Sometimes you need to escape from the news by plunging into a fictionalized version of it. Malka Older's second novel Infomocracy is a sci-fi thriller about the third election cycle in the world's first global government, a data-driven "microdemocracy." The first in a trilogy, Infomocracy manages to be incredibly action packed while also exploring plausible political futures you may never have imagined.
Election integrity in the world of Infomocracy is guaranteed by a techno-political organization called "The Information" (think Google merged with Facebook). Committed to non-partisan transparency, The Information is supposed to give citizens the data they need to vote wisely. Its real mission, of course, is more ambiguous. The action reaches a fever pitch and stays there, as our protagonists race to find out who is behind a series of bombings aimed at shutting down the election.
Life in a global democracy
From page one, Older plunges us into a bewildering global election season with only two semi-trustworthy guides to the madness. Ken is an idealistic campaigner for the progressive Policy1st party, which is devoted to openness and free exchange. Mishima is an operative for The Information with ninja powers and a mysterious "narrative disorder" that helps her find patterns in vast quantities of data. After hooking up randomly at a drunken party in Tokyo, the two discover they are the only people who seem to care that Liberty, a political party that's one of the top contenders for the next Supermajority, is quietly spreading propaganda about the need to start a war.
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