What do you think?
Rate this book
The Detainee Trilogy #1
The Detainee
The Island is hopelessness. The Island is death. And it is to this place that all the elderly and infirm are shipped, the scapegoats for the collapse of society. There’s no escape, not from the punishment satellites that deliver instant judgement for any crime—including trying to get off the Island—and not from the demons that come on foggy nights, when the satellites are all but blind.
But when one of the Island’s inhabitants, aging "Big Guy" Clancy, finds a network of tunnels beneath the waste, there is suddenly hope, for love, for escape . . . and for the chance to fight back.
But when one of the Island’s inhabitants, aging "Big Guy" Clancy, finds a network of tunnels beneath the waste, there is suddenly hope, for love, for escape . . . and for the chance to fight back.
277 pages, Hardcover
First published July 4, 2013
15 people are currently reading
648 people want to read
About the author
Peter Liney
9 books24 followersI've been writing for a long time - twenty-thirty years. From poetry, through sit-coms, to novels. I've had work produced on German, Australian and Brit TV, and on Brit and South African radio. What you might call, the long scenic route to where I am today. And I have to confess that there were many times when I thought I just wasn't going to make it. In fact, I think I'd kind of come to that conclusion. But something has taken a firm grip, is dragging me along, and though it might be bumpy at times, though I might sustain the odd bruise, I think I've paid my dues enough to take this ride...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
April 27, 2017
Seems you cannot swing a dead cat these days without hitting a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel. If an up and coming speculative fiction writer is not writing about vampires or zombies, he or she is adding to the future’s not so bright pile.
Or mixing in all three.
Or most annoying of all: the zombie vs. vampire melodrama in the aftermath of a plague infested nuclear holocaust is cast entirely with good looking teenagers and twenty somethings with the sponsor tags already built in to make it easier for the script-to-film scouts to scoop up the movie rights.
So, grim as it is, The Detainee, Peter Liney’s 2013 publication, is a pleasant surprise. One part Escape From New York, one part Lord of the Flies and one part The Road this is a decidedly different approach to the stylized dystopian / post-apocalyptic books coming out lately.
Snaaaaaake Plisken, I’ve heard of you … heard you was dead.
In a nutshell, the story is about a future where prisoners are exiled to an island with little or no infrastructure and expected to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. As expected, the residents have devolved into barbarism and poor hygiene.
But wait, there's more: Satellites orbiting the island, and presumably everywhere, keep the peace. If a satellite witnesses a crime, punishment is meted out from on high commensurate with the severity of the offense.
Our hero, Clancy, a former muscle / thug for a gangster, takes care of business with a little help from his friends.
Liney has a great idea and a better than average approach, and this is a good book, worth the time reading and from a talented writer.
Or mixing in all three.
Or most annoying of all: the zombie vs. vampire melodrama in the aftermath of a plague infested nuclear holocaust is cast entirely with good looking teenagers and twenty somethings with the sponsor tags already built in to make it easier for the script-to-film scouts to scoop up the movie rights.
So, grim as it is, The Detainee, Peter Liney’s 2013 publication, is a pleasant surprise. One part Escape From New York, one part Lord of the Flies and one part The Road this is a decidedly different approach to the stylized dystopian / post-apocalyptic books coming out lately.
Snaaaaaake Plisken, I’ve heard of you … heard you was dead.
In a nutshell, the story is about a future where prisoners are exiled to an island with little or no infrastructure and expected to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. As expected, the residents have devolved into barbarism and poor hygiene.
But wait, there's more: Satellites orbiting the island, and presumably everywhere, keep the peace. If a satellite witnesses a crime, punishment is meted out from on high commensurate with the severity of the offense.
Our hero, Clancy, a former muscle / thug for a gangster, takes care of business with a little help from his friends.
Liney has a great idea and a better than average approach, and this is a good book, worth the time reading and from a talented writer.
April 27, 2023
In my continued quest to read books that have been sitting on my TBR, I chose this. I bought this back in 2013, so I think a decade is a long enough time to languish.
This was a good story. In a future where those without means are banished to an island hellscape, hope is hard to come by. The main character narrator is a guy who used to be muscle for the mob in his younger days. When he's not talking about himself being "The Big Guy" and how in stories guys like him "never get the girl" or express their feelings, he's a compelling narrator. A bleak place, the island has garbage mountains, ruins, marauding and murderous bands that come when the fog rolls in and satellites that mete out brutality. Still, Big Guy has some friends and over the course of the story meets a woman, makes more friends and allies and most importantly, gets back his hope and will to change things or at least fight. All the other characters were well done and I have my favourites that I won't spoil here. The first third had me hooked, the middle third lagged a bit but the final third was so gripping, I had to stay up late to finish it. So good.
This is the first of a trio and I already have those books, so I will be reading them sooner than later. Throughout the story, I kept wanting to know more about the world outside the island, who is in charge of this society, who controls the satellites from the mainland and who is the Infinity group? I think book two will have more information on that, so I look forward to it. The story is limited in the main character's point of view so the reader can only know what he knows or what someone he knows tells him.
Recommended. This was a great read I waited on for too long. A gem in the pile.
This was a good story. In a future where those without means are banished to an island hellscape, hope is hard to come by. The main character narrator is a guy who used to be muscle for the mob in his younger days. When he's not talking about himself being "The Big Guy" and how in stories guys like him "never get the girl" or express their feelings, he's a compelling narrator. A bleak place, the island has garbage mountains, ruins, marauding and murderous bands that come when the fog rolls in and satellites that mete out brutality. Still, Big Guy has some friends and over the course of the story meets a woman, makes more friends and allies and most importantly, gets back his hope and will to change things or at least fight. All the other characters were well done and I have my favourites that I won't spoil here. The first third had me hooked, the middle third lagged a bit but the final third was so gripping, I had to stay up late to finish it. So good.
This is the first of a trio and I already have those books, so I will be reading them sooner than later. Throughout the story, I kept wanting to know more about the world outside the island, who is in charge of this society, who controls the satellites from the mainland and who is the Infinity group? I think book two will have more information on that, so I look forward to it. The story is limited in the main character's point of view so the reader can only know what he knows or what someone he knows tells him.
Recommended. This was a great read I waited on for too long. A gem in the pile.
March 21, 2014
4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.blogspot.com/201...
Dystopian fiction seems to be all the rage these days, but if you're hankering for a book that sets itself apart and that is not a Young Adult novel, then boy do I have a gem for you.
The Detainee is set the distant future, where society as we know it has essentially collapsed, the economy and infrastructure in tatters. The population is kept in line by security satellites in the sky, constantly watching. Do something against the rules and -- ZAP! -- you're either disabled, dying or dead, depending on the severity of your crime. But if you're a troublemaker, the authorities would sooner just throw you away than deal with you. Anyone who represents a burden is unwanted, dumped onto The Island like the rest of the Mainland's garbage.
But what makes this book stand out is the main character Clancy, also known as "Big Guy" on account of his huge size as a youth, a trait that gave him such an edge as a former mafia goon. He is also sixty-three years old. Now, with people living longer and longer these days, I don't know if I would really call that old ... but the point is, Clancy certainly identifies himself as elderly. So, that's a bit different. I don't often come across stories told from the point of view of someone "aged" (for the entire duration of the book) and I thought Clancy's position offers a very unique perspective, as someone who has watched the "good old days" turn gradually into the hell they live in now -- piece by piece and slippery slope by slippery slope.
Because of his age, Clancy is also an involuntary resident of the Island, because those who are past their prime are seen as nothing more than takers and freeloaders. Elders in this society are not revered but instead treated like scapegoats for the system's collapse -- along with the sick, the poor, and even children. There are many young people at the Island too, many of whom ended up there because their parents chose abandoning them over being cast off themselves. These kids are rounded up and manipulated by the island's Wastelords who use a regime of drugs and abuse to create a brutal child army, which they use to set against the old people who live in the village.
