Metapocalypse

Metapocalypse, Mark Branden, Hollow Hills Publishing, 2001

John Everyman is a common person who is in the middle in a struggle for world domination between two shadowy organizations, appropriately called Leviathan and Pyramid, who secretly control government and big business. Things are going wrong in his deprogramming, so his brain compensates by putting John into scenarios, like its the most normal thing in the world, consisting of totally disparate elements put together.

At one point, John is a business owner in late 18th century Brittania. One day, he is shanghaied by the military and put on ship to go to war against Patagonia (Argentina). On his return, he finds that the only employment open to him is to join a half-private, half-government security service. They are sent to the north of the country, equipped with 21st century truncheons and shields, to break up (violently, if necessary) a strike by a group of coal miners. Later, the service is used stifle opposition to a recently enacted Poll Tax on all citizens.

At another point, John is a big business executive in a Brittania where the Roman Empire never went away. Even though it is the eve of the 21st century, everyone wears togas, travel is by anti-gravity chariots, and the country is run by an Emperor. The company, called Hegemony, actually is the government, and begins implementation of a mandatory scheme where all citizens give a sample of
their DNA. The intention is to start a private file on everyone in Brittania.

Fans of dystopian science fiction, like "1984" or "The Prisoner", will love this book; conspiracy fans will love it, too. The author certainly doesn't hold back in his satirizing of present-day Britain. This book will take some effort on the part of the reader, but, on more than one level, it is very good and very highly
recommended.