Getting Back

by William Dietrich

Getting Back is a futuristic thriller, an eco-fable with a touch of Survivor, Mad Max, and Avatar. The world's population has doubled. Wilderness exists only in old movies. Every region on Earth has been explored, organized, and tamed. But in this brave new age one secret organization promises the most forbidden pleasure of all: a true outdoor adventure. The price is a year's salary. The destination is a continent that disease has put off-limits. And the catch is that on this expedition, you may never return...

In the belly of a shimmering 21st Century pyramid, Daniel Dyson occupies Cubicle 17 and fantasizes about love and escape. By day he pursues petty ways to subvert his overly programmed life. By night he flirts with a shadowy group that dares him to rebel and reclaim his autonomy. Then he stumbles onto Outback Adventure.

Outback doesn't advertise and keeps its Internet site heavily encyrpted. Yet Daniel, partly to seek deeper meaning in his life, partly to find a woman who doesn't want to be found, soon finds himself taking a perilous trek across the forbidden continent of Australia. There, Outback has promised he will find out what it means to be truly alive, to test his limits, and to understand real survival. What he and his two dozen fellow adventurers don't know is that all their high-tech gear and all their plans haven't prepared them for what lies ahead. Because this journey will not only plunge them into a stark desert and through a gauntlet of natural dangers, it will force them to face the most dangerous creatures on earth: their fellow humans.

Getting Back is a novel of survival and a search for meaning where both have gone extinct - a thriller that asks us whether getting back is the object of the game, or the punishment for losing...

Road Warrior," a journey into a wasteland depopulated of civilization but not of ideas...speculative fiction at its best, a brainy amalgam of action, romance, and a probing of post-twentieth-century urban civilization that cuts disturbingly close to the bone." Steven Pressfield, author, .

"If you've never understood why some people care so much about wildness, then this gripping novel will provide a few of the answers." Bill McKibben, author, The End of Nature.

"Dietrich has married the traditions of "1984" and "Deliverance" to produce a futuristic wilderness thriller that is not only utterly gripping but thought-provoking." Robert Clark, author, In The Deep Midwinter.

"An engaging read with considerable depth." Christian Science Monitor.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller, Adventure, Dystopia, Suspense, Mystery

370 pages, Hardcover

First published February 2, 2000

About the author

William Dietrich is a NY Times bestelling author of the Ethan Gage series of eight books which have sold into 28 languages. He is also the author of six other adventure novels, several nonfiction works on the environmental history of the Pacific Northwest, and a contributor to several books.

Bill was a career journalist, sharing a Pulitzer for national reporting at the Seattle Times for coverage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He taught environmental journalism at Huxley College, a division of Western Washington University, and was adviser to Planet Magazine there. He was Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, and received several National Science Foundation fellowships for reporting on science. His travels have taken him from the South Pole to the Arctic, and from the Dead Sea to the base camp of Mount Everest. The traveling informs his books.

He lives in Anacortes, WA, in the San Juan islands, and is a fan of books, movies, history, science, and the outdoors.

Reviews

[Eldon Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book over twenty years ago now. I read it in hardcover back then and really enjoyed the concept and the writing so thought I'd give the ebook a try now.

First thing, I didn't realize then how prescient Dietrich was. Consider these lines from the book and remember he wrote them two decades ago:

"People who preferred to believe the bizarre over the mundane no matter how improbable."

"Once they got everyone onto the Internet, nothing was private anymore. Your life wasn’t locked in your head and your desk drawer, it was spewed in electronic bytes across a global network. They told you it was encrypted but spying became child’s play."

"They know us better than we know ourselves, from our electronic droppings."

I swear, he could be writing about the world we're actually living in today. Incredible.

The overall story remains good but marks are deducted for the numerous typos, poor formatting, and the abundance of head hopping. I didn't take much off for this because I think the practice was more accepted at the time of original writing.

Still a fabulous read!

