Wasteland (Operation Galton Book 2)

A fast paced page turner with a plot that is a little too close to home….

We all have fears about our place in the rapidly evolving world around us that are only intensified in times of global pandemics. Conspiracies are rife about origins of disasters and combined with ever increasing surveillance and technological advances, it does not take much encouragement to imagine a time in the future when freedoms are surrendered and those in power abuse the trust in them.

Wasteland is the stand alone sequel to Hope, a book that is worth reading first however, to set the scene for this book. Following on from the growth of the mega cities and the last resort hostels called Hope Villages, those in power have more incursions planned into the freedom enjoyed by those who have chosen to live outside in the wastelands. Tolerated so far and even assisted to a degree, they now face dire consequences for not towing the party line.

We follow Rae, who has begun to have doubts about this ‘perfect’ life that has been created for her generation. Including the early indoctrination of children in government run programmes. The future is mapped out for all of them, and with big brother listening in on every thought, word and deed, it is more than a challenge to extract yourself from their grasp.

Aided by other free thinkers within the walls of the megacity, and the resistance network outside in the wastelands, Rae begins a journey into the unknown and her past.

She meets a fascinating cast of characters on her mission to find her family, each with their own story to tell that bring surprises, revelations and comradeship. Rae joins those of them already living on the edge, in a desperate race to reach safety as the government puts into action their next phase of domination.

Apart from the people that pull you into their lives, as you read further in to the story, there is a growing sense of dread as you are given a behind the scenes glimpse into the governments plans for those who have failed to be indoctrinated. Anyone reading the book will already be able to identify some parallels in our own world, and it is not difficult to project those into the future in 50 years time.

I have read all the Project Renova books and their spinoffs and I am a fan even though there are times when they make me feel uncomfortable. A mark of a well written novel and one I am happy to recommend.

Wasteland, the sequel to Hope, but don’t allow that to put you off. In my opinion, it could easily be read as a stand-alone, especially since it includes a short Hope re-cap.
What I find almost contradictory about this series is that the story-telling flows so well, so smoothly, with no slowness of pace, that you find yourself whizzing through. I think I read the whole book over five sessions. And yet at the same time you have to stop and consider the messages hidden within the text. Those messages remain in your thoughts long after you put the book down.
Dystopian yes, and yet within touching distance because of the way in which our modern world seems to be panning out. This is what I find so thought-provoking. For example, the cashless society, the lack of individuality, obsession with physical appearance, aided largely by people’s obsessive relationship with their coms. Yes, we are heading that way!
I love the opposing ‘old’ worlds of Wasteland and ‘new’ Megacity. You cannot help but consider which, if either, you would prefer to live in.
This particular extract sums up our apathetic response to what’s going on all around us while we look on, waiting for someone else to do something about it: “Most of us base our life choices around the immediate problems facing our lives…only the very few actually try to alter the big picture; most of us complain without taking action… Like those who make politically or environmentally aware statements on Heart—demonstrating their awareness makes them feel they’re doing something positive, when in fact they’re just complaining to a wider audience.” Ring any bells? Social media? How many times have I found myself thinking that very same thing lately?
Another theme is the handling of migrants. I won’t say too much about it since I don’t want to give any spoilers. All I will say is, oh how easily the tables could turn!
Another point that comes across strong: how easy it is in the modern megacity, with its fads and fickleness, to fall from grace.
Finally, there were a few twists and turn I didn’t see coming which I loved!
All in all, an excellent read!

In this brilliant book, set in the UK in the year 2061, the author delivers a scary new world, which sadly, from my eyes, is no longer just a fictional impossibility. Of course, this book would have been just as good if written years ago, but now, there is an extra layer of fear as events are just too close for comfort.

The wasteland is a place where people have gone to escape the structured world of megacities (where free speech is outlawed and the government watches everyone) or the Hope villages where the otherwise homeless are housed. Though life in the wasteland is tough … for many it is better than the alternative. But how long can it last? Is it changing already?

Tension and surprise are the reader’s constant companion in this story. Not only is it difficult for a person to feel any sense of safety, but also, things are often far from what they seem to be. The fates of the characters swerve like an out-of-control driver on a busy street. The characters play a dangerous game, but the worst part of it is that they don’t know the rules … and sometimes … if even for a brief moment … losing can look like winning … and vice versa.

I could not separate myself from the all-too-real story as I wondered what I would do in a similar situation? What sacrifices would I make? Would I run? Would I stay? Who would I trust? And the questions go and on.

Terry Tyler has done a superior job of world building and creating a cast of characters who continue to surprise in the most unexpected ways. I read the second half of this book in one sitting because it was too suspenseful to put down.

I also loved the author’s first book in this series, Hope, which is why I couldn’t wait to read this one. This book is a standalone sequel.

Highly recommend!

