A-Void

by Babak Govan

Those who adapt to environmental changes survive. What happens when the environment changes too fast for us to adapt? In an increasingly fast-paced, near-future world, psychologist Billy Carrington wakes from a nap to discover that he is completely alone. With his all-in-one Organelle smart device, a growing menagerie of animals, and a potentially life-saving vaccine, he crosses the country searching for his wife and child—and for an answer to what happened while he slept. A cautionary tale of our fast-forward world, A-VOID illuminates the risks of accelerating technology and information overload.

Genres: Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Fiction

123 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 13, 2018

About the author

Babak’s writing debuted in North American Review (“Fighting Fish”), and he was a finalist for a Glimmer Train award. His story “Glow,” published in Palo Alto Review, was deemed “flawless” and “brilliant” by Shenandoah literary review. Babak is also a music artist known as Secret Arcade, whose debut electronic rock album, Quarter Century, skyrocketed on college radio. Babak lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children. He is in private practice as a psychologist in both Los Angeles and Portland, OR. He is the originator of moderative psychotherapy.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penned in an economical style and at 130 pages, "A-Void" is nothing short of brilliant.
It's a cautionary tale about the dangers of advancing technology and the constant overload of information.
The stress that this causes. Stress that could eventually lead to self-extinction.
Set in the not-so-distant future after the Los Angeles Civil War, in a world where you have to fill out forms two weeks in advance for emergency leave and where offending anyone is against the rules, Billy Carrington awakes from a nap during a 20 hour shift at the hospital where he works.
He soon discovers that there is NO ONE around. There are animals but not one single human.
He searches for his wife and daughter, Jasmine and Isabella. He can't find anyone.
Billy has with him possible life-saving vaccine against a disease that has been killing people and threatening civilization. He must find his loved ones.
So along with his dog, Cleveland, he sets of towards the safe haven of The Colony, hoping to find his family there.
All without a working "smart" device and no internet! I know. I know.
Brimming with profound observations about human nature and society, this novel could be all-too-real if our increasing dependency on technology persists.
EVERYONE should read this book. Especially those who can unchain themselves from their smartphones for the time required to do so.
Intelligent and intense.
"Those who adapt to environmental changes survive."

This was an ARC giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

[catherine ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thank you to the author for providing a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review!*

Actual Rating: 3.75

Wow. This was really quite something. I've read a bunch of dystopian, post-apocalyptic stories before, but A-Void was different. This was one of those books that really makes you question your priorities, makes you do a double take when you think about getting what you wished for.

A-Void takes place in a world that is fast-paced and technology-dependent. It is also a world where everything has gone wrong. Billy Carrington was simply taking a nap, but when he wakes up, he is all alone. Billy has only three things that keep him afloat:
1. His Organelle, a smart device that does everything. (Everything, really.)
2. Cleveland, his dusty Siberian husky.
and 3. a vaccine that could save him and everyone he loves from the disease sweeping Jamestown.
The problem is, things are moving just a little too fast.

This was definitely a crazy story. I won't lie - I was definitely confused several times, as there is a lot of technical terminology - but overall this really felt like one of those books you could read over and over again, and every time you would discover something hidden. The plot was definitely twisted, and I felt like I was trying to keep up, giving me the same feeling of "information overload" that the book was warning against. At the same time, however, A-Void had its moments where you could really take a deep breath and think about how similar the real world was to the world in the story, and it's definitely an eye-opening comparison.

I didn't exactly love the main character, but in this situation, I was okay with that. I had the same sort of emotion I had towards Montag from Fahrenheit 451 or Winston from 1984. They weren't characters I loved or hated - there were bigger fish to fry, more important lessons to take from the book itself.

The writing style was great, and I felt like the author achieved a really interesting balance between writing and experimentation. There were lists, flowcharts, signs, and other different styles that would be very interesting to look at visually. I've always been a fan of these, but due to the nature of the story, I can't help but also feel like they helped provide a sense of novelty and control pace - which is extremely meta, when you think about it.

