Social Media Central

Tayler #1

by Kevin Klehr

In an age where everyone lives their lives through a screen, no one has more celebrity status than fashion blogger, Madeline Q. In a chance meeting, Tayler, loner and geek, is introduced to her world of parties, fan worship, and seduction.

But as his own star rises, Madeline Q is arrested for murder. There’s just one problem—there is no corpse. Tayler soon learns that fiction blurs reality on Social Media Central.

Genres: Gay, Futuristic

ebook

First published April 9, 2018

About the author

Kevin lives with his husband, Warren, in their humble apartment (affectionately named Sabrina), in Australia’s own ‘Emerald City,’ Sydney.

His tall tales explore unrequited love in the theatre district of the Afterlife, romance between a dreamer and a realist, and a dystopian city addicted to social media.

His first novel, Drama Queens with Love Scenes, spawned a secondary character named Guy. Many readers argue that Guy, the insecure gay angel, is the star of the Actors and Angels book series. His popularity surprised the author. The third in this series, Drama Queens and Devilish Schemes, scored a Rainbow Award (judged by fans of queer fiction) for Best Gay Alternative Universe/Reality novel.

His novel, The Midnight Man, scored first place in the LGBT category of the Paranormal Romance Guild's Reviewer's Choice Awards, as well as winning the Fantasy category of the 2021 Gay Scribe Awards.

So, with his fictional guardian angel guiding him, Kevin hopes to bring more whimsical tales of love, life and friendship to his readers.

Reviews

[Joc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the near future (50 years or so), Social Media Central has a premise that does not seem terribly implausible at all. Tayler is sitting on a park bench one day when a beautiful woman with an entourage of device carrying groupies walk by. Tayler is quite taken by her but has no idea who she is much to the surprise of the older man sharing the bench with him. The woman, Madeline Q, is intrigued enough by his ignorance to give him her card. Tayler’s phone is just that; a phone. It doesn’t connect to the web and he has no presence on Social Media Central which is a reduction of the internet into one interface and portal.

Astra City in this era is a city with empty steel and glass buildings because most people no longer work from offices. Schools no longer exist and children are educated via online instructional videos. People don’t go to each other’s houses for meals; instead they ‘mirror meal’ whereby they each get the same meal, connect and eat in front of their computers. Tayler is an anachronism among his generation because he prefers actual contact with people but Madeline intrigues him enough to go to one of her soirees. She is a fashion icon with a massive following and her opinions or actions are always trending. Tayler gets swept up in her lifestyle until somebody dies and he, Madeline and two others seem to be implicated.

Social Media Central is an interesting and thought-provoking read because along with its Orwellian undertones there is quite a powerful social commentary running through it. We’ve all read on the internet and Facebook how detrimental our addiction to screen and devices is. Ironic, isn’t it? There is a character in the novel who runs a book shop but it only had on bookshelf in it because people can no longer read anything longer than bite-sized chunks. I felt depressed about the lone bookshelf for a moment and then realised that it’s been ages since I read a book with pages I can turn and get a paper cut from.

I enjoyed reading this but there were parts where the pace dropped off and the characters were a little like blind moths bumping into each other. At times it also felt too didactic in its delivery but the mystery and intrigue around the dead body balanced that out to some extent.
On the whole, this is a good read with a lot to mull over.

Book received from Netgalley and NineStar Press for an honest review.

[Harry Rey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book because of the story and concept, and Kevin Klehr excels at crafting a fascinating look at life in the near future. Drawing on Orwell and the current, concerning state of social media in our modern life, he delivers a fast-aced, rip-roaring read you can't put down.

I loved the characters. They are interesting people in their own right and the very real parallels they have in our world. Their hot encounters, criminal capers and mash of a media-led murder trial draws you in and doesn't let go.

What really shines through in this book are the fascinating ideas Klehr explores through a multi-layered LGBT lens which doesn't often happen. It's a wonderfully done piece of LGBT sci-fi that really makes you think.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.75 stars

Kevin Klehr’s latest release is a novel set fifty years into the future, yet it is the premise that interested me. I have lost count of the number of times that I have sat around a table with family or friends and we have all been on our phones rather than engaging in conversation. There is no doubt that we live in a digital era and there are positive aspects to that, but the power of social media in our lives cannot be denied.

In Klehr’s story, Madeline, Shaun, and Connor have all gained their notoriety and fame on Social Media Central: Madeline as as fashion blogger, Shaun by chronicling his sexual conquests on Lovers Net, and Connor by photographing their every move. Dressing in the latest fashion and attending the lavishly arranged parties has become their life and occupation. Here Klehr reflects so much of our contemporary reality with his fiction and it reminded me of the current fame of stars like the Kardashian family, who are supposedly able to break the internet with their posed selfies. Klehr’s imaginary world, run by Social Media Central, is so close to the lives we currently live that it is thought provoking and the power that the online world has in his novel is frightening and eye-opening, making the reading experience not just an escape, but a lesson for us all.

