QualityLand

A satirical dystopian duology by German author Marc-Uwe Kling, set in QualityLand, a near-future Germany rebranded and run by algorithms that plan citizens' lives — including shopping for them — before they know what they want. QualityLand (2017) follows machine scrapper Peter Jobless, whose carefully ordered life is upended when TheShop delivers a product he explicitly does not want, forcing a rare confrontation with the system's supposedly infallible algorithms. The sequel, QualityLand 2.0: Kikis Geheimnis (2020), continues the story. The first novel was a German bestseller, has sold more than half a million copies internationally, and is the basis of an in-development HBO series directed by Mike Judge.