Mr. Inkslinger brought home a handful of novels for me to try the other day. Among them was Genesis by Bernard Beckett. I began reading it before bed on Saturday night and kept right on reading until the wee hours, finishing it before turning off the light and attempting to sleep dreamlessly into Sunday (the attempt failed . . . which is to be expected after reading a dystopian novel before nodding off).

The novel is set in the not-too-distant future and centres on a single character. We enter the story during Anaximander's examination. She is attempting to merit entry to the highest level of governance in the land, The Academy. She has chosen as her examination topic the controversial figure Adam Forde. She has been tutored by the famed Pericles and is determined to do her instructor proud. She enters the examination with some confidence. As it proceeds, however, she discovers that all is not what it seems and new aspects of the carefully controlled society of which she is a part come to light.

This novel is reminiscent of many futuristic/dystopian tales. There's some Asimov here, a nod to Huxley, but this take on a familiar theme is well-constructed and worth reading for its own sake. I liked Beckett's attention to detail when setting up a particular set of philosophical concepts and then surprising Anax (and the reader) with the results. This novel has interesting things to say about what it means to be a thinking being.