Read Kirsty’s review in its entirety here.

[Sifra]

DNF

[Damian Serbu · Rating 4 out of 5]

With interesting characters and fun twists and turns, Klehr provides a great mix of adventure/action and serious commentary on our current society, and where it could be headed.

[E.M. Hamill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book deserves attention just because it's such a timely cautionary tale about the social disconnect of electronic "social" media, its impersonality, and its pitfalls. As people focus more on their screens than the world around them, society is dying, and this book has a soberingly realistic view of what might be coming.
Human interaction has shrunk to the size of a hand-held screen, where people share mirror meals (they each cook the same meal and eat it together in kind of a Skype dinner party), have groups of friends who never meet in the flesh despite living in the same city, and children no longer go to physical schools but are educated entirely on line.
Tayler is still a dreamer, a reader, and unspoiled by social media, a rarity in his time. When he meets social media sensation Madeline Q, whose parties and fashion sense are followed by thousands on the net, he is swept into a decadent life of the party-beautiful, with his every move broadcast to his own following of adoring fans. But Tayler soon realizes that this is far from innocent, and that more sinister forces drive what the screen-addicted public is consuming.
The first half of the book had me riveted, but it kind of lost me in the mush of fake murder trials and a sudden spate of sexual encounters (but so very, very happy to see bisexual rep in this!).
Tayler is an engaging MC and his "Socialite" friends are cool characters, too, but the villainous "The Government" (a person, not the institution) is kind of cartoony and resorts to childish insults rather than the bone chilling impersonal violence he was set up to be capable of. If there was one disappointment in the book for me, it was him.
All in all, a very entertaining book with some parallels that could be all too real.

[M.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Social Media Central; A terrifying look into our future

Kevin Klehr offers us a peek into our future if we continue down our current path with our obsession with Social Media. The story follows Madi, Tayler, Connor, and Shaun as they navigate the world of Astra City and Social Media Central. Tayler is our POV character and we get to discover this world through his eyes, and it’s terrifying, not in what he sees and goes through (even though it’s pretty intense) it’s what this story shows us (the reader). Astra City and Social Media Central are where we are heading if we keep going down the rabbit hole of Social Media. There are so many references to current times and the power of our social media platforms, and what they are doing to society that it makes you stop and think. I especially loved the comments about people’s attentions spans shrinking. Movies are no longer 90 minutes to 120 minutes (or longer) they come in at 45 minutes because people get bored to easily. The news doesn’t exist anymore. People don’t read books, there are no libraries, no book stores. People live their lives in their homes chatting with and sharing ‘mirror meals’ with people on line. The people in Social Media Central don’t have personal contact anymore. Does any of this sound familiar?

This story is a wonderful wakeup call to the world we are rushing towards. Pull your eyes away from your phones and read this book. Then re-evaluate how much time you spend on Social Media. Call a friend you haven’t spoken too in months or years, and meet up for coffee or dinner… oh and leave the cell phone at home.

[Nancy Silk · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Playground For Fools"

This is a fascinating story created by author Kevin Klehr. We live our lives in front of screens ... TV, cell phone, Kindles, mirrors. What do we really believe we see? This is a story of addicts ... busy taking selfies even while driving or walking across streets. People think they are becoming celebrities.
It's all about being addicted to the internet. It's a new way of socializing on the telephone screens and how false news, comments, etc. entice people without allowing users to be guided rather than thinking for themselves. Brains are drained by the mobile screens. This is a story of Tayler meeting famous fashion blogger Madeline Q. And soon Madeline Q is arrested for murder. Here is where fiction blurs with realty. One cannot totally believe in today's prolific social media. Very interesting story of how our society is changing.

[Louise Fry · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I did not think I would enjoy the book something about it didn't seem my type but I like reading new and different things so thought why not.
the book had an interesting plot line and this made it addictive and a quick read - once the story picked up half way through it made it extremely difficult to put down and for this I enjoyed it - as I found something which I enjoyed I would say it is more of a mystery and thriller book instead of lgbtq book however that was explored through the book in sections.
overall I would recommend this as it is a different unique and very good read.

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dystopia hides behind the decadence of a world of social media, dominated by Social Media Central. At the center of it all, Madeline Q holds court, followed by the trendy and those seeking fame, yet she chooses the skeptical, questioning Tayler to be her companion and part of her clique. Tayle is sucked into Madeline’s world, yet he continues to try to shake things up, change things, not realizing how dangerous such endeavours are. For nothing about Social Media Central is what it seems and the lurking shadow of Government waits behind the glitz.

