Useful Idiots

Useful Idiots

Author: Jan Mark
5/5 stars
Reviewer: Lydia

A skeleton is unearthed, found buried beneath the sand on a deserted beach in the distant future. The setting is the United States of Europe, and professions such as archaeology are considered a lost science due to the feelings of separatism and inequality that their findings stir up. This, combined with the ongoing and bitter dispute between “native” people and the rest of society that is now nearly genetically identical and flawless, is the basis for this novel. Who, exactly, owns the rights to the dead body? So begins Jan Mark’s teen sci-fi thriller, Useful Idiots.

The premise of the story is unusual, which makes it an interesting and exciting read. Mark creates an atmosphere of discontent as she details the story of young Merrick Korda, an archaeology student caught in a dangerous game involving the government, black market, academic institutions, and reserve land. Mark cunningly fashions the natives, known formally as Aboriginals and insultingly as “Oysters”, after ourselves. She simultaneously paints a very clear and perhaps accurate depiction of a future dystopic society in which all imperfections and inequalities have been erased. The book ultimately deals with questions of equality, race, and human ethics as the events come to a horrifying close.

I have read Useful Idiots not once, but three times, each time at a different age. While the book is marketed as Teen Fiction, I believe it should be read by both teens and adults. It is an unusual yet highly enthralling story which has something for everyone. The dialogue is spot on, Mark's writing is beautiful and highly descriptive, and there is a healthy dose of suspense. Science fiction, mystery, fantasy, thriller, and romance—the book manages to be all of these at once and yet none of them. Useful Idiots is truly in a class of its own.