Like I said, this is not your teenager's YA dystopian. In an ironic twist, the youth are the enemy, the face of death to Clancy and his friends. Their village becomes a bloody battlefield whenever the fog rolls in, because that's when the kids come raiding, knowing full well their activities are obscured from the gazes of the uncompromising satellites.
Powerful and provocative, you can practically feel the weight in Peter Liney's writing. The Detainee paints a hollow, painful existence for everyone living on the Island, for while the book is told in first person from Clancy's point of view, we find out later on that things are just as bad (if not worse) for the young people at the Camps. Instead of focusing on a single age group, the author has taken things further to explore the unpleasant effects of a dystopian society across multiple generations. But the novel is also hopeful and inspiring; even in a world of misery, the protagonist Clancy forges several unlikely relationships that give him reason to carry on. In time he learns when it comes to love and suffering, age is just a number, and that everyone longs for freedom the same way.
What you'll find here is a compelling story about adaptability, compassion and courage. Clancy is a very interesting narrator, with the experience of his years behind his character, and who ultimately discovers you are never too old to surprise yourself. I could be wrong, but I think The Detainee is a stand alone novel (EDIT: seems that I am wrong, I'm told there is a book 2 in the works YAY!) It reads perfectly fine as one, in any case. I would have liked to see more from the story about its world's history and background, but I found the book thoroughly enjoyable. Perfect for fans of dystopian fiction who are looking for an exceptional novel to dive into.
Dystopian fiction seems to be all the rage these days, but if you're hankering for a book that sets itself apart and that is not a Young Adult novel, then boy do I have a gem for you.
The Detainee is set the distant future, where society as we know it has essentially collapsed, the economy and infrastructure in tatters. The population is kept in line by security satellites in the sky, constantly watching. Do something against the rules and -- ZAP! -- you're either disabled, dying or dead, depending on the severity of your crime. But if you're a troublemaker, the authorities would sooner just throw you away than deal with you. Anyone who represents a burden is unwanted, dumped onto The Island like the rest of the Mainland's garbage.
But what makes this book stand out is the main character Clancy, also known as "Big Guy" on account of his huge size as a youth, a trait that gave him such an edge as a former mafia goon. He is also sixty-three years old. Now, with people living longer and longer these days, I don't know if I would really call that old ... but the point is, Clancy certainly identifies himself as elderly. So, that's a bit different. I don't often come across stories told from the point of view of someone "aged" (for the entire duration of the book) and I thought Clancy's position offers a very unique perspective, as someone who has watched the "good old days" turn gradually into the hell they live in now -- piece by piece and slippery slope by slippery slope.
Because of his age, Clancy is also an involuntary resident of the Island, because those who are past their prime are seen as nothing more than takers and freeloaders. Elders in this society are not revered but instead treated like scapegoats for the system's collapse -- along with the sick, the poor, and even children. There are many young people at the Island too, many of whom ended up there because their parents chose abandoning them over being cast off themselves. These kids are rounded up and manipulated by the island's Wastelords who use a regime of drugs and abuse to create a brutal child army, which they use to set against the old people who live in the village.
Like I said, this is not your teenager's YA dystopian. In an ironic twist, the youth are the enemy, the face of death to Clancy and his friends. Their village becomes a bloody battlefield whenever the fog rolls in, because that's when the kids come raiding, knowing full well their activities are obscured from the gazes of the uncompromising satellites.
Powerful and provocative, you can practically feel the weight in Peter Liney's writing. The Detainee paints a hollow, painful existence for everyone living on the Island, for while the book is told in first person from Clancy's point of view, we find out later on that things are just as bad (if not worse) for the young people at the Camps. Instead of focusing on a single age group, the author has taken things further to explore the unpleasant effects of a dystopian society across multiple generations. But the novel is also hopeful and inspiring; even in a world of misery, the protagonist Clancy forges several unlikely relationships that give him reason to carry on. In time he learns when it comes to love and suffering, age is just a number, and that everyone longs for freedom the same way.
What you'll find here is a compelling story about adaptability, compassion and courage. Clancy is a very interesting narrator, with the experience of his years behind his character, and who ultimately discovers you are never too old to surprise yourself. I could be wrong, but I think The Detainee is a stand alone novel (EDIT: seems that I am wrong, I'm told there is a book 2 in the works YAY!) It reads perfectly fine as one, in any case. I would have liked to see more from the story about its world's history and background, but I found the book thoroughly enjoyable. Perfect for fans of dystopian fiction who are looking for an exceptional novel to dive into.
May 7, 2015
Surprisingly one of the best books I read in 2015 so far. The story / main character is so different from what I expected it to be, especially in the post-apocalyptic genre.
Read it !
Read it !
May 1, 2018
This dystopian story came out of nowhere and clubbed me over the head. The sleazy, Brooklyn-style voice of the protagonist and former mobster, Clancy, is damn near perfect, and sells the action, relationships and setting even if they become a little too far-fetched to believe. It helps that the audio book narrator, Jeff Harding, sounds like he was born to read this story. It's that good.
The narrative takes a pretty sharp turn from where I was expecting it to go, but I like having my expectations challenged. I found the central concept a little too unbelievable at first (old people and kids being blamed for society's downfall and put together on an island together? Really?) but, as I mentioned, the protagonist sells it to you with such authenticity and passion you'll believe anything he says. There's some great moments of brutality that balance out the intimate relationships and well drawn characters that populate this nasty little world. While I won't say I adored it, I sure did enjoy it and would recommend it to anyone who likes a heavy dash of thriller in their dystopian.
The narrative takes a pretty sharp turn from where I was expecting it to go, but I like having my expectations challenged. I found the central concept a little too unbelievable at first (old people and kids being blamed for society's downfall and put together on an island together? Really?) but, as I mentioned, the protagonist sells it to you with such authenticity and passion you'll believe anything he says. There's some great moments of brutality that balance out the intimate relationships and well drawn characters that populate this nasty little world. While I won't say I adored it, I sure did enjoy it and would recommend it to anyone who likes a heavy dash of thriller in their dystopian.
February 10, 2017
„Ордите пищящи изчадия” отзад на корицата ме бяха хвърлили в заблуда, че става въпрос за извънземни. И така, подхванах книгата с нагласата да чета за извънземни. Представете си, колко бях изненадана, че не открих нито едно подобно създание да се разкарва по страниците! А представете си хиляди хора изхвърлени на остров, използван за бунище от цивилизацията на континента – без изход, без възможност за връщане, без надежда. А мизерията е пълна, след като недай боже някой да извади късмета да попадне на прясно изхвърления боклук, миризмата веднага ще бъде асоциирана с пролет и луксозни стоки, и ще събуди отдавна подтиснати спомени по безвъзвратно изгубено минало. Сателитите използвани за упражняване на контрол и наблюдение, в един момент се превръщат и в единственото средство, което може да осигури безопасност и да вдъхне чувство за сигурност, мъглата се превръща в проклятие, а старостта – не остава нищо достойно в старостта.
Но вероятно, точно такъв би бил сценарият, ако човечеството напълно загуби чувството си за мярка и забрави за всичките си морални ценности.
Но вероятно, точно такъв би бил сценарият, ако човечеството напълно загуби чувството си за мярка и забрави за всичките си морални ценности.
March 9, 2014
In the distant future, after the world economy took a final nosedive, the government started to cut federal spending, pensions disappeared, education became a privilege, and healthcare was non-existent. Punishment satellites took over police enforcement and delivered painful, or fatal, judgments from the sky. And the old, the infirm, even the unwanted children of society were dumped, just like the daily garbage deliveries, on what is known as the Island.