This evokes some of the classics by Bradbury, Orwell, and Huxley, which involved terrible totalitarian regimes, futures where thought is regulated, controlled, or discouraged. This particular story uses a more subtle, layered method to introduce the menace and peril of its society, a society which the modern reader can relate to only too keenly. What’s missing or absent in this world is revealed in bits and pieces from Tayler’s perspective or other characters’ unfamiliarity with things we take for granted, like books or schools. It was a fascinating read, depicting an often manic whirlwind of events in which Tayler undercovers the truth, layer by layer beneath Social Media Central. Just when things start to make sense, another layer is revealed. This society often seems shallow in its changing trends, yet it’s peopled with likeable characters and ones that grow more sympathetic as the reader becomes more familar with them. The villain, whom is far more erudite than certain real life public figures still represents an immature desire to control everything and everyone without assuming any of the responsibility that goes with it, an attitude which resonates with many a modern reader. For bringing all of these elements together in a fast-paced, intriguing read, I give this four stars.

[Books That Burn · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.

Social Media Central is a strange blend between a romance and a murder mystery, all in the middle of a dystopia predicated on people being "too online".

This posits a dystopia that has all the flaws of a more online existence without any sense of the very real benefits. The premise didn’t have to be ableist, but the consistent grating insistence that anything online isn’t “real” and that everything ought to be done in person seemed to ignore they ways that people get left out when thing are impossible to do remotely. However, in the particular dystopia, the way that things are being done online instead of in person is described as having caused a lot of social damage because the reasons for going more online were broadly nefarious. I didn’t like it at first but I appreciate where it went with the premise, and I like most of the resolution.

One thing it does capture pretty accurately is how fickle online followings can be, then ramps that up as part of the dystopia. The main problem I have with the flow is it feels unbalanced. Early on we get all the reasons that massive groups of online followers can be extremely toxic, but smaller personal connections online are also portrayed as false. It turns out there’s a pretty good reason for the MC to feel that way within the book, but it was pretty frustrating to feel lectured for being online for the first half of the book, then grateful I don’t live in this particular megalomaniac’s dystopia for the second half.

The protagonist judges people for being too online and neglecting “real” relationships, but early on his constant drips of sexism and random body-shaming in his internal monologue make me think he’s definitely not as mature as he thinks he is. He thinks about various features of women’s bodies in what felt like very stereotypical cis/het/allo male thoughts from other books I’ve read, but when he’s thinking about men it feels so different and much less awkward. It feels like the author created a bisexual character by using how straight men talk about women, and how gay men feel about men. And, hey, that’s one way to get a character‘s thoughts, but since the thoughts about women are front-loaded in the text it was pretty off-putting because it made him feel like a sexist jerk who thinks he’s more authentic because his sexism is in person. I liked him a lot better in the second half when he figures out he also likes men and starts having romantic thoughts that don’t feel so objectifying. It's not character growth in terms of thinking about partners though, because even once he's knows he's bi his thoughts about women are just as objectifying (if less frequent, for plot reasons). I do appreciate that by the end he’s canonically bisexual, it isn’t portrayed as him switching from straight to gay.

Overall I like the second half a lot better than the first, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a murder mystery in the middle of their romantic dystopia. I don't think that's me, but I know you're out there somewhere.

CW for body-shaming (minor), sexual assault (minor), sexism, suicide, major character death.

[Jayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering how relevant the role social media plays in our lives, I’m surprised I haven’t come across a book that deals with the phenomenon before now.

Social Media Central deals with one lonely man who doesn’t buy into the whole world-wide obsession and god-like status of media celebrities, but he gradually gets sucked into it after meeting Madeline Q, a fashion blogger, and her glamorous colleagues. The story is set fifty or so years in the future but frankly, we’re seeing elements of Klehr’s vision now. Klehr’s future world has no books, empty offices, most ordinary people shut in their own rooms to work, preferring to “mirror meal” (a chilling phrase if ever there was one) with friends instead of meeting them face to face. The exceptions were the glamorous ones, the media stars, the celebrities famous for being famous, who set the trends and tell people how to eat, what to wear etc. Again, not that different from now in many aspects.

Tayler is a lonely geek with a dim view of the whole on-line celebrity thing. I found it difficult to get to know him at first. There was a dispassionate tone to the dialogue which meant I didn’t feel I had full access to the Social Media world, but was looking at it through smeared triple-glazing. Having said that, Tayler was the easiest character to identify and sympathise with. I couldn’t get to the heart of who Madeline was, which was frustrating.

As the story progresses, the plot thickens when a girl’s body is found in a nightclub. No spoilers, but what follows is a lot of smoke and mirrors, some of which I didn’t get at all. Madeline isn’t who she seems, and her actions seem incomprehensible at first. The pace of the story was uneven in places, but I did find myself compelled to read to the end. Before that, I did struggle a bit, mainly because the characters (apart from Tayler) aren’t people I would choose to spend time with in real life.

