Rash (novel)
Encyclopedia
Rash is a 2006 novel
written by Pete Hautman
. It is set in the year 2074, in a futuristic United States
, now called the United Safer States of America, that has become obsessed with safety and security. Nearly every potentially unsafe action has been criminalized, to the point that 24% of the population is incarcerated
. Ironically, this large criminal population also provides the manpower that fuels the large corporations that now dominate the country.
Kirkus Reviews
calls the book "a winner", saying that it is "bitingly funny and unexpectedly heartwarming". "In a starred review, PW called this dystopian fantasy of a futuristic nation wracked by litigiousness and terrorism "'intelligent and darkly comic.'"
Things get out of control when Bo tries to assault his classmate, Karlohs Mink, and is arrested. As a result, Bo is sentenced to work making pizzas in the Canadian tundra, where he is surrounded by hungry bears and eats only pizzas everyday.
Bo finds prison life boring and dangerous, and he is tired of eating pizzas. However, on the strength of his running ability, Bo is soon invited to join the Goldshirts, together with his extremely strong roommate Rhino. The Goldshirts are a specially privileged group at the camp because they play football for the camp warden, Hammer, who bets money on the matches. Training to play the sport, which is now highly illegal, makes Bo stronger and more self-confident.
At the same time, Bork, an artificial intelligent being which Bo invents for his science project in the school, mutates and becomes a rogue, spreading across the web. Using its great knowledge of criminal law, Bork arranges the early release of Bo and his family members. Rogue AI programs are illegal, and Bork is eventually discovered and destroyed by Security&Safety. Bo, however, has already gained what he needs: his high school graduation certificate and the skills of running and football. He takes his grandfather's shoes and decides to go to South America to play football, as it is still legal there.
's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four
.
Almost all the computer systems in the novel are called "WindO", blatantly referencing the Microsoft
operating system
Windows. A "WindO" is a standardized tablet PC that has seemingly replaced any other PC.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by Pete Hautman
Pete Hautman
Pete Hautman is the author of many well received young adult novels, one of which, Godless, won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Hautman moved to St. Louis Park, Minnesota at the age of five. He later graduated from St...
. It is set in the year 2074, in a futuristic United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, now called the United Safer States of America, that has become obsessed with safety and security. Nearly every potentially unsafe action has been criminalized, to the point that 24% of the population is incarcerated
Incarceration
Incarceration is the detention of a person in prison, typically as punishment for a crime .People are most commonly incarcerated upon suspicion or conviction of committing a crime, and different jurisdictions have differing laws governing the function of incarceration within a larger system of...
. Ironically, this large criminal population also provides the manpower that fuels the large corporations that now dominate the country.
Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus . Kirkus serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers. Kirkus Reviews is published on the first and 15th of each month...
calls the book "a winner", saying that it is "bitingly funny and unexpectedly heartwarming". "In a starred review, PW called this dystopian fantasy of a futuristic nation wracked by litigiousness and terrorism "'intelligent and darkly comic.'"
Plot summary
The novel is set in the year 2074, in a future U.S., now called the United Safer States of America, that has become obsessed with safety and security. Nearly every potentially unsafe action has been criminalized, including school fights. The main character is Bo Martsen, a 16-year-old at high school. Bo's father and brother are in prison, and Bo tends to see his own rash behavior as genetic.Things get out of control when Bo tries to assault his classmate, Karlohs Mink, and is arrested. As a result, Bo is sentenced to work making pizzas in the Canadian tundra, where he is surrounded by hungry bears and eats only pizzas everyday.
Bo finds prison life boring and dangerous, and he is tired of eating pizzas. However, on the strength of his running ability, Bo is soon invited to join the Goldshirts, together with his extremely strong roommate Rhino. The Goldshirts are a specially privileged group at the camp because they play football for the camp warden, Hammer, who bets money on the matches. Training to play the sport, which is now highly illegal, makes Bo stronger and more self-confident.
At the same time, Bork, an artificial intelligent being which Bo invents for his science project in the school, mutates and becomes a rogue, spreading across the web. Using its great knowledge of criminal law, Bork arranges the early release of Bo and his family members. Rogue AI programs are illegal, and Bork is eventually discovered and destroyed by Security&Safety. Bo, however, has already gained what he needs: his high school graduation certificate and the skills of running and football. He takes his grandfather's shoes and decides to go to South America to play football, as it is still legal there.
Other notes
Hautman's intent in writing Rash was to consider the consequences of the current trend toward increased safety and security that we see in the United States today. He says that the book could perhaps be called "2084", due to themes similar to those present in George OrwellGeorge Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
.
Almost all the computer systems in the novel are called "WindO", blatantly referencing the Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
Windows. A "WindO" is a standardized tablet PC that has seemingly replaced any other PC.