At age sixty-three, Big Guy, former mafia enforcer and now 10-year veteran of the Island, is nothing more than bag of bones, a shell of his former self, living in a shack built out of garbage. Whether it is old age or the nightly visits from the murderous hordes of drugged-out miscreants that rule the Island, Big Guy is ready to die. There is nothing to live for on this appallingly inhumane garbage pile, the “Nursing Home from Hell”. No one can leave the Island; the punishment satellites will prevent that. At night, when the fog rolls in and the drums start to beat, the inhabitants hide in fear from what they have come to accept as life. And just when Big Guy thinks there is nothing to live for, he finds hope in the strangest place.
When I first picked up this book, I was wondering if I could even finish it. It was bleak and depressing and old people were slaughtered with machetes. But then, I realized that whenever I put down the book I could not stop thinking about Big Guy and his friends. I started to care about them. I wanted to know what would happen next. Interspersed with scenes of carnage and fear, the author gives Big Guy, and the reader, little Easter eggs of hope. The result is a powerfully written, intense work of fiction that is a frightening look at what our future might hold.
Written in first person narrative, the book stands out from the countless dystopia novels on the market, as these main characters are “old”. There is no teenage angst or implausible exploits pulled off by someone barely old enough to shave. All the main characters bring intelligence gained only through time and experience. All bring a painful, sometimes dishonorable, history that enriches the story.
I’ve heard this is the first of a trilogy, but the ending easily leaves the reader satisfied. But, if the author is writing more about Big Guy, then I will read it because I want to know what happens.
At age sixty-three, Big Guy, former mafia enforcer and now 10-year veteran of the Island, is nothing more than bag of bones, a shell of his former self, living in a shack built out of garbage. Whether it is old age or the nightly visits from the murderous hordes of drugged-out miscreants that rule the Island, Big Guy is ready to die. There is nothing to live for on this appallingly inhumane garbage pile, the “Nursing Home from Hell”. No one can leave the Island; the punishment satellites will prevent that. At night, when the fog rolls in and the drums start to beat, the inhabitants hide in fear from what they have come to accept as life. And just when Big Guy thinks there is nothing to live for, he finds hope in the strangest place.
When I first picked up this book, I was wondering if I could even finish it. It was bleak and depressing and old people were slaughtered with machetes. But then, I realized that whenever I put down the book I could not stop thinking about Big Guy and his friends. I started to care about them. I wanted to know what would happen next. Interspersed with scenes of carnage and fear, the author gives Big Guy, and the reader, little Easter eggs of hope. The result is a powerfully written, intense work of fiction that is a frightening look at what our future might hold.
Written in first person narrative, the book stands out from the countless dystopia novels on the market, as these main characters are “old”. There is no teenage angst or implausible exploits pulled off by someone barely old enough to shave. All the main characters bring intelligence gained only through time and experience. All bring a painful, sometimes dishonorable, history that enriches the story.
I’ve heard this is the first of a trilogy, but the ending easily leaves the reader satisfied. But, if the author is writing more about Big Guy, then I will read it because I want to know what happens.
April 1, 2014
This IS my longer review... and I still I don't know why so many reviewers are calling THE DETAINEE a 'thriller'. Not that it wasn't without suspense, but it seemed like a book heavily rooted in the exploration of the human experience, the power of individual people, and personalities.
It certainly was dystopic, and I loved the beginning where Liney sets down the political thinking that led to this particular nightmare. (You don't have to go farther than some of the garbage coming out of the House of Representatives. Morons.)
I thought the book could have been shorter. Then again, I think almost every book these days could be shorter. Something to take into consideration.
The writing is interesting and that's why I liked this book. Clancy, as the Big Guy, is sometimes called, is the narrator and his semi-mobster mentality is consistent throughout the entire book and I loved his view of the world. It was so appropriate to the story, and really, quite endearing. In fact, I liked all four of the adult characters. Each was well drawn, with a clear sense of their past, and who they are now.
Where I had a problem was in how the story got to it's end point. The events were unbelievable, and the change in character was not something I could imagine actually taking place. I wanted that to be true
If you can get your suspension-of-disbelief pushed up into high, I think you'll find THE DETAINEE to be a very enjoyable and refreshing story. If you can't quite accomplish that, then THE DETAINEE is still a book you ought to read for the enjoyment of the voice and how Peter Liney spins his new dystopian future.
--a review copy
It certainly was dystopic, and I loved the beginning where Liney sets down the political thinking that led to this particular nightmare. (You don't have to go farther than some of the garbage coming out of the House of Representatives. Morons.)
I thought the book could have been shorter. Then again, I think almost every book these days could be shorter. Something to take into consideration.
The writing is interesting and that's why I liked this book. Clancy, as the Big Guy, is sometimes called, is the narrator and his semi-mobster mentality is consistent throughout the entire book and I loved his view of the world. It was so appropriate to the story, and really, quite endearing. In fact, I liked all four of the adult characters. Each was well drawn, with a clear sense of their past, and who they are now.
Where I had a problem was in how the story got to it's end point. The events were unbelievable, and the change in character was not something I could imagine actually taking place. I wanted that to be true
If you can get your suspension-of-disbelief pushed up into high, I think you'll find THE DETAINEE to be a very enjoyable and refreshing story. If you can't quite accomplish that, then THE DETAINEE is still a book you ought to read for the enjoyment of the voice and how Peter Liney spins his new dystopian future.
--a review copy
owned-but-not-read
July 17, 2014Oh my, I need to read this book, like... NOW!
Opening paragraphs:
There's a scream inside us all we save for death. Once it's out, once it's given to the world, there ain't no going back on it. It's time to let go, to release your fragile grip on life. Otherwise, God's just going to wrench it from you.
If you never heard that scream, I hope for your sake you never will. I, on the other hand, must've heard it a thousand times. I can hear it now. A woman somewhere over towards the rocks is squealing like an animal that's just realised it exists to be butchered, her cries issuing out of the fog like blood through a bandage. Now some guy, probably her partner, has joined in. Shouting at them, telling them to leave her alone, as if he has some influence on the situation. But you know he hasn't. Fear's slicing so hard at his voice it's cutting right through. Soon she'll die, and so will he. And I can do nothing but lie here in the dark, listening to my frightened heart pounding; just as all around me, hundreds of others must be lying there, listening to their frightened hearts pounding. It makes you feel sick to do it. But we don't seem to have a choice.
Opening paragraphs:
There's a scream inside us all we save for death. Once it's out, once it's given to the world, there ain't no going back on it. It's time to let go, to release your fragile grip on life. Otherwise, God's just going to wrench it from you.
If you never heard that scream, I hope for your sake you never will. I, on the other hand, must've heard it a thousand times. I can hear it now. A woman somewhere over towards the rocks is squealing like an animal that's just realised it exists to be butchered, her cries issuing out of the fog like blood through a bandage. Now some guy, probably her partner, has joined in. Shouting at them, telling them to leave her alone, as if he has some influence on the situation. But you know he hasn't. Fear's slicing so hard at his voice it's cutting right through. Soon she'll die, and so will he. And I can do nothing but lie here in the dark, listening to my frightened heart pounding; just as all around me, hundreds of others must be lying there, listening to their frightened hearts pounding. It makes you feel sick to do it. But we don't seem to have a choice.
August 1, 2013
Although this book is in the SF/Fantasy section, it should be read by everyone. Very thoughtful but also very entertaining, and Clancy's got to be one of the best heroes ever. I read it in a weekend and might just read it again this weekend. It's that good.
March 15, 2014
I thought this was a fantastic, and sadly, viable dystopian read. Highly recommend.
March 9, 2017
Великолепен роман, анти-утопия!
Въпреки пестеливото използване на диалог, книгата се чете изключително леко.
Поставя толкова много въпроси - за възрастта, за болестите в обществото, нестихващата алчност, която погубва всичко, ценностите, морала и не на последно място силата на човешкия дух, стремежа към свобода и надеждата за по-добро съществуване на хората като цяло. Както и една искрена и неподправена любов, без която не може.
Удовлетворяващо четиво във всеки един аспект - ум, сетива и чувства!
Въпреки пестеливото използване на диалог, книгата се чете изключително леко.