Overall, this was a pretty quick read, and I'd definitely recommend it to any readers of dystopia or post-apocalyptic novels, maybe lovers of George Orwell or Ursula Le Guin - A-Void is definitely a book that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Hell, read it to your kids to make them too scared to ask for the iPad.

[Heather Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really made me think about how dependent most people are on their smart devices at the expense of personal relationships and how PC our society is becoming. A-Void is written in a very spare, rapid style-just like how the society that Billy is living in has become-completely dependent on technology, overcome and overwhelmed with information (a lot of it useless), pulled away from their humanity, so politically correct that being able to function in any way is impossible. The story begins with Billy talking about a plague that is killing people. He takes a nap and wakes to discover all the people in Los Angeles seem to be gone. He sets out on a quest to find his wife & daughter who he had taken to a smugglers camp to go to a sanctuary from the disease. Billy’s story alternates between timelines of present and past, of what has happened to society with technology and his life.
Everybody should read this book and hope that this is not our future. Great book! I definitely recommend it......I just wish it was longer because I wanted more! Thanks for the giveaway, this book was fantastic! Well-written, good story, interesting characters-you can’t ask for more in a book!

[A F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those of us brave enough to acknowledge and disturbed enough to witness a world – our world – that is enslaved by the increasingly dangerous impact of information overload and rapid technological advancement will embrace this post-apocalyptic dystopian fiction!

A-Void beautifully reveals such dangers that our society is facing, encouraging its audience to stop and think…just for a moment...about the real issues and consequences surrounding the negative impact of accelerated change on human beings’ adaptability to the environment!

Simply said, this brilliantly crafted cautionary tale captures your mind and your heart, bringing you to the edge of seeing the real truth behind our troubled world…yet planting seeds of hope in making you realize that literature of this kind exists and illustrates that maybe, just maybe, some of us are paying attention and want to see a positive change!

[Kaylin N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Babak Govan is a master storyteller. I highly enjoyed the book and couldn’t put it down! There was a sense of “loss” when I finished his book and I wish the book could go on and on! I loved the mix of detail and story. His detailed descriptions of people/scenes/moods are, to me, unmatched. His characters are believable and his plots and subplots capture current issues and problems that could occur from our fast paced world. This book kept my interest with all the twists and turns. I highly recommend this book and believe that the reader will be a Babak Govan fan for life! If you’re not familiar with this Author, and want to read a FANTASTIC novel, then do check out this book! Very much looking forward to his next masterpiece!

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

While A-Void has a lot of the characteristics you’d expect from a dystopian story, with things changing in a way that leaves the characters off balance and scrambling to figure things out, it felt different. Unlike many dystopian books, I didn’t get the feeling that I’d been here before and could anticipate what was coming next. Along with Billy, the narrator and only real character in the story, I was nervous and concerned as to what he’d find next. If you’re a fan of the dystopian genre, this novella is one you’ll want to give a try.

**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **

[Jana Henderson (Reviews from the Stacks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A-Void is grade-A post-apocalyptic dystopian fiction. Think of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, throw in some of Ray Bradbury’s philosophical bent, add Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave for context, and A-Void fits perfectly. From the intricately crafted world to the timely social commentary regarding the West’s obsession with technology, everything within this book is relevant and deeply interesting. Although it was only published a few months ago, I would not be surprised to see this book on a college syllabus within my lifetime, for a literature class discussing portrayals of the end of the world, the dangers of exponential technological discovery, or postmodern literature as a whole. It is a wonderful example of creating meaningful dialogue about real issues while maintaining an engaging story.

As Billy drives across the country searching for answers, he uncovers a concerning reality which could evolve from our current state of affairs. He wrestles with questions regarding the heart of humanity, and his musings lead the reader to consider their own stance on certain social, economic, and political topics.

To the average reader, this book will probably seem confusing. It takes a while to figure out where the story is going, how the structure works, and how the timeline fits together. However, if you have studied literary theory at any level, or are familiar with general qualities of postmodern literature, then there is so much to be appreciated in A-Void.

Extended review posted on my blog, Reviews From the Stacks.

