Fourth World [Paperback]

Dennis Danvers (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (2000)
• ASIN: B000XPVEPC
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Viva Zapatista!, April 3, 2002

By 

Bruce Rux (Aurora, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fourth World (Mass Market Paperback)

Anyone who is into UFOlogy will recognize the 1970s disinformation program that was the inspiration for this book, but I won't spoil it for those who aren't in the know.

In the near-future (twenty, twenty-five years), Virtual Reality news is all the new "sensation" - reporters are "observers," fitted with emotional sensor jacks that relay their feelings to the Internet as well as what they see and hear. The protagonist of the story witnesses the brutal slaying of Zapatista farmers, in full view of a military base which does nothing to stop it, and is initiated into the realm of the rebel when NewsReal refuses to transmit his recordings of the event.

Hooking-up with a disenfranchised debutante, the two become lovers and underground resistance members. Without a compass to guide them in the murky waters of illegal movements, they swiftly become compromised without knowing it. A powerful agenda is afoot, and the former reporter and subversive socialite inadvertently find themselves serving instead of fighting it.

But the fun still isn't over: no sooner do our heroes have a grasp on the situation, than an even more alarming development occurs.

Wonderful intrigue, likeable characters, and a complex and ever-changing plot keep this book moving steadily along. Its only real problem is a slow middle that delves too much on a not-very-believable future Texas, which is the only area of the book that suffers from excess science-fiction-itis. The "virtual reality" angle mercifully is never hit so hard over the head that it overpowers the drama of the piece, and the examination of artificial intelligence is quite interesting and well-done.

For the record, I'm still betting - author picture in the back of the book notwithstanding - that Dennis Danvers is really Dean Koontz.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and mesmerizing work, March 18, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fourth World (Hardcover)

In 2013, Mexico serves as a source of unskilled labor willing to do the chores that Americans feel are beneath them. As the Mexican leadership becomes wealthier, more corrupt, and deadlier, the United States ignores human rights violations in favor of free trade, defined as Mexico freely giving up its raw materials to the Americans in exchange for nothing returned to the people.

Santee St. John works for NewsReal reporting events around the world so that wired Americans can watch the real world from the safety net of the worldwide web. He captures the massacre of Native American farmers in Chiapas, Mexico, but learns that his company has no plans to air the footage. Instead, they use it to blackmail the already corrupt Mexican government into allowing NewsReal to take over the lucrative south of the border trade. A disillusioned Santee meets and bands with Zapatista supporter Margaret Mayfield as they join the Indians in their revolution for freedom.

THE FOURTH WORLD is an unabashed bashing of right wing politics especially the political spouting that what's good for big business is good for the world. The story line is exciting as Dennis Danvers paints a less than heavenly view of the future. Though filled with non-stop action, the plot appears too simplistic when dealing with complex issues. This entertaining cyberthriller will be enjoyed by most readers except those to the right of Attilla the Hun. They might want to pass on this novel.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A parable for our epoch., April 23, 2002

By 

H. B. Franklin "emergencybooks" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fourth World (Mass Market Paperback)

The twists and surprises of this engrossing
pageturner allow us to penetrate deeper and
deeper into some of the most horrific
realities of our epoch--while having lots of
fun.
When I assigned it as a required text in my "Science Fiction,
Technology, and Society" course, most of the students loved it.