FKA USA

A Novel

By: Reed King

Narrated by: Dan Bittner, Peter Ganim

Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Reed King’s amazingly audacious audiobook is something of a cross between L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz, Douglas Adams’ A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One.

In Reed King’s wildly imaginative and possibly prescient debut, the US has dissolved in the wake of environmental disasters and the catastrophic policies of its final president.

It is 2085, and Truckee Wallace, a factory worker in Crunchtown 407 (formerly Little Rock, Arkansas, before the secessions), has no grand ambitions besides maybe, possibly, losing his virginity someday.

But when Truckee is thrust unexpectedly into the spotlight, he is tapped by the president for a sensitive political mission: to deliver a talking goat across the continent. The fate of the world depends upon it. The problem is - Truckee’s not sure it’s worth it.

Joined on the road by an android who wants to be human and a former convict lobotomized in Texas, Truckee will navigate an environmentally depleted and lawless continent with devastating - and hilarious - parallels to our own, dodging body pickers and Elvis worshipers and logo girls, body subbers, and VR addicts.

Elvis willing, he may even lose his virginity.

FKA USA is the epic audiobook we’ve all been waiting for about the American end of times, with its unavoidable sense of being on the wrong end of the roller-coaster ride. It is a masterwork of ambition, humor, and satire with the power to make us cry, despair, and laugh out loud all at once. It is a tour de force unlike anything else you will listen to this year.

©2019 Reed King (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Dan Bittner and Peter Ganim shepherd listeners through the apocalyptic world Formerly Known As the USA.... Bittner gets to shout and go wild as Truckee, in addition to voicing a talking goat, an android, and multiple characters from all walks of life. As the voice of reason, Ganim reads footnotes and makes corrections to Truckee's story. While Bittner clearly gets to do the heavy lifting, it is Ganim's deadpan delivery that brings the most laughs to this inventive retelling of The Wizard of Oz." (AudioFile Magazine)

"An epically concocted apocalyptic vision of America in all its faded glory." (Kirkus)

weirdly wonderful

A comedy, dystopian, tragedy, and coming of age all mixed in one. Not for everyone but if you like books that lean towards the weird, then you will enjoy this book. Hilarious and somber at the same time, could see a lot of these things happening to the US in real life.

An Acknowledged, but OK, Wizard of Oz Ripoff

This book doesn't hide what it is - a dystopian future version of Wizard of Oz. You get a brainless scarecrow, a cowardly animal, and a tin man without a heart. That said, it is a decent trip. At times, it is a little hard to follow in audiobook format, but overall it is a decent story.

Incredible narrating and a story I couldn’t stop listening to!

Get this audible!!

This is one of those stories I couldn’t stop listening to and honestly I wish it would have been longer! I was a bit skeptical at first when reading the “back cover”. Like a talking goat?! Really!? But it’s not childish or silly at all. I would describe this as a “Post Apocalyptic satire of our current day situation/future” with all the best parts of a P.A. Novel: a cool interesting world, good characters, the right amount of realism with some fun fantastical mentions: (mole people, carnivorous oysters?!).

I really enjoy post apocalyptic novels but I’m not a huge horror/gore/trauma fan but with these novels there always going to be some, but this book did a great job of having the appropriate amount of “reality” of these situations without going into so much unnecessary, prolonged detail that you feel scarred or queasy or uncomfortable. There’s still plenty of violence for sure, but it’s violence that keeps you on the edge of your seat listening, wondering “wow how are they going to get out of this one?!”. It’s a real “page turner” for sure!

I’m quite picky about narrating and this narrating is a solid 5/5 stars. There were so many different voices and all of them were fantastic—no annoying, stereotypical, or obviously fake accents to be found! What a great voice actor! I also loved how there was a different voice actor for the footnotes which were smoothly incorporated into the story. A truly great touch.

LoTR meet Fallout 4

This story is fun, suspenseful, and covered in satire. The narrators were easy to listen to and I couldn't listen fast enough.

really wanted to push an agenda

It would have been such a better book if it avoided modern politics. I really wanted to like it but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
King does an excellent job painting a plausible distopia that is both fun and dark while developing his characters.
Audio is excellent.

Absolutely Loved it!

Wizard of OZ, meets Mad Max, meets Ready Player One, meets Superbad... this is their offspring. This is now one of my favorite books and fills a void in literature that I feel is sorely lacking. A post-apocalyptic/dystopian setting, w/o zombies, with HUMOR! Wildly imaginative vision of the future that is both very creative and very hilarious. As well as thorough and well thought out (see appendices) . If ur uptight, u won't like this book, but if you have an imagination and a sense of humor, you'll love it! I HIGHLY recommend and very much hope this isn't the last we've heard of Truckee Wallace!!

Listen at 1.25 or 1.50

LOL funny satirical dry commentary on current trends (past only emphasized re: The South) in places. Inconsistent and perhaps overreaching attempts to address race and immigration through imagined future surrogates. Overall, a rollicking romp in the style of some 70’s books, with crazies, as in “A Confederacy of Dunces.“

Awesome narration!!! Very inventive. If you like futuristic sci-fi mixed with dark comedy regarding the human existence!

Awesome narration!!! Very inventive and colorful! It reminds me of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn set in the future, traveling through a broken and polluted techno “river” that once was the United States. If you like futuristic sci-fi, dark comedy regarding the human existence, juvenile horniness, mixed with some very dark premonitions regarding the future of the USA... listen to this!

Imagery Drew Me In

I really enjoyed this novel. It takes a lot of imagery to pull you into a futuristic world and I loved the inclusion of all the timelines throughout; it really makes you think about what's possible in the near future. For someone who spots the plot twists and bad guys pretty easily in books, shows, and movies, I will say that this one kept me on my toes throughout!

FKA Wizard of Oz

Loosind Wizard of Oz references, character allusions, and plot similarities would make this a good book.