329 pages
"It's 18 years after the nuclear holocaust and the end of civilization, as we know it. Survivors are being relocated to a new society known as the Alliance. It seems like a dream come true for many of the new citizens. Crime, as well as harmful emotions, such as anger and prejudice have been eliminated, because the Alliance has computerized control over it's citizens from a computer chip that has been implanted in everyone. Eric Lloyd discovers the Alliance's corrupt power structure and vows to destroy it. But can one person change the world?" -Amazon Description
I'm glad to see this book is back in print. For awhile it wasn't, and I was so excited when my mom found a copy at the local thrift store for me a few years ago. I don't know what it is with me and When You Reach Me. I keep listing it as my current read and then don't read it. Maybe it's just not time yet. It felt like time to re-read The Alliance again though. It's been over 20 years. I remember really liking it but couldn't remember specifics.
This book was written in the 80's and it's just as good 30 years later. It doesn't feel dated at all--sometimes I worry about books that refer to modern (at the time) technology and wonder how those books will read when those things are outdated. This doesn't mention any technology that labels this as an 80's book, which I like. I also like the main characters, particularly Eric. He's got an innate sense of what is right and good. He knows that what makes man good is his ability to choose to be good. In this book the majority of the population has lost the ability to choose their behavior, being punished for anger or violence with electric shock sent from the computer chip embedded in their necks. They are conditioned to goodness out of fear of pain if they act otherwise. This creates a false illusion of peace and serenity. Those in charge are free from implants and free to choose. The Major is definitely a villain, intent on maintaining what he has created at the expense of all else.
Eric is held prisoner when he first arrives because of his potential to become a Guardian, but he proves to be difficult to control. When he loses control after seeing his family implanted, he is then implanted himself. He fights against that, showing remarkable endurance to pain. While he feigns obedience and being the model trainee, he is carefully planning his escape. He is a man meant to be free. His friend Cliff helps him see that merely freeing himself and his family isn't enough; he must free the entire population. Nicole is Eric's Monitor, the person in charge of evaluating his behavior. She has grown up in the Alliance and hasn't really known any other way of life but she slowly begins to see that everything is not ideal in the city, cue romance. The Major, Travis and the Guardians try to outwit Eric, Cliff and those that are with them and vice versa in this story. It's fast-paced and action-packed, one of the great reads of its genre.
