Rise of the Machines

"The best science fiction is the kind that still manages to be relevant even after 70 years. Such is the case with Vonnegut's 'Player Piano.' The book takes place after a great war, presumably World War III, which America won by designing high-tech thinking machines. Years later, these thinking machines handle pretty much everything from making products to running the government. This has created a sort of caste system where people are judged from a young age by certain tests. Those who pass become part of the "haves" -- engineers and managers -- while the rest become the "have nots" known as reek and recs. Dr. Paul Proteus is the son of the man who first introduced the thinking machines and over time has become disillusioned with them and the caste system. When he goes across the bridge to the poor side of town he sees how the other half lives and becomes determined to quit his high-paying job and become a simple farmer. But soon Paul gets swept up into a revolution against the machines."
-BJ Fraser