The End of the World is Flat

by Simon Edge

A satirical comedy featuring Christopher Columbus, a tech billionaire, and a global delusion. Mel Winterbourne is the founder of a small, single-issue charity in the obscure field of mapmaking. Its success in achieving modest aims attracts the attention of handsome tech billionaire Joey Talavera, who evicts Mel and hijacks her charity for his own ends: to convince the world that the earth is flat. Although his chances of doing so seem slim, Flat Earthery is an idea whose time has come. With the historical reputation of Christopher Columbus in free-fall, old-style 'globularism' becomes heretical for a new generation of angry, anti-Establishment free-thinkers. Teachers, politicians, and celebrities face ruin if they refuse to sign up to the new orthodoxy. For Mel, something must be done. Teaming up with a pariah tabloid journalist and a faded writer of gross-out movie comedies, she sets out to challenge Talavera and his deranged beliefs. Will history and the billionaire's own family origins be their unexpected ally? Using his trademark mix of history and satire to poke fun at modern foibles, Simon Edge is at his razor-sharp best in a caper that may be much more relevant than you think.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Politics, Comedy, Contemporary, Novels

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 16, 2021

About the author

Simon Edge read philosophy at Cambridge and had a long career as a newspaper journalist and critic. He is the author of five novels, mostly satirical comedies with a historical theme: The Hopkins Conundrum, a ‘tragic comedy’ based on the life of the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins; The Hurtle of Hell, an atheist comedy featuring God as one of the main characters; A Right Royal Face-Off, about the rivalry between the painters Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds, mixed with a satirical modern story; Anyone for Edmund?, a political satire about the discovery of England’s long-lost patron saint; and The End of the World is Flat, described by novelist Jane Harris as ‘Animal Farm for the era of gender lunacy, with jokes’. He lives in Suffolk.

Reviews

[Harriet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. An excellent satire with all too realistic parallels in the "real" world. I thoroughly recommend it to everyone, if nothing else it is a masterclass in media, and social media, manipulation.

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So clever and piercingly relevant with regard to today's society. I galloped through the first three chapters of The End of the World is Flat on the day it came out, then raced through the rest two days later. I couldn't put it down and it was perfect on this sunny Saturday afternoon in July. Social Media, and how it can be manipulated by malign forces is at the heart of this incisively observant novel - Twitter user beware!!

[Tracy Duckett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd give it 6 stars if I could. Absolutely inspired piece of writing. Perfect satire - really funny, and really good commentary.

[jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny and close to the truth

Loved this, anyone following recent debates will recognise the subject Simon is satirising, very timely and great page turner. Well deserved 5*

[Thomas Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing is functional but unfunny. The author's attempt at satire falls flat because he has inadvertently shot himself with his own ammunition.

You see, he attempts to equate flat-earthers with people who believe that transgender people not only exist but are also worthy of respect. But it is the author who is the flat-earther, railing against reality.

I made the mistake of looking at the author's Twitter feed. To say that he is obsessed with transgender people is an understatement - people, by the way, who in no way affect his life (what could drive that kind of obsession?). He retweets people who state that gender dysphoria is a mental illness (it isn't) and he's railed against the 170+ charities and LGBT organisations who recently boycotted the UK government's decision not to ban conversion therapy on trans people. Apparently, he knows better than all those authoritative groups. What's the word for that - hubris, arrogance, spite?

The author fancies himself as the little boy amongst the crowd who sees that the emporer has no clothes. In actuality, he's more akin to a drunk standing outside a pub with his right-wing chums, shouting at black street bollards and telling them to go home where they belong.

Save yourself the mental anguish and read something intelligent.

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliantly contemporary satire.

A respected single-issue charity, which has just achieved its aim after years of campaigning, prepares to wind down. This would necessarily entail the loss of jobs - until a shadowy billionaire steps in with an offer: he'll keep the charity running, provided it pivots to focus on his pet delusion. He wants to convince the entire world that material reality doesn't exist. And he's frighteningly successful...

