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Alt-Ctrl
In a post-climate collapse world, the only way to survive is to be lucky enough to live in one of the domed cities, run by international corporation PlanetRescue. As a high level engineer working for PlanetRescue’s cyber security division WorldSec, Finn has unique insight into the Collapse and the dangers of the Badlands outside of the dome. But she soon finds out that there is more to history than what’s she’s learnt, and that PlanetRescue is not the force for good they claim to be. Revolution is brewing from within the City and outside in the Badlands, and it seems that Finn has an integral role to play in it.
147 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 30, 2019
3 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Lloyd Freeman
7 books6 followersRebecca grew up on a farm in Western Australia, with the obligatory pet lambs and kangaroo, and then went to boarding school, which was considerably less fun than all the books make it out to be.
Having studied and worked in Perth for most of her twenties, she and her Handsome Sidekick decided to make a sea change to the south coast and now live in a delightfully small and picturesque city where they raise their four children and far too many pets.
Rebecca works from home as a writer and editor, and recently began a PhD in creative writing. In her spare time (ha), she runs, laughs with her children, and gardens. She really, really likes tea.
Having studied and worked in Perth for most of her twenties, she and her Handsome Sidekick decided to make a sea change to the south coast and now live in a delightfully small and picturesque city where they raise their four children and far too many pets.
Rebecca works from home as a writer and editor, and recently began a PhD in creative writing. In her spare time (ha), she runs, laughs with her children, and gardens. She really, really likes tea.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 16, 2019
I received an ARC from the author, in exchange for an honest review.
While not my typical genre to read I found this story quite interesting, with a bit of a frightening look at what the future could look like after the climate collapses.
If you like dystopian stories then you will enjoy this. As a novella it keeps the pace moving along. A short prologue, and then you're smack in the middle of action. Not once did I feel bored. I never felt confused. In the author's world the technology is very advanced, which is a good and bad thing. The main protagonist, Finn, is a whiz at the new world technology and is recruited to help the revolution. Her discomfort when she was in the Badlands really came through, and I could feel her anxiety through the pages. There was a slight twist near the end I was not expecting.
I was disappointed to see the book end, as I wanted to find out what happened after.
Overall, a quick read with an interesting storyline. This is the first book I have read by this author, but would definitely read more.
While not my typical genre to read I found this story quite interesting, with a bit of a frightening look at what the future could look like after the climate collapses.
If you like dystopian stories then you will enjoy this. As a novella it keeps the pace moving along. A short prologue, and then you're smack in the middle of action. Not once did I feel bored. I never felt confused. In the author's world the technology is very advanced, which is a good and bad thing. The main protagonist, Finn, is a whiz at the new world technology and is recruited to help the revolution. Her discomfort when she was in the Badlands really came through, and I could feel her anxiety through the pages. There was a slight twist near the end I was not expecting.
I was disappointed to see the book end, as I wanted to find out what happened after.
Overall, a quick read with an interesting storyline. This is the first book I have read by this author, but would definitely read more.
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April 12, 2020My review for this book is published on the Underground Writers website: http://underground-writers.org/review...
September 10, 2019
This was an interesting sci-fi read about a very near future, which reminded me at times of Terminator (in regards of computers/technology taking over the world), and at others of The Matrix (a world within a world), although while it reminded me of these two sci-fi blockbusters, this is a very different and far gentler story.
The premise is the collapse of the world due to climate change. The timespan really is just thirty or forty years forward from now. A dodgy mega-corporation promises to save the world's population by building climate-controlled 'domes' for the people. Things get murky however, when the director of the dome world (Eva) begins pushing harder for rental payments for 'Domes' and generally, bankrupts Governments and takes over the world (termed The Collapse).
As its influence and power grows, the 'Dome' world begin to pick and choose which Cityzens can and can't live in the Domes. For example, you have to be a certain intelligence to get 'in', old people can't get in at all, some racial types aren't allowed in, and only a few refugees (which is apparently dwindling to none). We hear about euthanasia within the Domes when people reach a certain age. It sounds like people with disabilities can't get in the Domes at all... and I get the feeling if you ruptured an appendix or broke a leg in the Dome, it's kind of 'goodnight'... and you'd get thrown out or recycled into fertiliser rather than be patched up.
So the premise of the story is great.
The writing is solid too and I think the story is well thought out.