Поставя толкова много въпроси - за възрастта, за болестите в обществото, нестихващата алчност, която погубва всичко, ценностите, морала и не на последно място силата на човешкия дух, стремежа към свобода и надеждата за по-добро съществуване на хората като цяло. Както и една искрена и неподправена любов, без която не може.
Удовлетворяващо четиво във всеки един аспект - ум, сетива и чувства!
February 27, 2014
The Detainee by Peter Liney is a highly recommended dystopian thriller.
Before he was sent to the island Clancy, also known as "Big Guy," worked as a heavy for Mr. Meltoni. Now he is old, 63, and an Island Detainee. The Island is really just a huge garbage pile four miles long, three across and a little over a mile offshore. At one time it was a residential island, but at some point someone decided it was the ideal place to start offloading the Mainland’s waste. It is also where the old and have no means of support are sent are sent to have one last chance to become self-sufficient. What those who make all the rules while living behind their fortified walls on the mainland are saying is survive or die.
"But there are thousands of us out here. Mostly old people, those with no money, who once might’ve thought they’d be taken care of. However, no one takes care of you anymore. You either survive or die, simple as that. Sure as hell the State don’t. They can’t afford to look after anyone. And do you know who they say’s to blame? Not incompetent and corrupt politicians, not those pigs gorging themselves down at the stock exchange trough, but us. Old people. Old people ’cuz we got too old. As if we had a choice."
He and the other old folks have built a village where their shelters are made of plastic and whatever discarded items they can find. The satellite policing keeps them on the island. It is a laser that doles out punishment based on the crime. The roots of its development were surveillance cameras. Now the laser keeps them on the island and punishes anyone with anything that might resemble a weapon.
Surviving on the garbage pile isn't what Clancy is concerned about. He and every other old person on the island is scared of the fog because when the fog rolls in the satellite policing, can't work. And when the satellites can't work the kids come out. These kids are the drugged up garbage urchins who sort the trash for the Wastelords. They come out with machetes in a drug frenzy on foggy nights and go crazy killing and maiming, hacking old people to death without mercy or conscience.
One night, while trying to escape a murderous gang of kids, Clancy discovers a secret that might just provide him with the safety and hope he needs to survive and perhaps be the impetus for something even bigger.
I will readily admit that at first I wasn't sold on Clancy as the narrator of The Detainee. I though his sometimes meandering, self-pitying lack of confidence would begin to irritate me; actually the opposite happened. I warmed up to him and accepted all of his self-esteem issues. Once the larger issues in this society became more clear the story took over.
Currently all the spying on everyone via surveillance cameras (or the internet) the idea of punishment satellites doesn't seem so far-fetched. And with parents becoming more permissive, the eventual collapse of a society where out-of-control children were paid to be good could quickly turn into a society that blames the old people for everything - especially when the financial structure collapses due to the aging population. It is a horrifying but logical next step to eliminate the older and weaker members of a society in order to protect the greater good of the ruling class. Once that ideological/societal hurdle was crossed, it was much easier to get caught up in the characters and the action.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Random House for review purposes.
Before he was sent to the island Clancy, also known as "Big Guy," worked as a heavy for Mr. Meltoni. Now he is old, 63, and an Island Detainee. The Island is really just a huge garbage pile four miles long, three across and a little over a mile offshore. At one time it was a residential island, but at some point someone decided it was the ideal place to start offloading the Mainland’s waste. It is also where the old and have no means of support are sent are sent to have one last chance to become self-sufficient. What those who make all the rules while living behind their fortified walls on the mainland are saying is survive or die.
"But there are thousands of us out here. Mostly old people, those with no money, who once might’ve thought they’d be taken care of. However, no one takes care of you anymore. You either survive or die, simple as that. Sure as hell the State don’t. They can’t afford to look after anyone. And do you know who they say’s to blame? Not incompetent and corrupt politicians, not those pigs gorging themselves down at the stock exchange trough, but us. Old people. Old people ’cuz we got too old. As if we had a choice."
He and the other old folks have built a village where their shelters are made of plastic and whatever discarded items they can find. The satellite policing keeps them on the island. It is a laser that doles out punishment based on the crime. The roots of its development were surveillance cameras. Now the laser keeps them on the island and punishes anyone with anything that might resemble a weapon.
Surviving on the garbage pile isn't what Clancy is concerned about. He and every other old person on the island is scared of the fog because when the fog rolls in the satellite policing, can't work. And when the satellites can't work the kids come out. These kids are the drugged up garbage urchins who sort the trash for the Wastelords. They come out with machetes in a drug frenzy on foggy nights and go crazy killing and maiming, hacking old people to death without mercy or conscience.
One night, while trying to escape a murderous gang of kids, Clancy discovers a secret that might just provide him with the safety and hope he needs to survive and perhaps be the impetus for something even bigger.
I will readily admit that at first I wasn't sold on Clancy as the narrator of The Detainee. I though his sometimes meandering, self-pitying lack of confidence would begin to irritate me; actually the opposite happened. I warmed up to him and accepted all of his self-esteem issues. Once the larger issues in this society became more clear the story took over.
Currently all the spying on everyone via surveillance cameras (or the internet) the idea of punishment satellites doesn't seem so far-fetched. And with parents becoming more permissive, the eventual collapse of a society where out-of-control children were paid to be good could quickly turn into a society that blames the old people for everything - especially when the financial structure collapses due to the aging population. It is a horrifying but logical next step to eliminate the older and weaker members of a society in order to protect the greater good of the ruling class. Once that ideological/societal hurdle was crossed, it was much easier to get caught up in the characters and the action.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Random House for review purposes.
April 3, 2014
So the word dystopian sets off a particular image in your brains. About a ruined landscape, rotting environment or the polar ice caps melted down and the most common, a nuclear holocaust.
But with The Detainee, don’t expect a romp through a nuclear wasteland and a band of survivors tripping through the abandoned country-sides and empty yawning highway bridges of the world. No sir.
This book is about a group of elderly people striking out on their own, looking after each other in a society in the distant (near?) future where the old and crippled are shipped off as castaways to remote islands since they are a drain to the society. Add to that, the criminals, the kids whom nobody wants, the crippled and medically unfit. All of them shipped away from the Mainland to a remote island patrolled only the sky-satellites. Where an unexpected behavior would result in a ZAP! a violent fried death by lasers beamed through such satellites. Talk about the advances in technology and the cruelties of Capitalism. The book delves into the psyche of such an atavistic society that starts to take shape on this island – where violence is necessary and the old and the weak fall by the side. An all-too realistic island that is heaped to the skies with garbage and rotting piles of waste. A place where the swirling walls of fog roiling in from the sea brings in demons at night that maim, tease and violently kill these helpless old folks.
This one is like a warped version of the Lord of the Flies meets Hunger Games. But it ultimately is a big beautiful book about hope. The indomitable infallible nature of the human spirit. The rise of the phoenix that is the battered and bruised human mind. “I can take the bars, but it’s the patches of sky in between that get you.” Spouts one of the characters in the book and this is the defining characteristic of this book. Of how the mind finally trumps over this fallacy and is always homing in on freedom.
Intense and so beautifully crafted, the Detainee is an unputdownable (now I’m inventing words to describe this transcendental experience!) dystopian thriller that deserves all the praise heaped on it.
here's my original review: http://bit.ly/1gS6ZVk
But with The Detainee, don’t expect a romp through a nuclear wasteland and a band of survivors tripping through the abandoned country-sides and empty yawning highway bridges of the world. No sir.
This book is about a group of elderly people striking out on their own, looking after each other in a society in the distant (near?) future where the old and crippled are shipped off as castaways to remote islands since they are a drain to the society. Add to that, the criminals, the kids whom nobody wants, the crippled and medically unfit. All of them shipped away from the Mainland to a remote island patrolled only the sky-satellites. Where an unexpected behavior would result in a ZAP! a violent fried death by lasers beamed through such satellites. Talk about the advances in technology and the cruelties of Capitalism. The book delves into the psyche of such an atavistic society that starts to take shape on this island – where violence is necessary and the old and the weak fall by the side. An all-too realistic island that is heaped to the skies with garbage and rotting piles of waste. A place where the swirling walls of fog roiling in from the sea brings in demons at night that maim, tease and violently kill these helpless old folks.
