The Rage Room
- Publisher
- Inanna Publications & Education Inc.
- Initial publish date
- Oct 2020
- Category
- Time Travel, Contemporary Women, Dystopian
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781771337779
- Publish Date
- Oct 2020
- List Price
- $22.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781771337786
- Publish Date
- Oct 2020
- List Price
- $11.99
-
Downloadable audio file
- ISBN
- 9781771338165
- Publish Date
- Mar 2021
- List Price
- $28.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
What if you made the worst mistake of your life and got the chance to fix it? Only you made it so much worse? From the incomparable crafter of nine cross-genre works of fiction, Lisa deNikolits expands her horizons to pen a grab-you-by-the-throat, feminist speculative-fiction thriller in the style of Groundhog Day meets The Matrix.
The perfect father kills his family on Christmas Eve, and tries to undo his actions by jumping back in time. The result is murder and mayhem in dystopia. Set in 2055, the world is run by robots and virtual data, while the weather is controlled by satellite dishes. Arts and culture are no more than distant memories. People are angry, placated by prescribed visits to rage rooms to vent their boredom, fury, and discontent. Beneath the sunny skies and behind the garbage-free suburban McMansions live deeply disturbed, materialistic families.
During his time travels and increasingly desperate attempts to reserve his colossal mistake, Sharps Barkley meets the leader of the Eden Collective, a feminist army determined tosave the Earth by removing all artificial intelligence and letting the Earth restore itself--if necessary, at the expense of mankind. The Eden Collective uses data gathered from the rage rooms to analyze and predict the potential and actions needed for the Earth to reset andthey need to prove that time travel is an effective tool. If Sharps can go back and save his children, then there is hope for the future. Sharps is the 49th experiment and his success is pivotal. Can love prevail over anger?
The Rage Room has a multi-layered plot that is fueled by a feminist-driven courage to take charge and save the world as it exposes the effects of an increasingly digital age on our lives and, ultimately, our humanity.
About the author
Originally from South Africa, Lisa de Nikolits has lived in Canada since 2000. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Philosophy and has lived in the U.S.A., Australia and Britain. No Fury Like That, her most recently published work, is her seventh novel. It will be published in Italian, under the title Una furia dell'altro mondo, in 2019. Previous works include: The Hungry Mirror (winner 2011 IPPY Gold Medal); West of Wawa (winner 2012 IPPY Silver Medal); A Glittering Chaos (winner 2016 Bronze IPPY Medal ; The Witchdoctor's Bones; Between the Cracks She Fell (winner 2016 for Contemporary Fiction); and The Nearly Girl. Lisa lives and writes in Toronto. Her ninth novel, The Occult Persuasion and the Anarchist's Solution is forthcoming in 2019.
Editorial Reviews
"In her latest captivating book, Lisa de Nikolits proffers not only a roller coaster of entertainment, but also, sharp political commentary in complicated times. The Rage Room is an intricately woven dystopian world, rich in strong female characters who easily whisk readers to a world of futuristic follies. Move over George Orwell--De Nikolits shows us how the future can be scary, exciting, and above all, female."
--Kelly S. Thompson, national bestselling author of Girls Need Not Apply: Field Notes from the Forces
"If dystopian speculative fiction is your thing, with the enticement of time travel, you won't go wrong with The Rage Room. The world de Nikolits has built is utterly fascinating, and quite horrific, yet believable. I sympathized with the main character, even though he is flawed, but that makes the story even more interesting. What a ride! The plot ratchets up like a train speeding down the tracks out of control. Gripping tension, and at the same time, highly complex, with multiple time travel redos and memories overlapping. I found that fascinating. I was absolutely riveted, and pleased to see that it ends with the hint of more books to come."
--Melodie Campbell, award-winning author of The Goddaughter series
"We've all wanted to go back to the past to fix the future - but Sharps has messed things up so much in his own high- tech future-world that he has to do it. Lisa de Nikolits takes us - and him - on a wild, high-octane ride into other times and places so bizarre, blighted, funny and wise that they just might seem chillingly familiar. She turns time travel on its proverbial ear and you won't want to get out of the passenger seat until the last page."
--Catherine Dunphy, author of Morgentaler, A Difficult Hero
"Why would one go back in time? To make things right, of course. But every time Sharps visits his past, things change in ways he can't control, and he keeps changing from a worrier to a warrior. I loved all the witty characters, and original, daring twists in this genuine reality fiction beyond imagination!"
--Suzana Tratnik, author of Games with Greta
"Dark, fun, weird, imaginative, The Rage Room is a dystopic ride perfect for the anxieties and conditions of the present day. The paranoia of Sharps Barkley seeps into you, propelling this thriller that will keep you guessing to the very end."
--David Albertyn, author of Undercard
"With The Rage Room, Lisa de Nikolits takes a deep dive into dystopia. Prepare to be alternately chilled and thrilled as the hapless hero journeys backwards and forwards in time in his increasingly desperate attempts to right his terrible wrongs, and to find some sense in his rapidly disintegrating world."
-- Lorna Poplak, author of Drop Dead: A Horrible History of Hanging in Canada