My issues (and I don't have many - I did enjoy the read) ran along the lines of: I would have liked to spend more time 'In World' to further explore what was going on in the Dome. Basically, our two lady heroines, Finn and Jhara, escape the Dome at the very beginning of the book to travel to the 'Badlands' (everything outside the Dome and the home of the Resistance movement). My favourite scene was this early one - the prologue and first chapter set the book up beautifully, lots of tension, and a most interesting way that Finn escapes the robotised security patrols.
Once they were in the Badlands however, the pace and action dragged just a little for me. It was still interesting seeing how people were living in communities. I liked the differences the girls discover between structured life in the 'Dome' and life 'outside' (e.g. in the Dome eating is all very sterilised packaged foods always delivered to a Cityzen's 'cube' and meals eaten alone), social activities/interaction not encouraged, no public meetings/debates. Interestingly sex is allowed - there are even rooms for it in the Dome world - although we don't see inside that room - this is not that sort of book!
Outside, the girls discover home cooked 'stews' and flavours, e.g. the smell of a rosemary or lavender plant, and the main character, Finn, is always considering smells (like of a storm or of rain), and even just the scent of a public meeting (group of people). Finn herself is a character written on the spectrum - very high functioning and her tech ability in terms of working computers in the Dome, networking, patching holes in the cyber 'In World' is what got her in amongst the Cityzens in the first place and why she is so important to the Resistance.
Finn is well suited to the orderly life in the Dome (which I think is a subplot the book does well) because she loves solitude, doesn't react well with other people (smalltalk? No thank you!) and life outside the Dome with all its people wanting commitments from her is a constant struggle.
So there is lots of really interesting stuff going on, but for me the central conflict felt rushed (everything is leading to an attack by the Resistance on the Dome) but this gets resolved too easy and I never felt I really had a sense of what the big plan was in terms of how the Resistance thought it could attack the Dome and win this battle.
So, summing up - Alt-Ctrl has got lots to keep a reader intrigued - but sometimes the things I really wanted to know and explore weren't where the story seemed to go. Eva is a very interesting character but she is very much 'off the page' and like her, the InWorld 'Dome' life really exists only very early except for the prologue/chapter 1, and again on return to the Dome at the very end.
Something I did love is that it's set in Australia with references that are easy to pick up, to the Nullabor, Sydney, 'Western City' which I presume is Perth. I am always a big fan of local/familiar areas in my reading.
The premise is the collapse of the world due to climate change. The timespan really is just thirty or forty years forward from now. A dodgy mega-corporation promises to save the world's population by building climate-controlled 'domes' for the people. Things get murky however, when the director of the dome world (Eva) begins pushing harder for rental payments for 'Domes' and generally, bankrupts Governments and takes over the world (termed The Collapse).
As its influence and power grows, the 'Dome' world begin to pick and choose which Cityzens can and can't live in the Domes. For example, you have to be a certain intelligence to get 'in', old people can't get in at all, some racial types aren't allowed in, and only a few refugees (which is apparently dwindling to none). We hear about euthanasia within the Domes when people reach a certain age. It sounds like people with disabilities can't get in the Domes at all... and I get the feeling if you ruptured an appendix or broke a leg in the Dome, it's kind of 'goodnight'... and you'd get thrown out or recycled into fertiliser rather than be patched up.
So the premise of the story is great.
The writing is solid too and I think the story is well thought out.
My issues (and I don't have many - I did enjoy the read) ran along the lines of: I would have liked to spend more time 'In World' to further explore what was going on in the Dome. Basically, our two lady heroines, Finn and Jhara, escape the Dome at the very beginning of the book to travel to the 'Badlands' (everything outside the Dome and the home of the Resistance movement). My favourite scene was this early one - the prologue and first chapter set the book up beautifully, lots of tension, and a most interesting way that Finn escapes the robotised security patrols.
Once they were in the Badlands however, the pace and action dragged just a little for me. It was still interesting seeing how people were living in communities. I liked the differences the girls discover between structured life in the 'Dome' and life 'outside' (e.g. in the Dome eating is all very sterilised packaged foods always delivered to a Cityzen's 'cube' and meals eaten alone), social activities/interaction not encouraged, no public meetings/debates. Interestingly sex is allowed - there are even rooms for it in the Dome world - although we don't see inside that room - this is not that sort of book!
