The Commons

by Susan Dworkin

THE COMMONS, an ecological thriller by New York Times best-selling author, Susan Dworkin, is a perfectly plausible novel set in the not-so-distant future. The year is 2165. Climate change has impoverished the world. One giant corporation governs North America, and the source of its power is control of over what remains of the food supply. Forget three squares. Now the standard ration is one meal and two snacks per day. Fishing is over. So are fruit trees. Meat is printed in laboratories. Only a few crops are still naturally field grown, and one of them is wheat, the staff of life. When an ancient wheat plague, thought to be extinct, suddenly surfaces again, the world faces starvation. An extraordinary alliance of scientists, robot spies, desperate farmers and determined public servants organizes to fight it. And at their center is a young pop singer named Lizzie, who finds to her great astonishment that she is now the voice of the revolution. Praise for THE COMMONS“This is a great futuristic coming of age novel," says Prof. Emer. Richard Zeyen of the University of Minnesota. "A must read!""An intelligent and deeply pertinent ecological thriller...a bouncing, exciting adventure that is a pleasure to read as well as an intellectual treat!" writes Kate Onyett in The Future Fire.Kay MacDonald of Big Picture Agriculture “If you enjoy sci-fi and agriculture too, and you think the current dominant system just might be sitting on the precipice of a dangerous fate, this book is for you. The writing is quick, playful, vibrant — chock full of surprising descriptive embellishments guaranteed to keep the reader entertained.""I loved this book! Every time I chuckled, which was often, I had to remind myself that Dworkin's agricultural dystopia is where we really seem to be heading. The science writing is astonishing!" says Dr. Roy Gould of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics."A paean to the power of song as a subversive, vital agent for change…" says Mel Marvin, Broadway composer of The Grinch.

Genres: Science Fiction

218 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2014

About the author

Susan Dworkin is an unlimited author. She writes books for everyone.

ARE YOU A TRUE HISTORY BUFF? Susan co-wrote the New York Times Best Seller, THE NAZI OFFICER'S WIFE, with Edith Hahn Beer, the woman who lived this amazing story of love, terror and courage in Hitler's Germany.

ARE YOU A SCIENCE FICTION FAN? Susan's thrill-filled novel, THE COMMONS, is set 150 years in the future, When an ancient plague threatens to destroy the wheat crop, a revolutionary coalition of farmers, scientists and courageous young rock stars must save the world from starvation.

ARE YOU A MOVIE ADDICT? Consider MAKING TOOTSIE, the up-close investigation which Susan wrote when she was the only journalist allowed on the set of the classic gender-bending comedy featuring Dustin Hoffman.

AT MS. MAGAZINE, Dworkin was a contributing editor for more than ten years, interviewing such celebrities as Meryl Streep, Danny Glover, Carol Burnett, and Whoopi Goldberg. She is also a leading AUDIOBOOK PRODUCER, publishing terrific voice versions of authors like Isaac Bashevis Singer, Edna Ferber, Cynthia Ozick and I.L. Peretz.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A SPEAKER? Susan is a delightful and much sought-after lecturer who has cracked up audiences from the Library of Congress to the Crop Science Society. You can hear samples of her speeches -- and find out everything else about her -- by going to her website: www.SusanDworkin.com.

Reviews

[Dag Endresen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Commons is a futuristic science fiction novel, set in the year of 2165, and full of well-researched details of an all too plausible future. A future that mirrors many of our current day challenges. The novel provides important warnings of possible consequences from allowing privatization of the common heritage of genetic resources and other parts of our shared culture. I sincerely recommend this novel for all who care about securing food security and authentic cultural experiences for future generations. I enjoyed the book and hope the novel will be read carefully by many!