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    Anthem
    Ebook73 pages1 hour

    Anthem

    By Ayn Rand and Mint Editions

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Equality 7-2521 finds himself out of step with the collectivist society of the future, and discovers a means to freedom in Ayn Rand’s fable of the individual in conflict with society.

    First published in 1938, Anthem takes place in a dystopian future world in which humanity is enduring a new dark age, human life is regimented in every respect and personal identity has been all but snuffed out by a totalitarian government. The narrator, writing his story in secret, realizes he is a criminal simply for having thoughts of his own. Exploring the ruins of a previous civilization he discovers relics, conducts forbidden experiments and learns enough to question the very structure of his society. Can he share this knowledge with his fellow citizens? The author strips the relationship of humanity to civilization down to its bare essence in this modern parable that starkly illuminates the challenge an oppressive government presents to individuality.

    With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Anthem is both modern and readable.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMint Editions
    Release dateDec 1, 2020
    ISBN9781513265278
    Author

    Ayn Rand

    Ayn Rand (1905–1982) wrote the bestselling novels The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957) and founded the philosophy known as objectivism. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Rand taught herself to read at the age of six and soon resolved to become a professional writer. In 1926, she left Communist Russia to pursue a screenwriting career in Hollywood, and she published her first novel ten years later. With her next book, the dystopian novella Anthem (1938), she introduced the theme that she would devote the rest of her life to pursuing: the inevitable triumph of the individual over the collective. 

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    Reviews for Anthem

    3.5/5

    2,565 ratings101 reviews

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    • 5/5
      One of my friends recently asked me to read one of his favorite books, he said though, if I am going to read it I have to read Anthem first. So I agreed and picked up this pretty short book. I adored it. The writing style of this author is so beautiful, she writes in a way that I feel is lost to the modern novel.

