Shock Induction
A Novel
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3.5 • 13 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
From the bestselling author of Fight Club comes a “dark satire about the inhuman condition” (The Toronto Star) about a string of mysterious high school disappearances, the seedy underbellies of billionaires, and the tough choices we make in the face of an uncertain future.
In Shock Induction, the best and brightest students at a seemingly reputable high school are disappearing. Every day it seems another overachiever is lost to an apparent suicide. But something far more sinister is lurking beneath the surface.
These kids have been under surveillance since birth, monitored and measured by an online service called “Greener Pastures.” It’s here, in Greener Pastures, that billionaires observe and recruit the next generation of talent. The highest test scores, the best grades, and the most niche extracurriculars just might land these teenagers an enticing offer at auction. A couple of billion dollars in exchange for the remainder of your life and intellectual labor sounds like a pretty fair deal—doesn’t it?
In a high school only Chuck Palahniuk could imagine, students must choose between the risk of following their dreams and the financial security of a lifetime of servitude to the world’s wealthiest and most elite—but how much of a choice do they truly have? A thrilling tale and a critique of modern society, Shock Induction challenges the illusion of choice and explores the tough choices individuals make in the shadow of power and privilege.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the latest bracing satire from Palahniuk (Fight Club), a wave of high school suicides roils the country. The narrative centers on Samantha Deel, a brilliant and resourceful teenager who's hit hard by the suicide of her boyfriend, Garson. When her excellent academic record attracts the notice of an organization called Greener Pastures, she agrees to enter its mysterious program. Passages from the group's "Guide," which blends calls for Stepford Wives–esque conformity with a vision for a new order ("The family is over"), are interspersed throughout the novel. The excerpts provide an eerie contrast to Sam's dangerous odyssey as a complex series of events brings the teen, who is secretly pregnant with Garson's baby, to the Orphanage, an affiliate of Greener Pastures, where her process of "induction" begins. The patchwork structure accommodates periodic sidebars and ironic observations on references high and low, from Hitler to Captains Courageous, as the narrator muses on totalitarianism and mind control. Many of the one-liners target low-hanging fruit, but there's a cleverness to the depiction of Sam as a survivor ("Unlike Jay Gatsby," Palahniuk writes, "Samantha Deel would live beyond her early infatuation"). Die-hard Palahniuk fans will lap this up. Agents: Sloan Harris and Dan Kirschen, ICM Partners.
