REVIEW-JOHN SMITH: LAST KNOWN SURVIVOR OF THE MICROSOFT WARS

roland hughes’s book “John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars” was published in 2012 with the ISBN number “9781939732002.” This is a dystopian story about living after a pair of global disasters, one of which was caused by humans. One of the calamities is a nuclear war. The earth in the not-too-distant future has a total of 12 continents. America no longer exists. The great majority of the world’s population has been wiped off, along with a proportionately large amount of human knowledge. When a machine for any reason ceases operating, it is taken out of service and not utilized again. This is the case since there is not a single living person who is aware of how to repair the machines, and there are also no facilities that are capable of producing new components for those machines. History started to be documented some sixty years before the time of people who are still living, according to those who are still alive. A reporter named Susan Krowley from the Times, which is published twice a month and has a readership of 5,500, conducts an interview with Mr. Smith to question him about the microsoft wars. Smith has the impression that she does not have the appropriate frame of reference; it is as if Susan had requested to read the last chapter of a mystery novel without first reading the other chapters in the book. Smith begins by devoting a considerable amount of time to discussing Atlantis. It was a culture that was incredibly sophisticated for its time and was the dominant superpower. The upper class had a life of absolute luxury, while the working class was responsible for keeping everything running smoothly. Atlantis had to be abandoned as the ages progressed because it was in danger of being destroyed (perhaps by a nuclear explosion). They launched themselves into the sea in subs the size of cities (when smith mentions computers, submarines or the internet, susan has no idea what he is talking about). They had achieved mastery over the technology of human cloning, making it possible for individuals to live for thousands upon thousands of years. Their total impact on the very early stages of human history was significant. More recently, when the state of the world deteriorated, Smith’s family constructed a safe haven out of an abandoned bank vault. Smith and his grandpa were the only ones to utilize the refuge since his parents passed away before they could join him there. Unfortunately, grandpa did not make it, and there was no way to take him outside to bury him. As a result, Smith spent his teenage years in the shelter all by himself with grandpa’s dead corpse. His hideaway has shelves upon racks of DVDs that are loaded with information pertaining to humankind. When his computer finally gives up and quits operating, all of those DVDs will be rendered useless since there will be no way to read them. Smith saves all of his information on the Microsoft battles until the conclusion of the book, which he shares with Susan (no, they did not try to take over the world). Don’t allow the fact that it’s all presented in interview style put you off; the content is worth reading regardless of how it’s presented. It is believable, it has a little bit of a creepy feel to it, and it is a highly recommended read. This book is quite fascinating and nicely done. Paul Lappen is a freelance book critic whose blog, dead trees review, focuses on books produced by independent presses and self-publishers.