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Anne Mortensen has been writing in one form or another most of her life. In between it all, she held various full-time positions including typesetter, PR executive, cafe owner, photographer, and journalist. In 2015, she committed to her first solo fiction project, experimenting with ideas, forms, points of view, and genre. In 2021, she completed her debut The Truth Effect—science fiction with elements of dystopian, techno thriller, and mystery.
Originally from El Paso, Texas, Anne now lives in London with her husband and gentle tabby, Meli. She’s writing her second novel.
Reviewed by Vincent Dublado for Readers' Favorite
To say that The Truth Effect (Rising World) by Anne Mortensen deserves to be the dystopian novel of the year would not be an overstatement - the premise of this near-future science fiction thriller is as close to happening in the same way the Doomsday Clock is fast ticking toward our extinction. Brace yourself as you picture this: The Truth Laws have taken effect, and it has given the government what it has long been salivating for - the full power to weed out what they deem as fake news from the web and bring those responsible for publishing them to trial. Kelly Blackwell is a journalist who has been charged by the State with libel and has been offered a choice between a State-digital deputy or a fine that she would never be able to afford. Even if she has chosen the former, truth becomes an essential component in setting everyone free. Blackwell will solicit the aid of shady hackers to expose corruption after a piece of classified information sent to her is cut short during its transmission.
I can’t help but be reminded of the Snowden case and Facebook’s recent name rebranding to Meta while reading this book. I don’t know, but I take it as a great sign that The Truth Effect suggests certain connections to our digital present and what it may become in the future. This sci-fi thriller boldly demands to be read by every person who has grown dependent on technology and values his or her privacy. No other novel clearly implies that freedom of expression remains an absolute threat to those in power and that they are intent on exhausting all the means to erase this fundamental right. As a writer, Anne Mortensen has the third eye for this Orwellian nightmare that is beginning to take shape in different parts of the world. The Truth Effect is no doubt a must-read for anyone who has ever used digital technology to disseminate information. It sends the message that it is up to us, the citizens, to challenge the power of governments and to ensure that suppression must not triumph over freedom.
