3.5 Really enjoyed the world building aspects, as a reader I felt horrified how restricted the women and girls are in this world. But scary how extreme the current government is. The Neuro side of things had me a bit lost. It also felt a bit romance-y in the middle with a love triangle (insert eye rolling emoji). Overall I felt like the story had a satisfying conclusion and was very gripping throughout, even with the science bits that went over my head.

This is going to be one of the standout books of the year; with a background of the #MeToo movement, the domination of the religious right in America and a self-confessed sex criminal as President, the issues in this book could not be more pertinent. The story is shocking, yes, but isn’t that the point of dystopian fiction? To put a mirror up to society and show us how bad things could get. Far-fetched, but not so far-fetched that we can’t imagine this world come to pass.

Though fairly short, this book packs in a lot, from an incompetent President acting as a puppet for darker forces, to the struggle of being in a heterosexual marriage in a world that punishes women (whilst the situation in the book is extreme, how many women have felt frustrated that their husbands or boyfriends don’t really understand #MeToo, not at their very core?). It’s about the importance of speech and of having a voice, and perhaps most pertinently, about using it before it is too late. I wasn’t entirely convinced by the ending (which I won’t spoil for you here) but it definitely gave me a lot of food for thought, and I think is one that will stick with me for a long time.

Words are rationed to just one hundred a day – but only for women and girls. Exceed your quota and the bracelet you’ve been made to wear will deliver a series of electric shocks. This is an extraordinarily frightening premise, particularly if you’re a woman, and reading the opening of Vox I literally felt the panic rising in me. The novel’s protagonist is Dr Jean McClellan. She’s a scientist who specialises in reversing the loss of language, but she’s been removed from her job and forced to be a stay-at-home mom to her three sons and one daughter. The government is controlled by the fundamentalist Pure Movement and, as its repressive activities escalate, Jean starts to find her voice again and begins to plot rebellion. As I say, the premise is brilliant, so brilliant that it carried me swiftly through the early stages of the book, but just over halfway in the physical action speeds up and it turns into a rather far-fetched thriller. For me, this had the effect of undermining its serious themes – power, responsibility, freedom of speech – but nonetheless I still found it thought-provoking and really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this but it did get me angry! It's a Dystopian novel set in the future in America - Women are only allowed to speak 100 words a day and have a wristband on that counts down from 100 and if you exceed the word count you are given an electric shock! Men rule the land but the president gets sick and the only person who can help with a cure is Dr Jean and her team. Its an intriguing , thought provoking , shocking and infuriating book that is one of the best I have read this year.

Imagine a world where you're only allowed to speak 100 words a day. Any more than that and you'll get electric shocks. But only if you're a woman. Set in a future America, Vox tells the story of Jean McClellan and her family. Restrictions on women are getting harsher. I was fascinated to see how a family adjusted to their wife and mother suddenly being restricted in this way. The men in Jean's life annoyed me. I felt her fear for her daughter's future. And I appreciated the irony of the men of her world needing her expertise (and having to restore her freedom) in order to cure aphasia. The things she uncovers are horrifying. This is a fascinating and terrifying book, with themes and ideas that no longer seem impossible. An absolute must-read.

I really enjoyed Vox and felt it was a very timely novel. There were elements in it that had me raging with anger on behalf of the characters. I think it's important when books make us feel this way because a lot of the issues in the book - misogyny, homophobia, repression, state domination are scarily close to how we live now.

Jean McLellan, an accomplished scientist and medical researcher into the field of dementia and word loss, is now a housewife, limited to only 100 words a day, no writing or reading permitted, not even a cookbook, thanks to the the new totalitarian government controlling the united states. However when the President's husband has a stroke, her skills are required. But what is really going on, what does her husband really do and is there a resistance movement?

I thought this was a well written fast paced thriller, if a little predictable at times. A good read.

Wow what a book! The book is about a woman with a family and how her talking affects the family. She gets to help the president to make a serum. The story has a twist and the ending was good, though it did leave it to your imagination how it could have happened. Giving women only 100 words to use a day. This story could so be true! Men just want to control women! Though this book is very good, it makes you think, what if life was like this, I would never survive. (I speak to myself all the time) Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to review this book.

