New America 2042: Dystopian Science Fiction

by Brett Krausse

New America, 2042. Eight years have passed since the Great Calamity, a socioeconomic crisis that destroyed most Western nations. From its depths rose the a faceless, neosocialist regime, ostensibly guided by an unbiased computer algorithm. The Co-Op introduced Sharecoins, bullion embossed with precious metals, to replace old fiat currencies. Intended as literal shares in the assets of the new nation, Sharecoins saved the Western economy. But now they're on the verge of being replaced by digital currency more easily manipulated by the Co-Op.Two robotics engineers, Henry Smith and Derwyn Davis, have a contract with the Co-Op to provide an intelligent, autonomous security platform codenamed Isaac. Isaac is designed to be used for defensive purposes only. Soon after its delivery, Henry and Derwyn learn that Isaac's programming has been corrupted—and watch in horror as Isaac bloodily captures a foreign rare-earth mine. Meanwhile, Henry meets a leader of the resistance to the former model and social influencer Claire Avatar. She helps them locate Isaac while further educating them about the Co-Op's atrocities, convinced Isaac will be used to slaughter her social movement. Working together, can they prevent the bloodshed in time?

346 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 30, 2021

Reviews

[Ian Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is allegedly dystopian, but really it is more along the lines of a few (the Co-op) organizing the economy to get obedience, and presumably themselves into a life of luxury and power. However, everybody seems to live too well for this to be really dystopian (although some might see any trace of socialism as the end of the world!) They split the citizens into factions, distribute free food if you are good and obedient, and generally run the economy for their benefit. Henry runs a small robotic company. He wants to develop prosthetic limbs with AI so they behave more or less completely like natural ones, but he has also developed robots that are "purely defensive" for crowd control. He is obviously a bit naïve, since one arm wields a club and the other something like an ultra-sharp machete. Would you believe it – the Co-op misuses them.
The main characters are the naïve robot-makers, and they are understandable but rather similar to each other. The story is reasonably well-written, and while the robotics is the main part of the menu, there are side visits to the various economic groups/factions, the attitudes of which tend to resemble modern protest groups. There are even two versions of the currency: sharecoin that is physical and sharecoin that is digital, with the real one being worth more than twice the digital one. It is an entertaining read.

[Erica Hyneman · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - This was an interesting look at socialism and what it could be. I enjoyed all of the political speculations. The storyline was enjoyable and I had a good time in this book. The writing was a lot of "telling not showing" and that took me out of the story a lot of times. The dialogue could have also been polished up a bit. However, I still think this is a good book and do not regret spending time in this world!

#netgalley

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great Calamity, that destroyed most of the Western Nations, was eight years ago. We are now ruled by the Co-Op, a regime that boasts of unbiased leadership while secretly promoting a nonsocialist regime. Henry Smith and Derwyn Davis are robotics engineers that work for Co-Op. They are working on a new security platform that was supposed to be defensive, however, soon after its deployment, the platform is used to start a bloody war of attrition of foreign assets. Horrified with the use of their creation, Henry and Derwyn seek out the resistance le by Claire Avatar and hope to overturn Co-Op once and for all.
It was interesting, to see the thought process behind this book, in that the author took some relatively new technologies (or at least undervalued) and made them the dominant items in the near future. How would that all play out, for the good or worse of humanity? This was an interesting view into a possible dystopian future for us that I hope will not come true. Great book!

[Darryl Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technology and advanced robotics on a collision course with repressive neosocialism

A politically flavored science fiction dystopian novel about an America of the near future in which the establishment has been replaced by a neosocialist organization known as "The Co-Op," that has changed society as we know it.  Containing some interesting technological gadgets, including one that apparently replaces cellphones, this is a fascinating novel with a theme describing how a form of socialism and economics rules the everyday lives of individuals. When the socialist authorities use advanced robots created and designed by a company that makes sophisticated prosthetic limbs to brutally enforce their authority, individuals from the company and the beautiful leader of a faction against the Co-Op, team up to foil their schemes. This is an interesting and thought-provoking novel that examines a number of interesting concepts in a new light, as part of the plot and certainly deserves a sequel. 

[Pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated with dystopian books. More so when they are combined with a science fiction genre in them. It makes them even more interesting. New America 2042: Dystopian Science Fiction, written by Brett Krausse, is a book that totally got my attention from start to finish. It has a very interesting concept. The book started after the Great Calamity ended. This calamity destroyed most Western nations and now everything is dominated by Co-Op.

In this book you will find robots, intelligent prosthetics and medical devices. Although these are very common in a dystopian sci-fi, I found these still very interesting because of how the story went through. I particularly love the two characters Henry Smith and Derwyn Davis. The plot was cleverly done and I could say that the author really exerted so much effort in coming up with a story like this. The scientific details were also neatly constructed and very straight-forward. I love that all the descriptions were easy to understand. All in all, a great book to devour!

[Guy Wheatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is simple minded, over the top politics. But! It works.
My feeling is that the author is on the conservative side of the fence and that is how I read the story. That worked for me and I enjoyed the tale. In fact, as I was writing this review, I changed from 4 to 5 stars. The hard to believe, sharply defined political factions were ludicrous as real world entities, but worked so well to explain the concepts being presented.
But behind the camp is some pretty sharp social observations.
Science:
The Super Robots were a little over the top, but I must admit the author backed up much of the hyperbole with some pretty solid science and engineering.
It ended on a cliff hanger that lead me to believe there may be more books to come. I’ll look forward to reading them.

[Karyn H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peering Into The Future of America Through The Author’s Mind-set

New America 2042 by Brett Krausse is a mind-blowing book from the backdrop of what the future offers in terms of technology, economy, and power. The book falls within the dystopian science fiction theme. The story revolves around the events that follow eight years after a great socioeconomic calamity hit and destroyed most Western nations and other events like the rise of autonomous security platforms and robotics engineering.
One of the interesting facts about this book is that it is set in the near future, just two decades away. Therefore, it is engaging and raises the curiosity of the reader to long for more. New America 2042 is an interesting work of literature.

[Jimmy Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sci-fi futuristic thriller

This story is about the world after a economic collapse that destroyed most of the western nations. The Co-Op became the new socialist mystery governing body and created a share coin as the new currency. When they decided go to digital crypto currency, things took a turn for the worse and the autonomous security bot Issac took over and began to kill. This story is a fast paced thriller that will keep you guessing as you turn the pages rushing forward to see what will happen next. Good characters and excellent scenes. I found this one to be a fun read and kept me interested from the very first page. This one is well worth the read folks.

[Dave · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful,
One of the few books this year that I couldn't even bring myself to finish.
I "bought it" via KU, thankfully so no great financial loss but what a waste of reading time.

I love dystopian novels so I am always prepared for the "ordinary" one, very few live up to their taglines, but I continue to buy and read them living in hope of finding the book to keep me reading. Unfortunately this was not it.