Review: A really good dystopian thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 17, 2013
Before reading the book, I saw some reviews of 'Electronic Gags' that likened it to 'The Hunger Games'. I've neither read that book nor seen the movie, but if it is an apt comparison then I may have to check it out, because Kudakwashe Muzira's novel was one of the more entertaining dystopian stories I've read, and I've read a lot of them recently. A plot re-hash is not necessary here (that is covered plenty in other reviews). All I will say is that, for me anyway, the plot really worked. The story takes place in a society that seems very far removed from ours. Though if you dig just beneath the surface, you'll realize it really ISN'T that far at all. And that is what works about the novel. Even though the world Muzira paints is very bleak, it is also grounded in a stark political reality that is difficult to deny. A really good dystopian book holds a mirror up to the world we live in and forces us to look at that image in a completely different way than we're used to. The image you are made to look at in Electronic Gags is not a comfortable one. But you absolutely cannot turn away from it either.This is a good book, and a bargain at the 99 cent price!