Video Book Review: Golden State by Ben H. Winters

Golden State by Ben H. Winters is a mind-bending, science-fictiony book.

Lazlo works for the Speculative Service, a group of human lie detectors. The Golden State is dedicated to eradicating any untruths. ANY untruths. Even white lies are forbidden. Mental illness is likewise held as counterintuitive to their mission.

“Madness is an assault on the objectively so and the state has a responsibility to contain and control it.”
Ben H. Winters, Golden State

To tell a lie is to ask for jail time or worse – eviction from their utopian city. Lazlo is steadfast and relentless in this mission.

But then a seemingly simple case becomes complex and we begin to doubt the very bedrock on which their society is built.

Is the Golden State a dystopia?

Who is the bad guy and who is the good guy here? It’s interesting what Winters does – recasting the antagonist as protagonist.

Really interesting book.

Winters’ writing style is perfectly matched to the first-person narrator and the world in which he lives. Frills-free and to-the-point, his words are full of truth.

Golden State
Ben H. Winters
Published January 2019
Mulholland Books

Watch this book review of Golden State and other bookish videos on my Read Remark YouTube channel.

Music credit: YouTube

The article I mentioned:
“Why We Lie: The Science Behind Our Deceptive Ways” by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, National Geographic