Customer Reviews

Outlaw School

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Middle class Jayne knows what is expected of her by society. Conformity is the name of the game for girls like Jayne if she wants a "happy" life one-day with an all seeing spouse. Her legal alternative is state control drugs to keep her from thinking. Her other option is becoming a Judas girl.

However, instead Jayne becomes pregnant and is sent to a rehabilitation center where wayward girls are mentally placed in Cyberia. Jayne wants nothing to do with legal society and escapes into the OUTLAW SCHOOL, where teaching occurs without a state-sanctioned license. If caught by the News Agency wing of the government, Jayne and ilk will need rehabilitation for committing such a terrible crime against the state.

If OUTLAW SCHOOL seems like the heir apparent to Huxley's 1984, it is. The story line is grim as society is totally class bound with no hope for non-elite talented risk takers. Jayne is a fabulous protagonist who dares to dream. The alumni, staff, and students of the OUTLAW SCHOOL add to the overall harsh depressing landscape by acting as a counterpoint to the acceptable norms of society. Not for everyone because the plot is somber gray, Rebecca Ore paints a hellish technological future with upper class big brother in full control.

Harriet Klausner

Ore presents her version of a not-too-implausible future. All information and knowledge is under strict copyright and how much one has access to is determined by their authorized social rank. Computer programs run against "meat" polliticians. Society gives out medication and even surgery like candy to children with undesirable traits. The book's heroine is Jayne, a middle class kid with unconcerned parents. Alienated at school and showing a thirst for knowledge undesirable for her class, her school prescribes her mind-bending, behavior-modifying drugs. To get off them, she allows herself to be impregnated, which causes even more rejection and disapproval from her society until she is institutionalized. Bitter and enraged by her conformist society, an older Jayne joins an outlawed teacher syndicate, teaching such banned information as the psychology and computer systems to all of society's bottom feeders in the hopes that they can improve their lives through the education society feels it best they not have. This book is a perfect mix of the Bell Jar and 1984. Ore merges a surreal backdrop and many very believable characters, easy to be concerned about. The previously mentioned concept about computer programs running against people for government positions is particularly clever. If we are accepting of our leaders being so obviously coached for public appeal and conformed to the establishment of parties, why not vote for a machine? The situations faced in this book are not only faced by denizens of the early twenty-second century but by all whom hear the first period bell Monday morning. It's honestly the best new book I have read in many, many moths.

There's something about an author writing dystopian SF that makes it very clear where he or she sees the dystopia coming from, and some of the feminist dystopias (see also The Gate to Women's Country and The Handmaid's Tale) seem to reveal the authors' minds as a bit claustrophic and extreme: does anyone seriously beleive that lurking just below the surface in America is a would-be patriarchial theocracy? Ger real.

After gritting my teeth against this insinuation in the first chapters, I was able to enjoy Ore's book more - it's clear that she's not the same sort of small-horizoned author as some others. When she dragged in the Open Software sub-plot, I got more engaged.

The problem with her writing, however, is that the threads never tie together too cleanly - a reader is lefting feeling unfufilled, as if the interesting action all takes place off stage. This is remniscent of the feeling I've gotten reading some of (William ?) Barton's SF.

I kept wanting to know how the society she envisioned came to be, what *exactly* went on with the Open Source underground, etc.

Instead, I got a lot of impressionistic strokes on a large canvas. Very well done, for what it is, but it didn't deliver what I look for in a novel.

Have you ever wondered about a world where just looking up a concept on the Internet could get you arrested? Or that sharing information with others would make you a criminal?

The most interesting concept in Ore's book is the way she shows how society enforces its own unjust laws, perpetuating the system so that the system doesn't have to put forth any effort-- we do it to ourselves (through the Judas girls, especially).

At the end, we get just enough hope to feel okay, but not so much it feels like a fairy-tale come true. This is a world that "could be" our own, with a few tweaks here and there "For our own protection." The writing is good, the characters round and well-drawn.

I can't decide whether this is a feminist utopia or dystopia-- and maybe, since nowhere is it so black-and-white that it's easy, that is the best way for it to be.

Clumsily executed, poorly edited and pandering to contemporary paranoia surrounding the state of the American family, education system, government and media, this novel utterly fails to construct a coherent, compelling vision of the future. Instead, the reader is haphazardly bludgeoned with images of totalitarianism, oppression and mutilation. Todays problems with these institutions are very real, as is the threat of eroding civil liberties and the blurring of lines between media, government and monolithic corporations. But this novel does nothing to illuminate, preferring to resort to superficial criticism and sarcasm. Disguised as social commentary, Ores ham-handed predictions regarding the future of "open source" are just another obvious attempt to cash in on present-day fears. Plagued with poor characterization, disconnected plotting and uncountable editorial errors--including misspelling the main characters name on several occasions--the book is a painful, utterly unsatisfying read. The ending feels tacked on: a pat, ill-conceived attempt to justify the life of the main character. Equally unjustifiable is wasting any time reading this annoying, sloppy work.

