1 out of 4 stars
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Sustainus by Steve Perkins is a sci-fi/fantasy novel. It takes place in a futuristic world where everyone works together to live in peace, harmony, and sameness. They value positivity and morality above all else and anyone who displays a negative attitude is sent to the Enforcement Moulder for correction.
Twenty-year-old Zoltrana lives a simple, happy life with her Mama Procree. Life becomes more complicated when she discovers she has a crush on the handsome Brocephus. Not only does her Mama not want Zoltrana to date, but Zoltrana does not know how to handle the feelings she has for Brocephus.
Michintas is a young man who is constantly clashing with the philosophy on Sustainus. When he learns of a way to turn riverjee, the only liquid on Sustainus, into alcohol, he gains a horde of followers. This disruption may just be enough to corrupt the entire “perfect” world of Sustainus.
The world the author created is certainly unique. I like the concept of this futuristic society. However, there are a few issues that kept me from enjoying the book. My biggest problem with it is that the characters have the maturity level of a child. They are inconsistent and emotionally unstable. Additionally, the dialogue is nearly painful to read. Grown up men call each other names like “smartypants”. While I understand that the characters are living in a moral world, I highly doubt that adults would act in such a childish manner. The book gives the impression that morality means immaturity. Parents are just as silly and petty, if not more so, than their children.
Not a whole lot happens in the book. The plot lags and I am not really sure what it is about. Most of the book is spent explaining the culture, leaving the plot to take the backseat. Even with so much emphasis on the culture, I feel like there are many things left unexplained. It isn't really clear how they all agree to believe and live according to the same moral code. I am also confused about the size of Sustainus. I originally thought it was the new name for earth, but it appears to be much smaller especially considering there is only one department store in all of Sustainus.
I only came across one typographical error, but the punctuation at the end of the dialogue is consistently missing. Some of the stylistic choices are also unusual which I found distracting. For instance, the book switches the point of view from Zoltrana to Michintas in each chapter. When it is Michintas’ viewpoint, the text goes to bold and italics. Additionally, the author places words in bold (rather than italics) to emphasize them. It is not a major issue, but it makes the book seem unprofessional.
Because the book is lacking in key areas like plot and character development, I can only give it a rating of 1 out of 4 stars. The world is interesting, but still needs to be developed further to make sense.
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Sustainus
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