Book Review: Saturation by William Lane

Saturation is the latest novel by acclaimed author William Lane.

I don't know where to start with this near future dystopian novel. The reader gets a small view of this future world as the story is mainly about the characters and how they negotiate this new normal. 

 

I found Saturation to be mesmerizing. I was fascinated with the concept and couldn't get enough of Ursula and Ambrose's world and how they fit themselves into that world.

Lane builds a world gripped by rising waters, relentless  rain, plagues and apathy. It was the apathy that got to me the most.

 

People's lives are ruled by an AI named Yoremind. It interacts by text message and points are awarded, for ever increasing acts of violence, to earn days off work and holidays. The world is deemed as being so bad no one is having children. The past has been forgotten and with no need to think or learn people have forgotten how to do the simplest things. 

 

I came across so many wonderful quotes but I'll just add a couple. One highlighting the acceptance of circumstances and the other the loss of memory.

 

'Simply do what it says, or suggests - at least sometimes'.                                                               'And if I dislike what it suggests?' 'This is life!' she cried. 'This is how things are and always have been, in case you haven't noticed.' 

 "I'm struggling to remember my password or user name. For some reason I can remember my old password and phone number, but not the latest one." Ambrose - Saturation

How true is that statement! I can clearly remember my childhood phone number and all my friends' home numbers but I don't know my husband's or children's mobiles. Everything is remembered for us. We even drive with GPS without having to remember a route.
 

Ambrose is the one to strike out and rebel. He is determined to save the books knowing that history and information is the only way to move forward and build a better world.
 

Lane's world is not so unbelievable! Country residents blame city dwellers as the bearers of all diseases. When a dictator, Bottrel, takes over Yoremind he thrives on fear and terror. Step out of line and you will be killed. Education is banned, libraries burned. Bottrel vilifies country people causing more unrest. People doing as they're told and losing the ability to think, reason and remember. Anyone trying to better society is hunted down. Saturation feels eerily presentiment. A unique narrative perfect for readers of 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451.

 

My rating 4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Transit Lounge Press

Publication date: 1st May 2025

Genre: Literary Fiction / Dystopian

Pages: 288

RRP: AU$32.99 (trade paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Quikmark Media