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Panopticon #1
Utopia Five
“My name is Lee and I was born on the 8th January, 2025 - the day the Panopticon was turned on.”
A battle is raging and Utopia Five holds the key. The Earth of 2053 is a changed place. A decimated humanity is constantly watched by a mysterious organisation. City states make their own laws, enforced by the army of omnipresent drones.
A few make it to the new bases on Mars or the Moon. For most, however, virtual reality is the only escape from the restrictions of WorldGov and the Panopticon.
Has Earth become a dystopia? Someone believes so and will stop at nothing to change things back. Lee is caught in a fight to destroy the present order and return life to how it was before the Summer - an event that nearly wiped out civilisation.
In a high speed chase through time and realities, a decision will be made. What is the future of humankind?
Utopia Five is a fast paced, standalone Science Fiction novel. It is the first in a new series set in the near future - the world of the Panopticon.
A battle is raging and Utopia Five holds the key. The Earth of 2053 is a changed place. A decimated humanity is constantly watched by a mysterious organisation. City states make their own laws, enforced by the army of omnipresent drones.
A few make it to the new bases on Mars or the Moon. For most, however, virtual reality is the only escape from the restrictions of WorldGov and the Panopticon.
Has Earth become a dystopia? Someone believes so and will stop at nothing to change things back. Lee is caught in a fight to destroy the present order and return life to how it was before the Summer - an event that nearly wiped out civilisation.
In a high speed chase through time and realities, a decision will be made. What is the future of humankind?
Utopia Five is a fast paced, standalone Science Fiction novel. It is the first in a new series set in the near future - the world of the Panopticon.
- GenresScience Fiction
296 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2019
27 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
A.E. Currie
8 books22 followersAnne Currie has been an SF and Fantasy fan since she first saw Star Wars in 1977. She loves classic SF authors like Asimov, Van Vogt, Dick, Vonnegut, Heinlein, Herbert and, even, Doc Smith (his social views have dated, the others less so).
She studied Physics and interned on the Large Electron Positron collider at Cern in the 90's when the internet was first being invented. Since then, she has worked on all kinds of tech and startups.
These days she divides her time between London and North Essex and writes Science Fiction that really isn't that speculative.
She studied Physics and interned on the Large Electron Positron collider at Cern in the 90's when the internet was first being invented. Since then, she has worked on all kinds of tech and startups.
These days she divides her time between London and North Essex and writes Science Fiction that really isn't that speculative.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 24, 2019
This unputdownable book covers some pretty important themes from our potential near future: climate change, technology's intersection with (and impact on) culture, the very nature of reality. I can't wait for book 2 and beyond--I'm sure this author has a lot of surprises in store.
June 2, 2019
I always marvel at world-building. With fantasy it has to be slightly plausible for human emotions, while sci-fi has to be very conceivable through the contemporary lens. Rarely it actually is because the authors are usually writers drawing only on their imagination. Currie is an eco-minded techie and ethicist, and this shows with the very plausible, intriguing, often appealing, and sometimes terrifying near future. That being said it’s welcomingly well-written for a first book, and very reserved with each word mattering. And loads of imagination had to be applied to the tech side to make it build such a world.
I loved spending a few days — or perhaps a few decades? — getting to know this new-yet-near world through the eyes of the narrator and truly accepting this as a very valid, intriguing possible future.
Utopia 5 is a great read for anyone who loves dystopian/utopian mainstream lit (and at under-200 pages, it’s a perfect beach read!), but it is filled with fun little deferential Easter eggs for the sci-fi diehard. The main characters serve to explain the new world (from fresh, young but not naive eyes) and drive plot, but the side characters bring in the wisdom and intelligence and collaboration that can only come from a civilization that’s transitioning from trying to survive toward wanting to thrive.
A truly recommended read — then we can talk about it because I am so eager to discuss it!
I loved spending a few days — or perhaps a few decades? — getting to know this new-yet-near world through the eyes of the narrator and truly accepting this as a very valid, intriguing possible future.
Utopia 5 is a great read for anyone who loves dystopian/utopian mainstream lit (and at under-200 pages, it’s a perfect beach read!), but it is filled with fun little deferential Easter eggs for the sci-fi diehard. The main characters serve to explain the new world (from fresh, young but not naive eyes) and drive plot, but the side characters bring in the wisdom and intelligence and collaboration that can only come from a civilization that’s transitioning from trying to survive toward wanting to thrive.
A truly recommended read — then we can talk about it because I am so eager to discuss it!
December 22, 2020
An excellent book. Thought-provoking and well-written. Now for Conundra...
March 12, 2020
This turned out to be an unexpectedly deep and conceptual sci-fi techno thriller. Take all the moral quandaries of modern technology and give them a mix with ecological disaster and you've got yourself a good idea of the future this book is set in.
The future is indeed quite bleak. In this gentle apocalypse-style United Kingdom, privacy is an antiquated notion. Everyone is watched, and can watch everyone else, via the near-global network known as the Panopticon. Crime is a thing of the past - why commit a crime when literally anyone and everyone could prove you did it? Under the guidance of the AI DeusX, information is just a voice command away. And what do people do for fun? They play games. Our sorta-hero Lee Sands is a gaming pioneer, creating simulated utopias and dystopias based on the real world and extrapolated if one tiny thing from the past had been changed. Cool, right? So when his flat gets blown up and his hardcore coder brother shuts him out of their gaming system right after a test run of the new Utopia Five sim, nothing makes sense. Without the system, Lee needs to use his brain rather than the system to figure out who wanted him dead and why.
