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2043 A.D.
In 2016 after riots, looting, martial law, and then civil war, the economy was crippled and the upcoming elections were delayed indefinitely. Well-armed citizens fought against anti-gun citizens. Survivalists bugged out, leaving the city folk to fight to the death. The military was called in to handle what the National Guard couldn't. America's enemies saw this as the perfect time to strike.
Large population centers and capital cities were nuked. Bio-Chemical weapons were unleashed on the east coast. America's allies and enemies attacked each other, launching world war three, which stopped soon after it began. The devastation was too overwhelming. The combatants ceased in horror.
The least damaged areas in the U.S. began to pick up the pieces and rebuild over the years. Many instituted new forms of government. Orange County in southern California took over governing the state after the nuclear annihilation of Sacramento and Los Angeles. The county administrator (who declined to call himself Governor) implemented a new monetary system, a new justice department, a plethora of new laws, and new methods of law enforcement.
He also formed the Department of Equal Opportunity which he tasked with creating solutions to eradicate inequality and economic disparity so as to prevent the social injustices that had plagued the U.S. before the many wars and eventually made the destruction of a once great nation possible.
By the year 2043, Orange County was considered by other territories to be thriving and leading the way to the rebirth of America. After succeeding in nearly eliminating violent crime, the next goal of the DEO was to identify young citizens who seemed to be normal now but could possibly become the criminals and sociopaths of the future. If they could find them, they believed they could fix them.
They started with four teenagers.
Large population centers and capital cities were nuked. Bio-Chemical weapons were unleashed on the east coast. America's allies and enemies attacked each other, launching world war three, which stopped soon after it began. The devastation was too overwhelming. The combatants ceased in horror.
The least damaged areas in the U.S. began to pick up the pieces and rebuild over the years. Many instituted new forms of government. Orange County in southern California took over governing the state after the nuclear annihilation of Sacramento and Los Angeles. The county administrator (who declined to call himself Governor) implemented a new monetary system, a new justice department, a plethora of new laws, and new methods of law enforcement.
He also formed the Department of Equal Opportunity which he tasked with creating solutions to eradicate inequality and economic disparity so as to prevent the social injustices that had plagued the U.S. before the many wars and eventually made the destruction of a once great nation possible.
By the year 2043, Orange County was considered by other territories to be thriving and leading the way to the rebirth of America. After succeeding in nearly eliminating violent crime, the next goal of the DEO was to identify young citizens who seemed to be normal now but could possibly become the criminals and sociopaths of the future. If they could find them, they believed they could fix them.
They started with four teenagers.
376 pages, Paperback
First published June 19, 2015
5 people are currently reading
499 people want to read
About the author
Edward M. Wolfe
21 books50 followersAuthor of a variety of science fiction sub-genres.
ACX audiobook producer/narrator.
ACX audiobook producer/narrator.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 18, 2015
I was honored to receive an ARC (advanced review copy) of ‘2043 A.D.’ by Edward M. Wolfe. My copy had a different title than the final product, but I’m assured that the content remained unchanged. Having read and reviewed two previous novels by this author (‘In The End’ and ‘Reaching Kendra’) I expected a great reading experience. I didn’t get a great reading experience. Instead, I enjoyed a brilliantly written, completely realistic story about how our world might look just twenty-eight years from now!
The story begins after a bloody, global revolution in 2016 that sparked WWIII and decimated the world’s populations. Trillions of acres of rural and urban landscapes were contaminated or destroyed. Entire countries had been wiped off the map. In the US, after the bullets and missiles stopped flying, small pockets of survivors had begun to pick up the pieces, notably among these was Orange County in Southern California. By 2043, Orange County was thriving and leading the way to a rebirth of America.
At chapter one, Mr. Wolfe wastes no time shifting into high gear and it’s a roller coaster ride from that point on. I’m keen on a couple of aspects of novel writing. One of these is verisimilitude and the other is characterization. Of the first, Mr. Wolfe is a veritable master. He executes every competency that makes for a successful novelist with ease. From premise to setting, plotting, action and characterization, his writing is as realistic as anyone can get in a work of fiction. The tale begins as four teenagers become ensnared in a new government program designed to rehabilitate potential criminals before they become such. The government’s methods are high tech, but medieval in effect. The four are relatively quickly reduced to two, then one (Darren) but each of them is perfectly illustrated. I don’t know, but I’d bet the author has teenagers at home and he has paid very close attention to how they act and talk. Other notable and clearly defined characters are Charlie, Darren’s grandfather, Kathleen—his mother and Michele, his girlfriend.
‘2043 A.D.’ is a high grade, science fiction, dystopic society thriller that I highly recommend. You’ll recognize current events that could lead to the revolution and it will take very little imagination to picture the world Mr. Wolfe describes. Although a sequel could come, the end of this story is conclusive and the book stands on its on. I love that, too.
