Mind-bending stuff, that really forces you to consider the possibilities for some of the technology that surrounds us everyday – but which also makes me more than a little paranoid about what kinds of things could be researched without us being aware of it.
From the moment I read about Cut Off I was excited to read it – and it more than lived up to my expectations. Its main focus is, we’re told, a new kind of reality TV show. Our contestants – all desperate to win the prize of a million dollars -are abandoned on an island and the aim is to survive. At any point they can ‘tap out’ and leave, but the winner will have to prove themselves first. While this might seem fairly standard fare, for this show there is immersive technology that means viewers can feel like they’re experiencing the same things as the contestants.
The book opens in fairly typical territory. We’re introduced to River, Trip, Cam and Liza who appear to be the only four contestants around. Strange things have been happening – and there appears to be no power. There’s a growing sense of unease as the contestants start to realise that the technology to rescue them is no longer working, and there’s a very real chance that nobody is coming to save them. All too soon it’s clear that this survival game could be more important than anything they thought they were signing up for.
As it stood, there were a range of possibilities for what was going on with the contestants. It didn’t stray too far from what I expected at first. Their journey across the island, as they try to work out what to do next, made it increasingly obvious that we were in a far stranger world than any we might have conjured for ourselves. Once we started to unpick what was happening and we were given some ideas about the background to their situation, I was getting definite ‘we’re not in Kansas, anymore’ vibes.
It’s important not to give too many details away, as this is a journey you need to live with the characters. Each character had their own motivation for being on the show, and as we learn about them we come to understand a little more of the world around them. The characters were, in their own way, flawed but each of them was able to offer something to keep the reader engaged with them.