For those who love dystopian novels (and those looking for dystopian books to turn into a movie or series), “Old Men and Infidels” (“Outland Exile,” iUniverse; 2015, “Exiles' Escape,” Indigo River Publishing 2018, “Malila of the Scorch,” Indigo River Publishing, 2019) by W. Clark Boutwell provides a dark yet fantastic and engrossing read.
In “Outland Exile,” which takes place in 2128, the citizens of The Unity live in what seems to be a utopia, with free healthcare, full employment, computerless surfing of its massive CORE (Concepts of Reality Engineering) computer, and rec drugs at quite reasonable prices.
Yet, The Unity rules through force. In a truly dystopian fashion, citizens are implanted with a device at age seven as a requirement of Unity citizenship. This Basic implant is used as “a locating device, for the adjustment of a citizen's hormones and medication levels, and for biohousekeeping tasks.” Above all, The Unity mandates retirement at age 40 and treats overage, nonproductivity, and excess population as a crime.
“Outland Exile” introduces readers to Malila Evanova Chiu, a lieutenant of the Democratic Unity Forces for Security (DUFS). She possesses a flamboyant repertoire of profanity, vulgarities, and obscenities. At age 17, Malila is middle-aged.
The Unity is all that Malila knows. She grew up in a creche and then the DUFS barracks and was educated and indoctrinated by The Unity's best indoctrination teams. She prides herself in how her daily labors further the goals and welfare of her country—but especially the DUFS.
Caught up in a stealth coup d'état, Malila's career and even here survival are on the line. When apparent vandalism disables a distant “sniffer” station in the outlands, Malila is sent to clean up her own mess. The outlands are a savage area, devastated by the wars and abounding in lawlessness, where the hardscrabble inhabitants work to win back land from the changed plants, aided by doubled lifespan. Almost immediately on her arrival Malila is seized by a hideously disfigured, ancient savage, the oldest man she has ever met, Jesse Johnstone, the first of the Old Ones.
What becomes of Malila? What will she learn about The Unity and the outlands? Grab a copy of W. Clark Boutwell's “Outland Exile: Book 1 of Old Men and Infidels” today on Amazon.
Learn more about the premise of “Outland Exile” and the “Old Men and Infidels” trilogy, in general, by visiting the author's website at https://www.oldmenandinfidels.com/
“Outland Exile: Book 1 of Old Men and Infidels”
Author | W. Clark Boutwell
Published date | October 21, 2015
Publisher | iUniverse
Genre | Political Science Fiction
Author Bio
Born in Chicago and raised outside Philadelphia, Clark, a physician, has taught and practiced intensive care for newborn infants on four continents and eight countries, retiring after more than forty years on the job in 2020. He has been an avid solo hiker, backpacker, and climber since he was a mere lad of eleven. Some of his stories are even true.
He has traveled extensively to Rwanda, Kenya, India, Ecuador, Zambia, and Ghana as a volunteer physician.
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