Outside, the girls discover home cooked 'stews' and flavours, e.g. the smell of a rosemary or lavender plant, and the main character, Finn, is always considering smells (like of a storm or of rain), and even just the scent of a public meeting (group of people). Finn herself is a character written on the spectrum - very high functioning and her tech ability in terms of working computers in the Dome, networking, patching holes in the cyber 'In World' is what got her in amongst the Cityzens in the first place and why she is so important to the Resistance.
Finn is well suited to the orderly life in the Dome (which I think is a subplot the book does well) because she loves solitude, doesn't react well with other people (smalltalk? No thank you!) and life outside the Dome with all its people wanting commitments from her is a constant struggle.
So there is lots of really interesting stuff going on, but for me the central conflict felt rushed (everything is leading to an attack by the Resistance on the Dome) but this gets resolved too easy and I never felt I really had a sense of what the big plan was in terms of how the Resistance thought it could attack the Dome and win this battle.
So, summing up - Alt-Ctrl has got lots to keep a reader intrigued - but sometimes the things I really wanted to know and explore weren't where the story seemed to go. Eva is a very interesting character but she is very much 'off the page' and like her, the InWorld 'Dome' life really exists only very early except for the prologue/chapter 1, and again on return to the Dome at the very end.
Something I did love is that it's set in Australia with references that are easy to pick up, to the Nullabor, Sydney, 'Western City' which I presume is Perth. I am always a big fan of local/familiar areas in my reading.
Read
July 3, 2022This review was first published on the Underground Writers website and can also be read on the reviewer's blog here: https://oddfeather.co/2019/10/09/revi...
Alt-Ctrl is a YA dystopian novella by West Australian freelance writer and editor Rebecca Freeman. It is set in a not-too-distant future Australia in which climate collapse has forced most citizens into domed cities run by the international corporation PlanetRescue. Governments are at the mercy of PlanetRescue, as we find out in the opening scene of Alt-Ctrl, and the remainder of the story follows city-dweller and engineer, Finn, on her journey to bring down the organisation.
Finn and her friend, Jhara, escape the city and travel to a community living off the grid in the Badlands, where a rebellion is growing to take down PlanetRescue and the domed cities where, it turns out, only a select few are allowed to live. Anyone deemed ‘unworthy’ is rejected from city life, and this discrimination, although only mentioned once or twice, underpins the injustice and unethical practices of PlanetRescue.
Freeman creates a very nuanced character in Finn, who is neurodiverse and deeply dislikes being touched, is uncomfortable with face-to-face interactions, and struggles with the more personable, organic way of life she experiences outside of the city. Freeman captures well the differences and challenges in going from city to rural life, and I feel this is the strongest aspect of the novella.
Many interesting concepts are explored through the setting and plot in Alt-Ctrl, both sci-fi and personal: the struggle between corporations and governments in the face of unprecedented challenges; finding one’s place in a world of uncertainty; self-governing, self-sufficient rural communities versus sterile, discriminatory city-living. The rural community setting is very detailed, the descriptions of social ritual, working together for a common goal, fair governance, the landscape; these all contribute to a very strong sense of place and belonging that the main character finds attractive, although entirely alien to her experience of sterile, insular city life.
The opening scene sets out PlanetRescue’s hold over governments in creating, owning and maintaining the domed cities that protect citizens from the harsh elements of a post-climate change world, but that aspect essentially covers the sci-fi and dystopian elements of the work. This story is more about Finn and her personal journey of discovery, fortitude, and her own origins; the dystopic elements a backdrop to her growth.
I enjoyed the story, and it’s a good way of dipping one’s readerly toes into the genre of cli-fi and dystopic fiction, but I also felt it needed a little more exposition at the beginning to properly establish Finn’s life in the city. The scenes in the country are quite long and detailed and if this were juxtaposed with the rigidity and sterility of life inside the domes then Finn’s struggle in adjusting would be clearer to the reader. However, this is a small qualm, and readers will enjoy following the story of Finn as she discovers her origins and what she is capable of in a deeply divided world.
Alt-Ctrl is a YA dystopian novella by West Australian freelance writer and editor Rebecca Freeman. It is set in a not-too-distant future Australia in which climate collapse has forced most citizens into domed cities run by the international corporation PlanetRescue. Governments are at the mercy of PlanetRescue, as we find out in the opening scene of Alt-Ctrl, and the remainder of the story follows city-dweller and engineer, Finn, on her journey to bring down the organisation.
