TWENTY-FIVE TO LIFE by R.W.W. Greene – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Twenty-Five to Life by R.W.W. Greene
Published by Angry Robot on August 24 2021
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 279
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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“Gotta get used to making choices. It’s your will or someone else’s. Get mad and stay that way. It’s a lot safer. You got a gun? It’s not always whimsy and bullshit out here.”

I love when a book surprises me, and that’s exactly what happened with Twenty-Five to Life. At first glance, it seems to be your typical “the Earth is dying and can no longer sustain life, so let’s launch some generation ships into space and colonize a new planet” story. I mean, those are a dime a dozen, right? But instead of focusing on the spaceship and those lucky people who were chosen for the journey, R.W.W. Greene tells the story of the ones who were left behind, specifically a group of vagabonds who have eschewed living in tiny government issued cubes, and instead have hit the road to travel across a barren United States, stopping at campsites along the way, learning how to survive with limited resources and food, and basically living off the land on their own terms. This isn’t an action or plot heavy story, but wow did I have fun with it!

Julie is twenty-three, but in the eyes of the law she’s still a minor. In this future United States, the 30th Amendment has changed the legal age from eighteen to twenty-five, supposedly as a way to conserve resources and protect the job market. Julie has barely any rights, and her mother treats her like a teenager and won’t allow her to make any big decisions about her future for another two years. When she makes an announcement that they’re leaving Julie’s beloved childhood home and moving to the big city, Julie decides to run away—an illegal move that could land her in prison if she’s caught. 

Julie is fascinated by a movement called the volksgeist—where people who are disillusioned with the restraints of modern life travel the country in beat up vans and trucks instead of settling down. Once she hits the road, she meets a woman named Ranger who agrees to take Julie to meet up with a large caravan. Traveling in Ranger’s old van, which she calls Juniper, Julie learns how to survive without modern conveniences. Life on the road is dangerous, but it’s also made up of a community of friendly people who are willing to help those in need. But is this the life that Julie really wants?

Twenty-Five to Life is sort of an unusual coming of age story. Julie isn’t a kid in our eyes, but in her world she’s treated like one. I loved the author’s decision to make this a road trip story and have Julie go through lots of growth and changes over the course of about six months. And she has plenty of hurdles to jump. First, her best friend Anji is one of the lucky ones on the journey to Proxima Centauri, and not only is she missing her, but she feels bad about being left behind. When she runs away and meets Ranger, her life goes from one of safety and ease to one of danger and uncertainty. On the road, you eat whatever you can catch or trade with other travelers, you risk running into gangs and other unsavory characters who might want to kill you, and heaven forbid your vehicle breaks down and leaves you stranded. It’s a harsh life, but it gives Julie the opportunity to finally make her own decisions.

This is a character focused story, and luckily all the characters are really well developed. Julie seems younger than her age, but I think it’s because society has told her she’s basically still a kid. She starts out fairly immature, but grows up on the road, learning all sorts of survival skills she probably thought she’d never need. Ranger was a fantastic character as well. She’s been on the road for years, and when she meets Julie, she’s headed West to the ocean. At first she doesn’t care if Julie sticks with her or not, but as time goes by, the two develop a nice friendship. My other favorite character was a woman named Gretchen who is a friend of Ranger’s. She’s a hacker and runs her own computer network. She’s also a mechanic and honestly can do just about anything, and she’s sort of a lifeline for Ranger, helping her out from time to time from her secret home base. Many of the people they meet along the way are simply side characters, introduced for brief scenes and then gone forever, but overall it made sense for the rambling, ever changing life they live on the road.

I absolutely loved Greene’s worldbuilding. Some things feel familiar, like a devastated United States, ruined by floods, earthquakes and climate change, and an internet-like online space called ThirdEye. But I also enjoyed Greene’s unique touches, like the “emplants” most people get that deliver a steady stream of drugs to your system—for pain or to balance your mood or even to keep you from getting pregnant. What I really loved, though, is that as soon as Julie meets Ranger, the story takes on a really cool Wild West vibe. It isn’t illegal to become a vagabond, but there are rules that state how long you are allowed to stay in one place. Most caravans stop in large, abandoned parking lots to set up camp for a few days, in order to rest and recharge. It’s also a great opportunity to make new friends, and there’s always a campfire burning to greet newcomers—it’s polite to announce “Hello, the fire!” when you arrive. I loved the feeling of camaraderie among these “tramps” as they’re sometimes called—they trade food and other goods with each other, share tips about road conditions, and yes, even enjoy hook ups at times.

But the vast stretches of roads are also full of looters, gangs and other dangerous characters. Everyone carries weapons and has lookout drones, and you better be ready to fight if you run into one of them. Julie and Ranger have a few dangerous and gruesome encounters themselves, and these sections were pretty tense and exciting! Despite these dangers, though, most people on the road will agree that it’s worth the risk to be free and doing their own thing, rather than living a predictable life in the city.

If you’re looking for a more grounded “dying Earth” story about the people left behind, you’ll probably love Twenty-Five to Life. I’m so glad I got the chance to read this book, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.