I’ve since read some parts of the book again, and have enjoyed it a lot more, although “enjoyed” might not be the right word. The world of Social Media Central is bleak, very well-crafted, and ultimately rather depressing, but with a whodunnit thrown in, and a dash of glamour, it does make for a compelling read, and I had definitely warmed towards the characters by the end.

One final note: A couple of reviews mentioned the “lack of LGBT content.” I disagree. The characters were diverse and fluid, without a lot of rainbow flag waving. It was subtly done, and a worthy addition to the mainstream as well as LGBT+ sci-fi genres.

[Shelley Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in a confused state for the most part while reading this book, much like the main character Tayler as he struggled with his discontent for the world he lives in. Craving real social connections, he at first observes and laments as those around him retreat to the fake world of Social Media Central. Then a seemingly chance encounter with a SMC celebrity sees him catapulted into the limelight where he becomes a part of the very thing he had previously disdained. But nothing is as it seems and as Tayler falls deeper into the world created by SMC he realises that more is at stake than how many followers he has.
While I was initially disappointed in how quickly Tayler let himself be absorbed into SMC, it gave an insight into how those who followed the celebrities he was now associated with had also been drawn in. Their lives were ruled by screens, their every waking thought controlled by what they saw and read, their interactions with others done at a distance. It was a terrifying glimpse of a possible future given the way technology has begun to rule our lives. This book takes it to the extreme, having people closed off to the wonders of the real world to pursue fake relationships with people who are just as fake as the world they inhabit.
At heart, I felt this was the story of a lost generation seeking to find their way, with Tayler as their figurehead and spokesperson. As he grew more aware of just who was manipulating the masses through SMC and why, the people around him also come to realise that there is more to life than what could be found in their screens. Though this story deals with social manipulation on an unprecedented scale, it will definitely make me think twice about taking what I read or see in social media for granted.

[Lindsey Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full review here

I can’t deny I have used social media a lot more this year. I thought Social Media Central would be an entertaining read that focuses on the changes that have occurred in society due to the rise of these social media platforms.

In a way, it was. It could have been a modern version of 1984, where the truth is whatever the ‘government’ – the figure behind the platforms –wants it to be: a full murder trial through an online poll or making the masses believe there is a radioactive uranium mine just outside of town are just two examples.

Unfortunately, it didn’t deliver. The characters were shallow and had no development. The plot was allover the place – there were several occasions where I was unsure what was going on. There were also several clichés thrown in and, while not entirely predictable,nothing came as a surprise.

The main character, Tayler, was flat and undeveloped. He starts off as being opposed to social media. But as soon as he gains a little attention, he suddenly lives for being in the spotlight, for being recognised and have his own fan-base despite not having his own channel, all because he is friends with some famous people. He inserts himself in their lives and acts like this is who he has been all along.

Then there’s the twist where – shock horror – social media is bad. A message that is driven home forcibly throughout the entire book to the point it feels grating. Naturally, Tayler is the first leading the resistance because the masses adore him and want him to spearhead the change. He became famous by association and does nothing to make you feel like there is any depth to him.

Tayler declares early on he is not homosexual. Until he randomly decides he wants to ‘go down’ on a male guard just to escape. He wants to sleep with Mike, at the same time as falling for Connor, and has kinky thoughts about a random stranger in the park. While at the same time wanting Madeline back. It felt like it was designed to shock, but just made him shallow and inconsistent.

At the beginning of the book is a warning for explicit sex. There’s not. There’s really not. There is sex, but it’s written in such a flat and unrealistic way that it means nothing. Blink, and you’d overlook it. The warning implies the book is something it’s not.

The plot was completely all over the place. The premise is ultimately they are trying to get people to talk to one another rather than using a screen. But it twists and turns – and not in an unexpected and exciting way – the whole way through to the point where it jumps from one idea to another so fast you’re not actually certain who is trying to do what.

This was not the book for me, unfortunately. I was in a sense of disbelief throughout because I didn’t know what was going on!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book but it just fell short for me. I have very little patience with pretentious characters and writers (hence why I do not like John Green at all, no matter the praise he gets) and unfortunately, this is another one I can throw on the list of: It just wasn't really my cup of tea.

The premise of the book was interesting to me, especially seeing how involved everyone is nowadays in social media and getting followers. But the plot just did not work in my opinion and I found myself being increasingly annoyed at the main character.

All in all, I do not think I would recommend this book

[Amanto Moura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot of this book is awesome, dystopian and instagram generation-type BUT the execution is kid of confusing, lots of times we got lost in the dialogues, the storyline seems to but in fact isn't linear and on final accounts it's all messed up by the author's ideas.

I tried to like but the reading experience gave me headache.