[Sas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Timely and speaks to many conversation I find myself having with people about our current point in society. This was my first fiction book I have read in over 20 years and I highly recommend it.

[Hikes in Rain]

I received this book via a Goodreads Giveaway, for which I am very grateful. This review represents my own thoughts of the book.

This was a very difficult book to read. I received a Kindle version, but the version I received was not a real Kindle document. Instead, it was a series of images of the pages, with no ability to change font size, page format or anything else about the. The scanned pages font was very tiny, with no way to enlarge it. This was a problem with my Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle for Android, and Kindle for PC. The only way I could read it was to remove my contact lenses, so that I get my eyes within a couple of inches of the screen. (Without corrective lenses, I have fantastic close up vision, because it's actually my "distance" vision.)

Additionally, my version was incomplete. Chapter 12 was blank. To be fair, Chapter 12 is entitled A Void, so perhaps it was intended to be blank. Either way, it leaves the reader hanging.

Unfortunately, because of the problems with my version of the book, I cannot give it a good review.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story concept but I found the book a little hard to follow. I felt like some of the scenes would have made more sense if there had been more elaboration, but as I said the concept was interesting enough to hold my attention until the end.
I received this book as part of a Goodreads Giveaway but the opinions expressed are solely my own.

[Faith Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A-Void is one of those “On the Beach” type of stories but in this case it follows an individual navigating a wasteland of human abandonment following a biological apocalypse. Unusually, but perhaps appropriate for a psychiatrist, the story is liberally offset with diagrams. Death by… Could the end of the world work in PowerPoint? Not the world though, just humans, as the bears, elk, gorillas and particularly flies are having a high time of it. After all, there are plenty of human rib cages to nest in. Humans drop like flies but flies don’t drop and appear to be adjusting quite well, which suggests that the flies should adopt the expression “to drop like humans” – oh, how the tables have turned. My first thought was that this story could have had more depth to it and perhaps a few more twists and shocks but in hindsight I can see that if you’re writing about an underpopulated world in which all the hierarchies have collapsed there aren’t enough other characters to fence with or add to the conversation. There is an element of suspense that perpetuates quite well and I think I was supposed to build affinity with the character and care whether he was reunited with his family but I think I didn’t engage because although he held out hope for their survival, I considered the probability to be unnoticeably low. I’m not being particularly critical about this or, indeed, praising to too much either, so it’s alright as a writing project and I particularly liked the spectacle of a ship of the dead sailing in (hope dispelled and only one witness to see it). It’s okay without catching fire.

[Tehila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book for review purposes.

While I do not know how to describe it, A-Void is a compelling read. It captured me from page one, and I will definitely be returning to it, probably in a few months. Several of the other reviews below do a great job if you want to get an idea of what A-Void is.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An end of the world as mankind knows it pandemic novel. This story is short and (but?) very dark. Don't want to say more. If you have an interest in apocalyptic pandemic stories this one is for you.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads giveaway

[Shelley Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dystopian science fiction novel about a time that seems very close to the present. The descriptions of daily life in the beginning will hit you as unnerving because they are frightening and only slightly exaggerated versions of our current life. It gets worse from there and it's a dark ending but it's a good read.

It's the kind of book that makes you want to keep reading nonstop to see what happens. This book is hard to find in hard print but it was worth the pursuit...

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The way that it presents itself on first look is as a distopian psychological thriller with some interesting kind of science fiction theoretical evolutionary narrative teaser thrown in. It was much less this and more of watching the protagonist succumb to psychosis.

The protagonist's trip across the country trying to find people and being surprised when he didn't definitely became a little tedious, and was capped off by an ending that felt a bit like an afterthought.

As a study in the steady unraveling of a human being's mental stability, the book is interesting, but the story in terms of a distopian narrative was disappointing.

[Gina T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Babak for providing an ebook via a Goodreads giveaway.

This novella takes us on a journey of a man searching for his family, as diversions fall by the wayside allowing him to focus on fundamentals - why are we here? what is life if there is no one to share it with? Will ego always destroy?