Finn and her friend, Jhara, escape the city and travel to a community living off the grid in the Badlands, where a rebellion is growing to take down PlanetRescue and the domed cities where, it turns out, only a select few are allowed to live. Anyone deemed ‘unworthy’ is rejected from city life, and this discrimination, although only mentioned once or twice, underpins the injustice and unethical practices of PlanetRescue.
Freeman creates a very nuanced character in Finn, who is neurodiverse and deeply dislikes being touched, is uncomfortable with face-to-face interactions, and struggles with the more personable, organic way of life she experiences outside of the city. Freeman captures well the differences and challenges in going from city to rural life, and I feel this is the strongest aspect of the novella.
Many interesting concepts are explored through the setting and plot in Alt-Ctrl, both sci-fi and personal: the struggle between corporations and governments in the face of unprecedented challenges; finding one’s place in a world of uncertainty; self-governing, self-sufficient rural communities versus sterile, discriminatory city-living. The rural community setting is very detailed, the descriptions of social ritual, working together for a common goal, fair governance, the landscape; these all contribute to a very strong sense of place and belonging that the main character finds attractive, although entirely alien to her experience of sterile, insular city life.
The opening scene sets out PlanetRescue’s hold over governments in creating, owning and maintaining the domed cities that protect citizens from the harsh elements of a post-climate change world, but that aspect essentially covers the sci-fi and dystopian elements of the work. This story is more about Finn and her personal journey of discovery, fortitude, and her own origins; the dystopic elements a backdrop to her growth.
I enjoyed the story, and it’s a good way of dipping one’s readerly toes into the genre of cli-fi and dystopic fiction, but I also felt it needed a little more exposition at the beginning to properly establish Finn’s life in the city. The scenes in the country are quite long and detailed and if this were juxtaposed with the rigidity and sterility of life inside the domes then Finn’s struggle in adjusting would be clearer to the reader. However, this is a small qualm, and readers will enjoy following the story of Finn as she discovers her origins and what she is capable of in a deeply divided world.
October 11, 2019
I, as happens with a certain kind of book, want to get to the end right this minute, AND not finish it because I want it not to end. Alt-Ctrl reminds me of one of my favourite books, a classic of Sci-Fi - Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. Ender's Game captivated me in high school English, and was a highlight of that year I've (literally) carried with me for 25 years, still captivated by it. Alt-Ctrl brings a story of what affects & resonates with youth (and adults) today, with an imaginative projection of how we might live in coming decades. Much like if a 21st Century Orson Scott Card was writing the Ender's Game series over. But Alt-Ctrl takes us from the place we know in the present to a too near, too realistic rendering of a world to come. We read what is both recognizable, and, things unchecked, portends a scarily believable future. Alt-Ctrl is both fascinating *and* thought provoking, but also enjoyable as just a great Sci-Fi-but-Realistically-Close-To-Home-And-Oh-So-Imaginable book. Buy it for your Young Adults, read it for yourself first!! Or buy it for yourself- leave the Young Adults to fight over who gets it next! Its not aimed at one or the other, but I reckon bookshops & libraries would have trouble knowing where this book belongs! But I'm guessing this book will make it to "the pool room" - that is, the collection of current recommendations!
December 31, 2019
I know the author, BUT my five stars are not at all biased because I absolutely loved this! The Aussie dystopian genre just feels more gritty and interesting often than US/UK settings, and of course to me much more easily imagined. This had the feel of something that I wish had been a TV series in the mid-90s when Aussie kids TV was at its peak. Not that it's a kid's story, but there was the same feel to it as stuff like Thunderstone and the latter series of Ocean Girl and so on. A definite re-read-worthy keeper, and a good quick read - both short and very fast-paced and compelling :)
September 10, 2019
I loved this! I have a hunger for imaginings of a future with the consequences of climate change, and especially ones with an Australian focus, so really enjoyed this perspective. Beautifully written, great pace, good characters. I loved Finn, could totally relate to her introversion. Definitely recommend 🙂
September 29, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed Alt-Ctrl. I thought I'd read enough 'after the apocalypse' stories, but I wouldn't miss this one. Great characters, well paced, and just enough tension. The was even a moment when I gasped out loud. I really hope there's a sequel.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews