by Robin Cook
First published 1970
Derek lives in an England transformed beyond recognition. The 1960s have brought not liberation but tyranny under Jobling, a cunning politician who has seized total control. Non-white citizens have been expelled from the country. Only The English Times remains to tell people what to think. Derek navigates a world where curfews lock citizens indoors each night and secret police watch from the shadows. The transition from democracy happened gradually, almost imperceptibly, as people focused on buying things and believed what they saw on television. Now Derek must survive in a society where freedom has vanished and fear governs daily life. Cook reveals how easily a comfortable democracy can slip into dictatorship when citizens stop paying attention to politics and trust their leaders without question.
Genres: dystopia, 20th-century, social-issues, 21st-century, political-thriller, alternate-history
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: dystopian, social-commentary
Setting: Denmark, England
Period: 1960s
269 pages · Hardcover · Hutchinson