My, this was something. Very interesting and challenging premise with lots of meaty, thought-provoking ideas.

I became aware, though, of a bias I didn't know I had... when I read dystopian books like The Hunger Games, I find it easy to suspend disbelief that a world like this could exist because I can mentally make space for "those in power" doing whatever is necessary to stay in power, no matter how horrific. But in Unwind, the basic premise is that everyone agrees with the way things are (except most of those being unwound - the tithes being the exception). As a result, I had a harder time settling into the book and immersing myself in the story because that part of my brain kept yelling "NO WAY!!!" It'll be interesting to read more dystopian fiction and see how other authors handle this.