A literary marathon. Steven, the narrator takes you into his world and you run with him, breathless in a fictional London suburbia, dry and arid from the effects of global warming. The first person present tense gives this novel an immediacy and urgency that suits its dystopian theme. It's a book about being young and angry at the mess your parents' generation made of the world. It's dystopian, but its positive too - the young people are so vital, open to change, fighting to survive, to find their own identities. Big themes: gender identity, environmental deterioration, parental abuse pack a punch. The story keeps you running on, Steven, trying not to feel the enormity of it all. Tip top read. 1 Miranda MillerAuthor 35 books8

Martin Goodman is an exceptionally versatile writer and this, his latest novel, works very well, both as science and as fiction. It is constantly surprising (one of my definitions of a good novel) and I really the way he plays with ideas about gender and identity. The immediacy of your writing means that the research and information never become heavy. The teenage twins at the centre of this story of dastardly bio-engineering are convincing and sympathetic and it is a really gripping read.1 Stephen1,111 14

I thought I d the premise of this book, but boy, was I wrong! The author explains somewhere that this was almost unpublishable - a story that was rejected by many publishers, who cast doubt on it ever seeing the light of day. It is a difficult book. Speculative, but not Sci-Fi, because it does not really explain the speculative elements. It is ultimately a character story, and with a hard ending, perhaps shocking, certainly unsettling. The whole book is deliberately unsettling.

I vacillated between giving it 2 or 3 stars. As per Goodreads categories, three stars means "I d it", and I can't really say I did. However, in the end, I recognised there was good writing here and an attempt to say something profound. That I did not the character of the protagonist much is clearly the author's decision, so it is cleverly done. All the same, I can't recommend it, and as I treat 3 stars as a recommendation, it will have to be 2. contemporary speculative Just This656 2

a weird & different fucked-up teen dystopia. a bit misogynistic? disappointing ending.2017 kids-sf-fantasy-post-apocalyptic Maaike154 18

DNF: 43%scifi-dystopia Kristin (Blood,Sweat and Books)370 174

Ectopia is a book that can best be described as a mash-up of Children of Men and A Clockwork Orange if set against the 1980's London Punk scene. This book is as bizarre as it is disturbing and yet for some odd reason I couldn't tear myself away from it.

Ectopia is a dark book. It is set in a world that's been literally Fucked up by Humanity. For whatever reason no Females be them Animal or Human have been born for well over a generation and the youngest one left and last born spends her time stuck in her house under the wanting eye of her overprotective Father. While this premise sounds very promising it isn't really executed all that well. We never get any really in depth answers as to why Karen is the last born female and why Animals can't breed female offspring either. I also would've d to learn more about the girls born around Karen. Yes she was the last but what about all those born a day, week, year before her? The details on the other girls is kept to a minimum and for what purpose? To make Karen seem more special or simply because the Author didn't want to really go into depth beyond the limited scope of his Dystopic world?

Now while Karen is certainly a major part of the book it is actually her Gay twin Steven who takes center stage. Now I have no problem with Gay Protagonists but I do have a problem with Assholes and Steven definitely is one of those. He's just so damn unlikable and even during the ending which let's be honest royally sucked for him I still didn't care all that much about him. Steven and his goon Teensquad are the Clockwork Orange part of the story and for me that just didn't work. Sure I guess the Author could be commended for exploring Gender and Identity roles but I didn't set out to read Propaganda and this read the biggest one of them all.

Lastly, I found the world building severely lacking. As I mentioned above we never really get any reasons to how things ended up so badly. Sure we learn how they are trying to "correct" the problem but that doesn't really feel enough in the grand scheme of things. Also what the hell is with all the graphic masturbation in this book?? Sure no new females are being born but they still exist. You'd think they'd be telling everyone and anyone to try screwing each other in the hopes of a baby female being born but then I guess this wouldn't be a disturbing Dystopian or something.

Final Thoughts
If you enjoy speculative fiction and Dystopian books that take not just a walk but a run on the dark side then Ectopia is probably for you. However, if you're one who s a story with a happy ending and lots of in depth world building then you'll probably want to pass this one by. In the end while I did enjoy Ectopia enough to finish I don't think it is a book that I will read again any time soon. With that being said, I will be rating Ectopia by Martin Goodman ???.

Originally reviewed @Blood,Sweat and Books.

*Copy reviewed provided by Netgalley. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in an which way for providing them. April (The Steadfast Reader)406 46

Wow. This book was hard. Really hard.

Think A Clockwork Orange, The Handmaid's Tale, and 1984 all mashed together. I think that I really d it. I kept thinking of the old adage, 'If men could get pregnant, then abortion would be a sacrament.'

This is a dark near-future dystopia. I dis the term 'gritty' but I can't think of a better adjective for this novel. It's told primarily from the point of view of Stephen-turned-Bender who is about as an unreliable narrator as you get.

Gender issues and identity are expertly explored. Karen and Stephen as twins and Karen is the last girl to be born. I agree with a previous reviewer that it would have been nice to have a better fleshed out worldview in this dystopia. Why are there no more girls being born? What exactly is Cromozone? I don't mind being left with questions but the 'world building' constructed in this novel left me a little empty.

There seemed to be an overemphasis on Stephen's teensquad and I think that cutting down large portions of those sections might have made the novel more accessible.

It requires a careful reading and does lend to questioning what reality really is and how we define it. If you love dystopias and speculative fiction - then this one might be for you - but it is incredibly heavy and although it's not that long, it takes time wade through the narrative.
arc-galley blogged dystopia ...more Becca Rose68 10

I won this book through Goodreads giveaways.

4.5 Stars!

This book is about a fucked up family in a fucked up future. I loved this book.
Longer review to come....books-i-own goodreads-giveaways Shawna Briseno390 7

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