3 out of 4 stars
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The world’s gone to hell. The U.S. Government now controls every aspect of every single thing and has little-to-no regard for human life. The country is overcrowded, filthy and cruel, and in order to attempt to manage the population, the Government puts into place a new healthcare system. You receive a non-fatal injury but don’t have enough points to cover medical assistance? The ambulance and wagon drivers are called, you’re euthanized, and your body is taken to the rendering plant.We offer death - quick and painless. What could be easier? When you’re in pain, do not fear, Stoner and his band of death-dealers are near.
The only job available to eighteen-year-old Kyle Sonnet is that of a wagon driver. Tasked with carrying out cadavers and transporting them to the plant, Kyle is unprepared for the level of violence he faces on his first day of work. He's not simply dealing with dead bodies as he’d previously thought. Rather, he witnesses several cases in which people are injured and instead of giving aid, his fellow employees put them down like animals.
Do as you’re told, they tell Kyle. Don’t ask questions, don’t think, accept things the way they are and always do as you’re told. It should be easy, what with Stoner, a tough-as-nails ex-Marine breathing down his neck. The problem, however, is that Kyle can’t stop thinking, can’t and won’t accept the things that violate his moral sense of right and wrong. So the question becomes, when too many irreparable lines are crossed, will Kyle be able to escape from under the seemingly infinite reach of the Government?
The Wagon Driver by David Berardelli is an action-packed story set in the not-so-distant future. It begs you to ask questions and to think about where our country is headed. What happens when the Government gets too big for its own good? What happens when the Constitution is no longer upheld, when freedom and privacy are stripped from us like meat from a bone? What happens when people are forced to look out only for themselves, and kindness, creativity, and human decency are things of the past? The result - described in this book - does not inspire a world in which I’d wish to live.
This book was essentially a story of survival and an in-depth look at the challenges associated with maintaining your principles in a cruel and unforgiving world. The author’s descriptive and slightly sarcastic writing style drew me in, along with the fast-paced plot and engaging storyline. Each character also had a distinctive voice; they were well-drawn, realistic and in some cases, relatable. In others, not so much, which was presumably the point.
There was a great deal to learn about the way things were in this futuristic world, but the information was almost always interspersed in conversation, so it wasn't hard to follow and didn’t seem like a chore to read. The only thing I was confused about was the main character. When we were first introduced to Kyle, he came off as a sarcastic and flirty eighteen-year-old boy. Soon after, however, he was described as an inexperienced, quiet and introspective guy who had an interest in the lost arts - such as music, books and movies with real actors. Despite this small inconsistency, for the most part, I liked Kyle. He was an intelligent guy, struggling to cling to his values and independence when his peers and superiors were forcing him to conform to a thoughtless modern society.
As far as editing issues go, there were quite a few instances where too many spaces were used between words. There were also numerous cases where paragraphs weren’t indented properly. Either there was no indentation, there was too much, or not enough. Aside from that, the book was extremely well written.
Unfortunately, I believe the formatting issues were great enough to force me to dock a star. Therefore, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Since it's categorized as a sci-fi/fantasy novel, I'm convinced it would appeal to a broad range of readers. Aside from some violent scenes, there’s nothing to discourage young adult readers who're looking for their next dystopian fix to pick it up either. Within its pages, there was much food-for-though, plenty of action, and of course, life lessons. The biggest being, never, ever, do as you’re told...
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The Wagon Driver
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