The story premise shows promise. This needed more editing. The plotline gets blurred, the story is like an engine that skips and stalls. I like the world she has created. She did some interesting things, and it kept me interested enough to finish but there are places in it that just leave the reader to make some leaps of logic and fill in the blanks a bit too much.

Consider an American society a couple generations from now in which teachers must be licensed to teach only a prescribed curriculum, and in which unlicensed teachers are jailed. A society in which ideas are copyrighted and media content is carefully controlled for the socioeconomic class it's directed at, enforced by the Gestapo-like News Agency (don't want to make the lower classes unhappy with their lot in life, after all). A society in which you inherit your parents' social standing, which also determines your allowed education level and career choices, in which prostitution is licensed as a social safety valve, in which most black people have apparently been "resettled," in which cadets from the Citadel in Charleston are allowed to kill prostitutes for professional practice, in which you can be implanted with an electronic movement-restriction monitor for offenses ranging from multiple traffic tickets to justifiable homicide, and where the only successful candidates for national office are carefully tailored data constructs ("meat" candidates only run for local office, where personal contact is still useful). Where euthanasia is readily available to the retarded or convicted and lower-class fetuses are aborted "for their own good," and creativity and innovation are allowed only when it's to the benefit of corporate shareholders. That's the thoroughly depressing background of this story of the life of Jayne, from childhood with a mother who encourages her to at least attempt suicide to atone for being bad, to getting pregnant as a teenager in an attempt to get off "school drugs" (just another way to control rebellious students, and the drugs also damage the genes to prevent troublemakers from breeding) which she was forced to take because of her uncontrolled curiosity and desire to learn class-inappropriate things. Her teenage sister joins the Judicious (or "Judas") Girls, who have given up an eye, replaced by a spy camera in order to monitor those around them and also (they hope) to ensure their own safety and help them be "good" girls (and they have to take an oath of virginity, but a hymen can be reconstructed surgically if necessary). She goes on to a lifetime of illegal teaching (improved English and computer skills) of those who want to "test up" to a better job license, to being busted for it and finally to old age as a prison parolee in a world that seems to have improved a bit -- and in which she has become something of a folk hero to the young. This isn't really the sort of novel you can "enjoy" but it makes a great impression. The theme is quite different from Ore's earlier "Becoming Alien" trilogy but her simple narrative style pulls you in and makes you pay attention. The message, too, is clear: Too much safety is dangerous. And if in doubt, defy authority!

Putting a challenge on society, to make it known that there is no normal, is a difficult task that author Rebecca Ore is able to complete. This book is full of themes of individualism, discrimination, and determination. The main character, Jayne, goes to extremes to not be forced into the society that is around her. If you are too smart, you are feared. The fear comes from a society that just knows too little.

The world around Jayne is almost an illusion to her. She knows there has to be some sort of outlet, even if it is illegal. Why not? - Everything else is! The group that is "targeting" her is one that has set rules and regulations that include celibacy and biological changes. This is comparable to the book Shockwave Rider by Jerome Brunner. In both cases, the main characters are being targeted by a bigger group/society and the intent is to have them join. The characters refuse and you learn their struggle to keep out of the norms of society.

Through computers, technology, and finding niches, Jayne attempts to find her outlet. Maybe there is no way out. The feeling that Ore gets across is that there is no way out, and this is demonstrated throughout the hardships and obstacles of Jayne's life.

This is truly one of the best books I have read, especially in the cyberpunk genre. You feel as if you are in that time frame - even if it is approximately 60 years from now! This is definitely a must-read for anyone who wants to take a look at what could someday become a reality.

Ore's Outlaw School is an intricately woven blanket following the life of Jayne, a woman living in a world where lies are passed as truth and the "real" truth is hidden at all costs.

This book is very enjoyable for its quickly-changing environment and its strong development of its characters. There is a strong contrast between the straightforwardness of Jayne's character (even her problems are clean-cut, with one good and one bad choice; she never faces the gray choice) and the complexity of other characters. For example, Jayne's continually fighting a battle between the presented truth and the "real" truth. Once Mick, her teenage lover, tells Jayne that she can't be monitored when purchasing a pregnancy test (which was a threat, according to her society), she continually sees the lies which are presented as truths to herself. She no longer seems to be confused by facts; if they were presented to her by society, they were wrong. Society, according to her, never told the truth; everyone deserves to be told the truth.