I took a star off at the end because I felt it finished too abruptly, but Simon Edge has nice, readable prose which flows well. Don't worry, there's an afterword to make things clear.

[Karen Mace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect 'light' relief read that I needed in this crazy world we live in right now! Although it has now made me even more determined never to believe anything I read on the internet as it shows how easy it can be to peddle lies and misinform the public to suit your own needs!! Trust nobody!!!

Who knew a map making charity could be the start of misinformation?! Mel has been running the charity campaign for years and has achieved all that she set out to, so what next for the charity? Well, tech billionaire Joey has a few ideas of his own and wants to use the campaign to help him spread his latest beliefs.. mainly that the earth is flat!! And when you have as much money as he has, there seems to be no limit in how far he'll go to convince people of his way of thinking!!

This is a master class of showing how shallow the online world can be! The 'sheeple' following others if it's the latest in thing to do, in fear of being left out and thinking for yourself!!

Mel got richly rewarded for her charity work and to hand over the reigns to the new charges, but it soon starts to play on her mind that all she had worked for over the years is being derided so she starts to put things in motion to get the truth out there about the new aims of her once respected charity.

I just loved how relevant this story is!! The use of 'word salad' to bamboozle people and get them onboard and how the use of social media just ramps the anger and vitriol up! The twitter spats especially were very funny and very believable!! How something so trivial can be turned into full scale war online when a few people get behind it! And the backlash against those who dare to go against the grain - and use their common sense and brains to denounce it all! And knowing a billionaire is behind it all, money talks!!

This was a fabulously crafted piece of work, so biting and pertinent and thoroughly entertaining from the first page to last!! The humour is pitch perfect and I can't wait to see what the author comes with up next!!

[MRS JANICE TAYLOR · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining escape

Gender woo-woo on twitter is exhausting, the parallels in Simon Edge's clever novel are entertaining and giggle worthy. This globulist heretic approved wholeheartedly! Let's hope that life will imitate art.

[Carole Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book very much. It got to a point where I couldn't put it down. Very readable and a brilliant satire on how easy it is to con the masses into believing something that is demonstrably bonkers.

[Sibyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book from a sense of duty, knowing that it explored an important issue - how and why people are persuaded by pseudo-science.

But I hadn't expected it would be so entertaining. Comic writing is hard to pull off. Too often it's lazy and predictable, reliant on old stereotypes.

By contrast I felt that Simon Edge's characters emerged as believable 21st century individuals. I warmed to hard-working doctor Craig, who feels increasingly ambivalent as his husband Shane is altered by his job as CEO of a charitable foundation. I felt for struggling freelance journalist Ginny, who has to cope with being trashed on Twitter and with physical disability.

When it comes to writing about organisational capture and the abuses of social media, Simon Edge delivers razor-sharp entertainment.

Anyone who follows current debates on sex and gender will also find themselves nodding frequently in recognition. Many of us want to believe that we are intelligent progressive people who weigh up evidence, make up our own minds. But is this really the case?

My only disappointment was that, for me, the book stopped too soon. In fiction order can be restored, action wrapped up with a few deft strokes of the authorial pen. But the novel is so successful in its portrayal of a densely corrupt world, that the resolution felt a bit too quick and easy. I would have liked to stay with Craig and Ginny a little longer....

But this is an original and hugely enjoyable novel. Highly recommended.

[Professor Chris Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was always going to read this book after hearing the author interviewed on Coleman. It is a pretty inspired idea, though I heard many people comparing gender theory to flat-earthism even 5 years ago. I guess I am annoyed that I did not write this book!

The similarity with Stonewall is striking, a gay marriage organisation which was taken over by a crazy ideology whose only purpose seems to be to continue the charitable organisation. The pivot of the fictitious Orange Peel from promoting more realistic geographical projections to flat earth motivated, sold with the anti-racism trope is really well thought out. Like I said, this is an inspired idea for a book.