This one is like a warped version of the Lord of the Flies meets Hunger Games. But it ultimately is a big beautiful book about hope. The indomitable infallible nature of the human spirit. The rise of the phoenix that is the battered and bruised human mind. “I can take the bars, but it’s the patches of sky in between that get you.” Spouts one of the characters in the book and this is the defining characteristic of this book. Of how the mind finally trumps over this fallacy and is always homing in on freedom.
Intense and so beautifully crafted, the Detainee is an unputdownable (now I’m inventing words to describe this transcendental experience!) dystopian thriller that deserves all the praise heaped on it.
here's my original review: http://bit.ly/1gS6ZVk
March 21, 2015
The Detainee by Peter Liney - People who are a drain on the economy are permanently exiled to an island of trash that was built offshore from the city. This includes the elderly who need government financial aid and/or government medical care, children whose parents cannot or will not support them, veterans who need government support, criminals, and anyone else who is a drain on the struggling economy. These “Detainees” must completely fend for themselves on the island and it is a particularly desperate struggle for the older people and the children to survive because they are preyed upon by a ruthless population of criminals. That is the society where Clancy (a Detainee otherwise known as The Big Guy and the protagonist of the story) tries to mind his own business and avoid confrontations. However, The Big Guy (even at age 63) is not the kind of person to tolerate violent treatment, no matter how big or how many depraved miscreants come after him. This book is narrated by Clancy, and through his thoughts and actions, the reader becomes very well acquainted with him and the small group of friends that he tries to help. Plenty of heinous violence and lots of suspenseful action will engender much empathy and sympathy in the reader for Clancy’s group. Surprisingly, the story also reveals much compassion, ingenuity and bravery in Clancy and his small group of friends. The Detainee by Peter Liney is a very well-written, fascinating and gripping novel. I thought it was great.
August 19, 2016
This was a really good start to a debut trilogy. I had some misgivings about the first person style, but I got really engaged after the first half of the novel. it's a pretty accurate logical-end to our current economic policies and behavior, which makes it even more disquieting. I have one issue with the writing: the first sex scene, the male, older narrator describes how he kept saying no to the woman who was initiating sex. he even slaps her hands away. flip the gender, and that is clearly rape. he says later that he's glad she didn't stop, that he was just afraid to be happy, but that doesn't change the fact that all the signals he gave were negative, please stop signals. it's a little thing, but it bothered me. so, you know, FYI, trigger warning.
it incorporates imagery from the lord of the flies really well, and the characters stand out in their evil or weakness or kind strength. if you're into dystopian grit lit or guerrilla warfare fantasy, give it a try.
it incorporates imagery from the lord of the flies really well, and the characters stand out in their evil or weakness or kind strength. if you're into dystopian grit lit or guerrilla warfare fantasy, give it a try.
March 24, 2014
This is one of the best books I've read for quite a while, fantastic characters, great plot! I want another book, Mr. Liney and I want it now! ;-) A sequel, new story, non-fiction, I don't care, puh-leeeeze? I'd also love a movie of this but only well done, of course, maybe Brendan Gleeson, Tom Wilkinson, or Liam Neeson playing Clancy? (Just so we don't get any more Cruise/Lestrade/Reacher fiascos, sigh; oh, Hollywood, what's wrong with you?!) Seriously, fellow readers, you've gotta read this! (Warning: you won't be able to put it down...:D)
July 22, 2013
There are only two books that have ever truly terrified me: Brave New World and The Detainee. Liney has created something genuinely special here - something which looks from the outside like a hard-boiled thriller, but turns out to be something else entirely.
Whip-quick, genuinely clever and well-constructed. Liney writes like a hero, and this is a superb debut.
Whip-quick, genuinely clever and well-constructed. Liney writes like a hero, and this is a superb debut.
May 16, 2024
I enjoyed this dystopian tale of a bleak future. It's creative and engaging, and the world building is very well done. Despite initial reservations with the narrative voice in this book, I did come to enjoy the style and the tone. It's almost a casual tone, like a discussion, but it is compelling and engaging.
The setting of this story, an island where the "unworthy" are sent to drag themselves up, is brilliant. In this world, if you are deemed a drain on society, which means if you don't have a way to support yourself financially or if nobody else is willing to, you are banished to an island. This island is used do dump garbage and is basically a wasteland. The island is split into two groups: the elderly and the young. The young are ruled by a Wastelord and his followers, who use child labour to sort through the garbage piles for valuable resources. The children are also brainwashed into thinking the elderly destroyed the world.
So yes, this is a very bleak and dangerous island to be sent to, but makes for a gripping and thrilling story.
Apart from the horrors of this futuristic world, this book is also about compassion, forgiveness, bravery, strength, and hope. Through the narrator, Clancy, we have a first row seat to not only his story, but the story of people he befriends on the island. And it's not only his story that is compelling. This is a story about the human condition, and about the extremes, both good and bad, people will go to given the opportunity. And let me just say the character Jimmy is brilliant!
I'd noticed this book for many months at the library before deciding to finally borrow it, and I'm certainly looking forward to the next books in this trilogy.
The setting of this story, an island where the "unworthy" are sent to drag themselves up, is brilliant. In this world, if you are deemed a drain on society, which means if you don't have a way to support yourself financially or if nobody else is willing to, you are banished to an island. This island is used do dump garbage and is basically a wasteland. The island is split into two groups: the elderly and the young. The young are ruled by a Wastelord and his followers, who use child labour to sort through the garbage piles for valuable resources. The children are also brainwashed into thinking the elderly destroyed the world.
So yes, this is a very bleak and dangerous island to be sent to, but makes for a gripping and thrilling story.
Apart from the horrors of this futuristic world, this book is also about compassion, forgiveness, bravery, strength, and hope. Through the narrator, Clancy, we have a first row seat to not only his story, but the story of people he befriends on the island. And it's not only his story that is compelling. This is a story about the human condition, and about the extremes, both good and bad, people will go to given the opportunity. And let me just say the character Jimmy is brilliant!
I'd noticed this book for many months at the library before deciding to finally borrow it, and I'm certainly looking forward to the next books in this trilogy.
March 2, 2017
This is a chilling dystopian world where an older man and his friends finally take a stand. My rating 4.25.
Big Guy Clancy is a man in his sixties shuffling through life on the “Island” of castoff members of society as well as castoff garbage. The criminals, the elderly, the sick, the poor – those deemed to have no value or nothing good to contribute to society – have been dropped off on the Island to live a hopeless existence among the refuse of the mainlanders. The youth who have strength have formed into a gang of Wastelords. They pick through the waste and their leader trades with the powers on the mainland. During the day, the aggressive behaviors of the inhabitants are quelled by satellites that strike immediately upon perpetrators of violence. But under the cover of fog, or especially in the dark of night, the young gang members, with the background of drumming, swarm into the village to wreak terror and brutal death. The peaceful villagers do their best to hide in their makeshift tents and lean-tos.
Clancy, a former ‘thug’ for a mob leader, is friends with neighbors, Jimmy and Delilah. Small and nearly crippled Jimmy is a collector and creative inventor. He tries to piece together useful equipment and wishes he had power to operate some of his gadgets. Delilah is a tough as nails, former prostitute, who fights with Jimmy cats and dogs even as they take care of each other in a rough way.
