If Feed was anything, it was predictable. Even from the title and the cover, one knows that it is futuristic and speculative, saying that future generations will be dumbed down and brainwashed. And, yes, that’s exactly what this book is. It’s a handful of pages filled with lame slang that Anderson thinks may be cool in a few hundred years, but sounds more like an adult attempting to fit in with a group of teens. His characters are mostly idiotic jerks and one (of course) smart girl that forces Titus to go beyond the norm.
However, despite the forced feel of the books and its predictability, it was interesting. In ways, I can see Anderson’s point and I agree with them to an extent. Yes, the teenage generation is worrisome. They freak me out all the time. Yes, at least half of them don’t understand how to use proper grammar or debate a point without resorting to personal attacks. Yes, when I think of them as adults with children I become nervous.
And that’s what struck me the most in this book. Titus’s parents. They were… childish. They were exactly what parents shouldn’t be: immature, silly, and, well, teenagers. I shudder to think of what will happen in this world when the anti-aging movement becomes so popular, that there will be practically no difference from parents and teens. It will not be pretty. While this isn’t what Anderson focused on in his novel, it’s what came across to me, and raised this book’s rating.
Another thing that he did well, was writing the feed bits. Between the chapters, he’d have an excerpt from the feed and I found his choices pretty realistic. The feed was well-imagined and, in a disturbing way, believable. I mean, maybe not most people will the internet installed into their brain, but I do believe that it could further dominate society and have a negative effect on future generations, if used incorrectly. Properly used, it is a great resource of information,wonderful way to cross the barriers of distance, and has other numerous positive abilities.
In the end, I was frustrated by the writing in this book, but realized and accepted Anderson’s message for what it was.
Three out of five stars.
