Authorpreneur Dashboard – Holly Cave
The Generation
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Are you who they say you are? This debut dystopian sci-fi novel explores the meaning of identity in a dangerous, near-future London in which genetic engineering is commonplace, and the genome of every baby is sequenced at birth. London, 2052. There’s an ID tag embedded in the flesh of your neck. Your every move is tracked. Your genes tell the State nearly everything about you. Everything you are. Everything you were. Everything you will be. For Freya, Kane, and the rest of this fledgling generation, the battle to break free of their genetic horoscopes will not be without bloodshed.
Book Bubbles from The Generation
Would your genes limit your drinking?
Freya lives in a world in which every citizen's genes are sequenced at birth. The resulting information is stored in a tag in each person's neck. What if your genes meant you were more susceptible to the effects of alcohol? Or more likely to develop an addiction? Would that mean you wouldn't be allowed quite so many many drinks on a night out?
A quiet revolution
The Generation is set in the wake of a European economic crash. The State now govern the continent with a socialist motto ("We Are One") but a lust for control over the population. If all communication is monitored, if all media is biased, how are secret messages spread?
An end to religion?
I often write about London - a city I lived in for many years and loved. I enjoy imagining how it will evolve in the near future. In the world of "The Generation", the State run the country. They have banned the practice of religion and in this scene, we see Coke adverts adorning the dome of St Paul's Cathedral. This image popped into my head one day, and while I don't think it will ever happen, I found it interesting to think about. What would we do with our religious buildings if there was no more religion? How would our lives and our cities change?