Enjoyed this thought provoking novel. Thanks to publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reading copy.

This book made me think and it definitely made me feel. Anger, heartbreak, resentment, fear, Christina Dalcher evokes all of these emotions through her creative narrative and beautiful prose.

Read my full review on The Overdue Book Review here:
https://theoverduebookreview.wordpress.com/2018/08/20/book-review-vox-by-christina-dalcher/

Very well written - very post apocalyptic feel. Would recommend for anyone looking for a fast paced intriguing book that you won’t want to put down

Reading the description of this book, I knew I would find it hard to read. I love dystopian novels and find anything tackling the areas around sexism and feminism intriguing however it is something I am very sensitive to.

A new president has been elected in the United States and a new mandate as been declared - women are only allowed to speak up to 100 words a day or they face a painful punishment. The ramifications of this are huge - women cannot no longer work, properly communicate and have to rely on men to rule the country and support their lives. It's a scary concept and one that made me angry throughout the book - especially at how some of the men behaved despite it being their wives and daughters that were affected.

I thought the book was written really well and the only downside was that the ending seemed to be over very quickly. Overall though I still rate this as a 5 star read and raced through it all in one day.

Fantastic! For fans of Handmaid's Tale and that sort of new scary society story, you can't go wrong with this book. It lived up to my expectations and then some. 5 stars!

Wow.....if you think the Handmaid's Tale was powerful, you must read this...another whole level of control. One of the reasons to be grateful that our politics are less influenced by religion.

I don’t often follow upcoming releases too closely, but this caught my eye near the beginning of the year when it was featured in a HQ email. Feminist Dystopian? Yes please.

Then I was thrilled when I managed to get a copy of this through NetGalley. And it gave me everything I wanted. A great background explanation, a terrifying society and those who start to question it.

I’ve seen plenty of comparisons to The Handmaid’s Tale, and I do get why the comparisons are there. But I’m not a fan of Margaret Atwood’s writing style and so much prefer this!

[100 WORD LIMIT REACHED]

Vox by Christina Dalcher* is set in the near-future, where women can only say 100 words a day - any more, and they receive an electric shock through a bracelet. The more you say, the stronger the shocks. Jean, a scientist, tries to protect her family, especially her daughter. It's quite scary how believable some of the behaviour and attitudes in this book are.

The scary thing about the subject matter in this book, is that there are factions in the US today who you can see would welcome this kind of society! Really well-written, entirely plausible as an alternate reality, if a little worrying! I've already recommended it to three other people which should tell you all you need to know! Great characters - loved Jean and really bought into her plight, and the conflating emotions she has all the way through.

You are female, you are not worthy of a proper education, holding down a job, making decisions, you cannot read a book, have an email account or even check the post. So what can you do? Well if your Jean McClellan, previously a world leading neurolinguist, you can stay at home, be subservient to your husband, look after the home and your children and be very bored and unhappy. But what marks Jean McClellan and all the other women in Dachler’s novel from all the rest is that in any one day they may only speak #100WORDS.

Their #100WORDS are chosen with care and precision, there are no throwaway comments, no jokes no detailed conversations. One word over the #100WORDS an electric shock is delivered via a locked wristband. To say I was shocked when I started Vox would be an understatement, and the first thing I did was to try and imagine what I would do in similar circumstances. To be honest I am not really sure what I would do but I knew I would be just as miserable and as unhappy as Jean, but that I would also fight, fight for my rights to be a woman, to live a normal life.

What I loved above all else about Vox was Dachler’s portrayal of her main protagonist Jean. Yes, Jean was highly intelligent, but she had guts and determination, she grasped every opportunity to push the boundaries and to fight, not only for herself but also her daughter and the countless other women silenced and cowed by a male dominated society. Where Dachler excelled was her ability to highlight Jean’s vulnerabilities, her lack of confidence and her continual questioning of her actions, in particular her loyalty toward her husband and son. Her situation was extreme but, to some extent, women face the same dilemmas in everyday life, how much of ourselves do we give up, without losing who we are, or who we want to be? How many societies, in the world today still suppress women, deny them an education and more importantly a voice?

That is what was so good about Vox, it wasn’t just your average run of the mill thriller, it was so much more. It constantly asked questions, made me think, what #100WORDS would I chose, how would I feel to be silenced, to have my identity stripped from me, to have my male children question me, look down on me and have a husband who could do what the hell he liked with me.

Using other female characters Dachler was able to show an alternative version of Jean, the women who clearly embraced their silence and who were happy with their role within society, providing a balanced and two sided view of their world.

One of the most scariest aspects of the novel and again can be found in certain places today, is the power one man or a small group can wield within Government, how social media, TV, Radio, school and colleges can be used for rhetroic and propaganda to make a society believe whatever they want them to believe.

There is so much to Vox that it would take forever to write it all down, but whilst the suppression of women was at the heart of the novel, it was also a damn fine thriller. The pace is unrelenting, my page turning furious, the drama never ending and a couple of superb twists that made VOX unputdownable.

It is definitley one of the best novels I have read so far this year and I urge everyone to borrow from you library or go out and buy as it is just superb.

A terrifying prospect is brought to life by the author in this dystopian novel where women have been silenced. Forced to wear 'counters' that add up their daily word count and if they go past 100 words in one day then they will suffer pain. Women have been forced to give up successful jobs and careers, girls are given sewing lessons at school - this truly is a man's world. And for Dr Jean the only way out is to help the men she despises.

The initial impact of this book is startling! I was gripped by this world that had seen fit to demean half the population all because of the rise of religious beliefs in many States. The way that intelligent women were made to comply, and seemingly have very little support from their husbands' and even sons, in fighting back against their awful treatment. It really showed just how damaging certain messages could become and influence the minds of seemingly level headed men. In her own home she is faced with the viewpoints that women are better off staying at home and 'knowing their place'. Fancy hearing that from your own child - whilst you are doing all your best to raise a daughter who has nightmares and gets awards at school for speaking the fewest number of words in one day..

I did find though that the shock factor of this book did begin to wear a little thin as the story seemed to run out of steam and it moved away from the controlling aspect of those in authority into different areas, but it did a great job of teaching you to be aware of what is going on around you in the world and to be engaged with how views and society is changing! I'm sure a lot of us sleepwalk through life unaware of small changes to laws and thought processes, and that's how easy it is to see those in power start to take control of what you see, what you think and how you can respond.

A thought provoking and fascinating read none the less so can highly recommend it!

My thanks to the publishers for the advanced reading e-copy.

This was powerful, intelligently written and completely terrifying when looked at alongside real life. From the blurb, you may think that it seems a bit far fetched, the sort of dystopia that needs a lot of explanation of how it happened. But actually playing on the "traditional values" that certain types of people love so much, the government shown in Vox manage to easily, realistically bring such a thing to pass.

As you can expect from a book built so much around language, words and communication was such a important part of the book and Dalcher had obviously put so much thought into it. With only 100 words to speak a day, women and girls have to put so much thought into exactly what to say, when to nod or shake their head. It was so interesting how not only did they confine their words so much, it was training them to keep quiet without being obvious.

Jean was a good character. Intelligent and fierce, caring so much about her little girl that she would do anything to get her out of this world that she's found herself in. I loved how much she thought about the past, about how much she and the other women like her could have done to prevent this from happening. The daughter was also a perfect glimpse into what they were teaching the girls at school. The range of characters coming into the novel from just one family, just one woman's viewpoint was really great.

Not one for the faint of heart, Vox is the perfect look into what could become of our world if we keep letting politicians regress us back to the 50s mindset.

I haven’t picked up a proper dystopian novel in years; not since the hunger games and divergent were a thing back when I was in university! They’d started seeming all similar to me and I wasn’t enjoying them anymore, so I took a step back a stopped reading them. When I heard the hype about Vox, I have to admit that I was sceptical; another dystopian? Yes, it may be adult rather than young adult, but my scepticism was still the same plus I’ve also recently read ‘The Handmaid’s tale’ by Margaret Atwood which is also a dystopian novel and I really didn’t enjoy it.

Vox, however, is such a clever and thoughtful book which plays on something that everyone takes for granted – your speech and the freedom to speak. It explored so many different paths including romance, political, intrigue, mystery and obviously the dystopian element, but none of them overpowered the other; the romance was there as a feature, but it wasn’t the main plot in the book for example. Just in case you haven’t heard about Vox, it is set in America in the future where women are only allowed to speak 100 words a day which is monitored by a mandatory wristband every woman must wear. We get to follow Dr Jean McClellan who was a respected neurolinguist (I think that’s what it is) and see how she lives with this speech restriction at home with her 3 children and her husband who works very high up in the government. Something happens, and Jean is drafted back in to help try and sort a problem for the president, but could this be the way to try and fix things for all women?

I loved the home and family aspect; Jean has 3 sons of varying ages and a young daughter, Sonia, who is also limited to 100 words a day and also her husband who I *think* (if I’ve remembered correctly) is the Scientific Advisor to the President, or the step down from such a job (basically very high up in the government). There is a part in the book where she is having a conversation with her older son about the new teachings in school, where they teach about women and their place in society and how they are physically built for staying at home and having children. It really helped show how they started the thinking behind the whole politics very young and how you got extra credit for university by going to these classes, so it became an easy way to get as many people as possible taught about a ‘womans’ place in society’. It was also so heartbreaking to see Sonia, her young daughter not be able to read or write as well as speak despite her being a child. Children are meant to speak and laugh and have fun, yet Sonia and countless other girls can’t for fear of being shocked by their band.

The book is also littered with a lot of scientific facts in relation to speech and language which were all very interesting. The case of Genie was mentioned, which is a real case study, and really sent home the message of how debilitating it can be to have minimal language and communication in early childhood and that it can be practically impossible to try and learn as first language as you get older. It’s frightening when you start thinking about this and then about how little the young female children in this story are and how damaged their language skills will be which obviously, won’t be much of an issue to anyone in political power in this story as they will be expecting the speech limitation to be a permanent fixture. However, if you start to think about the future where the speech restrictions for women are lifted, then you will end up with an entire generation of young women who have minimal or no language skills or the ability to read and write which is just scary and also disgusting. Christina Dalcher herself has a doctorate in theoretical linguistics and you can tell as she has littered this book with so much knowledge and information about linguistics and also some neuroscience and it’s not overcomplicated either.
This is an extremely thought-provoking book and makes you sit back and take stock of things. I started this book thinking that there would be no-way that this would happen. However, some of the stories we hear are from Jean when she was younger before the speech restriction and other rules were in place and she’s at college with her friend Jackie, who is a lot more vocal about the political climate and doing something to change it. Jackie talks about how you need to stand up for what you believe in, but Jean thinks that the political beliefs are just too outrageous that they will never be voted in. She attends marches but takes a back seat when they become more vocal and violent in some cases and their friendship is such an important and amazing dialogue and part of the book as it really made sit back and look at the picture as a whole. People didn’t think that Donald Trump would be voted in and yet he was, and the same with Brexit. People were adamant that it wouldn’t happen and so didn’t go and vote and low and behold it did!
This book isn’t just great for the political and social commentary, the actual plot was intriguing and as mentioned above, multi-layered. We have the romance between Jean and a special someone that has the potential to maybe be more but not without risk. There’s the scientific aspect of Jean and her team trying to find the cure and the mystery of what’s going on behind the scenes. The short chapters mean that this was an easy read despite the hard topic and I was constantly trying to fit in one more chapter to see what was going to happen next.

I feel like I could go on and on about this book and how great it is and how it makes you think, but the real proof is in you picking this up and reading it yourself. This is definitely worth the hype that is surrounding it and I think it’s a modern classic that should definitely be considered as a mandatory read for teenagers, no just in the US but around the world. It has such important political and social messages and whilst the speech restriction may not be anything that has been mentioned, this political learning can be applied to a lot of other social aspects and not just that, it really make you sit back and realise your own situation and how lucky you may be in your given situation compared to others and that if you have a voice, you can use it. I would definitely recommend reading this and I hope it gets actioned for a movie or TV series.