The only reason I did not give it 5, is that at a few critical points the writing is absolutely terrible. Mostly it is good. But the editor needed to speak frankly about some passages. The other issue is that the good guys wrap everything up far too easily at the end. I was expecting a twist. And I do not see any good ending happening in the real world. Depsite the author's optimism in the afterword.

[Robbie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read. My favourite scene is on p321, where Mel advises Ginny how to write up the story so as to avoid the risk of her wealthy adversaries taking her down with questionable libel claims: "Fictionalise it. Dress it up as something else ... Find some other subject where a bunch of fanatics take incontrovertible truths and rip them up for some crazy ideology." Mel's suggestion is to have the fanatics "argue that biological sex is a false concept imposed on the world by racist imperialists. Or is that too far-fetched?"
I wasn't expecting it to be such a romping adventure with twists and turns of character. I found many characters credible and believable.
(Slight spoiler alert: stop reading here if you haven't read TEOTWIF yet). Shane was an exception, maybe, due to the way he turned into more and more of a callous, unprincipled villain. But still, he was the Love-To-Hate character and deserved what he got!

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good fun and all-too-believable. I'm not actually sure how obvious it would be, if you didn't already know the origin story, what he's actually satirising, but in a way, that's all to the good since you don't feel like you're being bashed over the head with in-jokes. TBH, I would have preferred more of that side of things: more references to real twitter people, more set-pieces where obvious foolishness is lapped up by people who should know better.
He explains it all in the afterword, and also highlights some of the obvious ways in which his story does *not* mirror reality - most obviously in the fact that in fiction you can have a clear villain and a clear route to victory. Reality is much more messed-up since the brain-worms that have got a hold on popular culture have sprung up on their own, without a backer and people are more-or-less gaslighting themselves at this point.

[Mercy · Rating 1 out of 5]

terfs continue to be unfunny and obsessed with us

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This satirical novel closely mirrors much of the insanity displayed on twitter and which has spread to public institutions and political parties (i.e. the rejection of biological sex as an important category, empty redefinitions of men/women, or outright rejection of the existence of male/female [in humans only curiously]). It is a very gripping read. As others have noted, it is hard to put down. I was grateful for the 'neat and happy ending'. Well done Simon Edge.

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cartographical organisation realises that there is more money to be made in flat-earthery, and sets about quietly persuading everyone to regard any other views as offensive. A very enjoyable parody of the mess that some gay and lesbian rights organisations have got themselves into lately, though as an sf reader I was a bit disappointed by the lack of any actual apocalyses.

[Julie Curwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant spoof on the absurdity of the post-modern, Twitter-afflicted world. Well-plotted, hilarious, and the same time deeply disturbing. Highly reccommended!

[Neil Fulwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Razor-sharp satire for the ridiculous, brittle, social-media-addled times we live in. Edge’s brilliant and hilarious hook is to conflate gender identity ideologues with flat-earth nutters, but there’s much more to the novel than just high concept. It also functions as a conspiracy thriller, a warning to the gullible and an occasionally chilling commentary on how easily even the most skewed ideologies take root in the media and academia.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bonkersly brilliant. A very entertaining read and with what's been going on over the last few years also a little scary.

[Tim Ewins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb book. Fascinating and funny, and just so hard to put down. Absolutely loved it.

[Snoakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed Simon Edge's books, but I approached The End of the World is Flat with trepidation. It only takes a quick scroll through Simon's Twitter feed to see that we don't see eye to eye on one of the platform's current favourite arguments - and that is the inspiration for this book.

The story is about a charity that has successfully campaigned for a change in the map projection commonly used in cartography around the world (yes, I know that sounds a dull subject, but it's catnip to me and the setup is very cleverly done). The charity is then hijacked by a tech billionaire who wants to use its credibility to convince everyone that the world is flat. What follows is an entertaining and inventive satire on how social media can be used by the unscrupulous to channel mob outrage with enjoyably ludicrous consequences.

