Presage by Betsy Cheung

About the Book

They say the past is no longer an indication of the future, but can alternative visions of the future give us any indication of what we should do today? Read this and decide…

The year is 2018. Nothing is what it seems and mis-information is the rule. Hugh van Santen is the editor in chief of a major newspaper who mediates the riots surrounding a controversial new class system enforced to gear up the grass roots to do community work to replace welfare that the government can no longer afford. Meanwhile he relies on scoops to keep his newspaper afloat. He recruits Sophie Chantal, a cub journalist knowing her brother-in-law is a computer scientist, who can create accurate simulations of humans down to their thoughts. Sophie’s first assignment is to write a feature on the bicentennial birthday of an infamous bigwig and she asks Sam to simulate one historical persona after another whose idiosyncrasies and radical theories cause more mayhem. Meanwhile the CIA is after Sam’s simulation technology and to distract them, he designs a game called ‘Presage’ in which gamers and intelligence agents begin their race to find Sam’s secret in the reality of the virtual. Presage is about the personal struggle and battles the main characters have to fight in order to pursue their dreams.

My Thoughts

I am not a huge Sci-Fi fan because sometimes the stories get so unbelievable. I want them to make me think or to take me away such as they did when I was a child. Presage is different in that there  balance of the believable and unbelievable that makes the plot seem almost real.  Sophie, who is from a privileged background, happy, smart and born with a silver spoon in her mouth,  yet you quickly realize there are horrors buried in her past. This is truly a MUST READ!

Purchase the Book

You can purchase Presage at Amazon.