Beautiful Shining People by Michael Grothaus #Review #Giveaway

 

 The first of the Orenda Blog tours in March is a piece of speculative literary fiction. Details on how to win a print copy are found at the foot of this post. Beautiful Shining People by Michael Grothaus has been getting huge praise.  

‘A fascinating exploration of what it means to be human in a world where everything can be faked, and an alarming projection into a not-too-distant and all-too-plausible future … wonderful, insightful and thoughtful’ James Oswald

‘Totally engrossing from the start – the story, characters and settings will linger in your imagination long after you're finished … truly wonderful’ Jonathan Whitelaw

‘Exquisite world-building, this book had me invested from the very first page. Vivid plot and irresistible characters and a real tug at the soul … you'll drown in it’ Lisa Bradley 

This world is anything but ordinary, and it’s about to change forever…

It’s our world, but decades into the future…

An ordinary world, where cars drive themselves, drones glide across the sky, and robots work in burger shops. There are two superpowers and a digital Cold War, but all conflicts are safely oceans away. People get up, work, and have dinner. Everything is as it should be…

Except for seventeen-year-old John, a tech prodigy from a damaged family, who hides a deeply personal secret. But everything starts to change for him when he enters a tiny café on a cold Tokyo night. A café run by a disgraced sumo wrestler, where a peculiar dog with a spherical head lives, alongside its owner, enigmatic waitress Neotnia…

But Neotnia hides a secret of her own – a secret that will turn John’s unhappy life upside down. A secret that will take them from the neon streets of Tokyo to Hiroshima’s tragic past to the snowy mountains of Nagano.

A secret that reveals that this world is anything ordinary – and it’s about to change forever…

My Thoughts

This piece of speculative fiction imagines a world in the recent future which looks similar to current times, until you look closer and notice some telling differences. The society which John finds himself in seems quite a lonely place. He may be a genius when it comes to coding but he struggles with relating to people and is very much on the periphery. Through his growing friendship with Neotnia, he glimpses acceptance but there is always a niggling doubt that something is not quite right.

    It becomes clear that there have been some huge conflicts in the world and that caring for others is not thought of as the normal reaction of the young. Life in Japan seems centred on the individual. As the story develops, you can see some big themes being explored. The novel takes you right into the question of what it is to exist and what makes us human. Is selflessness possible in this modern age ? Is the destruction of countries inevitable? Will self interest prove to be dominant? With some unusual characters and the creation of a futuristic world which is recognisable, the author has created a thought provoking study in human relationships.

In short: appearances can be deceptive. 

 

About the Author

Michael Grothaus is a novelist, journalist and author of non-fiction. His writing has appeared in Fast Company, VICE, Guardian, Litro Magazine, Irish Times, Screen, Quartz and others. His debut novel, Epiphany Jones, a story about sex trafficking among the Hollywood elite, was longlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger and named one of the 25 ‘Most Irresistible Hollywood Novels’ by Entertainment Weekly. His first non-fiction book, Trust No One: Inside the World of Deepfakes was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 2021. The book examines the human impact that artificially generated video will have on individuals and society in the years to come. Michael is American...

You can follow Michael here: Twitter  |  Website 

Book link: Amazon UK

Than ks to Michael Gothaus Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 

Check out the rest of the tour!

Giveaway (UK only)

 

To win a print copy of Beautiful Shining People, just Follow and Retweet the pinned tweet at @bookslifethings and good luck!

Closing date is March 7th 2023 and there is one winner.    

 

*Terms and Conditions –  UK only.  The winner will be selected at random via Tweetdraw from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

 

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