It's quite clear that the intention is to lampoon the Twitter TERF wars, and which side Simon is on - after all, the plucky band of sane folk who dare to go against the flat earth ideology are called TERGs (True Earth-Rejecting Globularists). However, despite that, it's not how the actual story read to me. To my mind there is a massive gulf between a campaign to promote a science-rejecting flat earth philosophy bankrolled by a man with bottomless pockets, and arguments on Twitter about biological sex, the social construction of gender, feminism and protecting the rights of a vulnerable and marginalised minority group. This meant that as I was swept along by the story I just didn't make those connections. If anything, I saw more real world parallels in the social media disinformation and polarised arguments that led to Brexit.

For me then, it's an entertaining satire about fake news and the spread of misinformation that plagues our modern world, but not quite the brave and controversial book the author intended. That said, it's proof that it is entirely possible to enjoy art and literature even if you have a different point of view to the creator.

[Graham Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a charity comes to the end of its shelf-life a plot is hatched to keep everyone employed. But this involves selling a major scam. With the help of a secret rich financier and a shady advisor, identity politics are misused in order to create negative reactions to the truth. Once truth is undermined and doubt is spread, it becomes easier to spread ‘alternative facts’.
Once the scam and the tactics to sell it have been formulated, the story moves along quickly and enjoyably and I found it hard to put down.
Although it becomes increasingly clear what issue is being satirised I feel the lessons can be extended to many any other issues we face. Feelings can sometimes combat reason and overcome evidence and facts. Intersectionality can be misused to manipulate us into supporting issues we wouldn’t have otherwise done. Currently the CIA is using identity politics to sell itself as a force for good. The war in Afghanistan was partly sold on the basis of protecting women.
The story opens with Columbus. The story we were taught at school. Yet towards the end of the novel we start to learn the relevance of these passages within the story. Although this connection between the main story of the novel and the Columbus passages isn’t explicitly made, it is subtly suggested towards the end of the book. For those that still didn’t get it, Edge makes it crystal clear in his afterword!
This book has a happy ending. It also gave me strength and encouragement. Because of this I consider it a useful tool in the war on science. A tool that is entertaining, funny and a great read!

[Auggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fabulous book. Honestly, this was a less than ideal time for me to read it. For various reasons, I've been needing a lot of comfort reads lately and this satire definitely does not qualify. It is quite humorous but it's a cynical humor so not at all a fluff read. It is, however, very well-written and the story is great so I ended up being sucked into it virtually against my will. I really enjoyed it and look forward to trying something else by the author.

[Jenifer Lavery · Rating 4 out of 5]

A work of fiction that may be too close to the thruth

This book cleverly takes something that is happening now and bends it just enough so to create the fiction. No the world isn't flat but if you pay enough attention you will now what it is. Those of us allegedly on the wrong side of history applaud you

[Richard Sanderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smart and Eviscerating. Part of the fun is working out which public figures and institutions are being satirised in this smart comedy - it's often pretty obvious. The central argument, that a social media appeal to fairness and human rights can, when manipulated, lead to the exact opposite, is exquisitely laid out.

[CARRIE PIERCE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking

As I read this book I talked about it with my husband who is much more in tune with world events and technology.
I get so depressed by news that I tend to bury my head in the sand. However, he explained that that what happened in the novel happens in real life.
Enjoy reading it!

[Jane Kidd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read - and though it's fiction, it explains just HOW a successful small charity (if you've been following the UK culture
wars, you'll know which charity it is) became a mind-bending force for bad. Hilarious satire blends with compassion to make the ultimate comment on our time.

[Kay Quillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The Emperors New Clothes’ of 2022. An entertaining read with unsubtle references to a current ‘fashionable’ cause that shows how easy it is to dupe an uncritical public to gain power and influence or make money.

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.8⭐ I laughed so much! The perfect antidote to the current madness on Social Media.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful writing and a really piercing and timely insight into how good organisations can lose their way and how easily people can be led down a dangerous path