Internet Apocalypse

Down the darkest alley of mankind’s possible futures, there is no apocalypse, no great war, no invading swarms of hostile alien forces... there is only Capitalism!

Jennifer Government by Max Barry is set in Australia in a future where the corporations finally control the earth. The capitalist USA now controls most of Europe, Australia and half of Asia. The book follows several characters as they live their lives in super-corporate America.

 The main story follows Jennifer Government, a government agent who is investigating a string of killings linked to a new $2000 pair of Nike trainers that have just gone on sale world-wide. At the same time you follow John Nike, a Marketing executive who has arranged the killings of a set of Nike customers in order to raise the profile and street-cred of the new shoes.

The book is non stop action from the word go. It is full of black humour, mostly rising from the super-capitalist world by which the characters are constantly being thwarted and screwed over. There's just the right amount of violence and black comedy to make this one of those books you can't put down. I'd recommend it for anyone who sees themselves as anti capitalist. Fans of Bill Hicks would most likely dig this book too.

Also: There is a free online browser game called Nation States which is inspired by and based in the Jennifer Government world.