An experimental horror-lit set in the near future about connection and isolation.
The Office meets A Clockwork Orange.
Set in the world of social media moderators, @Sa>ag3 and @Jun1p3r must survive their first 90 days to qualify for benefits and a life-changing mystery bonus. As they flag a nonstop torrent of the most heinous [NSFW] videos, their coping mechanisms expand to include on-the-job sex, drugs, and a jellyfish.
But when copium is no longer an option, @Sa>ag3 & @Jun1p3r turn to a more bizarre form of therapy: intimacy. Meanwhile a stream of ominous warning videos keeps popping up… COMING SOON… hinting at an event that will alter the American landscape.
@Sa>ag3 & @Jun1p3r are on the digital front line with their finger on the DELETE button. Will love survive in this new age?
Dark bleatings everybody! Okay, so this book is sort of mind-blowing and weird. If I were pushed to summarise it in one sentence, I’d say it’s like a cross between Black Mirror and Kit Power’s A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss As A Collection Of Short Fiction And Essays By Kit Power.
The characters in this story work at a major social media company and their job is to filter out anything that they deem unsuitable for the platform in the time between the user uploading the file and it going live on the site. As a result, these workers are constantly subjected to bearing witness to images and videos of extreme violence and brutality – clearly very disturbing stuff to have to get used to.
As a reader who cares a lot more about character than plot, I do have to say that this book wasn’t quite for me, but don’t let my preference deter you from picking this up. The plot is excellent. I found the writing a little cold but it’s clearly an intentional narrative device that reflects the theme of the story and emphasises where humanity could well be headed. I really admired the mechanics of the storytelling and it definitely makes for an interesting read. It’s super thought-provoking – hell, I’m still thinking about it weeks after reading it. By the end, despite the warmth that eventually seeps in, I found myself a little chilly, which is perfect really, because this is horror after all!
I’d recommend this to fans of dystopian and techno horror for sure.
If you’d like to pick up your own copy or check out the author, the links you need are below:
Happy Goat Horror 
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