Book Review: Considering SomeplacElse by B. L. Lindstrom

As a book reviewer I love to categorize books, but try as I might I cannot seem to find the right pigeonhole to put this book in. It has some aspects of Sci-Fi, some aspects of Science Fantasy, and even a little mythology, but it truly does not fit into any of those genres. The one thing I am sure about though is I did enjoy reading it. The story line is deceptively simple but Lindstrom pulls it off with such great panache you cannot but love every page.

The action takes place in Chandler, Arizona, and a less likely setting for utopia I cannot think of! A once homeless man wins a $200 million jackpot lottery and sets about creating a Utopian paradise, free housing, free medical, free transportation, in fact free everything. Better still the society is green and sustainable. Utopia indeed.

Or hero Norm Larson is an under achieving baby boomer who finds himself unemployed, unchallenged, and undervalued. A chance business card with the words 'Want some meaningful work?' written on it takes Norm on an odyssey of self discovery. The business card has a web site for SomeplacElse on it which Norm visits and fills out the application form.

Before he knows it he is whisked off by limo for an interview, but this is a job interview like none other he as ever had. There is no interest in his resume or his previous experience, in fact there are no questions at all. The folks at SomeplacElse want Norm to interview them. What is it that Norm would like to do? What is it that Norm can can contribute to this society? Would he prefer to teach, or invent, manufacture, design, or lead? These are confusing questions for our anti-hero.

The heat gets turned up a notch when Norm meets the founder of the organization, Mike. Part of Mike's philosophy is that no one, himself included, should remain working in the same position for more than 10 years, and his 10 years as Advocate has expired. How would Norm like the position of Advocate? "But I am no Mike," Norm pleads, "We don't need another Mike, we need an Advocate, we need your fresh ideas," is the reply.

The fly in the Utopian ointment though is the corrupt politician Adam Wainwright, who has his heart set of destroying SomeplacElse. Can Norm save the day?

With this backdrop Lindstrom takes us on a 5 day voyage of good verses evil, David verses Goliath.

I am not usually a big fan of Sci-Fi type books, but Considering SomeplacElse is cut from a different piece of cloth and well worth the effort of seeking it out. Lindstrom has a very chatty style of writing which works well with the story line. As I understand it, he has had considerable writing experience but this is his first foray into the world of fiction. Well I will give him a very high recommendation, and I look forward to reading more books authored by him. Maybe one of the allures for me in this book is his chatty style, it is very much the style I like to write in. In fact I will share a secret with you, when writing reviews I rarely refer to the author by his or her last name, I prefer to use the friendlier first name, but I have no idea what the 'B' in B. L. Lindstrom stands for! So I apologize B. L. but for this review you must remain Lindstrom

You can get your copy from Amazon.

(Originally published at Blogger News Network and reprinted with permission of the author, Simon Barrett).