      I loved the content of the book. I think that this book feels like a true dystopian. If you are a fan of dystopian fiction and have not read this book, you are missing out. It is written very stylized and very methodical, as the world in the book is. I enjoyed that most of all. I was awwed by this author and already started 'The Fountainhead".
    • 4/5
      Title: AnthemAuthor: Ayn RandGenre: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Psychology, FictionPublisher: Penguin GroupDate: 1938Pages: 105Modern Library: The Reader’s List #7Started: 15 January 2014What I know right now:This book was not published in America until 1946.Independent thought is a crime.What I found out by reading the book:Anthem is a quick read and the first of Rand’s for me. I liked the book, the message, and the parallels it draws with so many things in the world today. The central theme of the book is egoism. In brief, every person has the right to pursue happiness without being obligated to another. The story follows Equality 7-2521 (there are no Johns or Janes in this book) as he discovers his own identity in a world where there is no “I.” Equality 7-2521 lives in a collective society where social rule dictates his career, how long he will eat his lunch, and what time he goes to bed at night. There is no love, only breeding, there is no exploration, only social oppression.It takes a little while to get the hang of reading a first-person narrative in the plural form, so you’ll have to wrap your brain around the “we” instead of the “I.” I highly recommend this book if for nothing else as a quick reexamination of the importance of individuality and a reminder of what makes you happy. There’s also a “who moved my cheese” sort of moment about 3/4′s of the way through the book that made me chuckle. Oh, and there’s a love story tucked away in there too.Here are a few notable passages:“And those times passed away, when men saw the Great Truth which is this: that all men are one and that there is no will save the will of all men together” (20).“The Council of Scholars has said that we all know the things which exist and therefore the things which are not known by all do not exist” (52).“My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose” (95).Finished: 18 January 2014
    • 5/5
      This is a work that has inspired me to live outside the box, to stand for my belief and to live life. This is an excellent work for those who want to believe in something within themselves.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this because I enjoy dystopian fiction. However, I don't read this with Rand's political views in mind. There are many ways to avoid terrible dystopian futures without Rand's ill-conceived philosophy of life. If you can put her politics aside and just read it for the plot, it's worth a read.
    • 5/5
      I have been wanting to read her books for a long time. I was suprised when my son brought Anthem home from school as a required reading book. I read it in a day. An outstanding book of a scary future world were no one really matters only all of us matter. I told my some that as much as he believes in doing everything his way he will love this book. He puffed up went to his room and read it in a day also and came out enjoying the book and being glad he read it.
    • 2/5
      Anthem is a bit over the top in its portrayal of a communist society, but it's still an entertaining read with a feel-good ending. Ayn Rand is heavy handed about the lack of individualism and the stifling pressure to conform. Luckily, it's a short read and a good dystopian novel.
    • 4/5
      A true dystopian novel in the spirit of 1984 and Brave New World. Anthem takes a harsh view of collectivism and ends by glorifying the individual. This being the first thing by Ayn Rand I've read, I was impressed by her writing, but a little jarred by the swinging being two extremes (collectivism and individualism in this case). Certainly a book worth discussion and thought.
    • 3/5
      The first 75% or so of the book is pretty decent, I mostly agreed with it; sheeple are bad, question things, don't follow blindly, etc. But then, it wouldn't be Rand if she didn't smash it into your face and go absurdly over the top, and she ruins it with the ending. Basically (as per her norm) saying, eff everyone else, only do things for yourself not because they benefit humanity, and so forth. Because that is what will obviously make for such an excellent society! *groan*Anyhow, the story is decent enough, and it's only a novella, very quick read. But yeah, Rand had some seriously screwed up notions.
    • 3/5
      Anthem is a very short, but very packed novel. I read it as sort of an introduction to Ayn Rand, but I think it would have made more sense to have read it after "The Fountainhead."This book, in my mind, takes place at least two hundred years from now and serves as a warning to those who might agree with fountainhead characters such as Ellsworth Toohey (or at least his public philosophy). If said philosophies were to be implemented upon society, then we would indeed have a world just like that of "Anthem."The last twenty or so pages were a bit preachy as Rand lays out some of the fundamental aspects to her philosophy (objectivism). The ending differs from that of most dystopic novels in that it has a happy ending; The protagonist is not squashed by the powers that be. The protagonist escapes to freedom, and devices a plan of changing society. I almost wish Rand had written a sequel to "Anthem," to show the protagonists efforts and how he changed society.
    • 4/5
      If you liked Brave New World and 1984, this is worth a read.
    • 3/5
      Post apocalyptic world leads to a tightly enforced communist regime. Individuality is repressed, ideas are squashed as dangerous. All that in a very short and easy to read book.However, so many other books take this concept and do it far better and in a less one-sided, and less disturbing manner. I had previously thought I might like to read some more Rand, but unless my 'to read' pile suddenly vanishes this is very unlikely. The book left a bad taste in my mouth, and only partly due to the concept that our freedom is so vital to our ego and humanity that it should be preserved at all costs. Something deep and disturbing flows underneath the surface here, and I have little intention of finding out what makes Rand tick.
    • 5/5
      My kind of book, utopian societies yum! First off I love the idea that the main character's name ( and everyone else's) is a concept attached to a number. Example, our main character Equality 7-2521. The descriptions of the society are facinating and the book has a happy ending. I really enjoyed the book (wish it was longer though)and would recommend it to anyone for a light read. Really, how long can you go without saying "my" "I" or and with out recognizing most societies' need for individualism, it's quite interesting how this book portrays a society that can. Read it.
    • 5/5
      This book presents a vision of a future world where collectivism is prized as a societal value. During the cold War our policy makers let Capitalism become the antithesis of Communism but it is possible to make money in a Communist system one thing not present is freedom. Heavy censorship. Making capitalism our core guiding policy resulted in massive waste, chaos, fraud, and inertness of progression. This book reminded me that we need Freedom to be prized once again.
    • 3/5
      You're a little transparent, Ayn. Just a little.
    • 2/5