The story begins after a bloody, global revolution in 2016 that sparked WWIII and decimated the world’s populations. Trillions of acres of rural and urban landscapes were contaminated or destroyed. Entire countries had been wiped off the map. In the US, after the bullets and missiles stopped flying, small pockets of survivors had begun to pick up the pieces, notably among these was Orange County in Southern California. By 2043, Orange County was thriving and leading the way to a rebirth of America.
At chapter one, Mr. Wolfe wastes no time shifting into high gear and it’s a roller coaster ride from that point on. I’m keen on a couple of aspects of novel writing. One of these is verisimilitude and the other is characterization. Of the first, Mr. Wolfe is a veritable master. He executes every competency that makes for a successful novelist with ease. From premise to setting, plotting, action and characterization, his writing is as realistic as anyone can get in a work of fiction. The tale begins as four teenagers become ensnared in a new government program designed to rehabilitate potential criminals before they become such. The government’s methods are high tech, but medieval in effect. The four are relatively quickly reduced to two, then one (Darren) but each of them is perfectly illustrated. I don’t know, but I’d bet the author has teenagers at home and he has paid very close attention to how they act and talk. Other notable and clearly defined characters are Charlie, Darren’s grandfather, Kathleen—his mother and Michele, his girlfriend.
‘2043 A.D.’ is a high grade, science fiction, dystopic society thriller that I highly recommend. You’ll recognize current events that could lead to the revolution and it will take very little imagination to picture the world Mr. Wolfe describes. Although a sequel could come, the end of this story is conclusive and the book stands on its on. I love that, too.
December 7, 2015
4.75 stars
Has the Big Brother ever left us?
How will America be in 2043?
Edward M Wolfe brings us an interesting story about a high IQ teenager who does not conform to the new society rules, as does not his grandfather.
A wrong look to the EGG, the new police, and boom! His life will never be the same anymore.
Should I classify this book as dark? Or hopeful? Or thoughtful?
Maybe all the three together, tending to the darker side of a dystopian sci-fi novel. The reflection on nowadays society is what makes it so interesting!
Has the Big Brother ever left us?
How will America be in 2043?
Edward M Wolfe brings us an interesting story about a high IQ teenager who does not conform to the new society rules, as does not his grandfather.
A wrong look to the EGG, the new police, and boom! His life will never be the same anymore.
Should I classify this book as dark? Or hopeful? Or thoughtful?
Maybe all the three together, tending to the darker side of a dystopian sci-fi novel. The reflection on nowadays society is what makes it so interesting!
November 28, 2017
Wolfe always chooses thought-provoking story lines. Deron is the introverted teenager of a single mother. He has a crush on Michelle, who wants to fit in with the popular crowd, and Charlie is Deron’s grandfather, who remembers the last war and is disgusted with the current authoritarian government. These three will soon find themselves on the run after an incident searching for a “free zone” where a person’s every action isn’t monitored. This is a page turner and I had no idea how the story would end. I usually don’t read dystopian fiction, though it serves as an essential warning. The technology was imaginative and had a prescient feel to it. I do think that the portrayal of female characters was not as multi-dimensional as the males and it’s a cliché when females are typically the victims, though, in a way, all the characters were victims of this oppressive society. I did find it initially difficult to keep track of all the characters but I liked that there were some older, wiser ones. Overall, this was an interesting, unpredictable dystopian tale.
March 25, 2016
Once again Edward Wolfe delivers a real page-turner of a novel that had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end wondering what was going to happen next. The central characters, Deron, Charlie, Kathleen and Michelle are beautifully described and I was immediately absorbed in their lives and hoping that things would turn out well for them. We are not meant to like the two main villains, Drake Austin and Dr. Fielding, and we don’t, and they have been skilfully drawn so that each is evil but in a completely different way. Dr. Fielding encapsulates the dystopian nature of the Orange County society of 2043, while Drake Austin displays its evilness at a micro level. Drake Austin is meant to be chilling and he is.
Some people might get the idea from the book description that the story focuses on the wider picture of this dystopia, but in fact the story is told very much through the four main characters – how this society affects them personally and how they finally react to it. The author does a brilliant job of balancing the emphasis between the four main characters and the supporting cast, so that the other characters don’t overpower Deron and his circle, but nevertheless their stories are interesting in themselves. There are some lovely side vignettes such as the police crews and their operations.
As a huge fan of Edward Wolfe’s apocalyptic novel, In the End, I found plenty to like in 2043 A.D. and I think that other In the End fans will also very much enjoy Edward Wolfe’s latest novel.
Highly recommended.
Some people might get the idea from the book description that the story focuses on the wider picture of this dystopia, but in fact the story is told very much through the four main characters – how this society affects them personally and how they finally react to it. The author does a brilliant job of balancing the emphasis between the four main characters and the supporting cast, so that the other characters don’t overpower Deron and his circle, but nevertheless their stories are interesting in themselves. There are some lovely side vignettes such as the police crews and their operations.
