel much emotion from the characters even though I could tell them apart. They didn’t sound angry or tired or even in pain in scenes I imagine they would be, and that disappointed me a little. A little more voice acting would make listening to this book even better.
“Greenfields” is a book I received for free from the author in exchange for an unbiased review, and one I’ll recommend and which made me want to check more of William Graham’s work.
It’s a dystopian (yay!) novella set in a fictional land called Aradmore. We follow James and Helena as they decide to restart their lives in Greenfields, a place they’re not even sure exists but must be better than the conditions they’re forced to live in. It’s easy to spoil the story, so I’ll just leave a quote from the book which shows how similar Aradmore and its people are to our own:
"Once you see the workers as human beings with names and histories and not just as numbered resources, you cannot come to any other conclusion that we must to something to help them."
I was sad the book ended, really. We’re not told details of how things work or how society got to that point, but we don’t need them: the world of James and Helena feels real and relatable even without lengthy explanations. William Graham did a wonderful job building a world and telling a story in a straightforward way, but it’s easy to see how “Greenfields” could be developed into a much larger one.
About narration, I didn’t feel as if Michael Gilboe did his best job in the dialogues and that brought narration points down a few notches. His voice is crisp and clear and worked great for descriptive parts, but I didn’t feel much emotion from the characters even though I could tell them apart. They didn’t sound angry or tired or even in pain in scenes I imagine they would be, and that disappointed me a little. A little more voice acting would make listening to this book even better.
“Greenfields” is a book I received for free from the author in exchange for an unbiased review, and one I’ll recommend and which made me want to check more of William Graham’s work.
August 1, 2015
After the Great Migration of Aradmore, people were grouped by social status. The wealthy were known as the Titans, and controlled the land and water. They sent everyone else to Reservations to keep them in a servitude status. In one reservation known as the Greenfields District, James decides enough is enough and seeks a better place, so his family can do more than just survive.
I enjoyed getting to know James and the circumstance he found himself in. This was an easy plot to follow, but was a little too short. I feel it needed to be longer for full character development. I would like to have learned a bit more about James’ family and the struggle of the surrounding characters. Even so, I still could feel the hopelessness they felt. I hope the story continues because it really was interesting with likeable characters.
I enjoyed getting to know James and the circumstance he found himself in. This was an easy plot to follow, but was a little too short. I feel it needed to be longer for full character development. I would like to have learned a bit more about James’ family and the struggle of the surrounding characters. Even so, I still could feel the hopelessness they felt. I hope the story continues because it really was interesting with likeable characters.
May 27, 2017
Greenfields: A Novella by William Graham was a pretty good quick read. This novella was set in the future and follows the struggles of James and Helena. I enjoyed reading this novella.
May 19, 2017
I love that William Graham book start with a short chapter that tells you about the world the story is based in. Getting this information upfront lets you launch right into the story and when the story is short this is a big bonus.
The world in this story is pretty much a lesson in what happens when people let power go to their heads, some of the decisions made are mind-boggling.
But it's not all doom and gloom, James and Helena are not content to live their lives being repressed and set out to change their circumstances. Their inner strength and determination show what can be achieved when you're not prepared to accept failure.
It's a really interesting little book.
I'm a bit on the fence with the narration, it was OK, it didn't detract from the book, but I found the character voices a bit stilted at times. Perhaps this was intentional on Michael's behalf and is supposed to show snobbery but I found it a bit off-putting.
This book was supplied free by the author/narrator/publisher and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
The world in this story is pretty much a lesson in what happens when people let power go to their heads, some of the decisions made are mind-boggling.
But it's not all doom and gloom, James and Helena are not content to live their lives being repressed and set out to change their circumstances. Their inner strength and determination show what can be achieved when you're not prepared to accept failure.
It's a really interesting little book.
I'm a bit on the fence with the narration, it was OK, it didn't detract from the book, but I found the character voices a bit stilted at times. Perhaps this was intentional on Michael's behalf and is supposed to show snobbery but I found it a bit off-putting.
This book was supplied free by the author/narrator/publisher and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
June 3, 2017
I recieved this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
This was a very good reinterpretation of the American Dream. A repressed family fights to become self sufficient and living happily. It was a nice novella.
This was a very good reinterpretation of the American Dream. A repressed family fights to become self sufficient and living happily. It was a nice novella.