Clancy and his friends are discouraged. Clancy goes out to the old town area scavenging for any missed treasure even though the buildings have been well picked. One visit he realizes that he can dig up some copper tubing that might have some value - if only he can do it without the Wastelords attacking him. His endeavors lead to trouble and Clancy wakes up injured in an underground tunnel being cared for by a strange barbarian looking woman. Her looks are alarming enough but then Clancy realizes she is blind! As Clancy is nursed back to health by Lena he finds a reason to seek strength and a way to fight back.
This is a different dystopia as it is filled with older characters although young people play a part in the story too. The story has a roughness to it that is supported by the narration. The story is permeated with despair and frustration. Yet the author finds a way to make a path to love, moments of joy and even hope. There is graphic violence, some strong language and some tragic misery. Part, but not all, of the climax is somewhat predictable but I liked getting to the ending. This story does have a clear ending but the struggles for Clancy and his band of survivors continues for another round.
Audio Notes: Jeff Harding does a good job with the narration as he portrays the different character voices. He manages to convey the sorrowful struggles with the roughness and simple natures of the “Big Guy”. I am glad I received this title in audio format.
I received this audiobook as a free trial from eStories.
Big Guy Clancy is a man in his sixties shuffling through life on the “Island” of castoff members of society as well as castoff garbage. The criminals, the elderly, the sick, the poor – those deemed to have no value or nothing good to contribute to society – have been dropped off on the Island to live a hopeless existence among the refuse of the mainlanders. The youth who have strength have formed into a gang of Wastelords. They pick through the waste and their leader trades with the powers on the mainland. During the day, the aggressive behaviors of the inhabitants are quelled by satellites that strike immediately upon perpetrators of violence. But under the cover of fog, or especially in the dark of night, the young gang members, with the background of drumming, swarm into the village to wreak terror and brutal death. The peaceful villagers do their best to hide in their makeshift tents and lean-tos.
Clancy, a former ‘thug’ for a mob leader, is friends with neighbors, Jimmy and Delilah. Small and nearly crippled Jimmy is a collector and creative inventor. He tries to piece together useful equipment and wishes he had power to operate some of his gadgets. Delilah is a tough as nails, former prostitute, who fights with Jimmy cats and dogs even as they take care of each other in a rough way.
Clancy and his friends are discouraged. Clancy goes out to the old town area scavenging for any missed treasure even though the buildings have been well picked. One visit he realizes that he can dig up some copper tubing that might have some value - if only he can do it without the Wastelords attacking him. His endeavors lead to trouble and Clancy wakes up injured in an underground tunnel being cared for by a strange barbarian looking woman. Her looks are alarming enough but then Clancy realizes she is blind! As Clancy is nursed back to health by Lena he finds a reason to seek strength and a way to fight back.
This is a different dystopia as it is filled with older characters although young people play a part in the story too. The story has a roughness to it that is supported by the narration. The story is permeated with despair and frustration. Yet the author finds a way to make a path to love, moments of joy and even hope. There is graphic violence, some strong language and some tragic misery. Part, but not all, of the climax is somewhat predictable but I liked getting to the ending. This story does have a clear ending but the struggles for Clancy and his band of survivors continues for another round.
Audio Notes: Jeff Harding does a good job with the narration as he portrays the different character voices. He manages to convey the sorrowful struggles with the roughness and simple natures of the “Big Guy”. I am glad I received this title in audio format.
I received this audiobook as a free trial from eStories.
July 4, 2021
Didn’t want it to end, it was a great read!
Going to start book 2 as soon as it arrives
Going to start book 2 as soon as it arrives
April 2, 2014
This review was originally posted at Fanboy Comics .
If your only reason for picking up The Detainee by Peter Liney is the publishing buzz about it being a Hunger Games for adults, don’t; however, if you want to read a novel with a dystopian look at ageism, an examination of an extreme example of a police state, and a dose of The Lord of the Flies blended into a unique vision of the future, this may be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Liney’s characters and world manage to get under the reader’s skin even when the exact details are a little off-putting.
Clancy was once an enforcer for an old-school mob head named Mr. Meltoni, but once he was shipped to The Island, a water-bound prison created from a garbage dump, he simply became “Big Guy,” one old man of many whom society held responsible for all of the problems of the present day. On foggy nights, the only time the remote police satellites can’t target criminals, feral children who are hopped up on a variety of psychotropic drugs swarm the Village, the shanty town of the aged, and brutally torture and murder whomever they can find. It is the vicious cycle of The Island, and it seems as inevitable as death. Then, Big Guy is rescued by a young blind woman named Lena, when he accidentally strays in The Old City too close to dark and is attacked by the youngsters. He discovers that Lena has created a safe life in the old tunnels below the town, and, for the first time in years, Big Guy begins to hope that life could be changed for the better.
While The Detainee contains plenty of action, I personally found it more of a character piece since each new cast member was developed and fleshed out so fully. Also, much of the plot hinges on each character’s growth as a person and a member of a functional society rather than external factors: Jimmy is the eccentric scientist/inventor; Delilah has a huge heart despite having a very rough life, sings like an angel, and loves children despite the distrust she’s learned on The Island; Clancy/Big Guy isn’t going to win any Mensa awards, but he’s hardworking and loyal and able to believe in the impossible; and Lena is strong, driven, and inspires both great devotion and great hatred. Even minor characters such as Hannah, one of the children rescued from the beach, have distinct personalities. (Hannah barely speaks, but she is trained in classical ballet, which she incorporates into her fighting style.) Most striking to me is that the majority of the cast, at least in the beginning, are senior citizens (Clancy is at least ten years younger than Jimmy or Delilah.), something that I have not seen in a dystopian novel before.
The crux of The Detainee is clearly getting off The Island, but the characters don’t realize that it’s possible or necessary until about two-thirds of the way through the book. Normally, I would criticize letting the most critical focus stay hidden so long in the narrative, but the struggles for survival are so engaging that the story flows well. Part of the charm is seeing the cast learn that there may be a way to escape their dismal existence; they simply have to find long-forgotten bravery and make a plan.
Clancy isn’t the most reliable voice for the narrative, because he doubts his own intellectual abilities, but he’s not drugged, desperately frightened, or senile like many on The Island. Truthfully, his past as an enforcer makes him uniquely able to absorb the violence of his everyday life, and while I sometimes found his speech patterns frustrating, they were also purely Clancy. He is just one of those people who talks in circles as he works out his ideas and thoughts; I’m just someone who finds that type of conversation a little annoying.
The Detainee is the first volume in a trilogy, and I look forward to seeing how The Mainland contrasts with the poverty and despair of The Island. In my mind I saw the trash prison as a sort of futuristic, dystopian Alcatraz or even a variant on the French prison islands off French Guyana in Papillon, but given that Peter Liney is not American, his influences may be very different. I appreciated his look at how society treats aging and hope that the police state themes get explored even more fully in the remaining books.
If you want to read a dystopian novel that has a unique voice and feel, give The Detainee a try. You may not love it, but it will definitely make you think.
4 References to Sleek Limos and the Mob out of 5
If your only reason for picking up The Detainee by Peter Liney is the publishing buzz about it being a Hunger Games for adults, don’t; however, if you want to read a novel with a dystopian look at ageism, an examination of an extreme example of a police state, and a dose of The Lord of the Flies blended into a unique vision of the future, this may be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Liney’s characters and world manage to get under the reader’s skin even when the exact details are a little off-putting.
Clancy was once an enforcer for an old-school mob head named Mr. Meltoni, but once he was shipped to The Island, a water-bound prison created from a garbage dump, he simply became “Big Guy,” one old man of many whom society held responsible for all of the problems of the present day. On foggy nights, the only time the remote police satellites can’t target criminals, feral children who are hopped up on a variety of psychotropic drugs swarm the Village, the shanty town of the aged, and brutally torture and murder whomever they can find. It is the vicious cycle of The Island, and it seems as inevitable as death. Then, Big Guy is rescued by a young blind woman named Lena, when he accidentally strays in The Old City too close to dark and is attacked by the youngsters. He discovers that Lena has created a safe life in the old tunnels below the town, and, for the first time in years, Big Guy begins to hope that life could be changed for the better.
