If you ever wondered what a corporate-controlled dystopian future looks like, with everything from the streets to law enforcement privatized, then look no further than 51%. A concerning and not totally implausible glimpse at a democracy-killing timeline if greed and power are left unchallenged. Matt Witten has crafted a thrilling and entertaining story featuring a frightening world we better hope remains on the pages of a fictional novel.
In a near-future America where powerful corporations control nearly every aspect of society, including partial ownership of people, justice is just another commodity. When a young immigrant woman who is majority-owned by corporate syndicates is murdered, detective Juke O’Keefe and his partner Haylee Navarro begin investigating despite limited resources and little incentive from the system they serve. Their search for the killer draws them into the orbit of a resistance movement and uncovers a far-reaching plot that threatens what remains of personal freedom. To stop it, they must confront the powerful forces, and the ruthless AI, at the center of the syndicates’ control.
51% is a book that contains multitudes, presenting multiple layers that are simultaneously entertaining and thought-provoking. On one level, it’s a fast-paced crime novel featuring multiple suspects with a twisting-turning investigation, conflict between law enforcement agencies, an underground revolution and deep emotion stemming from complex personal circumstances. But on a deeper level, it’s a profoundly unsettling look at a world where everything is up for sale and people are forced to make impossible choices between freedom and selling out to better or save their lives. Resulting in an engaging and gripping story that gives you pause, makes you contemplate the future, and asks uncomfortable questions about how you would handle living in a commoditized society where you’re treated as an asset instead of a human.
Think Minority Report and Blade Runner meet Idiocracy. A dystopian future world where surveillance, corporate authoritarianism and technological control enslave people to a system they have no choice but to submit to. Except for a brave few who are willing to risk it all for the prospect of freedom. Leading to a race against the clock with an inevitable showdown of the oppressed vs. the oppressor looming at the end. The only question is: can regular people with the motivation to challenge the system beat the all-powerful forces who run it?
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