Future Useless

by W.A. Patterson

Lissa knew Carl Gussman as an “artifact.” Dead for nearly a thousand years, forgotten, unwanted, unemployable, and phobic of the nanotechnology needed for a normal life in the future. They were friends until he quietly disappeared over a century ago. Now Carl's journals have landed in her lap, and Lissa is getting to know again the man she only thought she knew before. In a future that considered him useless, Carl is proving to be more dangerous than anyone could have possibly expected. He's been alone for over a century, looking for the one thing that could harm them all. Lissa is afraid because she's learning quickly that if anyone could find it, its Carl. Now she has to find Carl before he can carry out his plans.

389 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 28, 2010

Reviews

[Red Haircrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

In some ways reminiscent of Larry Niven’s “A World Out of Time”, W.A. Patterson’s “Future Useless” is the story of a man from the mid 1990′s reawakened in the distant future. It was interesting to read his perspectives as he learned of the “world” again, how it had expanded outside Earth’s atmosphere to the Moon and beyond. I questioned the reason of having a prologue of so long a length, which was several pages. I thought the information provided could have been condensed into perhaps one or two giving the reader only what was necessary to set the mood for the story since part of it is given in the synopsis anyway.

It’s written in first person, so that’s one of those modes which can be chancy and likes and dislikes subject to the reader’s tastes. By nature, the author will be telling the reader what is happening from the main character’s perspective. I felt this worked both for and against the story. It was perfect for showing me the wonder of Carl’s thoughts at the vastly interesting “new” technology, but after a while, and at critical times, I found myself wishing someone else’s view.

I enjoyed the plot, and I loved the fact that although the story was profound, it lacked pretentiousness. The author knew they had a great story and they let it evolve without unnecessary embellishments. Congratulations, W.A., this was great work, definitely worthy of a re-read.

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[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tremendous book, read it. It has a little bit of everything, sci-fi, humor, science. It makes you think. Since it is not a big name, spread the word.