Imprint
by Paul L. Bates
Buy book: $16.34

Wyatt Weston lives in an era of no mass media, no private transportation, where police hover over the streets keeping order, where knowledge is limited to one's immediate surroundings, and the collective amnesia of the population. Wyatt works as a sweeper; on a biweekly basis he removes rats, cockroaches, and the homeless from the city.

Sorry, this is just too depressing and crude. Not my thing.

Hey Linda, you better stick to Star Wars and similar fluff. This is a great book.

Hey Paul, easy on the disdain for Star Wars. It might not have all that much depth, and the prequel MOVIES are pretty bad, but the whole saga taken as a whole definitely isn't just "fluff".
On a different note, have you read this book before? Did you like a lot, or is it just a decent read? Is it a part of a series of books, or does it stand alone? I confess, it is VERY confusing, but I like to think that if I read it the whole way through, it will make a lot more sense. What do you think?

Leah,

I've read two thirds of it. It just keeps getting better and better. I feel like I know most of the characters personally and the story takes on new perspective as you learn, along with Wyatt, the rules of this strange world. Also it is unusual in that it is hard to pass judgement on anyone--everyone is a product of their culture, and most have saving graces amid their other (sometimes very) nasty traits. You get the feeling we could be a lot closer to something like this than we think.

I've read my share of Harlan Ellison and Phillip K. Dick (preemptive shot, here) but I couldn't stick with this for more than a few paragraphs. It was very rude of Paul to critize the first poster simply for not liking it.

Sharon,

Dumping on a silly self-serving message is not nearly as rude as dumping on a well written book one admittedly hasn't read and that one obviously doesn't understand.

As for leaving you cold, I'll avoid the easy personal shot and state simply that I couldn't get past the first paragraph of "The Hobbit" the first three times I tried to read it. It was my girlfriend's favorite book, so to keep piece in the family, I agreed to read the first chapter anyway. Know what? I came to like it, and have reread it twice since.

The beginning so far reminds me of Soylent Green. Maybe later, not so much.

I'm intrigued, now. I wasn't so sure at the beginning. It sounded a little shallow but I will be looking this book at the library this afternoon.