L.I.F.E. in the 23rd Century: A Dystopian Tale of Consumerism, Corporate Coffee, and Crowbars

by Jason R. Richter

Meet Pat McGewan-X04. Pat is a Patriot that spends his days watching robots build cubicles for corporations that keep getting blown up by those pesky terrorists in the soon to be won, we've got them on the ropes, 232nd year of the War on Terror. He's content in his world of mediocre corporate coffee, vid-link chats with his wife that the government discourages him from ever meeting in person, and an endless barrage of travel bans, terrorist attacks, and never-ending nightly news emergency broadcasts.
But everything changes when a freak car accident puts Pat in the national spotlight. One minute he's a hero for being the sole survivor of this week's most recent terrorist attack, (but not long enough to get a commemorative coffee cup with his face on it before the next attack happens). In the next minute, the nation's most vitriolic talking head has branded Pat the greatest threat to truth, justice, and stockholder profits and the manhunt begins!
Pat has to decide to fight the corporate-controlled media and possibly lose his life or give in to his Academy training and lose his soul and possibly any hope of ever getting a decent cup of coffee. Welcome to LIFE in the 23rd Century, an absurd, light-hearted dystopian future to distract you from your horrific dystopian present. Brought to you by the makers of prescription Chillaxafed.
"A laudable sci-fi yarn that's both irreverent and relevant." Kirkus Reviews

274 pages, Paperback

Published February 15, 2021

About the author

Jason R. Richter is a perennial runner-up in Jason R. Richter look-alike contests. The orphaned love child of Kilgore Trout and Margaret Dumont, he was raised by marauding nomadic accountants. When the bottom fell out of the interplanetary death ray market at the dawn of the new millennium, he turned his hobby (a game he calls "Lies to Strangers") into a career. He currently lives.

His books L.I.F.E in the 23rd Century and I am Leonard are currently available.

Visit DiskordianPress.com for more

Reviews

[Sasquatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Triggers:
Existential crisis
Drug use / abuse
Prejudice
Terrorist propaganda
Brutality

Notes:

I don't know how this book even came onto my radar, but it's highly rated and not very many reviews, so I've plucked it up off my shelf to see what it's all about.

All it takes for you to become a terrorist…

Look at someone directly
Talk to someone directly
Order the wrong coffee mug
Not buying the right promotional object at the time

It's both hilarious and horrifying honestly.

The funniest thing about this book is that having and taking hard drugs is perfectly OK so long as you purchase them legally but refurbishing broken electronics is highly illegal but returning them means the person who was responsible for making them gets fired or executed.

I'm starting to wonder if our main character is a robot? Probably not, but he does unearth some deep fake stuff that's a bit too close to the truth.

If you are a fan of government conspiracy theories, this is for you.

Where this book started to lose me was when it went too deep into the conspiracy theories and there was somehow a trick 150 year gap. The book lost me again when Pat was suddenly a hacking genius.

I'm sad this book doesn't have more readers overall. Other than the crazy revolutionary turn it took, I enjoyed it.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 23rd century take on American life didn't really get particularly interesting till over halfway thru. A lot of what happens is sadly quite plausible, especially with the last four years as a starting point
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Steff Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

| Reader Fox Blog |


Set in a futuristic world where even the smallest mistake or misunderstanding can lead to a person receiving the label of terrorist, L.I.F.E. in the 23rd Century by Jason R. Richter tells a tale of American culture in extremes. The story follows P. McGewan-X04, whose life is progressing normally in a very consumer-driven and patriotism centric world when suddenly an engineering mistake accidentally causes a forty-ton container to fall from an airship onto his car as he is driving home. The event is quickly determined to be an act of terror and the man in charge of loading the airship is promptly executed. Upon awakening, P. McGewan's life quickly changes as he slowly becomes aware of what is truly happening in the world around him.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. L.I.F.E. in the 23rd Century was intriguing from the start. The dystopian and futuristic setting in which the main character resides is an impressive imagining of consumerism in an extreme that eerily captures the dangers of the very similar preoccupation that exists in America today. The Government uses patriotism to control the masses, pushing the idea that it is linked irreversibly with the constant purchasing of goods. The population is regularly brainwashed into compliance with threats of terrorist attacks and the idea that anyone making mistakes or showing a lack of support for the country is a terrorist themselves.

There was a lot to like about Richter's novel. I was pulled right into the story and the premise brilliantly managed to make me truly think about the message the author was trying to send. I found myself enjoying every aspect of the novel as I read it, eagerly devouring each page. The plot was very imaginative and well-executed which only made me love it all the more. Richter built a beautifully terrifying world for his readers that I even felt myself missing once I'd finished reading.

Best of all, Richter's characters were clever and interesting. Not only did they seem very real, but I felt genuinely invested in their lives and futures. They were all quite unique and I adored the main character, P. McGewan-X04, who was often portrayed as honorable and intelligent. He was abrasive on occasion, but I found the brashness had an endearing quality to it when paired with the rest of his personality.

The only disappointment I experienced while reading this book came when I read the epilogue. While I found it entertaining at first as it gave me an opportunity to see where the characters were after all they'd been through, the epilogue felt extremely out of place. It didn't seem to match the rest of the book at all and there was nothing to lead readers into the odd plot twist. It ultimately felt unnecessary, out of the blue, and confusing. I truly believe Richter's book would be much better without it.

At the end of the day, I really loved L.I.F.E. in the 23rd Century. Despite the strange epilogue, I found Richter to be a masterful writer and storyteller. I think L.I.F.E. in the 23rd Century could appeal to a great number of people, particularly adults who enjoy dystopian and science fiction novels. I'm glad that I had the chance to read it.

I read this book for OnlineBookClub reviews.

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[Rick Heinz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you need to know about this book is summed up in this tagline: "Pat McGewan - X04 - is a patriotic cubicle technician..." Just the dry witty humor in that line alone oozes through the book.

In a way, the book is a political parody of our culture taken to the extreme today, and its both funny and scary to read chapters, only to turn on some talking head on TV today and see how close they are to forced patriotism.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes sarcastic and dark reflections with political under (and over, and through, and with a crowbar) overtones.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A voice in the present

Setting, the fairly nearish future of it’s own past. Characters, defined as terrorists by their (sorta) peers. Their peers being drugged comatose mind washed gears of a self replicating machine, designed by 5 rather egocentric individuals. Unfortunately, said 5 individuals don’t really seem to have a warm and fuzzy regard for their machine. The 5 terrorists reciprocate the feelings. Kind of a “What goes around, comes around” thing, really. (aka “Karma”)
Chaos ensues. Good times! (Except for falling in the sewer)

[Peter Coomber · Rating 4 out of 5]

An very enjoyable book. Strangely enough, for me, it didn't excite me as much as his short story collection (hence the missing star). But well worth reading.

I think I caught the Moby Dick connection (Ishmael's coffee = Starbucks coffee), but I might be reading more into this than I should be. (Sometimes the postwoman knocks twice and this causes me to try and find threads that explain the meaning of life.)

But where was I..? Reviewing a book. Yes, a very clever four stars.

[Eric Landreneau · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, fast, gripping read, and a harsh warning dressed up as a comedy in the finest absurdist tradition. Without the buffering jokes, the disheartening reality of the world in this book would hit way too close to the life we live in. It would feel like a tale of tomorrow, not of 200 years in the future. And that's the point. Comedy functions to package awful concepts in palatable forms. You laugh and say "That's so true!" But you keep on thinking about the idea, the concept, the warning. And you stop laughing. That is where this book fits; it its credit, and our detriment, L.I.F.E. is more of a mirror than it initially seems to be.