DOCILE

In Szpara's complex, engrossing novel, narrators Vikas Adam and Mark Sanderlin create utterly credible main characters. In a not-so-distant future in Maryland, children inherit the debts of their ancestors and must either go to debtors' prison or become dociles, indentured servants who perform whatever services are demanded. Alex, the CEO of Dociline, the drug that keeps dociles docile, and Elisha, a docile who refuses the drug, are the focus of this disturbing audiobook. In an economically dysfunctional country, the one percent are the dominants, while the rest of the population are submissives. Brutal punishments for minor infringements are graphic, while sometimes tender, sometimes sadistic sex scenes are explicit. Adam and Sanderlin deliver a troubling look at a future world that feels too close for comfort. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2020]