Book Review: Simon’s Dream of Tomorrow’s Structure

Reviewed by Warren Maxwell

A triumphant installment of an engrossing series following the enduring quest to discover one’s true self

“She steps toward me, placing a hand on my shoulder. ‘What you can’t do will make you stronger. What you won’t do will only make you weaker. I believe you can do this, Mr. Verner.’”

Book two picks up with Simon and his friends Jess and Ron having relocated to Seattle in an attempt at a fresh start following their explosive finale in Chicago. But after landing a job at a new sushi restaurant auspiciously named after the ancient deity Mwari, hopes of a clean slate begin to fade. 

Unfinished business with the Marcini mob family tracks them to Seattle, along with the demon Popobowa, and the resentful spirit of Mubiru. In the midst of this perilous collision, Simon finds himself trying to understand the meaning behind dreams that depict masses of identical human beings living in a totalitarian super skyscraper known only as “the Structure.” Slowly these disparate elements draw closer and merge into a single question, how can Simon prevent his catastrophic dreams from becoming reality?

“Love? She looks down for a moment. Why would that negative word pop into her mind? Where did that even come from? It’s a word that’s been forbidden recently by the Structure’s Committee, direct orders from the Grand Master Himself.”

Simon’s nighttime excursions into the mind of Annie, a school teacher living in the supposed perfection of the future “Structure,” inverts the series debut’s focus on how history inflects the present in order to shine a light on the unintended repercussions of every action we take. 

Here the influence of classic dystopian fiction can be felt—from Brave New World to Make Room! Make Room!, ideas are mixed and matched in a way that is fresh and enticingly familiar. Age-old values like respect, obedience, accountability, discipline, and structure are warped into the ROADS dogma. The admirable goal of peace becomes a tool wielded by the powerful to subject the weak. A dedication to stop the climate of earth from changing becomes a corrupted belief that ultimately creates wastelands. 

The heady contrast between this imagined, futuristic civilization and Simon’s quotidian life in a shared three bedroom Seattle apartment creates the frisson that propels this story forward. With two narratives unfolding simultaneously, the story is able to leap between threads leaving cliffhangers in its wake. 

Once again, Howe’s talent for catching the language of millennials, of people on the cusp of coming into their own, is delightful. Ron’s newfound obsession with fantasy football turns him into a couch potato who can’t hold eye-contact with his friends whenever a game is on TV. The appearance of Jess’s delinquent father wedges a strange fourth wheel into the tight knit friend group. And Simon himself uncovers an entire world of familial relationships in his passion for sushi. 

For readers entering this world without having read the previous book, there would be quite a learning curve as many characters and essential facts that are established in Simon’s Dream are taken for granted in this second book in the series. But that is more than made up for by the charming quirks and high stakes action sequences that make this a magnetic story in its own right. Friendship, trust, and the fine line separating good intentions from good deeds make Simon’s Dream of Tomorrow’s Structure a universal story that cuts across literary boundaries and establishes a richly imagined fictional universe.

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