Fjords Reviews

May 18th, 2018

Fiction
Children of the New World
By Alexander Weinstein

Macmillan Publishing Group, 2016
229 pages
ISBN 978-1-250-09899-3

Nowadays, our culture is, understandably, focused on the negative effects of technology. In Children of the New World, Alexander Weinstein taps into contemporary crypto-fears and imagines all-too-possible realities. In the collection, characters are shut-ins, addicts and drifters, who yearn for family and love, who share paper-thin human connections. Robot children, clones, memory machines and virtual reality games are an accepted norm, but it is clear that Weinstein’s stories – when taken together – are meant to warn humanity against the destructive path it is set on. When reading these stories, a sense of dread forms in the reader as the clear connections between us (modern readers) and them (unhappy characters) become apparent.

“Ice Age” is one of the most gripping stories in the collection. It takes place in a true ice age: animals are scarce, trees have long been buried in the snow, and humans live primitively in igloos. Strangers have come together to hunt and survive, but they spend much of their time reminiscing on life before the snow fell. The plot line and characters of “Ice Age” are particularly relatable and striking. “Ice Age” beautifully wraps up the book and the message Weinstein wants to send: is it possible our own world will wither and die?

Weinstein’s Children of the New World will leave readers reflecting on their own relationship with technology and excited to reread these stories again and again.

Bio:
Anna Massey is currently a student at the University of Missouri - Columbia. She is working on her degree in English with an emphasis on creative writing. She has a primary interest in fantasy but enjoys all excellent fiction.