June 9, 2017
3.5/5 stars
This novella is set in the fictional land of Aradmore and tells the story of a society formed after years of drought gave a group of wealthy men - the Titans - the opportunity to take over and oppress the rest of the people, who were already struggling to make ends meet. They bought up all the land and are controlling everything; food supplies, business, employment, politics, law,…
The Titans and their associates live in big, walled cities, while the rest of the people live in reservations completely controlled by the Titans. They’re not allowed to move freely and have to work for the Titans.
The story follows James, Helena and their 3 children, who dream of a better life in the so-called Greenfields district. Nobody knows if this place, a supposedly free and independent society, really exists, but James and Helena are willing to take a chance…
The world building in this novella is very well done, the author gives an elaborate explanation of the way this society works and describes how politics, law, employment,… are organized. It’s an interesting concept and I think it would be a great base for a full length novel. This would not only allow the author to further elaborate on the Aradmore world, but also give him the opportunity to focus more on the development of the characters in the story, which I missed a bit in the novella, due to its short length. It would also give him the chance to continue the story at the point the novella actually ends, as I think it would be a nice addition to the story. Overall: very interesting story, but too short to come to its full potential.
I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Michael Gilboe (length 1h14). The narration was well done, although the pace was quite fast, I’d preferred it to be a bit slower, but the fact that English isn’t my native language might have something to do with that.
The author provided me with a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed are my own.
This novella is set in the fictional land of Aradmore and tells the story of a society formed after years of drought gave a group of wealthy men - the Titans - the opportunity to take over and oppress the rest of the people, who were already struggling to make ends meet. They bought up all the land and are controlling everything; food supplies, business, employment, politics, law,…
The Titans and their associates live in big, walled cities, while the rest of the people live in reservations completely controlled by the Titans. They’re not allowed to move freely and have to work for the Titans.
The story follows James, Helena and their 3 children, who dream of a better life in the so-called Greenfields district. Nobody knows if this place, a supposedly free and independent society, really exists, but James and Helena are willing to take a chance…
The world building in this novella is very well done, the author gives an elaborate explanation of the way this society works and describes how politics, law, employment,… are organized. It’s an interesting concept and I think it would be a great base for a full length novel. This would not only allow the author to further elaborate on the Aradmore world, but also give him the opportunity to focus more on the development of the characters in the story, which I missed a bit in the novella, due to its short length. It would also give him the chance to continue the story at the point the novella actually ends, as I think it would be a nice addition to the story. Overall: very interesting story, but too short to come to its full potential.
I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Michael Gilboe (length 1h14). The narration was well done, although the pace was quite fast, I’d preferred it to be a bit slower, but the fact that English isn’t my native language might have something to do with that.
The author provided me with a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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June 1, 2019See what the reviewers are saying below:
In the land of Aradmore, a great migration has decimated the land's fields. Families lose farms, social chaos begins, and a group of wealthy individuals, seeing opportunity in adversity, buy up land, create corporate entities, and place the former landowners on reservations owned by 'the titans'.
Only the people of Greenfields have resisted the lure of these reservations to stay firmly on their lands and in control of their businesses. One special family (the subject of attention) could change the structure of a world that is polarized between urban privileged titans and the surfs who are restricted in freedom and opportunities on reservations.
In this present world of changing climate and drought, the futuristic setting of Greenfields feels all too possible. This lends a special, compelling fascination to a story which comes alive in audio format.
Narrator Michael Gilboe is clear, brisk, and easy to understand, adding quiet drama to the story which creates its setting in a prologue, then moves to an opening chapter which tells of a doctor's treatment of an inexplicable gunshot wound and its ramifications.
Gilboe does more than provide a straightforward reading: he changes his voice to reflect each character's dialogue, and so his reading assumes the tone of a dramatic presentation; not a monologue. Only a multi-voiced production could have done better (at times the feel of a male reader adopting the high voice of a female character's dialogue comes across as somewhat forced).
Food shortages, reservation hardships, character interactions: all this blends in a fine novella detailing how one family struggles with injustice and makes decisions that will ultimately change the world.
Diane Donovan
Midwest Book Review
In the land of Aradmore, a great migration has decimated the land's fields. Families lose farms, social chaos begins, and a group of wealthy individuals, seeing opportunity in adversity, buy up land, create corporate entities, and place the former landowners on reservations owned by 'the titans'.
