FKA USA

FKA stands for “Formerly Known As.” Sort of like AKA is “also known as.” This novel presents a post-dissolution view of North America after wars, famine, etc., split the country up into different entities ranging from the corporate entities like Crunch to the Free State of Texas. It’s now in the 2070’s a divided country with borders, different currencies, etc. Crunch is a corporate run country on former Arkansas land, producing artificial chemical foods by workers living in hopeless shantytowns and plagued by drug addiction, boredom, angst. There’s still a World Wide Web of sorts, virtual reality, and androids, including mindless automatons, android whores, and androids developing consciousness and feelings. Many area of the country are desolate, depopulated, radioactive, strip-mined, fracked, and others hosting Russian and Chinese colonies. It’s sort of Mad Max country outside the corporate factory worlds. But not a dystopia since no one tried to create a utopia.

The book is irreverent, gritty, sarcastic. It pays homage to Hitchhiker’s Guide with each chapter featuring a selection from the Grifter’s Guide. A sixteen year old nobody makes his way cross country with a metal person (Sam), a Strawman whose brain has been sliced and diced (Tiny Tim), and a talking but cowardly goat ( Barnaby), paying homage to another legendary work. The book doesn’t sent always take itself too seriously and there’s gallows humor and scat humor abounding.

I enjoyed this a lot as the motley crew explored the world, although their underlying mission was a bit too goofy. I have a sense though the audience for this is more limited than expansive.