      For years I have been meaning to read this book and I finally did over the summer. After I was done with it, I wondered why I hadn’t read this book in the first place. I blamed it on the fact that I tend to be more of a fantasy reader than a science fiction reader. However, I am now finding a place in my heart for this genre.I was pretty disturbed by this book. Not only was the government in this book “recruiting” young geniuses to fight their wars for them, but they were turning it into a game. Since every training exercise was a game many of the children would forget the fact they were training for war, which gave me the creeps. War, in this future world, is a game to the people who are being forced to fight it.This book really made me think about the prevalence of war based video games today. Now, I’m not against these games but I did find it interesting to compare what these children were doing during training to what my friends do in their own living rooms. There were some eerie similarities between the two, like the planning and strategy that sometimes goes in to playing them.While there were some parts that were a little slow, the book was totally worth the read. It really makes the reader look more critically at how our society views war today and even video games. I give this book a 4/5 and I recommend it to most everyone. This book is proof that the science fiction genre can have literary value despite what critics of the genre may say.
    • 4/5
      I read this book on the serial reader app. It is the first Ayn Rand book I have read and I really enjoyed it. I read it during my breaks during work and it was very hard to put down when it was time to go back to work. I felt the story was very original and I was excited to see what would happen to Equality 7-2521. His society was very disturbing although I did find the ending to be equally disturbing. The use of the plural pronouns made the story that much more intriguing to me.
    • 2/5
      I read this book because my daughter will be reading it in school and I wanted to see what it was about. For a dystopian novel, it does not come anywhere close to the power of Orwell's 1984. The last 20 pages or so are especially insipid with the author's rants about individual liberty.
    • 4/5
      Anthem by Ayn Rand is a fabulous dystopian-era read. Reminiscent of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian reads, this one will hook you from the very first page. And at 105 pages, you’ll speed through Anthem!Equality 7-2521 is a member of society and seems to be too smart for his own good. The society focuses on unity, instead of the individual, a collective “we.” But this doesn’t work for Equality 7-2521 because he has goals, wishes, hopes that seem to place him on the outskirts of society.When he discovers an opening to a closed-off and unused sewer, he takes it for himself as a sort of laboratory. While it is highly illegal to do so, but Equality 7-2521 spends much time in his underground lair, writing in a secret journal (which is how we know what’s going on in the story) and conducting scientific experiments.For the full review, visit Love at First Book
    • 3/5
      Having the freedom of choice is something that people of this country rarely realize is a privilege. Ayn Rand’s descriptions of a futuristic society in which people have no choice in their lives truly puts this privilege of ours into perspective. In her novel Anthem, Rand gives readers a quick but thoughtful glance at life without this free choice. Throughout the novel the reader follows the main characters journey, Equality 7-2521. Right off the bat the reader is thrown into a world in which we find that writing is illegal; being alone itself is breaking the law and the moral code of the world. Equality 7-2521 lives in a world in which not only is personal thought is forbidden, but the idea of the individual is unheard of. The terms ‘we’ and ‘they’ are all Equality 7-2521 know to describe himself and others. A general grouping of people in the “World State” is all they must think of, in one unit, one entity- the brotherhood. In this distant future described, Rand shows the reader a place in which our world has gone from technological advancements to an entire regression in how the world is run; back to the most ancient of times. The world is run by great leaders of the “World State”, and otherwise unquestioned by those who follow its society. There is no daring dream of difference or discovery by any, as far as the reader can tell. That is everyone except Equality 7-2521. His unearthing of enjoyment and pleasure through science and experimenting is what becomes the powerful key to this rapid paced novel.The differences between our world today and that of Rand’s world in the novel are dramatic. With her distant voice in this first person point of view tale, Rand’s model of a future dystopia is something that leaves the reader with goose bumps in the end. With the message of never forgetting to be the unique person that makes us all individuals in this world, and embracing the choice that one has to do so, it is one of the stories that may need to be read twice in order to understand its full picture. Quick but powerful, this novel truly strikes a chord in me to read more of Rand’s work.
    • 4/5
      Highly suggested for anyone -- perhaps should be required for anyone advocating collectivism.
    • 3/5
      Told from the point of view of Equality{insert string of numbers}, the novel looks at a future society in which everyone is equal because all personal identity has been erased. The only purpose of a person's life is to serve the group and society is terrified and hateful of anything new or original. It was easy enough to read, but I wasn't stoked on this one. While I like the use of "we" to replace the first person narrative in order to show the group mentality, I didn't understand the {-point-} {+point+} of other aspects of the weird writing style, for example. I assume Rand intended it to serve a purpose, but I have no freaking idea what it is. There isn't much scene description either, no painting this world and making it a whole.Because what would be the point of that. The world presented here isn't meant to be complex beyond the simple moralizing fable Rand tells. The entire purpose of the unfolding story is clearly meant to teach that group-based societies and mentality are evil (reference to communism much?) and should never ever be put above the drive of the individual and of the ego. It's too black and white, too clear cut for me. The world is full of gray and multitudinous color. There is good and bad in everything. It's layered and complex. Anthem doesn't even sport the dumbed down simplistic fun and spectacle of an action story. It's just simplistic and readable, but ultimately dull.
    • 3/5
      A parable depicting Rand's concept of individualism, otherwise known as Objectivism. Not the most riveting piece of literature.
    • 5/5
      This might make a good introduction to Ayn Rand--it was mine. And unlike her other works, you can download it free--and legally--online at Project Gutenberg and other sites. Perhaps her estate thought it might entice new readers? It's short, for one--a mere novella of just 128 pages--not a behemoth like Atlas Shrugged, which runs to over a thousand pages. Rand is a controversial but interesting thinker. I don't think I've ever read more invective hurled at another writer than I've seen in reviews of her works. In some ways she does invite that--not just because she kicks several sacred crows, but her uncompromising challenge, even insults to those who disagree. She once defended her title The Virtue of Selfishness saying she called it that for "the reason that makes you afraid of it." And this is a paean to selfishness--to self and the power of the individual and an indictment of collectivism. Yet I have two liberal friends, who I doubt will ever read another book of Rand's, who sheepishly admit they like this book a lot. (Although one of them thinks Rand mars it at the conclusion with the clanging anvil of a speech--I rather agree.) Anthem is the most lyrical thing Rand ever wrote--almost a prose poem. I've read it owes a lot to Zamyatin's We, which I've never read, but then I hear so does Huxley's Brave New World. On its own terms, this is a striking, memorable dystopia I find as worthy of being read as 1984 or Brave New World.
    • 2/5
      If you're looking for something from Ayn Rand that's a tad bit shorter than "Atlas Shrugged," but can still show you her philosophy in a nutshell, "Anthem," her novella set in a dystopian world of the future, may be worth the effort. It didn't take me more than a sitting and a half to flip through it.

