One World follows the story of a species called the Wuhns who evolve and develop over time, to when they have harnessed the planet to developing mental powers to the time when they must seek new planets to live in. Through that time, a group called Collective decided that the best way to live would be to bring everyone together as one group. By placing people in positions of power and controlling the way the species think, they are able to socially engineer their preferred outcome, through the use of Dream Machines that alter a person’s beliefs, after which they are then joined into the Collective, able to think and feel with the group. Against them is a small group called the Entity, who believe in individuality who strive to stop them.

I’m honestly not sure what to make of this work. The plot is more of a description of the evolution of the species, than an actually story. There is no real conflict between the two groups and the book doesn’t really endorse either side’s viewpoint or even invite the reader to consider what the differences are. There are a few characters within the book, but they are more people that things happen to, instead of active participants in the story. The work is well written and descriptive and the dream sequences well planned in what they are trying to show the people having them go through.

The other jarring note is that the dream sequences apparently take place on Earth, when the Wuhns taken a role in a human’s body for its life and feel everything that the person lives. But that’s it, there’s no reason for it, other than perhaps to tell the reader that some lives are good and some are not. The moral seeming to be that if you can live a long and fruitful life and live a legacy for others in the dream state, it makes them a better person. As an analogy between the Wuhns and humans, it’s pretty obvious what is being said, but the questions that could be asked about collectivism vs free will seemed to be glossed over.

With no real plot or characters, and being more of a suggestion of future life, this is one to read if you have a spare half an hour for a descriptive look into the future.