[🥀 Rose 🥀 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yea so this wasn't what I thought it was gonna be. Bit disappointing overall. Set on the near future we have created a utopian society where everyone has a job, money, place to live overall contentment. For a few people this life has become dull, predictable and is lacking in excitement. Outdoor adventures offers something completely different. If your chosen.

So what I thought was going to be man vs nature, or man had to survive outback because he's being hunted which all sound intriguing became something more philosophical in my opinion. I didn't care for many of the people in the story especially raven and Daniel. I wouldn't mind if they were complicated and interesting but they were pretty one dimensional and boring. I found myself able to put the book down often.

Two stars mostly because I finished it.

[Cameron Kobes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters in this book were fairly one-dimensional and cliched in a lot of ways, that's the primary weakness to this novel. I wasn't sold on the story until about halfway through, but it grew on me and I did appreciate it by the end. The thoughtful analysis of how extreme wilderness survival would work (reminiscent of Gary Paulsen) was probably the book's strongest point.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began, set it down, started again weeks later. Then I got pulled in and could not put it down. Set in a new world which is repressive, orderly, extremely structure and allows for no individual thought or action; therefore, adventures are promoted in a black market style on internet. Daniel applies for trip of lifetime to Australia. He and 3 others are selected. Twists and turns abound. It definitely was hard to put down. The physical challenges they had to meet in an Australia of the future made me wonder if I could face such things. I decided I couldn't. Really liked this book and I do recommend as something quite different.

[Brentman99 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a different edition (Warner Brothers) but there were no pages or ratings, so I thought I would use this one.

I thought that the premise was a good one. An interesting idea to have one continent devoid of people due to a human made virus 30 years prior. Leaving the entire landmass open for use by big corporations.

The characters were good and the story progressed well as I love a classic heroes' journey. I loved that the antagonist gets what he deserved in the ending.

It was a good leisure read. William Dietrich's Ethan series are also a good read.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this more than 20 years ago, pre-dating Goodreads, and I realized it'd never been added here. This is still one of my all-time favorite books. That old hardback earned a cherised place on my bookshelf of books that I display to guests in my home.

A tale of survival in nature, the future which given it was written in 2000 frighteningly prophetic.

I love fiction books in which nature is a major part of the story. This very well be the book that started me on that path.

[Roger Noland · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Missed Opportunity

A good story that is almost ruined by cliches and "preach-iness". So many interesting avenues that were not pursued. It seemed that the characters were kept deliberately shallow in order to make the underlying message more profound.

[Cristian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi è piaciuto;
Cavolo se mi è piaciuto.
Avventura, sf, tradimento, amore, insomma tutti gli ingredienti ci sono senza mai cadere nello scontato o nel banale.
È una storia dalla prima pagina.
Lo consiglio come lettura da svago, ma svago ben fatto.
++++

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhat interesting story line. Misfits sent to the Australian Outback. Futuristic time setting. Struggle to survive and with decision to return to Society or remain in Australia.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I expected something different before I started and had no idea where it was going. I like this author and look forward to his next!

[Booknblues · Rating 3 out of 5]

As William Dietrich sees the future in Getting Back cities have expanded beyond all boundaries and everyone is given a pleasant career nook under the rule of United Corporations. The problem is not everyone feels happy or copperative in their given career role. Daniel Dyson, the main character feels alienated and unhappy. He spends his free time in the cyber world trying to uncover secrets of the UC or running "outside" an extremely dangerous way to pass time. Dyson buys onto a trip by Outback Adventures and finds himself in the outback of Australia under extremely trying conditions.
In purchasing this book, labeled a mystery thriller, I assumed it was more of a man against nature with a human adversary thrown in for good measure. Instead it is a futuristic novel whose vision may not be far off the mark - there are genetic engineering fowl-ups, mega conglomerates who rule the world and massive epidemics which wipe out large segments of the population. While the book promotes a back to nature perspective it does not adequately describe the scenery and the struggles with nature.