      Objectivism: an extreme philosophy that is to the free market what communism is to liberalism, just in the opposite direction. Instead of glorifying collective action, it glorifies the individual, the ego, denigrating all else–love, charity, God, and any kind of shared effort or brotherhood. I’m all about independence, freedom, and self-reliance, but Rand sees no need for sacrifice, charity, or love, even when no coercion is present.

      This last one, love, is perhaps the most difficult piece for her to handle, and she so clumsily. Quite ironically, he only female character, rather than typifying the EGO she emblazons on the last page of the novella, does not exist in her sole woman character, but to give and to serve her male counterpart, Equality 7-2521, our narrator and protagonist. He sees her, and finding no specific qualities but that she returns his affection (a play on the elementary school “eye game” where shy children flirt only by taking turns catching each other’s eyes). From there on, she seems only to live to serve. She gives him water when he thirsts, follows him into the Uncharted Forest when he flees the City, becomes his lover, and tells him that she loves him. In return he names her Gaea, an interesting play on the Greek goddess of the Earth who was mother to other gods and goddesses. In other words, her highest purpose, still, is only to give birth. In contrast, Equality 7-2521 renames himself Prometheus after he who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man, a play on his role in discovering, or rediscovering, electricity. We see a contrast in their roles as Prometheus represents power, gives names to himself and her, and pronounces the dawn of a new age, an age in which EGO rules, not “brotherhood” or the smothering power of “we.”

      And Gaea, the once named Liberty 5-3000, will be the mother of that new empire, quite literally.

      I don’t mean to denigrate the role of women in bringing children into the world. No man can fully repay the debt he owes his mother, or the mother of his children, for bringing him and future generations to this world. However, women’s purpose and gifts and abilities do not end, or begin, with child-birth.

      But I digress. In any respect, Rand places the entire sum of glory on the power of the individual, with no recognition of the powers above or in the shared responsibilities we have to each other. It’s a stark world in which she lives, and I am confident that it is better we live in a world that is neither her’s nor Marx’s,her ideological opposite.

      Never the less, “Anthem” is worth the read, if just for it’s thought provocation and the warning that it gives to the results of too much institutional control and too little individual opportunity for growth.

