Another
Young Adult novel. I'm not a fan of the category. Back when I was in
high school, during the Nixon administration, the YA label meant you
were in for a propaganda piece that was designed by parental
authorities to make you see the error of your ways and cut your hair,
stay away from drugs, study hard, and become a productive member of
society. So, of course I would run like hell and find something like
Dangerous Visions, Zap
Comix, or Tropic of
Cancer to read.
I
didn't know what to expect from Daniel Haight's Flotilla.
My prejudices had me hesitating. Then the author told me to prepare to
have my mind blown.
I
like having my mind blown. It's what I look for in good
entertainment. This guy thinks he can blow my mind with his novel?
Let's see . . .
Well,
I'm happy to say that Flotilla
is a certifiable mind-blower.
The
teenage alcoholic hero, fresh out of rehab, goes working for, and
with, his dad on Colony D, a mariculture complex of linked ships
cruising the Pacific, both cultivating and harvesting fish. It's a
fantastic world of its own, spawning rowdy subcultures. It's one of
the most original and believable – you can practically smell it –
visions of futuristic society I've seen in a long time, and I'm a bit
of a junkie for these kind of things.
And it's
all about people who work for a living. Not just the sort of jobs nice
kids from good families have to dress up in nice clothes for; these
folks get dirty, soaking wet, and risk their lives. Working class
science fiction! I love it! Haight describes himself as a “working
class geek” – we need more like him.
And if I
can offer some advice to you youngsters out there, this is a good
book to read right NOW. It shows how to survive in an ever-changing
world, and deal with personal problems, and family. And when things
get apocalyptic – it keeps happening, get used to it – you've got
reflexes in place that will keep you from freezing up, maybe help you
create a brave new world that's better than the one that's collapsing
around you.
You'll
need those reflexes. No matter who wins the election.
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