Rupert Thomson, Divided Kingdom

Divided Kingdom

Rupert Thomson

Knopf, June 2005, $25.95

ISBN: 1400042186

After decades of decline leading to despondency, dismay, and depression amongst the citizenry, the English government begins a new program to strengthen the moral fiber of its people. The Rearrangement is simple: Federal agents split families moving people into four psychologically based camps; placing like with like. Whether one was relocated into a choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic or sanguine zone depend on a psychological evaluation of the individual's temperament.

In this brave new world, a child was separated from his parents, renamed Thomas Perry and placed within the sanguine quarter. The lad moves in with a grieving adult whose spouse was sent to another sector. Years later, a grown-up Thomas works undercover for the government. However a revelation hits him to learn who he really is instead of a state socially engineered output. He obsesses over this and decides he should start by seeking to find his biological parents. Taking one tiny step on that path let alone a journey means risking all he holds "dear" because if caught he will be reprocessed to insure he never undermines the state again.

DIVIDED KINGDOM is a fabulous science fiction thriller that starts off with an incredible well written premise that will grip the audience, especially as Thomas has his revelation and begins his quest into a strange underworld. Ironically the deep story line slows down whenever the action is ratcheted up focusing on Thomas faces potential exposure and death from his clandestine peers. The hero is terrific as he serves as the focus of a social experiment that may seem off the wall, but not as far out in a red and blue world as one would think. Rupert Thomson provides an intriguing look at the future.

Harriet Klausner