This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Joss Sheldon is a scruffy nomad, unchained free-thinker, and post-modernist radical. Born in 1982, he was brought up in one of the anonymous suburbs which wrap themselves around London's beating heart. Then he escaped!
With a degree from the London School of Economics to his name, Sheldon had spells selling falafel at music festivals, being a ski-bum, and failing to turn the English Midlands into a haven of rugby league.
Then, in 2013, he ran off to McLeod Ganj; an Indian village which plays home to thousands of angry monkeys, hundreds of Tibetan refugees, and the Dalai Lama himself. It was there that Sheldon wrote his debut novel, 'Involution & Evolution'.
With several positive reviews to his name, Sheldon had caught the writing bug. He traveled to Palestine and Kurdistan, where he researched his second novel, 'Occupied'; a dystopian masterpiece unlike anything you've ever read.
But it was with his third novel, 'The Little Voice', that Sheldon really hit the big time; topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, and gaining widespread critical acclaim.
Now Sheldon is back with what is arguably his best novel to date, 'INDIVIDUTOPIA'. Fans of 1984 will love this dystopian classic, set in a world where corporations have destroyed society, and no one speaks to anyone else. This is a human story, full of hope, and an adventure, in which our hero does everything she can to escape...
Reviewed by Kim Anisi for Readers' Favorite
The events of Individutopia by Jocelyn Nicholas Sheldon take place in the year 2084. The world has turned into a paradise for individualism. There is no more society. Everyone is his or her own best friend – literally - because you can buy holographic versions of yourself to keep yourself company. Or you can buy virtual yous who like your social media posts. Everyone else is competition and there are lists for everything: from a snoring ranking to a best worker ranking. Every individual has only one goal: to be the best. You can even have sex with a copy of yourself! But then, one individual called Renee dares the unthinkable: she seeks another person’s company. This is more difficult than you’d imagine though, considering the world is filled with holograms and everyone sees everyone else as a nuisance!
Renee’s story is told by the seemingly all-knowing narrator of Individutopia. Yet, he seems to become more and more puzzled the more Renee steps forward on her unusual path and indeed encounters other humans. I found some of the developments in the story very weird (and entertaining), but I assume that’s the whole point of the novel. I don’t think that humanity will ever get to the stage of being that individualistic, but it’s interesting to see how it could play out. Renee is a strange one, I’m not sure whether I’d like her if I ever got to meet her in real life. Nevertheless, I enjoyed following her around while she was exploring the world around her without her plenses (contact lenses that make the world around people look “slightly” different). There were some odd and fascinating characters – all in all, an enjoyable read with a touch of dystopia, some humor, and a very strange romance.