      View all my reviews
    • 5/5
      This novella takes place sometime in the far distant future in a totally controlled society and it will surely make you stop and think long after you turn the final page. It is about a dystopian society, yet I wonder if it is not really about what some would consider a utopian society. Everything is decided by a Council. There is no danger to speak of. There are no uprisings. There is no dissent. If there should be, it is halted immediately and the guilty one is subjected to severe physical punishment. There is no due process. All societal threats have been removed because of the severe consequences for infractions. Conversation is controlled and limited so no new ideas are generated. Children are raised in group homes. There is no parental involvement. Adults live in homes organized by profession. Older adults are consigned to Homes for the Useless to await the end of their days at about age 40. No one is educated unless they are chosen to be by the Council of Vocations. Careers are not chosen but assigned. Mating and procreation is strictly controlled. It is basically a slave society, but the slaves don’t know anything else but that life, and so they meekly obey. The author has written a prescient tale of an America that becomes unrecognizable. The time of its publication is pertinent. Written in 1937 and published in 1938, it echoes the rising number of abuses instituted by Adolf Hitler, practices which were gaining enormous support. The theme of Arbeit Macht Frei on the gates of the Concentration Camps, “work will make you free” is a repetitive theme in the novella. Mating is conducted according to a strict schedule with mates chosen by the Council of Eugenics, This harkens back to Hitler’s Lebensborn program, created to raise a society of pure Aryans. It illuminates his effort to control thought and behavior with the rising popularity of the Hitler youth movement; the young were trained and taught to hate those that were different, those that were not pure Aryans. They were taught to blindly obey, even if it meant betraying their own family and friends for the benefit of Hitler’s Germany. The survival of the whole, the Fatherland, was of utmost importance.In the society of the book, everyone is supposed to be the same. Individuals are identified by numbers because individuality is forbidden. The individual exists only for the benefit of the group, not for themselves. Free thought and free choice is forbidden. Feelings are forbidden. Strict schedules guide and govern daily life. Children are raised in group homes. At 15 a Council decides their futures. Hard work is the main goal in life. Ambition does not exist. There is no need for political correctness; politics, and conversation are both forbidden. Obedience is absolute. In this new world, it is forbidden to make mention of the past “Unmentionable Times”. History has disappeared entirely. The “we” is worshipped as a “G-d”. There is no “I” allowed. Nameless people are identified by a number and occupation, i.e. equality 7-2521 is a street cleaner. Others are in groups that are scholars, others are half-brains like Union 5-3992. Liberty 5-3000 is a woman. It is a crime to think, smile or walk about without purpose. It is a crime to be too tall because it makes you stand out, it makes you different. Even those who live past 40 are gaped at like animals in a zoo.Men and women do not fraternize. This keeps emotions in check, which reminded me of religious rules forcing women to cover their bodies in burqas to prevent men from having sexual thoughts about them. Women are separated from men except at times of mating. Mates are chosen by the Council of Eugenics. Love does not exist, nor do any other human emotions because all opportunity to experience feelings has been removed. Equality 7-2521 refers to everyone as they and himself as we. He has no self-identification because everyone exists for the benefit of everyone else, not for one man alone. Candles light the world. There are no mirrors so Equality does not know what he looks like. He has been told he is evil. He is too tall. His eyes are too bright. He thinks and it is not allowed. He knows that he is different. He thinks that hard work will redeem his sins, but he has no idea what his sins actually are. Soon, he begins to break rules. He believes he is doing something that is good, but he is not allowed to believe in what he does, only what the group does. He is committing more and more sins. He is learning and for him, further education has been forbidden. When he comes upon Liberty, during his work as street sweeper, he begins to feel something he has not felt before. It awakens something unknown in his body. Before long, she acknowledges similar feelings. They communicate without speaking. How will their relationship change the existing society? With individualism will the sins of jealousy and greed renew again? Will humans form their own groups and will they shut others out or be inclusive? Will selfishness once again rear its head and survive? What new sins will be birthed by their transgressions? Will free will and choice bring about a new beginning that is doomed to end? Will the story of Adam and Eve be relived with Prometheus and Gaea, aka Equality and Liberty? Will they lose interest in the needs of others to further benefit only themselves? Will there be no happy medium? Will the “absolute and unbridled” thirst for knowledge ultimately corrupt them too, as in the Unmentionable Times? Will the desire to seek their own pleasure destroy their desire for righteousness and compassion? Will they be too naïve to make the necessary changes and march forward into a better future?Is there a middle ground between dystopia and utopia? Can overregulation be curbed to the point where it does no harm? Can socialism find a way to fund all without benefitting the few at the top who are protected from the tentacles of its policies? Can non-conformity by positive before it becomes too negative and demanding of others for constant approval? Is it like the bible story of Adam and Eve? Will the sins of Gaea and Prometheus benefit or injure the new world they wish to create? If obsession with self becomes more prevalent, does it always mean selfishness will be the end result? Can obsession be prevented? This book makes one think hard about society and its needs. In this brief little tale, the sins of our current society are evident. Our history is being rewritten, revised, as I write. Political Correctness demands it, as it has curbed free speech as well. Some think they have the one right way for all and demand to be followed. If they don’t get there way they find means to achieve it that may not be politic. Where the many ruled, times are changing, as in the tale. Now the individual has begun to take a supreme place in the dialogue of the day. Small groups of individuals band together and rise up, like Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter. They demand that everyone agree with their ideas or they riot or commit acts of civil disobedience which go unpunished. Some ideas are “over thought”. Fear rules most of our daily lives; there is the fear of terrorism, of some uses of science as in cloning and stem cell research, of some religious beliefs, some life choices, some alternate lifestyles, of the unknown, of change, and of those that make rules for others but exempt themselves. Is our Council of Elders, i.e. Congress, guilty of making too many rules, or of not following those they made? Will Americans have to find a place to “hide” to find peace and freedom eventually, like Equality and Liberty eventually did? What awaits us in the future?
    • 2/5
      This is Rand at her absolute worst. Same message as always, but presented in the least profound and most dumbed down way possible. Do not read.
    • 4/5
      First: Some questions that went through my head while reading this.
      1. If we lived in a collective society, how would we experience or ignore certain events that come to pass that would feel abnormal or alien to us?
      2. Would the mind automatically wonder of things forbidden? or would this happen to only a few? (like the main character and what he thinks is his curse).
      3. Is this society possible? could it ever exist? Are we already living in a society where this is happening (in certain ways)?

