Futuretrack 5

by Robert Westall

In the highly organized society of twenty-first-century Britain the system is not to be questioned, but Kitson, a young computer wizard, and his partner Keri are determined to find answers to some important questions.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, 20th Century

276 pages, Library Binding

First published September 29, 1983

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Robert Westall was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England in 1929.

His first published book The Machine Gunners (1975) which won him the Carnegie Medal is set in World War Two when a group of children living on Tyneside retrieve a machine-gun from a crashed German aircraft. He won the Carnegie Medal again in 1981 for The Scarecrows, the first writer to win it twice. He won the Smarties Prize in 1989 for Blitzcat and the Guardian Award in 1990 for The Kingdom by the Sea. Robert Westall's books have been published in 21 different countries and in 18 different languages, including Braille.

From: http://www.robertwestall.com/

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was 9 (so that was 1983/84). 1999 (the year in which the novel is set) was still the far future and this novel completely captivated me. I think it really turned me on to reading. The themes of dystopian future, social engineering, technological progress coupled with a police state were ones that I revisited many times with more 'grown up' books (1984, Brave New World, The Hand Maids Tale etc). It is scary that so much of what the novel predicted is now true (big brother, sat nav, the re-introduction of wolves, reduced social mobility, all pervading technology). Henry Kitson is a sexual character (I think the librarian in my primary school might have missed that bit) and I credit Westall's description of him giving me my first clear understanding of where my sexuality would develop. A brilliant, brilliant book considering the age group it was written for.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it as a kid and adult. I still savour the story, imagery and ideas. Would make awesome sci-fi film. Probably my favourite book.

[Alex Ankarr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. This coulda been great, but he let it spiral off out of control into a ferociously cliched ending.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read this book in grade school it left an indelible mark, such that it still stuck with me more than a decade later despite forgetting the title and author and most of the plot. Finally rediscovering and rereading it has only given me a greater appreciation. The decent imagery and even nuance that characterize the writing and plot was largely lost on my ten year old self. For example, I had remembered the ending as a total downer, a defeat. Recognizing it as the assumption of adult responsibility this time around was pretty peak.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early 80s future dystopia, where Britain has been artificially split into formal castes, all of whom are subject to extremely harsh rules and instant punishment (the lobo-farms). One young man embarks on an odyssey across the three castes, to find out what is rotten at the core of the system and attempt to change it for the better.

This is a short little book, and Westall obviously has some Things He Wants to Say, which occasionally get in the way of the story and kead to sudden lurches and inconsitencies in the setting, which make it jar a bit. There is also some disturbing racism where it comes to the descriptionsof the Gurkha enforcers, which of course I didn't notice when I read this as a kid many years ago.

Not as good as some dystopian fiction, but a nice little return to a book that had stuck in my head for 25 years.

Rated M for violence, adult themes, sex scenes. 2.5/5

[Robertj · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are bound more to our destiny that our upbringing. And biker chick are cool

[Bahia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting distopian novel with good commentary on England’s class system. The main character is a bit of a Holden Caulfield, but I enjoyed the world building and intrigue.

[Ted Goldstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book on a whim from a library sale table for my 10 year old son to read. He enjoyed it and recommended to me, so I read it also. I was overall quite impressed. Reading reviews on Amazon it appears to be somewhat of an overlooked young adult classic. Not so many people have heard of it, but those who have read it, loved it.
Part Mad Max, part THX1138, and many parts all its own, this book takes place in a future England (it ends in 2012) where society is strictly divided into different classes. There are the Ests, these are the rich, elite educated class who enjoy comfortable homes in fancy estates, leisure time recreation and travel. Then there are the Unems who live in poverty and squalor in a violent urban society. Birth rates among the Unems are low, and death rates are high. The Ests suffer from birth rates higher than their system can maintain, so at the age of 21 all Ests are required to take E-level exams. Those scoring too low are cast out (through the “wire”) to become Unems. Those scoring high enough remain Ests, and those scoring perfect are destined to become Techs, a secret class of engineers and technicians that create and maintain all the advanced technologies that keep the society running. Although violence and death is a regular part of everyday life for the Unems, there are still laws and rules and those found breaking them are immediately whisked away by Paramils to a “lobo farm” where they are reduced to passive house servants for the Ests. The title refers to “Futuretracks” or job paths that some of the Unems take, including entertainment, competitive pinball, prostitution or deadly motorcycle racing (Futuretrack 5). The main character, Henry Kitson, is born an Est, but scores 100% on his E levels and becomes a Tech and begins to learn the secrets of how things are run, but there is one big secret he can not find out concerning a mysterious Scott-Astbury and his “big mistake”. Bright, clever, strong and resourceful, Henry is not satisfied to babysit the main computer, “Laura” and her senile creator and decides to leave the system and find out what is really going on. He adventures outside of “the wire” with his Unem companion Keri and, showing his abilities to adapt and succeed at whatever challenges face him, discovers an entire world outside his previous life and teachings. His discoveries, and his subsequent decision to try to change the world for the better left me with a lot to think about, and sparked some interesting discussions in our household on the role of government and the merits of free will in society. The ending is far from black and white and could be considered happy, sad or somewhere in between based on your personal interpretation, which I guess is a testament to the depth of this book.

