In 2084, there is no such thing as society. The cult of the individual reigns supreme. But, for one individual, one day the path to self-discovery reveals itself. Individutopia by Josh Sheldon is a dystopian tale that takes the current obsession with individualism to its ultimate extreme. Most of the world’s wealth is owned by a few individuals—does that ring any bells?—and the individual is allowed earn just enough income to survive, but never to be able to escape the heavy burden of debt. Renee Blanca, the last baby born to two people who actually talked to each other, begins to question her place in the world, and begins to rebel against the many restrictions on those individuals who are mere work units for the benefit of the less than one percent who own everything. You’ll not miss the parallels with our current existence, and hopefully this book will make you think about the path we’re currently on, and what you, as an individual, can do to restore society to its rightful place. I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. I have to admit it elicited strong emotions, not all positive—but, not against the author or the story, but the fact that it all rings too true—I still give it five stars. A must read in today’s world!

The introduction “Welcome to Individutopia is extraordinary. It is frighteningly close to the truth of what is already happening, what seems to be on the near horizon and what people are already prophesising the future will be like. It is a very exciting beginning to the book. Then, I have to confess, I got a bit lost in Chapter One: “And So We Meet Our Hero”. We are plunged into Renee’s (the hero) world where there are all these avatars I-Green, I Original. I-Special, etc. and Renee has no interaction with real people. There are a lot of complex concepts to grasp in the first few chapters and I found the language difficult to follow at first. I must admit I was suffering from mild concussion when I read these chapters so this may have had something to do with my confusion! Or maybe that is Joss’s intention – to hurl us into this weird, dystopian (except it’s not a society) uncomfortable world? Any way when Renee has her Eureka moment I suddenly understood what was going on and where the book might be heading. I flew through the rest of the it with clarity. It was surprising, comforting and ‘charming’ as well as very, very funny. I especially enjoyed Renee’s confusion and gradual acceptance of her new world and the characters’ names. I also liked the quotes at the beginning of each chapter Joss writes very well – with humour, compassion and irony. It may just be me but I thought that the style seemed to change as Renee enters the new, different environment. Also, he combines scary futuristic ideas with stuff that we already know and use, such as the internet, social media, the pervasive influence of pharmaceutical companies and even to an extent Artificial Intelligence. When I got to the end of the book I went straight back to the beginning and re-read it with a much greater understanding of what it was about. Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would, especially for anyone who likes science fiction and dystopian novels such as 1984, Brave New World, The Shockwave Rider etc. I would also recommend it to the younger generations (I am nearly 60) as an awakening to the world and where it might be heading – I’m not a Conspiracy Theorist but I do look around at what’s happening and this book is one man’s imaginary but possible look at the future. Warning: Do not read this book when concussed!

Individutopia is a fantastic dystopian novel that poses several thought provoking questions. Joss Sheldon does a great job at creating a dystopian world that doesn't seem too far fetched. Society is a much talked about topic as far as its impact on our lives and actions, but what if it wasn't even a thing anymore? This novel explores that very notion through a narration by Renee Ann Blanca, who was raised by robots with very little human contact until she was old enough to fend for herself which seems completely crazy, but you'll be surprised at just how close today's society comes to the one in Individutopia. Reading this book, you'll be challenged to think about how society and individualism in a brand new way.

Are you a fan of dystopian books? If the answers is yes, individutopia is the book for you, it takes place in a futuristic world where society doesn’t exist anymore and individualism is the new way of life. Are you thinking the same as me, aren’t you? We are not far from that and Joss Sheldon create an amazing amount of characters who will make you think, criticize and realize a lot of things that will stay in your mind forever. Even better I assure you it will be a quickly read because it is short but at the same time it goes straight to the point with all the necessary descriptions and it is well written, i clarify it because sometimes this type of books have difficult language, but I tell you as non English speaker that it was easy to read, so don’t be afraid to choose this novel as your future reading. Last but not least, if what I said didn’t convince you too much, this will do it, it has a lot of interesting and good quotes that you can’t lose, so think about it.

Right off the bat, I loved the narrative voice of this book. It felt like a lovely (onesided, perhaps) conversation between the narrator and myself, and that was an absolute joy. Humor is woven into the prose, clever but never heavy-handed. Renee's unending positivity speaks to a deep despair, a thin veneer that fails often. The novel is heartbreaking and powerful, a subversive projection of our own dysfunction society, and the rational end point of greed. Still, Renee's positivity must have rubbed off on me, because I come away from the novel feeling hopeful. By holding up a terrifying funhouse mirror to our own capitalist system, the cracks shine through.