After a prologue that catches the readers interest and is exciting and intriguing. The author spends over one hundred long pages setting the scene of the future before the action really gets rolling. There is a side romance to satisfy everyone, however Raven(the woman) never fills out to be any more than a shadow woman.

Having said all that I would recommend this book to those who enjoy futuristic novels and a look at the five star reviews proves that there are those who found the book to be more to their taste.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The time is the Future and the world is governed by a mega corporation, the population is pushing the boundaries of sustainability and the corporation keeps a tight rein on everything. Daniel Dyson is tired of is dull, controlled job in a cubicle in a huge company, his desk is cluttered, not the accepted bare, neat impersonal desk suggested by management. Meeting a woman on his early morning run, he strikes up an acquaintance and soon learns about a vacation adventure that sounds quite different then the safe, over managed ones generally offered. This one promises to take him to an unknown destination and leave him to survive on a trek to the Exodus Point where he will be picked up and returned to civilization. Having decided to accept he gives over a years salary and along with 3 other adventurers is dropped off somewhere in Australia and told to find the Exodus Point somewhere to the east. What they didn’t tell him is that Australia has been unpopulated and off limits following a genetic virus plague that decimated the population years ago. There were a number of other bits of information that they were not told either which makes for a long, dangerous and exhausting trek with no directions and no supplies but what they carried of scrounged. Good book, interesting premise especially in this age of growing multinationals.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting book set in the not too distant future with a world ruled by United Corporations. Everyone has everything they need, but that also brings a total monotony to their lives. Until Outback Adventures appears for a select few that are looking for more, including Daniel Dyson. This select group get to go to Australia for the adventure of a lifetime and the cost is a years salary. The catch is that Australia had been struck with a plague and is now desolate, an undiscovered country pretty much. As time goes on during Daniel's trip he realizes that he's not one of the only select few that are there. The "morally impaired" are there as well. It becomes a twisted run for his life to get back to where he came from, except did United Corporations ever want any of these people to really come back???

[Joshua Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book that provokes some thought about the modern world. While it was written 13 years ago, there are some things in here that resonate now, especially in light of the recent NSA scandal. I don't know that Dietrich's vision of political and corporate lines blurring to the point of a "United Corporations" taking over is realistic, but certainly in an era of globalization, multinationals, and increasing consolidation of corporate entities it perhaps isn't completely far fetched.

This book wasn't what I expected after Ice Reich, but it did deliver in entertainment value and was more philosophical than the previous work. A worthy entry to my "read" list. I look forward to reading more from him.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dietrich is always a great storyteller, but I'm struggling through this one ...the Science Fiction/post-apocalyptic genre isn't a favorite of mine...individual vs. structure blah, blah, blah...but I finished it

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

the first part of the book was a little boring, and I had to push through it, but I am sooo happy I did. The twists and adventure that takes place is absolutely enthralling. I have told everyone I know to read this book!

[Ima · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a unique story! loved this

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A survivalist tale where life has become so boring that people are desperate to find places where they will be forced to live again (or die trying).

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Survival in the Outback of Australia - only set in a future time in civilization. The adventure is not what it seems.

[Tommy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It had quite a different story line. I plan to read other boks by this same aothor.

[Chris Gager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yea! I found it without remembering the title or author. Just the plot. Pretty entertaining fantasy/sci-fi adventure set mostly in the Australian outback. Date read is a guess.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first Dietrch novel outside of the Ethan Gage series, and it was very different. I'm not a big Sci-fi guy, so it was just ok for me. I'll still try a few other books by this author.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting dystopian plot line. I liked the setting being in Australia and I enjoyed the story overall. It got a bit dry in a few spots, but generally speaking I enjoyed it .

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great commentary on modern day life.

[Andy2302 · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a industry run society, a young man thinks he is going on adventure is in turn being culled out of society. The plane lands in arid Australia with few resources. Goodbye.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy - 3.5 stars