[Dee Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world building in this was exceptional and I enjoyed the characters. It seemed to move a bit slow at first and then the ending just rushed by. I am interested to see if there are any more to the story - either a prequel or sequel because there were questions left unanswered. Throughout the book a mysterious person is mentioned who would seem to have the answers the main character is looking for (and the reader as well) but you never actually see the character nor find out why he is so important. Odd little book but enjoyable is you like dystopian novels.

[Iain Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it, twice. Intoxicating stuff!

[Joel Barnhill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m let down by this book. The great tragedy of it is that there’s the framework of a good book in here, and the moment to moment can be downright genius. But somewhere in between the two, this book lacks substance big time. I loved the idea of the world, and some of the settings were amazing, but our main character can’t decide if he wants to be this or that and the result is a very ungrounded character. Things like the Ests vs the Unems are never explained, and you only find out through context halfway through the book whats going on with that. Characters, ideas, and plot points are brought into the story just long enough to understand and then they’re never brought up again until the end of the story if at all. It could have been a really good story with just a little more fiber holding together all the pieces, but as it is, separate parts of the story just float around, hardly related.

[Lydia murch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well normally i would never have read anything like this but in class we were assigned to read it and i was pleasantly surprised. This book was written a while ago but i still think it manages to keep within the same tone as modern authors. This was yet another first for me because the narrator was a guy, because i tend to just read ya novels the narrator is nearly always a woman. But you know what i still really enjoyed this book, i loved the way the story and scenery was always changing, i love books with adventure in them.

All in all i think this book is really worth at least an attempt at reading, you just be suprised.

[Richard Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel I need to post a disclaimer in the interests of transparency: This is not the first time I've read Futuretrack 5. It's not the second or the third either.... Basically, this is one of my "go to" books when I need a guaranteed good read. So I'm a little biased.
Why do I think Futuretrack 5 is so good? It's a novel which leaves me thinking that if I was just a little bit more intelligent I would completely understand it, as it is the secret hidden in plain sight is perfect and tantalising.
Westall is a fantastic writer and this is amongst his best works, a futuristic tale of a dystopian world that is sadly not as far removed from our own as we'd like to believe.

[Cat. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another YA book, but definitely for older, more sophisticated readers. Set about 20 years in the future--about the dramatic division of Haves & Have-Nots effected by the installation of a centralized computer than runs the whole country of Britain. Eventually the main character figures out that the computer needs to be "taught" ethics, since one of the stratification causes is the plan to eliminate all the genetically predisposed "difficult" (i.e., smart and able to foment rebellion) types from the country. Complicated, but really good.

[Anna Ryan-Punch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for the second time and it’s the absolute best: terrifying boarding schools, religious tea ceremonies, having sex to drive away the police helicopters, scathing class criticism, big f*cking motorbikes, grass roots computer science terrorism and an absolute f*ck you to authority in all its casual and directed cruelty. Love it.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Henry Kilson makes a couple of mistakes in regards to fitting into society. He makes a perfect score on his evaluation test and he becomes a pinball champion. He meets Keli who is a bike racing champion and the two flee to Northern Britain. They have to cope in a futuristic 21st century.

[4D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A glimpse into a future where the world is very much split into us and them depending upon your social standing.

Was one of my favourite books as a teenager.

[Moose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in 1987 when i was 11 - possibly not quite the targeted age category. The older i've got the more chilling the story has become.

[Bilaal Hussain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Westall is great at the fish out of water story, I remember reading this aged 12 and loving it, if you like this you should take a look at 'kingdom by the sea' also by westall

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-enough written dystopia - I enjoyed it but it didn't grip me.

[David M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely my favourite book as a child. I owe my love of good sci fi to this fantastic story.

[Ragnarzero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gutes Steampunk-mäßiges Sci-Fi-Buch