Devil on My Back

Read this as it was a book B liked as a child, and he mentioned it because he knows my weakness for post-apocalyptic fiction. Usually when I say 'I wish I'd read this book at the right age' it's because I'm about to write 'because now I'm a grown up it's too hard to see past the flaws and fall in love with it', but that was totally not the case with this one. I wish I'd read it when I was 12, because I think it would have really clicked into my core canon, but I actually found it fun and insightful even though it was simple and based on a lot of ideas I'd met many times before.

ArcOne is a post apocalyptic society who live in a dome. A computer carefully optimises life for the inhabitants, and assigns them to roles based on aptitude show more tests - some are Lords, some workers, some slaves and some soldiers. The aim of the dome is to preserve human knowledge and discover and learn more. The 'devil on my back' of the title are infopacks that the residents of the dome have implanted in the back of their necks. Higher status results in the implanting of more infopacks, which contain science, history, etc etc. Slaves have the wrong mental temperament to bear the infopacks, and so work in menial roles, while the Lords have the largest piles of info packs, and are waited on by the slaves, to leave them free from trivial chores and free to devote themselves to studying.

Tomi is the son of the High Lord. The book starts on the day of his aptitude tests, when he is chosen to be a Lord himself. But the slaves have a revolt, and although they are unsuccessful, Tomi is caught up in the fighting, hides in a garbage chute, and is washed out of the Dome to the wild world outside. Eventually he finds a camp of escaped slaves, who are living a simple pastoral life in harmony with the natural world, and he learns what the important things in life really are.

So far, so good, if so clichéd. But the end of the book really did surprise me. This is not a call to arms, or a great rebellion. Tomi sacrifices his own freedom and the girl he loves to return to the dome, so that he can send them the tools and seeds they need to thrive as a community. And then it is revealed that his father also is sympathetic to the cause, wants to free the dome from the control of the computer and make men equal and free once more - but is doing it gently, carefully, planting seeds of stories and nursing people to grow towards the light.

[I don't know what I feel about that, it is better to change things gently without smashing up everything. But how long is gentle change, how many years of living in slavery do people have to endure for this to happen? Then again, it is so refreshing to get this as a counterpoint to the Dramatic Rebellion sort of fiction. The people in power may be working for the light. It might all be a bit more complicated than you thought it was, but the people you love who you were scared were bad might be good after all.]

I also liked the very understated but interestingly drawn relationships - the dynamic of how it is strange when you are in a close friendship, and then a third person joins and upsets the balance is drawn with a very light touch, but very well.

(Oh, don't read this one if you're trying to avoid body shaming. Tomi starts off weak and pale and fat and stooped, and his growth in character is matched by losing weight and becoming tall and lean and bronzed.) show less

In the far future, after the earth's petroleum ran out and the environment was toxic, humanity retreated into cities enclosed in plastic domes. Generations later, young Tomi is nervous. He's about to get another information pack slotted into the plug in his spine. If his body can handle it, he's progressed another level up the ladder in his society. But if his nervous system can't handle it, he'll become a menial laborer at best--at worst, death or brain damage awaits him. But to Tomi's joy, he takes in another pack worth of pre-programmed knowledge without a hitch. But this idyll can't last forever--the inequalities within the highly regimented, computerized and "fair" society are about to blow apart every thing he ever knew.

Told in a show more no-frills, no-nonsense style, this is a gripping adventure of the uncomfortable necessity of examining--and if possible, abolishing--one's privilege. show less

This was an unexpected find for me. I was in highschool, and wandering the library shelves for something to read. One of my habits at the library is to wander around and see what I can find. I have found plenty of good reads this way, and this book was no exception.

I've always liked sci-fi, so reading the inside of the book jacket intrigued me. I checked it out, and i was glad to. This was a idea that is unique today, even more so back then because computers weren't as much a part of life back then, so the idea is neat. Personally, I can only imagine how it would feel having something equivalent to a hard-drive plugged into my neck, although today, I'm sure the size of these plugs would probably be no more than flash drives (if show more that!)

It's nice to see that this utopia really is just a dystopia, because I was wondering how I could be happy like this. Likewise, the main character of this book seems happy at first, and is blissfully naive, but he notices little things that are wrong with this society. His adventures and what he learns along the way are realistic, and even a decade later, I remember this book fondly. show less

Really interesting story behind this one... I originally read it when I was about 12 years old, sitting in the library, and it made such an impression on me that I remembered it all these years, but couldn't remember the title or the author. Finally, this year, I wrote to the library where I had read it as a kid, described it, and asked if they could help. Sure enough, they knew the book, and I finally had a title! I immediately ordered it on Amazon, and after 23 years, finally got to read it again. I was amazed how accurate my memory of it was! I also realized that this book had a lot to do with subconsciously shaping my views on nature, our modern way of life, survivalism, and not becoming too dependent on technology. It is a kid's show more book, but has a really good message... show less

Just re-read this and revised my rating from 5 to 4. This is a really good book, and it's much in the same vein as some of the recent post-apocalyptic or Dystopian young adult fiction.

Tomi's character is very hard to like at first, and that is the whole idea of the book. Of a transformation that is needed in the society, but must first start in the people in the society.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys post apocalyptic fiction and wants a fast read.

This is one that I've read many times. It's teenage SF, but I can't have been very far into my teens when I bought it, because I'm sure it was fairly new and this edition was published in 1985 and I only turned 10 at the end of that year.

An interesting far future earth tale of life both inside and outside of a dome built to survive the new dark ages following the running out of fossil fuels. New tech inside the dome is nicely portrayed, as is the more primitive lifestyle outside and the two very different cultures. Interesting tale of how technology can be a tool or how you can become a tool to it if you're not careful. In some ways not even the lords are free, but have even less chance of getting away than the slaves do. Different ways show more of looking at things can make them seem completely different. And the idea of fighting something quietly from the inside and gradually giving people the hope they need to escape, even though this could look to others like you're actually supporting the status quo.

It's simplistic in places, but I still enjoy it even now, and it was a good way to while away a couple of hours yesterday. show less