The world of Utopia exists far, far in the future: a society kept functional via strict class and career roles. Parsif, an orphan raised in Utopia, has risen to an entirely new class: that of Academic Advisor. He has even found love with Licht, a lovely princess from beyond his closed-off culture. But just as he’s starting to get used to his new life, disaster strikes from within. Utopia’s General Paund uses an attack on their civilization to strike fear into the hearts of the Utopians and sever the already tenuous ties it has with other societies.
Together, Parsif and Licht set out beyond Utopia and into the heart of the resistance. As Parsif struggles to set aside old prejudices to embrace what he knows is a better way of life, Licht must fight against the expectations set upon her by her own people. Meanwhile, the supporters of the General push his initiative, believing the only way to ensure human survival is through stricter, more aggressive laws.
There are many dystopian sci-fi novels out in the world now, with more being written every day. Stefano Teatini’s SAVING UTOPIA is indeed among them. However, Teatini does more with this novel than many writers do with theirs. It is easy to acknowledge the wrongs of fascism and to set its proponents up as the villains of the piece. What’s harder is doing this while investigating and interrogating what leads people to believe such harmful and hateful things. The resulting narrative is more than a story: it’s a study. The reader is not simply left with the knowledge that the General and people like him are bad; Teatini also addresses more difficult issues. Do such beliefs always come from a person’s upbringing; and, if not, how does seeing one’s own child turning to such evil beliefs affect a parent? Similarly, do a despot’s followers simply fall away once that despot is overturned? As SAVING UTOPIA keenly points out, it is rarely this easy. Teatini also investigates the fallout of such a dictatorship being challenged, and how leaderless extremists will often maintain their harmful beliefs even without someone to march behind.
While the worldbuilding of SAVING UTOPIA is fairly by-the-numbers, pulling from other great works of dystopian fiction, that doesn’t prevent it from being insightful and timely. This is a novel of concepts and ideas; while there is an entertaining story to follow, it bears studying just as much as it bears reading for entertainment.
Stefano Teatini’s SAVING UTOPIA is a unique entry in the realm of dystopian sci-fi. Rather than simply presenting a takedown of the harmful ideas that lead society in such a direction, it also presents an unflinching look at why these ideas take hold and why people cling to them.
~Kara Dennison for IndieReader