What if you lived in a society where public opinion was continually measured, and the real-time results determined what was right and wrong? Determined law. Determined truth.
What if it was your duty, your obligation to society, to rate everything? Products. Services. Businesses. Even fellow citizens.
What if your rating was your bank account balance? And it was dependent on your participation in society and its public opinion system. What if it determined your status? The friends who associate with you. The people willing to do business with you.
These are the questions that have been running through my mind lately. Not just because I’m weird and I think about such things … although that’s partly true. They are the foundational ideas for my latest writing project.
Consensus.
It is a utopian / dystopian science-fiction story, but the setting is not too different from our own. No spaceships or aliens with this one! It’s written for young adults as well as adults (what’s called a “crossover” like The Hunger Games). As with my other books, Consensus has many layers—action, personal and social drama, political conflict, mystery, suspense, and even a bit of philosophy.
Because writing a novel takes a long time, and I didn’t want to make you wait, I’m writing and releasing Consensus in five parts. If that sounds strange, think of them like episodes of a TV series. This is season one, and the pilot episode comes out today!
With this change in format, there is something important to note: There will not be resolution in Part 1.
If you’re the type of reader who can’t stand open endings or cliffhangers, then I suggest you wait until the complete novel is written. Part 1 will only do what pilot episodes are supposed to do—present the main concept, introduce the protagonist and a few major and minor characters, and define the main source of conflict or tension. It will allow you familiarize yourself with the setting and plot, consider what’s at stake, imagine where the story might go, and heighten your anticipation for Part 2.
And let me tell you—Part 2 really kicks the story into high gear! But I’m getting ahead of myself. The point is, Part 1 is not a standalone book. It belongs to an unfolding story that will hopefully take you where you’ve never been before.
And if it does, please tell others about it. Write a review. Talk about it with your friends. Share it on social media. That’s the only way this story will ever be successful.
For those of you who are already doing these things with my other books, I want to express my deepest gratitude. It is your support that allows me to keep writing.
With that said, I’m pleased to present you with Consensus: Part 1 – Citizen.
I hope it captures your imagination the way it has captured mine,
Jason
In a society where morals are determined by a public opinion system, and social rating is the currency, truth can be a dangerous notion.
Sixteen-year-old Rena has few memories of her childhood before adoption. A forest teeming with wildlife. Mountains reaching up to a blue sky. The voice of the man who raised her.
The problem—they’re not real. Such things don’t exist in Esh, a self-governed metropolis shielded from the harsh environment by a transparent canopy. And beyond the city is only the Barrens, an endless wasteland of fog and freezing rain.
When Rena’s violent instincts save the lives of her friends, her delusional past begins disrupting her prospects for the future. To find the source of her impulses, she’ll have to sort through the fragments in her mind. But what awaits is a connection between her true identity, the city’s forgotten past, and the secret war being waged beneath the surface of her polite society.