USEFUL IDIOTS - Softcover

Mark, Jan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099473003 ISBN 13: 9780099473008

Publisher: Definitions, 2005

Synopsis

This is a fascinating thriller based in a future where the seas have risen to claim back the land, the past has been buried and archaeology is considered the most dangerous science. Set in a highly realistic dystopic future, where the lowlands of Britain are flooded, this beautifully realised novel explores a world where archaeology is controlled for fear of social unrest. One bleak morning, a storm across the North Sea unveils a human skull, which leads to a series of events that changes the lives of those involved. Merrick, a young graduate archaeology student becomes embroiled in the task of discovering the origins of the skull. His interest in this bizarre case brings him into contact with the Inglish, a remnant tribe eking out an existence on the edge of Europe. In this wildly progressive new world, it is they who will be affected the most. This is a compelling vision of England as it could be in the not-so-distant future.

About this title

About the Author

Jan Mark was born in Welwyn, Herts in 1943. She grew up in Ashford, Kent and attended Canterbury College of Art. She taught in a secondary school in Gravesend for six years, before becoming a full-time writer. Her book THEY DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY THERE was shortlisted for the Guardian Childrens Fiction Award and the Whitbread Childrens Award. She has won the Carnegie Medal twice, for THUNDER AND LIGHTNINGS and HANDLES.

From the Back Cover

'Brimming with ideas . . . a book with great ambition'

A violent storm sweeps across Parizo beach and unveils a human skull beneath the sands. It has much to reveal about the past . . .

In the year 2255, the British Isles have altered beyond recognition. The world's climate has changed and rising seas have engulfed the east of the islands. In what is left of the land, an Aboriginal community, the Inglish, cling to an archaic way of life. They claim the skull as one of their own.

Merrick, a young graduate in the 'lost' science of archaeology, finds that his interest in the remains draws him into a cultural struggle he doesn't understand. His claustrophobic involvement with the Inglish leads him to become a willing guinea pig in a bizarre and painful experiment in evolution.

This is a wild and special tale that raises huge questions about identity, ethnicity and what is lost and gained by technological progress. Jan Mark has conjured a future that seems both wonderfully strange and yet utterly relevant to today.  

Edition details

• Publisher: Definitions
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0099473003
• ISBN 13: 9780099473008
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416