Only the people of Greenfields have resisted the lure of these reservations to stay firmly on their lands and in control of their businesses. One special family (the subject of attention) could change the structure of a world that is polarized between urban privileged titans and the surfs who are restricted in freedom and opportunities on reservations.
In this present world of changing climate and drought, the futuristic setting of Greenfields feels all too possible. This lends a special, compelling fascination to a story which comes alive in audio format.
Narrator Michael Gilboe is clear, brisk, and easy to understand, adding quiet drama to the story which creates its setting in a prologue, then moves to an opening chapter which tells of a doctor's treatment of an inexplicable gunshot wound and its ramifications.
Gilboe does more than provide a straightforward reading: he changes his voice to reflect each character's dialogue, and so his reading assumes the tone of a dramatic presentation; not a monologue. Only a multi-voiced production could have done better (at times the feel of a male reader adopting the high voice of a female character's dialogue comes across as somewhat forced).
Food shortages, reservation hardships, character interactions: all this blends in a fine novella detailing how one family struggles with injustice and makes decisions that will ultimately change the world.
Diane Donovan
Midwest Book Review
July 22, 2015
In the land of Aradmore, a great migration has decimated the land's fields. Families lose farms, social chaos begins, and a group of wealthy individuals, seeing opportunity in adversity, buy up land, create corporate entities, and place the former landowners on reservations owned by 'the titans'.
Only the people of Greenfields have resisted the lure of these reservations to stay firmly on their lands and in control of their businesses. Only they will enjoy freedom - as well as the special challenges in maintaining it. And one special family (the subject of attention in Greenfields) could change the structure of a world that is polarized between urban privileged titans and the surfs who are restricted in freedom and opportunities on reservations.
In this present world of changing climate and drought, the futuristic setting of Greenfields feels all too possible. This lends a special, compelling fascination to a story which comes alive in audio format.
Narrator Michael Gilboe is clear, brisk, and easy to understand, adding quiet drama to the story which creates its setting in a prologue, then moves to an opening chapter which tells of a doctor's treatment of an inexplicable gunshot wound and its ramifications.
Gilboe does more than provide a straightforward reading: he changes his voice to reflect each character's dialogue, and so his reading assumes the tone of a dramatic presentation; not a monologue. Only a multi-voiced production could have done better (at times the feel of a male reader adopting the high voice of a female character's dialogue comes across as somewhat forced).
Food shortages, reservation hardships, character interactions: all this blends in a fine novella detailing how one family struggles with injustice and makes decisions that will ultimately change the world.
Only the people of Greenfields have resisted the lure of these reservations to stay firmly on their lands and in control of their businesses. Only they will enjoy freedom - as well as the special challenges in maintaining it. And one special family (the subject of attention in Greenfields) could change the structure of a world that is polarized between urban privileged titans and the surfs who are restricted in freedom and opportunities on reservations.
In this present world of changing climate and drought, the futuristic setting of Greenfields feels all too possible. This lends a special, compelling fascination to a story which comes alive in audio format.
Narrator Michael Gilboe is clear, brisk, and easy to understand, adding quiet drama to the story which creates its setting in a prologue, then moves to an opening chapter which tells of a doctor's treatment of an inexplicable gunshot wound and its ramifications.
Gilboe does more than provide a straightforward reading: he changes his voice to reflect each character's dialogue, and so his reading assumes the tone of a dramatic presentation; not a monologue. Only a multi-voiced production could have done better (at times the feel of a male reader adopting the high voice of a female character's dialogue comes across as somewhat forced).
Food shortages, reservation hardships, character interactions: all this blends in a fine novella detailing how one family struggles with injustice and makes decisions that will ultimately change the world.
July 15, 2015
Greenfields is an alternate universe story where the world is controlled by Titans. Titans of industry who abuse their power and don’t acknowledge the struggle of the people outside their walled cities. The poor are forced to live on Reservations where they work and live. All food is controlled by the Titans and the population on the Reservations are starving and trying to make it the only way they can. We follow one man’s struggle to do what’s best for himself as well as his family.
This Novella is a great story that could be used as a prequel to a new series. I haven’t read anything by this author before but I found his writing style unique, though I did find a couple of typos. I certainly agree that this book was worth the price. If he decided to make it into a series, I would definitely pick up the next book.
This Novella is a great story that could be used as a prequel to a new series. I haven’t read anything by this author before but I found his writing style unique, though I did find a couple of typos. I certainly agree that this book was worth the price. If he decided to make it into a series, I would definitely pick up the next book.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews