Tomorrow's World [Paperback]

Davie Henderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2008

In a world on the verge of environmental catastrophe, supercomputers have determined that the only way to sustain life is to run communities logically by rationing every resource and monitoring every action to make sure it is in accordance with the Common Good. Amidst a division between Names (naturally born people) and Numbers (those created through genetical engineering), detective Ben Travis and his Number partner Paula are on the case of a murdered plant prospector. They end up discovering a fatal corruption that leads Ben to uncover a random emotional error in his partner: a belief in love. On the run in the ruins of a world that has been abandoned for 60 years, Ben and Paula encounter other survivors and rediscover the reverence for nature, life, and love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A promising murder puzzle in a moderately intriguing utopian milieu is overwhelmed by encyclopedic world building in this second novel and first SF yarn from Scottish journalist Henderson (Waterfall Glen). From the first sentence (Most citizens take time travel for granted), Henderson raises and then dashes expectations; the 22nd-century timesphere technology described by LogiPol cop Ben Travis is merely a holographic simulator, and the complex relationship between Ben, a naturally born Name, and his partner, Paula, a lab-grown Number, is drowned out by long-winded descriptions of global environmental disaster and subsequent social and technological developments. Though Ben and Paula's primary goal is to investigate the apparent suicide of plant dealer Douglas MacDougall, the mystery is rapidly overwhelmed by side trips into history, and too little space remains for Henderson to fully explore the social dynamics between Names and Numbers. Henderson provides smooth prose and mostly amiable characters, but his dry editorializing is no substitute for genuine narrative tension. (Mar.)
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Review

"Davie Henderson paints a dismal picture of a dying globe in this interesting science fiction police procedural. . . . A fine start [to] what looks like a solid twenty-second cop series."  —Harriet Klausner, Gotta Write Network

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Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Medallion Press (March 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933836466
• ISBN-13: 978-1933836461
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #414,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and insightful - I loved it., March 19, 2008

By 

Margaret Sebastian (LaGrange, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tomorrow's World (Paperback)

Yes, I loved it. Strong praise, I know, but true. I felt I was living in the tomorrow's world the author has created and I didn't like it. I don't want anyone's grandchildren (and the book isn't set very far in the future) to have to live there either.

Yes, its big on ecology and the ruin of our earth (no aliens involved, we do it ourselves). This is a subject dear to the hearts of many and anathema to others. You won't find out who wins until the last few pages.

The descriptive passages of the earth's beauty are just lovely. When you live in a world where its not safe to be out of your very controlled environment for more than a short time, and only with a protective face mask, wouldn't you dream of sunsets, sandy beaches, coral reefs and dolphins -- just to name a few things.

There's a very unlikely love story also. The road is not smooth for the two main characters in a world of "Names" and "Numbers."

I did not feel subject to the "dry editorializing" as stated in one review, but read this book and decide for yourself.

Live for a few hours in "Tomorrow's World" and while you won't like the world, you'll certainly like the book. And it will make you think.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars We Know the Price of Everything, but the Value of Nothing, May 1, 2008

By 

jd103 (Yellowstone) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tomorrow's World (Paperback)

That's how economics is defined in this book, but it's true for our civilization as a whole.

Too much about ecology in the book? That was my reason for reading it. Sure, a classroom scene explaining what happened/will happen is going to slow down the pace of the action. So also do the worshipful passages about travel. (A micro-spoiler to possibly save you the small nagging annoyance I felt through the book: the sentence acknowledging the damage caused by jet travel doesn't come til late in the book.) But if it's only action you want, there are hundreds of new mysteries and sci-fis every year. There is plenty of plot here to keep you entertained, but I think the author's more interested in making you feel and think.

If you believe everything's just fine and the future's going to be even better, this probably isn't the book for you. I enjoyed it very much and read it quickly because it was such a delight to be in the company of an author and characters who share my concerns, my joy, my sense of loss, and my respect for the natural world. Not company I experience very often in a civilization based on price, not value.