As a huge fan of Edward Wolfe’s apocalyptic novel, In the End, I found plenty to like in 2043 A.D. and I think that other In the End fans will also very much enjoy Edward Wolfe’s latest novel.
Highly recommended.
June 20, 2015
2043 is a wonderfully written, suspenseful, and terrifying book. The story is about a seventeen-year-old boy who marches to the beat of his own drum. After nuclear war and the fall of civilization, the government is rebuilt in Orange County, California, where they monitor every minute of the lives of its citizens in order to ensure equality for all. Which is a huge problem because no one has a shred of privacy anymore. The main character, Darren Young, lives a life of solitude, spending his free time reading. He unfortunately gets flagged by the government for being anti-social, so he's forced into a rehabilitation program that will surely ruin his life. I don't want to give away too much of the story though, so I won't say anymore.
The supporting characters are really well-defined and bring the story together to show how fully the government has control over everyone. As I was reading, I was wondering how there could possibly be a happy ending because there seemed to be no way to live harmoniously is such a toxic environment. You'll have to read the book to find out how things unfold for Darren Young. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who like books that make you think. This one will definitely make you sit back and think about the world we live in.
The supporting characters are really well-defined and bring the story together to show how fully the government has control over everyone. As I was reading, I was wondering how there could possibly be a happy ending because there seemed to be no way to live harmoniously is such a toxic environment. You'll have to read the book to find out how things unfold for Darren Young. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who like books that make you think. This one will definitely make you sit back and think about the world we live in.
July 13, 2015
Edward M. Wolf is a talented writer with an ability to dig out a current social theme and then extrapolate, pushing the idea's envelope to the extreme. The story in 2043A.D. doesn't shy away from its premise and this allowed the writer room to develop some intriguing situations.
Although I have only given the story 3 stars I did enjoy it. But as I read I found myself asking for more depth, more insight into the speculation. If I were asked, who the book was aimed at, I'd say it was Young Adult. That's not a bad thing, and those individuals that might fall into that category would be hard pressed to find a better book dealing with the themes here, but as an adult reader, I wanted more.
I have had the pleasure of reading several of Mr Wolfe's novels and shorter work, and I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more from him.
Solid read, with interesting themes.
Although I have only given the story 3 stars I did enjoy it. But as I read I found myself asking for more depth, more insight into the speculation. If I were asked, who the book was aimed at, I'd say it was Young Adult. That's not a bad thing, and those individuals that might fall into that category would be hard pressed to find a better book dealing with the themes here, but as an adult reader, I wanted more.
I have had the pleasure of reading several of Mr Wolfe's novels and shorter work, and I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more from him.
Solid read, with interesting themes.
August 26, 2015
It’s hard to describe this book. Not much happened until the end, which was then rushed as if the author realised that he had been rambling on without any real direction. It tries to be an observational piece about a possible future, but fails in this area too. There is little action, little character development, with many of them being bland boring images and only certain interesting things being revealed at the end. There are attempts at recreating an Orwellian society in the book, it doesn’t quiet work out as there some inconsistencies and lack of description about the way society works. It could have been more than it turned out to be.
September 8, 2015
Thank you Goodreads for sending me this book. I absolutely loved this read. I had not read the authors previous novels, but that did not matter. The book is obviously set in the future after a nuclear war, and it is very believable, whilst at the same time very frightening and at times unnerving. It certainly made me think the main character Deron really has to fight for what he believes & for his survival. The book deals with many moral issues. Once again, thanks for sending me this book; I thoroughly recommend it.
October 13, 2015
I received this book on a good reads give away.
The protagonist, Darren Young, lives a life of solitude spending his free time reading. Unfortunately, he gets flagged by the government for being anti-social, so he's forced into a rehabilitation program that will surely ruin his life..
The story was realistic and I enjoyed the journey but I feel it lacked depth and was rushed near the ending, hence 4 stars.
The protagonist, Darren Young, lives a life of solitude spending his free time reading. Unfortunately, he gets flagged by the government for being anti-social, so he's forced into a rehabilitation program that will surely ruin his life..
The story was realistic and I enjoyed the journey but I feel it lacked depth and was rushed near the ending, hence 4 stars.
November 10, 2015
The dream police, they're coming to arrest me, oh no..
A little like 1984, a little like Minority Report.
In the future, people are sheep, becoming less intelligent, and more 'politically correct'.
A program is started to identify and 'modify' those considered at risk for future problems.
Results: interesting and fairly well-written, though not on par with '1984'. I'd probably try something else by this author.
A little like 1984, a little like Minority Report.
In the future, people are sheep, becoming less intelligent, and more 'politically correct'.
A program is started to identify and 'modify' those considered at risk for future problems.
Results: interesting and fairly well-written, though not on par with '1984'. I'd probably try something else by this author.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews