It's been 20 years since I read JG Ballard's "Millenium People" but I find myself thinking about it a lot these days. Upon its release it seemed vaguely out of step with the times - while everyone was concerned with Islamic terrorism and the "clash of civilizations", Ballard was predicting the re-emergence of a radical and violent strain of politics which would come from the upper middle classes, most likely out of sheer boredom. It was a great read and, two decades later, it seems incredibly prescient. He followed it up with the similarly-themed, and also excellent, "Kingdom Come" then, sadly, went and died on us. I've been meaning to re-read both for a while but I never seem to get around to it. If anyone's read either recently I'd be interested to hear if they stand up as well as I remember.

#bookstr