Review: Interesting look at a future Earth
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 23, 2013
I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest review.Creator Class, set in 2083-2084, tackles the theme of overpopulation, class separation, and total government control. Overpopulation became a huge problem in the early 21st century, around 2020ish, so extreme measures were taken to cut population and attempt to save the earth. When these measures were taken, the earth's population was around 16 billion. In this world, 60 or so years later, the population stands at a strictly controlled one billion. These people are separated into the elite Creator Class, or C-Class, and the common P-Class.The main character, Shawn, is a member of P-Class, also referred to as The People, Peon-Class, and The Zoo. Life seems fine for those in P-Class. They have basically everything they want. However, they also have to fear termination by the government for radical thinking and anti-government and anti-Earthism thinking. Unfortunately for Shawn, ant-government thought and speech is a bit of a habit for him, encouraged and cultivated by his Nana, who is old enough to remember the time before.Unbeknownst to Shawn and the rest of P-Class, there exists the elite C-Class. C-Class is part of the ruling class, descendents of the original group who revolutionized the world. As the elite, they have certain special privileges, such as more freedom and the ability to watch and observe the P-Class, who are constantly monitored without their knowledge. Rachel, a young teen member of C-Class, has been watching Shawn. What started out as casual observation for school has become an obsession. When she realizes Shawn could be terminated for his thinking, she contacts him, which is strictly forbidden. This sets in motion a series of events, only beginning with Shawn's advancement from P-Class to C-Class.Creator Class was a fun, quick read. The story pulled me in and I couldn't stop reading. Though some of the political scenes bored me a little, that's to be expected, as any extensive political talk that sounds like political talk tends to make my eyes glaze over. I really liked the references to Orwell's 1984 and the observation that his world has been realized, just 100 years later than he expected. Like Winston Smith and his society, the P-Class of 2084 is under constant surveillance by their own "Big Brother," the government and people of C-Class, albeit without their knowledge. I did like the extensive explanation on why the Transformation to Earthism happened and how. One of the things I really like in dystopians is good detail on how society changed and how the current government came into power. Creator Class definitely delivers on that point. I also really enjoyed most of the characters and how almost all of them developed and changed throughout the novel.Overall, Creator Class was a very enjoyable novel. It's part of a trilogy, and I would certainly like to read the next installment. I'd like to thank the author for giving me the opportunity to read Creator Class.