EZICASH by Ian Thompson [Book Review]
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I laughed out loud reading this. EZICASH is a really good satire of health and safety culture and where it could go. Like the best comedy it makes you think, and reminds you how modern life can veer off track from what is really important.
Review of EZICASH by Ian Thompson
EZICASH is set a couple of decades in the future. The world has divided into those that take safety and health seriously, and those outside their safe bubbles. DOSH-UK-1 is a huge domed town near Milton Keynes. All its inhabitants live in houses rated for safety and wear high visibility protective clothing at all times. Rubber covers the pavements and roads and speed is limited to 5mph. Running violates safety & health principles.
One day, on arriving at the office, Abraham Pope discovers a leak covering the floor in water and it is running out of the front door. No-one seems to know how to deal with this unprecedented hazard. So Pope steps up and barriers it off. This brings him to the attention of the higher ups. It also leads to him involving an external plumber from outside the dome.
The people outside the dome are at the other end of the spectrum. Life revolves around the pub, and everyone drinks, smokes, drives and lives off all day breakfasts (or so it seems). Phil Ludd is the lucky plumber that gets the call to fix the leak. The regulars of his local pub quickly recognise his job as a money tree.
What I liked the wide cast of characters, all with odd nicknames. It drew on a stereotypical observation of pub culture before the smoking ban, which reminded me of my youth working in such places. The primary characters were well rounded, and both Lud & Pope develop significantly across the course of the story.
I did at one point think it was a bit too much of a brexiteer manifesto, but that was just the stage of the story, building up to safe and peaceful denouement. All in all I heartily recommend it.
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