I received an ARC copy of this novel previous to its publication, and I’m pleased to finally be able to review it of my own free wall.
I discovered the author of this novel a few years back, and I am aware that she writes in a variety of genres, but for some reason, every time I think of reading one of her books in a different genre, another one of her dystopic novels comes my way, and I can’t resist their call. I have read and reviewed The Renova Series and also Blackthorn (an offshoot of that series), and I read the first novel in this series (or duo of novels, unless the author decides to return to this world later), Hope (you can find my review here) a little over a year ago. Circumstances have changed since I read the first novel, and the Coronavirus health crisis has made me think of the Renova Series, especially Tipping Point, very often. But many other worldwide events have kept Hope also quite fresh in my mind.
What to say about this author? Reading her reviews of books by other authors (that I recommend as well) one learns that although she enjoys a well-plotted story, she needs meaty characters to engage with as well, and paper-thin characterisation doesn’t cut it for her and that is reflected in her books. The plot of this novel, like that of Hope, is gripping, don’t get me wrong, but what always makes me fully engage with a story is believing in the characters and connecting with them, not always because I like them. When it comes to this author’s novels, even those characters I don’t like feel true, human, and relatable, down to their weaknesses and their evil ways.
I don’t want to ruin this novel for anybody, so I won’t go into the plot in too much detail. The story takes place in the same dystopic but recognisable future world featured in Hope, but almost forty years later (in 2061). Those who worry about starting to read a series in the middle don’t need to worry too much, as the novel starts slowly and there is enough world building and information about the way things work for readers to quickly pick up and settle into the story, although I’m sure anybody who starts to read here will want to know what happened before (and I recommend reading both books and in the right order, if at all possible). For those who read the first novel a while back, there’s no need to worry either, because the author offers us a link to a summary at the beginning of the book. Having said that, the main characters are completely new, and although we do get the odd reference to some of the characters in the previous book (and some make a fleeting appearance in this volume), it is not necessary to remember every detail of the first book to enjoy this one, and this novel can be read independently.
Things have moved further along, the mega-corporations control everything in people’s lives (their diets, their contacts, their jobs, exercise regimes, transportation, opinions…), and the government is preparing the new phase of their plan. If they had managed to solve the problem of homelessness and poverty by removing, rehousing, and warehousing the people they found no use for (or those who could be disruptive), they now go a step further. I had mentioned “the final solution” on my review of the previous book, and this novel echoes that mentality, and, as many reviewers have mentioned, reminds us of Orwell’s Big Brother, but also of other dystopias (I kept thinking of Huxley’s Brave New World).
The main character, Rae, one of the inhabitants of a megacity, discovers that her early childhood and personal circumstances are very different to what she’d been told and decides to try and find out the truth and locate her family, despite the risks this might involve. Although when we meet her she is only a young woman who is not totally happy with her life (she is a counsellor but is frustrated at having to follow guidelines and dish out the same trite advice to everybody, and her boyfriend is self-obsessed and not very caring) but she does not question it, she evolves through the novel, grows, and learns to think for herself. Her story is told in the first-person and it occupies a big part of the book. That works well because it allows us to explore different aspects of the world order, as she travels between them trying to find her family. But we also get snippets of the stories, told in the third person, of a variety of characters, from one of the big and powerful who is behind much of what is to come, to a young man who ended up in a Hope Village and discovers that, no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse. There are others as well, and that allows us to experience, through the eyes of the characters, the ramifications of this operation and what it does to the population. Scary doesn’t quite cover it. It is terrifying, precisely because it feels so plausible, and because many of the things we hear the characters say (or read, or watch) are so similar to what we experience in our everyday lives that it is impossible not to pause and gasp.
No privacy, government monitoring of our lives, total control of information, the abysmal division between the haves and the have-nots, the cult of popularity, the importance given to looks and appearances above everything, the spinning of news and the emergence of fake news, the demolishing of any discordant voices, the pressure to conform, bullying and backstabbing at work, the cuts of the funding for social projects… The list of the issues brought up by the novel that could be out of today’s newsfeed is endless, and it seems to have become even more pressing and shocking now than when I read the first book.
When I think about this book and about the author, I’m reminded of the dialogue of a play I read years back, when one character explained that a clairvoyant is a person who “sees clearly”. And yes, this is what Tyler is, a clairvoyant, not so much because she can predict the future (I hope she’s got it wrong, but I wouldn’t bet on it), but because she sees what’s happening around us with tremendous clarity. And she can write about it, for sure.
So, yes, I loved this book, although “loved” is perhaps not the right word for such a book. I enjoyed it immensely but I kept my fingers crossed and can’t but hope that the things in it that haven’t happened yet will never come to pass. I enjoyed the ending, at least for some of the characters I’d come to care about, (but the author takes no prisoners and this is not a cosy and happy ending by any stretch of the imagination); there are plenty of twists (if you needed a proof that we can make assumptions and reach the wrong conclusions when we read, this book delivers in a big way); and if you are looking for a gripping read that you won’t forget any time soon, I recommend it without reservations. If you are looking for a book that will take your mind off things and you’ll forget as soon as you’ve turned the last page, this isn’t it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.