03/19/2018
Lyrical language, stream-of-consciousness dialogue, and a nonlinear structure complicate this otherwise straightforward tale of entrapment within, and resistance against, a future England where every crime can be resolved through financial restitution or indentured servitude. As part of the Criminal Audit Office, Theo Miller determines what each offense is worth: £780 for sexual harassment, £84,000 for murder, and so forth. But when Dani, his ex-girlfriend, is murdered while attempting to expose the all-powerful, all-controlling Company for its corruption and abuses—and she names Theo as her missing daughter’s father before she dies—Theo is determined to finish what she started, even if it means destroying both Company and country in the process. His investigation takes him to all corners of England, from rich enclaves to hopeless slums, as the dark secrets of his own past unfold. North (The End of the Day) paints a vivid and disturbing picture of a corporate-run future devoid of human rights. The complex intricacy of her narrative voice makes this more of a poetic vision quest than a straightforward adventure, and the experimental style and tangled plotline show an admirable grasp of technique but may frustrate readers expecting a more conventional dystopian thriller. (May)
"An eerily plausible dystopian masterpiece, as harrowing as it is brilliant"—Emily St. John Mandel, bestselling author of Station Eleven
"An extraordinary novel that stands with the best of dystopian fiction, with dashes of The Handmaid's Tale."—Cory Doctorow
"Everybody needs to read 84K. Consistently thoughtful fiction like this needs to be championed. I'll admit it, I'm a little in awe of the author. Her work is sublime.... Claire North deserves your undivided attention. Buy the book, read it. Your brain will thank you.... If there was a rating higher than highly recommended this book would receive it."—The Eloquent Page
"A terrifying setting that feels rooted to the present day.... Imbued with a menace that feels both recognizable and urgent, and the decisions the characters make as a result feel uncomfortably real."—RT Book Reviews
"Another captivating novel from one of the most intriguing and genre-bending novelists currently working in the intersection between thriller and science fiction."—Booklist (starred review)
"A furious, confrontational book that's extremely smart... its energy is infectious and its ideas are fiercely provocative."—SciFiNow
"Put simply, this book just blew my mind. A remarkable writer, doing extraordinary things, and I think this is her best book yet."—Blue Book Balloon
"Claire North goes from strength to strength.... A tense, moving story."—Guardian
"The grimy, meticulously constructed and worrisomely believable dystopia Claire North has created for 84k is our world, just a few years down the path."—NPR
"One of the most distinct and compelling SF novels of the year thus far."—Toronto Star
"A dystopian anthem for the modern activist... a cracking thriller.... Quite simply, North's best book so far."—Starburst
"Evocative, thought-provoking... I'll read anything she writes."—Omnivoracious
"The truly scary thing about 84K is how convincing this dark, brutal class-divided Britain is."—SFX
"Vivid and disturbing."—Publishers Weekly
"A fascinating look at the decisions society is taking now."—The Bookbag
"Claire North's writing is terrific, smart, and entertaining."—Patrick Ness on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
"Claire North is a true original, a master of ingenious plotting and feats of imagination."
—Alex Marwood, author of The Wicked Girls, on The Sudden Appearance of Hope
"Wonderful novel...held together by a compelling mystery involving nothing less than the end of the world itself. Beautifully written and structured...a remarkable book."—Booklist (starred review) on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
"A subtle study of friendship, love and the complexity of existence."—Eric Brown, Guardian on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
"Wholly original and hauntingly beautiful. North is a writer to watch."—Kirkus on The End of the Day
"North is [a] consistently intriguing writer."—Locus on The End of the Day
2018-04-03
A story about the value of one human life.The man known as Theo Miller works in the Criminal Audit Office, setting the prices for various crimes against society. In a world without the concept of human rights, a capitalist world run completely by the Company, prison is "deeply inefficient." Far better to charge a price for each crime and send those who can't pay to work off their debts. It's Theo's job to calculate the cost of crime—so much for manslaughter, with deductions if, say, the victim was a resident alien. It's a bleak but orderly world that's disrupted when a woman from his past appears, because she knows that he's not who he says he is, and in return for keeping quiet, she wants to know where her daughter is. To find her, the man known as Theo Miller must risk destroying his own quiet little life—and a lot more lives with it. North (The End of the Day, 2017, etc.) has created a compellingly dark and gritty world where everything has a price and those who can't pay aren't treated as human. The sometimes stream of consciousness of the story, with past and present folding over on one another, does distance the reader from events and reduces the tension of Theo's quest to uncover the truth. Still, the story is strong enough to keep the reader interested.Style gets in the way of substance here, but North is an original and even dazzling writer, and fans of her work will enjoy this grim tale of capitalism taken to a terrifying extreme.
In a dystopian Great Britain run by a corporate entity called The Company, fines are levied for all crimes, even those as serious as murder. The rich, who can pay these penalties, go free. Those who can't are sentenced to hard labor and become society's underclass. Narrator Peter Kenny, through his smooth, effective use of accents, reminds the listener that this future Britain remains a caste society. At the heart of the cautionary tale is Theo, a cog in the machine, who rises up after an old friend, Dani, is murdered for daring to ask questions. Thanks to Kenny's skill, listeners can vividly imagine the people Theo encounters from all strata of society as he seeks justice for Dani and hunts for the daughter he never knew he had. This is a dense production, but Kenny succeeds in helping the listener differentiate its many characters. The result is a stark but satisfying listen. D.E.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
In a dystopian Great Britain run by a corporate entity called The Company, fines are levied for all crimes, even those as serious as murder. The rich, who can pay these penalties, go free. Those who can't are sentenced to hard labor and become society's underclass. Narrator Peter Kenny, through his smooth, effective use of accents, reminds the listener that this future Britain remains a caste society. At the heart of the cautionary tale is Theo, a cog in the machine, who rises up after an old friend, Dani, is murdered for daring to ask questions. Thanks to Kenny's skill, listeners can vividly imagine the people Theo encounters from all strata of society as he seeks justice for Dani and hunts for the daughter he never knew he had. This is a dense production, but Kenny succeeds in helping the listener differentiate its many characters. The result is a stark but satisfying listen. D.E.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
