C D Verhoff’s Resist the Machine is the first of the Avant Nation duology. It started off a little too slow for my taste, and I nearly set it aside. I’m certainly glad I kept at it though, because this book was a wonderful read. The ‘set-up’ chapters were basically big data dumps, but after that the story really takes off.

There were several nods to some of my favourite dystopic novels/movies scattered throughout. Society’s break down into categories is the most obvious. Avantica’s genetic manipulation is extreme. The division names are based on either physical or psychological attributes, and there are physical differences between the various divisions. This begs the question- if we force evolution, have we not created a new species?

The expiry dates echo Logan’s Run. However, these are internally enforced rather than Carousel’s false roulette. Similarly, Make Room! Make Room!/Soylent Green gets its own passing tribute as well.

Eugenics invariably lead me back to both an historical attempt, and a sci-fi one. The first are the atrocities of the Nazi regime as it tried its own hand at genetic perfection. The second is Star Trek’s Khan Noonien Singh and the Eugenics Wars. Avantica seems like a horrific place to live, stripped as its been of the most basic of human cultural and psychological needs. And it is cruel beyond belief to craft people exquisitely empathic to the suffering of others, and twist that gift. Trained as medical professionals, they are forced to set aside the essence of who they are in order to adhere to the Algorithm.

Check out C D Verhoff’s Avant Nation: Resist the Machine if you want a great read that will keep you brimful of questions, and make you rethink the dubious value of genetic engineering.