However, other characters do not agree with this, creating a gray area which Jayne avoids. They are happy living in lies, and once they know they are being lied to, they are unhappy.

Jayne also fights a continual battle in which she must decide whether to volunteer for suicide or continue living. However, in her mind, she could never commit suicide. She insists that she will never commit suicide, that she will survive no matter what. However, Suzanne throws herself into situations where she is likely to die; in the end, she never really desires death. She lives her life in the gray, complicating herself with dreams of ending her life as a dominatrix and her desire to continue living. Suzanne also lives in the gray because while she is a dominatrix in sexual positions, she has very little control over her own life. She is not always strong, while Jayne is always sure of her choices, showing a certain amount of personal strength. She is one of the more ambiguous characters that presents herself in Jayne's black-and-white world.

Ore's distopian view of the future, where the hero is an outlaw, is akin to that of Shockwave Rider and Neuromancer. However, while technology is a strong theme and Jayne fights a battle against technology, Outlaw School's main focus is not on technology, making it different from the average cyberpunk novel. Most of the text focuses on characterization. Ore's strongpoint is her ability to create realistic characters with intricate personalities. For example, Jayne is presented as someone with a troubled, haunting past that will never leave her. Throughout the book, different aspects of her past continually mix with her present. No matter how far she travels from home, the past still haunts her; she can never leave it behind. For example, when she moves to South Carolina, she goes to a funhouse with Suzanne and relives the painful experience that changed her life forever. She relives it over and over in the funhouse, even though Suzanne insists that Jayne has control over what she experiences.

Jayne also sees herself as a rebel, one who refuses to fit into her own class in society. She is continually trying to break through the restraints society puts on her, from her childhood days when she's too smart for a middle-class child to her adult days when she refuses to choose a legal profession. Jayne continually fights to help others break through the class barriers.

The main purpose of this book is its focus on the issues of society. Society creates its own truth, so what happens if the truth it creates is not true at all? Can one trust their own society? Where is our society heading? Are we going to be thrown into a world that focuses on the caste system, like the society in this novel? Is the caste system a good choice, keeping the wealthy in the wealthy class and the poor too far down in society to advance?

There's a strong focus on reality. If people are happy in a world of lies, should they be shown the truth? If one knows the truth, is it their duty to pass on the truth to the rest of society?

Technology appears often in this book. Technology allows the sick to live in a world of beautiful pictures, letting them leave the world of pain and disease. However, they see it as painful and tortuous, and it does not stop Jayne from later recalling her pain when she was under its influence. Also, technology allows for computer-created politicians to come into power, passes on the false reality that is passed as truth, and allows for police to track many criminals who are only in search of the truth that is hidden for hackers to uncover. With all of the dangers that technology presents, should it play such a strong role in our lives? If we give technology full power now, is our society heading towards this presented distopia?

This book also has underlying issues about gender roles (mainly focusing on female subservience and weakness), self-mutilation, and sexuality. In this futuristic society, women mutilate themselves so that men can observe their lives and keep them safe. Many women willingly trade an eye for a camera that allows men to view their lives. However, Jayne refuses to fall into this category, no matter how tempting it appears to her as a child. Later readers see the detrimental effects of this socially-encouraged lifestyle. Finally, Jayne questions her heterosexuality multiple times throughout the book.

This book will be enjoyed by anyone who considers themselves to be rebellious, who had a troublesome childhood that follows them everywhere, who questions the role of technology in their life, who wants to think deeply about where society is heading, who enjoys studying distorted gender roles (The Handmaid's Tale, for example), or who simply wants a taste of a different style of cyberpunk/science fiction.

Rebecca Ore presents a glimpse of years to come that brings social stratification to a completely new level. She presents a society in which knowledge is given proportionally to your class, where society offers only conformity or insanity, and into which an individual's potential seems limited. Jayne specifically struggles to find herself in this world of many obstacles. She would conform, yet the consequences are so unwelcoming. Considered crazy for being an outcast, Jayne is portrayed from a child to an adult as rebellious in the eyes of others, but she appears sympathetic and rational to the reader.

If you question societies purpose and its norms, you should definitely read this book. If you can't understand why people aren't like you, this book will provide more insight than you may think. It questions the identity of everyone and the purpose of everyone's identity. Rebecca Ore gives enough details to make the reader knowledgeable, and at the same time excludes just enough to make the reader question Jayne's identity, just as she does. Being the best I have read in the cyberpunk genre, Outlaw School should bring no hesitations to a reader in search of a great book.