Numbercaste by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There really *IS* a growing number of social media dystopias out there. Enough to fill a rather large subgenre.

And why not? We can see where this kind of thing is going. Social ostracism on an ever-growing scale. Look at that great Black Mirror episode, or even that great Orville episode, or if you'd rather, then head on over to The Circle or TWO Claire North books, Sudden Appearance of Hope, and 84K. And Malka Older, too, of course.

There are a ton more out there, I'm sure, and a large handful out of those I've read that I haven't even mentioned. But that's my point.

We're in a time of warning. And this novel does a pretty fantastic job of exploring where the trends are headed without going into wild territory. Indeed, having a single score that incorporates EVERY LITTLE DETAIL in your life, including whether or not you relinquish your seat to an old person, is not that far off from where we are now. Every bit of our lives is a marketing campaign already. All we need to do next is rank how desirable you are for all those markets but have it under a single company and we've got actually accurate credit agencies and a whole new way to cast aside undesirables.

But be forewarned. The corporation a character. Probably a bigger and more impressive character than the PoV. :)

This definitely one of the best ones of this subgenre. It really goes in for the ideas and the full exploration of where we're headed rather than an overblown thriller or something with mystery aspects. I think it's just plain Fascinating. :)


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