So it’s been a while.
With the global pandemic and everyone’s lives being thrown upside down with lockdowns, stress and anxiety, I have honestly not been able to pick up a book since the pandemic started. But recently I’ve been able to find the time to get back into reading, and have finished SOCIAL MEDIA CENTRAL, a wonderful book by Sydney-based author Kevin Klehr.
SOCIAL MEDIA CENTRAL tells the story of Tayler, a citizen of Astra City, where technology and social media have come to replace all human interaction.
Tayler, however, is different from his contemporaries in that he prefers the old days. He misses the “good old days” of physically socialising with others, going on dates (instead of sharing a meal followed by mutual masturbation online) and wants to bring humanity back.
By chance he meets Madeline Q, an on-line celebrity, and they become friends. Before he knows it, Tayler himself becomes a celebrity by mere association, which triggers a sequence of events that turn out almost exactly as none of them (or I) expected.
That’s one of the things I really enjoyed about SOCIAL MEDIA CENTRAL, it had me eagerly flicking through the pages, Klehr kept me on the edge of my seat with what was going to happen next!
SOCIAL MEDIA CENTRAL is full of murder, mystery, romance and a clever critique of our society’s over-dependence on social media.
One thing that was unclear – and which I expect may be clarified in the sequels – was the setting. There were a few lines here and there that suggested Astra City was not the norm, that other places were run differently, had less reliance on social media, had other avenues of accessing information. Also, one of the characters in the book was Stuart, the Government. It wasn’t fully explained what that meant. Was he the equivalent to the Prime Minister or President and ran the whole country? Or was he simply the premier or Mayor of the Astra City area? Either way, those questions didn’t take away from the excellent book that Klehr has crafted, so if you are on the lookout for a memorable, engaging book by a talented Australian author, look no further than SOCIAL MEDIA CENTRAL!
To find out more, visit Kevin Klehr’s website!
Austin P. Sheehan 