A stark and terrifying vision of an apocalyptic, environmentally ravaged
near-future world from a 20th-century master of thought-provoking
science fiction. In a writing career that spanned six decades, Philip
Wylie created an astonishing body of work that ranged from science
fiction to suspense to philosophy to social criticism while inspiring
the creation of such iconic characters as Superman, Flash Gordon, Doc
Savage, and Travis McGee. In Los Angeles: A.D. 2017, based on Wylie's
own teleplay written for the hit 1970s TV series The Name of the Game,
directed by a young Steven Spielberg, the author imagines a dystopian
future in which environmental disaster has driven the remnants of
humankind belowground. By the year 2017, a series of ecological
catastrophes have eliminated most of the Earth's population while
destroying the America we once knew. The few who have survived live in
underground bunkers beneath the ruins of the nation's major cities,
controlled by ruthless corporate entities that have remolded the
devastated society into USA, Inc. This is the nightmare into which
crusading magazine publisher Glenn Howard awakens after 40 years of
sleep. As a powerful 20th-century entrepreneur, Howard is expected to
join the elite. But in this dark future age, population numbers are
strictly controlled by computer; the aged, infirm, and unproductive are
mercilessly eliminated; and all dissent is punished by death. For an
idealist like Howard, accepting the new status quo is unthinkable. But
the alternative--working with a secret rebel committed to overthrowing
the cruel corporate masters--could prove the most dangerous route of
all, a path that leads inexorably to one unthinkable outcome: erasure.