While The Detainee contains plenty of action, I personally found it more of a character piece since each new cast member was developed and fleshed out so fully. Also, much of the plot hinges on each character’s growth as a person and a member of a functional society rather than external factors: Jimmy is the eccentric scientist/inventor; Delilah has a huge heart despite having a very rough life, sings like an angel, and loves children despite the distrust she’s learned on The Island; Clancy/Big Guy isn’t going to win any Mensa awards, but he’s hardworking and loyal and able to believe in the impossible; and Lena is strong, driven, and inspires both great devotion and great hatred. Even minor characters such as Hannah, one of the children rescued from the beach, have distinct personalities. (Hannah barely speaks, but she is trained in classical ballet, which she incorporates into her fighting style.) Most striking to me is that the majority of the cast, at least in the beginning, are senior citizens (Clancy is at least ten years younger than Jimmy or Delilah.), something that I have not seen in a dystopian novel before.
The crux of The Detainee is clearly getting off The Island, but the characters don’t realize that it’s possible or necessary until about two-thirds of the way through the book. Normally, I would criticize letting the most critical focus stay hidden so long in the narrative, but the struggles for survival are so engaging that the story flows well. Part of the charm is seeing the cast learn that there may be a way to escape their dismal existence; they simply have to find long-forgotten bravery and make a plan.
Clancy isn’t the most reliable voice for the narrative, because he doubts his own intellectual abilities, but he’s not drugged, desperately frightened, or senile like many on The Island. Truthfully, his past as an enforcer makes him uniquely able to absorb the violence of his everyday life, and while I sometimes found his speech patterns frustrating, they were also purely Clancy. He is just one of those people who talks in circles as he works out his ideas and thoughts; I’m just someone who finds that type of conversation a little annoying.
The Detainee is the first volume in a trilogy, and I look forward to seeing how The Mainland contrasts with the poverty and despair of The Island. In my mind I saw the trash prison as a sort of futuristic, dystopian Alcatraz or even a variant on the French prison islands off French Guyana in Papillon, but given that Peter Liney is not American, his influences may be very different. I appreciated his look at how society treats aging and hope that the police state themes get explored even more fully in the remaining books.
If you want to read a dystopian novel that has a unique voice and feel, give The Detainee a try. You may not love it, but it will definitely make you think.
4 References to Sleek Limos and the Mob out of 5
February 7, 2014
The Detainee by Peter Liney
The foundation of this futuristic thriller begins with an island arrangement appropriately named "Island Rehabilitation Program", where unwanted troubled children, prostitutes, traffickers, and the forgotten elderly that seem to stop the progress of society, are sent as their permanent home. These people have become prisoners with no moral compass and are forced to live on a offensive pile of filth until the day they die. The only law and order kept on the island comes in the form of a man made object installed by a democratically elected government, which makes up a small portion of the population. These authorities only solution arrive in the form of punishment satellites. These satellites rain down lasers that punish the guilty perpetrators committing crimes from attempting to escape the isle, to violent beatings or far worse. These are considered "Crimes Against the State". However these devices are not 100 percent reliable. Many times nights of heavy fog cause malfunction. This defect allows a group of dwellers known as Wastelords to rule and control the island by committing crimes of maiming and murder. This gang of berserkers are drug feed diseased kids who thrive on pain, fear and torture. Determined to not only survive but to also make a difference, a small group consisting of a blind woman, a bent old man with a stick, and a spent heavy intend to go down in history on the most dangerous place on earth.
Peter Liney writes his novel through a trio of loyal friends who inhabit small self made lean-to's and sympathetically live day to day on the rubbished piled isolate. A captivating rich history is told by Liney describing the stream lined school system that causes the accelerated juvenile crime to exist. This places the reader directly between a kind of church vs state struggle. A quick introduction to the distorted values and corrupt business become a main hurdle to overcome by our protagonists. The thrill ride really begins as a logical undertaking that requires the utmost bravery, skill, and intelligence is put forth into motion by our heroes. Understanding that the human race has sunk to an all time low, and the inner struggle between politics and moral judgement exists, the novels plot becomes character driven and is guaranteed to whittle away at heart strings chapter by chapter until the explosive ending.
The foundation of this futuristic thriller begins with an island arrangement appropriately named "Island Rehabilitation Program", where unwanted troubled children, prostitutes, traffickers, and the forgotten elderly that seem to stop the progress of society, are sent as their permanent home. These people have become prisoners with no moral compass and are forced to live on a offensive pile of filth until the day they die. The only law and order kept on the island comes in the form of a man made object installed by a democratically elected government, which makes up a small portion of the population. These authorities only solution arrive in the form of punishment satellites. These satellites rain down lasers that punish the guilty perpetrators committing crimes from attempting to escape the isle, to violent beatings or far worse. These are considered "Crimes Against the State". However these devices are not 100 percent reliable. Many times nights of heavy fog cause malfunction. This defect allows a group of dwellers known as Wastelords to rule and control the island by committing crimes of maiming and murder. This gang of berserkers are drug feed diseased kids who thrive on pain, fear and torture. Determined to not only survive but to also make a difference, a small group consisting of a blind woman, a bent old man with a stick, and a spent heavy intend to go down in history on the most dangerous place on earth.
Peter Liney writes his novel through a trio of loyal friends who inhabit small self made lean-to's and sympathetically live day to day on the rubbished piled isolate. A captivating rich history is told by Liney describing the stream lined school system that causes the accelerated juvenile crime to exist. This places the reader directly between a kind of church vs state struggle. A quick introduction to the distorted values and corrupt business become a main hurdle to overcome by our protagonists. The thrill ride really begins as a logical undertaking that requires the utmost bravery, skill, and intelligence is put forth into motion by our heroes. Understanding that the human race has sunk to an all time low, and the inner struggle between politics and moral judgement exists, the novels plot becomes character driven and is guaranteed to whittle away at heart strings chapter by chapter until the explosive ending.
April 3, 2014
"Big Guy" Clancy knows that things are bad. As society declined and debt increased, people looked to those with less means as being responsible for it all: the sick, the elderly, the poor... The Island is their home now. An awful place no better than a literal trash heap, Big Guy and the others like him make do the best they can. Escape is impossible - the punishment satellites are almost always watching - and on those foggy nights when the satellites are out of order, the only hope is to hunker down and hope the other group on the island, the bad and unmanageable ones, don't find you. But one night Big Guy makes a shocking discovery, a woman who lives below the surface. A woman who offers him hope and love in a place where he thought neither could exist.
Peter Liney's The Detainee is futuristic/dystopian that kind of brought to mind Escape From New York setting wise. Here you have the outcasts of society (only slightly different from the prison of Escape) who have been forced to build lives for themselves in the worst of circumstances. There are factions - the Village and the Camp. The haves and the government are conveniently separated and protected from this life as long as they have the means not to be sent there themselves. That's kind of where the similarities end but I'm sure you can see why it brought the movie to mind.
Anywho, I liked Clancy. He's definitely something different, especially compared to a lot of the leads in dystopia lately: an aging heavy who has all but given up given his predicament, until something (or someone as the case is here) inspires him to change. His pal Jimmy, the tech wizard, and Lena, the girl, as well as the other characters we meet are all pretty well fleshed out with backstories and development a plenty - even for the first in a trilogy and a not too hefty read.
The scary thing - and probably what I liked best about the book - is how real it felt and how easy it was to believe (and imagine) that society could get to such a state. There's enough explanation of the circumstances behind the establishment of the Island that I had no problem slipping into this reality and - as I said - believing that it was possible. And again, that's quite scary!
Peter Liney's The Detainee is futuristic/dystopian that kind of brought to mind Escape From New York setting wise. Here you have the outcasts of society (only slightly different from the prison of Escape) who have been forced to build lives for themselves in the worst of circumstances. There are factions - the Village and the Camp. The haves and the government are conveniently separated and protected from this life as long as they have the means not to be sent there themselves. That's kind of where the similarities end but I'm sure you can see why it brought the movie to mind.