Phew! If that sounds involved, that barely scratches the surface. The world building is a thing of sort-of-dystopian beauty. It's a gritty, geeky realistic technological future - nothing's too far out of the realms of possibility. There are pop culture references abound. Add in the faintest hint of ecological disaster (and it's worryingly poignant given some of the events of 2019) and there's that nerve-jangling feeling of oppressive paranoia about the tone.
Not that Lee or any of the other characters feel it. The idea of no privacy being fine is strangely presented as a good idea. And in this story, perhaps it is. A fascinating conceptual twist. In fact, the plot is full of conceptual twists that will likely bend your mind into awkward positions as you consider the morality and the genius of the Sands brothers. It makes you question just what makes a dystopia a dystopia.
It is primarily an introspective thriller, not high-octane stuff. We spend a lot of time analysing Lee's mind, his thoughts on the past as well as the present. Expect exposition and musing soliloquy, but it really is captivating stuff.
The only criticism I would have is that it could use an editorial polish. Some formatting, some stylistic things with punctuation being used in unusual ways, and the odd repetition did jump out at me. If they were deal-breakers, I wouldn't have finished the book - the story and imagination behind it is strong enough to hold it's own. The extra go-over would just make it that much stronger.
Well worth a go if you like clever short sci-fi reads.
The future is indeed quite bleak. In this gentle apocalypse-style United Kingdom, privacy is an antiquated notion. Everyone is watched, and can watch everyone else, via the near-global network known as the Panopticon. Crime is a thing of the past - why commit a crime when literally anyone and everyone could prove you did it? Under the guidance of the AI DeusX, information is just a voice command away. And what do people do for fun? They play games. Our sorta-hero Lee Sands is a gaming pioneer, creating simulated utopias and dystopias based on the real world and extrapolated if one tiny thing from the past had been changed. Cool, right? So when his flat gets blown up and his hardcore coder brother shuts him out of their gaming system right after a test run of the new Utopia Five sim, nothing makes sense. Without the system, Lee needs to use his brain rather than the system to figure out who wanted him dead and why.
Phew! If that sounds involved, that barely scratches the surface. The world building is a thing of sort-of-dystopian beauty. It's a gritty, geeky realistic technological future - nothing's too far out of the realms of possibility. There are pop culture references abound. Add in the faintest hint of ecological disaster (and it's worryingly poignant given some of the events of 2019) and there's that nerve-jangling feeling of oppressive paranoia about the tone.
Not that Lee or any of the other characters feel it. The idea of no privacy being fine is strangely presented as a good idea. And in this story, perhaps it is. A fascinating conceptual twist. In fact, the plot is full of conceptual twists that will likely bend your mind into awkward positions as you consider the morality and the genius of the Sands brothers. It makes you question just what makes a dystopia a dystopia.
It is primarily an introspective thriller, not high-octane stuff. We spend a lot of time analysing Lee's mind, his thoughts on the past as well as the present. Expect exposition and musing soliloquy, but it really is captivating stuff.
The only criticism I would have is that it could use an editorial polish. Some formatting, some stylistic things with punctuation being used in unusual ways, and the odd repetition did jump out at me. If they were deal-breakers, I wouldn't have finished the book - the story and imagination behind it is strong enough to hold it's own. The extra go-over would just make it that much stronger.
Well worth a go if you like clever short sci-fi reads.
September 15, 2024
I really enjoyed this book, it has some epic world-building and just the right amount of science to make it interesting, but not too complicated to understand. Some of the themes are quite prescient and relevant to current events (climate change and AI in particular). Looking forward to reading the next in the series!
July 6, 2019
Great debut novel
I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't reading Doctorow, as this shares his way of looking into the future.
Climate change, mass surveillance, AI and AR/VR, what could possibly go wrong...?
I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't reading Doctorow, as this shares his way of looking into the future.
Climate change, mass surveillance, AI and AR/VR, what could possibly go wrong...?
July 31, 2019
Great premise, great plot, great execution!
An excellent novel on an all too possible future, along with a number of variants woven in. Philosophical and engaging at the same time.
An excellent novel on an all too possible future, along with a number of variants woven in. Philosophical and engaging at the same time.
January 20, 2022
I nice easy gentle read. It’s funny and some of the ideas interesting.
January 31, 2024
Fantastic story, relatable characters, and a great premise. The pace could be a bit faster to my taste, but it's a readable, solid, highly enjoyable book. I love the concept of a VR game where something in history is changed and the players have to figure out what it was. And the idea that utopias are harder to achieve and maintain than dystopias will keep me up for nights to come.
Favourite quote: "... it's amazing how much you can achieve when no-one is cheating."
Favourite quote: "... it's amazing how much you can achieve when no-one is cheating."
March 16, 2021
Some interesting ideas in this book, and I enjoyed the world building in the first half. The villain is not really a serious threat though, and in the end is defeated in a single paragraph with a disappointing hand-wavy explanation. Worth an initial read, but not captivating enough to make me re-read or pick up the next book in the series.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews