Book Review: The Farm, by Matt Moss

This book popped up as a recommendation somewhere online (I can't remember where), and the concept immediately appealed to me.  The blurb mentioned similarities to Lost, Westworld, and "many classic SciFi tales".  The concept sounded simple.  Five men find themselves as slaves on a farm.  They know their name, where they were born, and how old they are.  No memory of how they got there.  No memories of friends.  No memories of family.  But, as the story progresses, they learn that they do have memory of other things.  For example, if they were a scientist, they remembered science facts.

This concept reminded me very much of two things.

First, the TV show Persons Unknown.  A similar concept - a group of people find themselves in a town that they cannot leave.  There is always a barrier which prevents them from leaving.  While their memories are intact, they have no idea how they got there.  Unlike The Farm, there are no people in who are obviously in control - everyone seems to be in the same boat.

Second, the novel Seed, by Michael Edelson.  Fifty people wake up on a compound which they cannot leave.  Again, they have no memory of how they got there.  Great read - you can find my review here.

I never watched Lost, but I can say that some elements of Westworld are definitely present.

The men are forced to work the fields around the farm by two farmhands.  They are told to do as they are told and not to break the rules.  The farm consists of the fields, a barn, where the five of them will sleep, and a white mansion across from the barn, with a gated wall that they can't see behind.  The work ends up being plowing massive fields, in some cases the size of an American Football field, by hand with a hoe, and then eventually planting corn, also by hand.

Eventually, they learn that the farmhands have a boss - the landowner.  As the men continue to work, and learn more about each other, some strange things start to happen.  Also, the men notice that the farmhands start behaving strangely sometimes - mood swings, and other odd behavior.  Eventually, the main character, the slave named Cole, is invited into the mansion to meet the boss - and things get even stranger.

Things continue in this way until we learn what is really going on, which was a complete surprise to me - based on the path to get there.  The revelation is something that I have seen before, but this adds a fresh twist to it.

I wasn't aware of it when I bought this book, but this is apparently the first book of a series.  The Farm was just published in the last half of 2019, so it may be a while for the sequel.  I am interested in where things will be going.

This was a satisfying, quick read - finished it in only two days, since I couldn't put it down.  If you like the works I've mentioned above, you will probably like this one.

As always, I'm interested in hearing from my readers.  If you have read this book, I'd like to hear from you.  Please leave a comment.