Anywho, I liked Clancy. He's definitely something different, especially compared to a lot of the leads in dystopia lately: an aging heavy who has all but given up given his predicament, until something (or someone as the case is here) inspires him to change. His pal Jimmy, the tech wizard, and Lena, the girl, as well as the other characters we meet are all pretty well fleshed out with backstories and development a plenty - even for the first in a trilogy and a not too hefty read.
The scary thing - and probably what I liked best about the book - is how real it felt and how easy it was to believe (and imagine) that society could get to such a state. There's enough explanation of the circumstances behind the establishment of the Island that I had no problem slipping into this reality and - as I said - believing that it was possible. And again, that's quite scary!
May 8, 2014
Much of this novel I enjoyed. The main storyline intrigued me, despite my usual antipathy toward dystopian themes. It had me hooked and reading well past bedtime straight through to the end.
The trouble was the ending, which came far too suddenly. Until then, I thought I had been reading an intelligent, internally-consistent novel.
The careful pacing of the first two-thirds of the book set up the expectation of a different outcome, one that would not see the protagonists having advanced as far as they did.
It felt to me like another novel could have been written between the conclusion of the pivotal conflict described in Chapter 19 and the conclusion of the book in Chapter 20. Events suddenly seemed hurried and were inconsistent with the earlier pacing and the status quo on and off the island that had been described throughout the book previously.
Rather than an excellent novel, it began to feel like the poorly-scripted, rushed ending of a made-for-TV rendition of such a novel. One of the major sticking points, for example, was the unrealistic, sudden turnabout of children who had been traumatized, brutalized and manipulated over much, and for some of them, all of their lives. Until that point, the novel had been internally consistent and psychologically spot-on.
I understand there will be two more books within the same theme, to form a trilogy... and I hope to read the second book and perhaps the third one. However, given an entire period of events is missing for me, which feels like a betrayal of the characters, my enjoyment of it may be negatively affected.
The trouble was the ending, which came far too suddenly. Until then, I thought I had been reading an intelligent, internally-consistent novel.
The careful pacing of the first two-thirds of the book set up the expectation of a different outcome, one that would not see the protagonists having advanced as far as they did.
It felt to me like another novel could have been written between the conclusion of the pivotal conflict described in Chapter 19 and the conclusion of the book in Chapter 20. Events suddenly seemed hurried and were inconsistent with the earlier pacing and the status quo on and off the island that had been described throughout the book previously.
Rather than an excellent novel, it began to feel like the poorly-scripted, rushed ending of a made-for-TV rendition of such a novel. One of the major sticking points, for example, was the unrealistic, sudden turnabout of children who had been traumatized, brutalized and manipulated over much, and for some of them, all of their lives. Until that point, the novel had been internally consistent and psychologically spot-on.
I understand there will be two more books within the same theme, to form a trilogy... and I hope to read the second book and perhaps the third one. However, given an entire period of events is missing for me, which feels like a betrayal of the characters, my enjoyment of it may be negatively affected.
July 28, 2013
George Orwell would approve.
Of all the dystopian novels I have read in recent years, Peter Liney's THE DETAINEE is one the best written, most engaging, heart-tugging and cinematic of all.
His main character, Clancy, is an ageing "Big Guy", someone whose muscles, whose physical stature once guaranteed him respect in the community but no more. Now, along with the rest of society's waste, he's been shipped out to live on Garbage Island. A victim of changing demographics, of the state no longer being able to support its weaker members, and a calamitous collapse of the financial institutions.
Sounds familiar?
Read on.
Punishment satellites watch over this outpost of hell 24 hours a day, handing out instant judgement to those who commit a crime or try to escape back to the Mainland.
Yet, worst of all, on nights when the fogs that frequently roll in off the sea are so thick that the satellites can't function, the elderly villagers are subjected to terrifying raids.
No situation could seem more bleak, less desolate, but with the discovery of Lena, a young blind woman, comes hope. Soon, Clancy's world turns around.
As Leonard Cohen so aptly wrote: "Love is the Engine of survival"
And as Peter Liney's beautifully poignant novel reveals, no matter how grim the situation, given the tiniest drop of hope, we will find a way to survive.
A MUST READ NOVEL I highly recommend to readers of all ages.The Detainee
Of all the dystopian novels I have read in recent years, Peter Liney's THE DETAINEE is one the best written, most engaging, heart-tugging and cinematic of all.
His main character, Clancy, is an ageing "Big Guy", someone whose muscles, whose physical stature once guaranteed him respect in the community but no more. Now, along with the rest of society's waste, he's been shipped out to live on Garbage Island. A victim of changing demographics, of the state no longer being able to support its weaker members, and a calamitous collapse of the financial institutions.
Sounds familiar?
Read on.
Punishment satellites watch over this outpost of hell 24 hours a day, handing out instant judgement to those who commit a crime or try to escape back to the Mainland.
Yet, worst of all, on nights when the fogs that frequently roll in off the sea are so thick that the satellites can't function, the elderly villagers are subjected to terrifying raids.
No situation could seem more bleak, less desolate, but with the discovery of Lena, a young blind woman, comes hope. Soon, Clancy's world turns around.
As Leonard Cohen so aptly wrote: "Love is the Engine of survival"
And as Peter Liney's beautifully poignant novel reveals, no matter how grim the situation, given the tiniest drop of hope, we will find a way to survive.
A MUST READ NOVEL I highly recommend to readers of all ages.The Detainee
July 21, 2014
I liked this story. It is a dark time in the future. If you are old and NOT super rich, you soon find yourself on this island with no technology, and where you are forced to shift thru garbage to survive. But then the government throws in young people (again poor/uneducated) who attack the old people several times a month. Only the young are allowed weapons.
Watching over everyone is a series of spy satellites that punish people if they get too violent (laser beams of death). But they do not work in foggy conditions. Life is cheap indeed. But one old guy (The Big Guy) starts looking for a way out.......The first of three books in this series.
Watching over everyone is a series of spy satellites that punish people if they get too violent (laser beams of death). But they do not work in foggy conditions. Life is cheap indeed. But one old guy (The Big Guy) starts looking for a way out.......The first of three books in this series.
August 4, 2013
This novel by Peter Liney was highly recommended to me and I'm so glad I read it! I usually prefer non-fiction because of its innate truth, but The Detainee is like a terrifyingly real future world and its hero, Clancy, seems like a real person. I loved the juxtaposition of the harsh 'outside' world with the expression of tender feelings 'inside'. I honestly couldn't put it down ( a very rare occurrence for me) and I read it in two sittings. I can't wait to find out where the story goes and what happens in the second book of the trilogy!
March 24, 2014
I was really, really hooked by the premise of The Detainee. I've been in the mood for a good, gritty, adult post-apocalyptic book and, having read Traci Slatton's work in the more recent past, I really wanted to get a fix of the genre before her next book releases. I'm impatient like that sometimes. So The Detainee by Peter Liney looked like it just might satisfy my craving and, for the most part, it definitely did.
Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on March 31, 2014.
Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on March 31, 2014.
September 11, 2017
This was a well-written and entertaining book - it was just so *grim*.
The voice of the main character - it's written from his POV - was just so defeated. And while that picks up throughout the book, it still made a lot of this read quite hard to get through.
I'll definitely still be continuing on with the series, and the last half is more than worth it - if you're into dystopias, this is definitely worth a look. It doesn't just blend into an already crowded genre, and the second half definitely picks up the pace.
The voice of the main character - it's written from his POV - was just so defeated. And while that picks up throughout the book, it still made a lot of this read quite hard to get through.
I'll definitely still be continuing on with the series, and the last half is more than worth it - if you're into dystopias, this is definitely worth a look. It doesn't just blend into an already crowded genre, and the second half definitely picks up the pace.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews