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BE NICE
Seventeen-year-olds, Wallis Barber and Janey Typermass, are members of the worldwide youth movement, BE NICE. BE NICE, a kind of planetary Arab Spring, has slowed climate change, halted the troubles in the Middle East, ended racism, curbed religion, solved housing and food shortages, and, as a result, controls the major cities of the world. Along with their teenage friends, John Tom, Becky, Pete, and Abe, Wallis and Janey patrol the streets of Santa Monica, California, brutally enforcing the policies of the movement. Any expressions of racial hatred, religious demagoguery, politics, or the committing of a crime results in severe and often deadly consequences.
But when Wallis and Janey begin to question the violent tactics of BE NICE, their fragile and complicated world quickly falls apart. Labeled as angry, emotional, and believers in the old ways, they soon find themselves alone and on the run. Escaping Santa Monica, they head into the American Southwest, where they're shocked to find the old ways of racism, religion, and even slavery are alive and well.
With no place to call home, Wallis and Janey decide to recruit hundreds of their former classmates and wage war on BE NICE; not necessarily a physical war, but a war mostly fought online; a battle of propaganda and perception. Billions are against them, but Wallis and Janey are determined to take down BE NICE and return freedom to a world that no longer seems to care.
But when Wallis and Janey begin to question the violent tactics of BE NICE, their fragile and complicated world quickly falls apart. Labeled as angry, emotional, and believers in the old ways, they soon find themselves alone and on the run. Escaping Santa Monica, they head into the American Southwest, where they're shocked to find the old ways of racism, religion, and even slavery are alive and well.
With no place to call home, Wallis and Janey decide to recruit hundreds of their former classmates and wage war on BE NICE; not necessarily a physical war, but a war mostly fought online; a battle of propaganda and perception. Billions are against them, but Wallis and Janey are determined to take down BE NICE and return freedom to a world that no longer seems to care.
278 pages, ebook
First published March 10, 2017
About the author
David Portlock
2 books7 followersI am a writer/director currently living in California. I've written and directed the short films, "In Time", "The Sheriff of Babylon", and the Sundance Film Fest. short, "The Spartans". My first feature film, "The Gristle", was picked up by HBO, Cinemax, and Starz. In 2010, my script, "Dark Continent", topped the Blood List as best unproduced horror/sci fi screenplay.
My first collection of short stories, Polaris 10 Short Stories, is available on Amazon, as is my first novel, BE NICE. Check the links below and enjoy!
http://www.amazon.com/Polaris-Short-S...
My first novel, Be Nice, is now online!
https://www.amazon.com/BE-NICE-David-...
My first collection of short stories, Polaris 10 Short Stories, is available on Amazon, as is my first novel, BE NICE. Check the links below and enjoy!
http://www.amazon.com/Polaris-Short-S...
My first novel, Be Nice, is now online!
https://www.amazon.com/BE-NICE-David-...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 24, 2017
What happens when the world breaks down and the teens take over and then grow up? BE NICE. An interesting premise for a novel, and certainly one that has both strong roots and presence in our own world. This was not a difficult read, but some readers' mileage may vary as it didn't click perfectly with me.
I think the narrative "failed" me as a reader though were the extremely short "battle" scenes where action was too quick. Granted real fights and action are probably very similar to the book (over in a minute or so), but in a novel, readers expect a slow blow-by-blow description that is more like a movie.
I did enjoy the overall messages of the book; the biggest being: There is no one answer to the world's problems. So the book is not without merit, it might actually make for a great young adult novel if some of the violence were toned down. There wasn't too much of it to begin with, but there is a smidgeon.
I think the narrative "failed" me as a reader though were the extremely short "battle" scenes where action was too quick. Granted real fights and action are probably very similar to the book (over in a minute or so), but in a novel, readers expect a slow blow-by-blow description that is more like a movie.
I did enjoy the overall messages of the book; the biggest being: There is no one answer to the world's problems. So the book is not without merit, it might actually make for a great young adult novel if some of the violence were toned down. There wasn't too much of it to begin with, but there is a smidgeon.
February 5, 2023
What happens when the world breaks down and the teens take over and then grow up? BE NICE. An interesting premise for a novel, and certainly one that has both strong roots and presence in our own world. This was not a difficult read, but some readers' mileage may vary as it didn't click perfectly with me.
I think the narrative "failed" me as a reader though were the extremely short "battle" scenes where action was too quick. Granted real fights and action are probably very similar to the book (over in a minute or so), but in a novel, readers expect a slow blow-by-blow description that is more like a movie.
I did enjoy the overall messages of the book; the biggest being: There is no one answer to the world's problems. So the book is not without merit, it might actually make for a great young adult novel if some of the violence were toned down. There wasn't too much of it to begin with, but there is a smidgeon.
I think the narrative "failed" me as a reader though were the extremely short "battle" scenes where action was too quick. Granted real fights and action are probably very similar to the book (over in a minute or so), but in a novel, readers expect a slow blow-by-blow description that is more like a movie.
I did enjoy the overall messages of the book; the biggest being: There is no one answer to the world's problems. So the book is not without merit, it might actually make for a great young adult novel if some of the violence were toned down. There wasn't too much of it to begin with, but there is a smidgeon.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews