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The Essentials
The not-too-distant future. The global population reaches ten billion, leaving the planet at its breaking point. The population is being thinned; its people, their professions, and their health are reclassified: Essential or Nonessential.
Jonathan Shaddox works as a medical courier for a healthcare giant, navigating the crumbling remains of what had been great American cities.
This was once a work of fiction.
Jonathan Shaddox works as a medical courier for a healthcare giant, navigating the crumbling remains of what had been great American cities.
This was once a work of fiction.
278 pages, Paperback
Published January 21, 2021
3 people want to read
About the author
David Tromblay
9 books26 followersDavid Tromblay served in both the Army and the Navy before earning an MFA in Creative Writing. His memoir "As You Were" was named one of the best Nonfiction books of 2021 by Kirkus Reviews. He now writes and lives in rural eastern Oklahoma.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 3, 2022
Reading and writing dystopian fiction while living in a dystopia that would sear the retinas of the likes of Orwell and Dick is a brave undertaking. Scary, depressing and all too believable is what I would say of the genre in general and specifically about David Tromblay's The Essentials where America is split being those deemed Essential and Non-essential.
The hospitals have been taken over by edicts of a Christian organisation with a view to reducing the world's population following the birth of the ten billionth person. Tromblay is creative in the writing by having most chapters being a conversation between our protagonist and a secondary character that builds the history of this world and where it is headed.
Among this are articles that expand on this and fill in the gaps and give a more macro view to the world building. This is stark stuff that is closer to reality than you might wish to admit even when combined with more outlandish ideas.
The hospitals have been taken over by edicts of a Christian organisation with a view to reducing the world's population following the birth of the ten billionth person. Tromblay is creative in the writing by having most chapters being a conversation between our protagonist and a secondary character that builds the history of this world and where it is headed.
Among this are articles that expand on this and fill in the gaps and give a more macro view to the world building. This is stark stuff that is closer to reality than you might wish to admit even when combined with more outlandish ideas.
Displaying 1 of 1 review