by Kate Mildenhall
Set in a near future Australia, extrapolating current technology, The Mother Fault warns of a dystopian world resulting from a government taking incremental control ostensibly for the public good. The Department has provided a chip to keep the population ‘safe’, a chip that is convenient for travel, for banking, for anything that requires id. It makes life so much easier, why would anyone not want to have it fitted? And it tracks you so it will keep you safe!
Mim, the mother of the title, has been informed her husband Ben has gone missing. No one seems to know where Ben is, not even The Department, which suggests to Mim that something is badly wrong. The Department is keen to “take care” of her and her family – cue family on the run.
History confirms governments can and do behave in a similar way to The Department when citizens can be persuaded it’s in their interest. The Mother Fault is a warning to be aware of the malignant possibilities of a multitude of current technologies and corporate practices which means there’s a fair amount of time given to making the connections, particularly in the earlier pages. It’s worth doing but slows things down some!
I can understand why the “mature content” is there but I would not have chosen to start the book if I’d known – be aware! 4/5 as a story but 3/5 because of unexpected “mature content”.
ARC courtesy Netgalley
Into radio and books, even better when they come together in BBC radio drama adaptations. Mostly thrillers and crime drama from Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie to Kathy Reichs and many others.
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