      To be someone without an identity, a mindless herd. I put myself in the shoes of the main character and threw myself into this word as best I could... and I found it to be terrifying to think of. Thinking of it, I realize that out society has many similarities to the world and characters within the story. Going day to day, doing the same thing, without original thought or identity is something that happens all the time. But the question is... how much does original thought and identity really matter? If looked at on a whole, our existence matter very little once our time has ended. We believe it's important to have our own voice and ideas but in the end it plays a part only DURING our existence in the here and now. If you put religion or spiritual beliefs into the equation then the view will change but without those things there is hardly a reason for doing anything or experiencing anything.

      I do not like feeling this way about life and tend to avoid if fairly successfully. This book brought those questions and thoughts through my mind again. It is just another way of looking at our existence and trying to make meaning of it. This is not to say it is the truth behind our humanity and the meaning of life.... nothing. It should be tread lightly lest you take it's subject matter too closely to your heart and mind.

      The books world is a nightmare. It is the type of society that I have nightmares about. Having no free will, no identity. Where is the reason for life? Everything is a machine, no reason for anything. It touches on many topics that I fear from my own thoughts. It was hard to read only because it brought those fears around again. On the other hand, I put myself into the world and felt the excitement of discovery, of seeing familiar things in a new light. Of appreciating what we have in the world around us and not wanting more then what is usual. All these things I have been reminded of through this book. I highly recommend it but caution those who will take those subjects and brood on them... I know it can be done and it's not easy to handle. Stay away, if you are one of those few.
    • 5/5
      This book is amazing. I have read it at least ten times and I just love it. The society described is so bland and so restrictive, I wouldn't be able to stand it! I think that it's great that Ayn Rand shows her individualistic philosophy through this book. It should be read by everyone.
    • 4/5
      Bureaucrat or bungling idiot? "We" or "I"? I was rooting for our hero in his quest for happiness...foiled at many turns. Only an idiot would miss the individualist theme of this book.
    • 3/5
      This was a fairly thin dystopian novel. Not much was said here that you couldn't read in something like "We" or "1984." Rand's tone was fairly didactic, but that isn't surprising given Rand's reputation. Overall, I give it 3 out of 5 stars because I did enjoy it, but I felt that more could have been done with it.