Glorious Failure

Glorious Failure, Ben Jonjak, 1stBooks Library, 2001

Walter Pan always thought that taking written tests to evaluate his abilities was demeaning and a waste of time. Unfortunately, his society is based on the results of the ASCAP, a legally required standardized test that determines a person's exact place in the labor structure. Walter plans to place no stock in the results, knowing that the whole thing is rigged.

Walter's scores are nearly perfect, and, in the eyes of his peers, he changes from freeloader to VIP in the blink of an eye. When he gets to the place where he is supposed to declare his career choice, Walter refuses to participate, and walks out of the testing center. The next day, he is arrested, declared legally insane, and committed to a hospital called Tranquility (anyone with Walter's scores who doesn't choose a career has to be insane).

It's the sort of place that will use any method to get what it wants. Walter does not intimidate easily. Whatever they can dish out, Walter can take, his resolve only getting stronger. At the end, Walter is forced to re-take the ASCAP test. Any difference in his test score from his previous test will give the authorities the legal sanction to execute Walter.

This novel also contains a re-telling of the story of Daedalus and Icarus, and the story of the Jesus Killer, a man who dresses like Jesus, and goes around killing people, in broad daylight, for seemingly no reason at all.  This book is interesting, and different, and, in a world where standardized tests are an important part of a child's education, very much worth reading.