Anyone can run… The American people vote online… The winner receives instant fame and a campaign war chest to battle the Democrats and Republicans in 2020.
Welcome to Ameritocracy, the new political series people are calling “The West Wing meets Survivor,” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for the social media age.”
After a lifetime of political disillusionment, Mia Rhodes created an alternative to the two-party system: Ameritocracy. Part American Idol, part Iowa Caucus, her online political competition promises to find the most popular independent candidate in America and give them a genuine shot to win the presidency.
But her project flounders until Mia catches the eye of eccentric tech billionaire, Peter Colton. With Mia’s vision and Peter’s money, Ameritocracy moves rapidly from punchline to possibility. As the site grows, the stakes rise crisis by crisis, and Mia must learn that ending politics as we know it means saying goodbye to the Mia Rhodes she has always known.
Soundbooth Theater is proud to work together with A.C. Fuller yet again in presenting the audio version of this thought-provoking and timely political drama that questions the current state of our democratic system and proposes a new way for technology to shape our government going forward. Annie Ellicott delivers a masterful performance as the charming, principled, and innovative Mia Rhodes in this clever and poignant series.
© 2018 A.C. Fuller ℗ 2018 Jeff Hays
Less so gameshow and more so pipe dre
First off this isn't made for dudes and that's fine. I'm sure if I was born with an XX instead I'd find this really engaged instead of a little boring. What I don't care for however is how much it's not actually like American idol, or a gameshow. Instead it's a much less likely thing to happen. Imagine if everyone except repoblocunts and democunts, ran in the same third party. In reality they'd run in the same third party they're closet to. The only thing novel is the fact it takes technology into account, all be it in a very limited way. It really sucks because I would love listening to a "total drama" style of political party audiobook. On a side note this isn't as center as it says it is. While it's pretty close to it, you can tell if you really look. But please keep in mind, I stopped listening when a supporting character used "mansplaining" unironically.
A fascinating idea that might actually work...
Tired of two-sided politics? This book explores a truly unique and fascinating idea on how to create a more level playing field using current technologies to turn plotics into a sort of meritocracy gameshow. I *adored* Annie Ellicott's performance in this one. She had me absolutely convinced she was evert single female character, and her colleague Jeff equally nailed the male roles. My one gripe about the book (but I'm hyper-critical of any entertainment so take this with a grain of salt) is that the thriller aspect was pretty watered down and I didn't really have any fear along the way that everything wouldn't 100% work out, including a romantic element that seems very billionare-romance genre plot. It wasn't too strong to be a nuisance, but I would've liked to see more focus on the mechanics of the technologies and actual serious resistance to the MC's goal rather than have it be a pretty smooth sailing adventure. Still an awesome idea and book, though. It's one of the few books in the last few years I've recommended to people after reading it, so if you're at all frustrated with the inequal state of politics in today's era, you should try this book. I toyed with tagging Elon Musk with the link to this book's summary, because I couldn't see why it wouldn't work.
A great start to a political “thriller”. I like this book, but note it’s really more like Act I than a complete story arc. Still worth it. I love the idea presented, using social media to try to SAVE democracy instead of destroying society. The characters are great, and feature a strong, smart female lead. The narration is excellent and I’m a fan of the very subtle sound effects and mixing SoundBooth Theatre brings to the table. The reading is more in depth than some audiobooks, but without being over the top; it’s not full audio with foley and characters speaking over eachother, but it’s more than a straight reading.
A great little gem of a story.
A great start to a political “thriller”. I like this book, but note it’s really more like Act I than a complete story arc. Still worth it. I love the idea presented, using social media to try to SAVE democracy instead of destroying society. The characters are great, and feature a strong, smart female lead. The narration is excellent and I’m a fan of the very subtle sound effects and mixing SoundBooth Theatre brings to the table. The reading is more in depth than some audiobooks, but without being over the top; it’s not full audio with foley and characters speaking over eachother, but it’s more than a straight reading.