Disrupting The Power of Fear: A Journey to Challenge The Overlords of Earth by Alden Gray; Discovering The Problems With Flaws: A Quest to Criticize The Author of SF
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Note: This review is also on Reedsy Discovery
I will just say it. I don't think Alden Gray’s Disrupting The Power of Fear is the book for me. It might be because I am not a conspiracy theorist. It might also be because I have read better Science Fiction and Fantasy novels, including two at the exact same time as this one so it pales in comparison to them.
But I found this book to be less of a Science Fiction novel and more a treatise about a conspiracy, and a tedious treatise at that. It is more than likely written for people who follow and believe the more outlandish theories that the world is run by reptilian overlords, that every dead celebrity is secretly alive or were murdered for “knowing too much” (about what no one ever says), Satanic airports and daycares are real, or that children are murdered for their adrenochrome. At least if they aren't in the rabbit hole of conspiracy, the book might be for people who are curiously peering at the edge to see what all of the fuss is about. Unfortunately, it doesn't offer much to anyone else.
In Antarctica, Jin-Soo and Maya Kang discover hidden relics that reveal humanity's history that Earth was invaded by Reptilians called The Anunnaki since ancient times. They were worshipped as gods and their hybrid descendants have manipulated world history by waging war and encouraging avarice, greed, invasion, and conquest. Someday a “Child of Prophecy” will be born that will alert humanity of their captivity and bring enlightenment through knowledge and meditation. Maya gives birth to a daughter named Ashley that displays impressive intuitive abilities and might just be the Child of Prophecy that was forsworn.
The concept despite being frequent could work. A popular topic in and of itself would not be bad as long as the author finds something interesting to do with it. Let's not lie to ourselves: conspiracy theories are topics that are so frequent, practically cliches, that they are screaming for authors to find fresh approaches to them.
They could satirize it like Adrian Deans did with Asparagus Grass or go for the excessive laughs the way B.G. Hilton did with Mysterious Aisles. There can be humor found in a plot that involves reptilian overlords taking over every aspect of our lives.
The author could also write it with sincerity and take the time to ask some interesting questions within the theme. Say what you will about The Da Vinci Code and the theories behind it, but no one can dispute that it got people talking and that Dan Brown wrote the book like he believed every word of it. That's the problem with Disrupting The Power of Fear. It is uncertain whether Alden Gray believes it or not or how the book should be perceived, a warning about things to come or taking digs at the warnings themselves.
The title alone makes it sound like a personal development nonfiction book and the writing almost turns it into one. Gray does not follow “the show don't tell” writing advice. He tells us the Hybrids are evil and manipulative but doesn't give us any examples of what they did in the past or are doing now. He just presents secret meetings between them and real-life political figures but doesn't show us the influence that they hold or the aftermath of their actions. We're just supposed to take for granted that they are evil because uh I guess the conspiracy says so.
It’s probably just assumed that Readers are familiar with the Reptilian Conspiracy Theory so they take for granted that they are evil because they're there.
Without any sense of the Hybrid’s actions or goals, we aren't made aware of how awful they are or why they must be stopped. The conflict is neutered and the characters fall flat as a result.
Flat characterization is a huge detriment in this book. The Hybrids and Anunnaki aren't the only ones who suffer from it. Gray throws real life people into the plot like Queen Elizabeth II, Barack Obama, and Mark Zuckerberg, but not for any meaningful purpose other than to give them cameos and say, “You see them huh? Aren't I cleverly mixing them with the conspiracy? They are bad Earthlings because they are with the conspiracy!”
If you are going to put real people into your conspiracy either go all in and do something elaborate with them or don't do it at all. They are world leaders, and business CEO’s. There should be some stakes raised because of their associations with world conquering aliens.
With a couple of exceptions, the real people are just here and gone at a few meetings without any real effect on the overall book. Gray could have just as easily created fictionalized versions or composites of the real people and it would have had the same effect. I would even argue a better effect because he could pursue their story arcs to the fullest potential without being tied to known information about them.
Ashley is also a prime example of flat characterization. If we can't understand why the Anunnaki and Hybrids are so bad, we definitely don't have much hope in rooting for Ashley to stop them. I am reading Disrupting The Power of Fear at the same time as The Emissary by Peter Krausche and Speechless in Achten Tan by Debbie Iancu-Haddad, the former even has a Chosen One narrative as well. But with those books, Readers are given rich vibrant characters. They have realistic interactions in fantastic environments where they get to know the people around them. They have goals and strive to pursue them. They make mistakes and learn from them. They display insecurities, frailties, arrogance, low self-esteem, confidence, courage, and perseverance. We see them in their highs but most importantly we see them in their lows and how they have to adapt, adjust, survive, and live in these strange worlds. They change their minds and spirits, so their journeys are complete as they transform their worlds but also more importantly themselves.
Ashley is not like those characters. She is hidden and educated in secret to become the Child in Prophecy but she isn't really affected by anything around her. She shows very few flaws or moments where she needs to develop her character. She is one of those precocious types who show wisdom beyond her years, the kind of wisdom that should come across as profound but instead seems more pretentious and ingratiating. She has some intuitive and healing abilities but it's nothing spectacular. In fact, for a Future Leader of the World, she's kind of dull, a mere sketch of what that character would be like than an actual character herself. Similar to how Gray wrote the Hybrids, we aren't told why Ashley is the Chosen One or deserves to be just that she is. If that's okay for the Prophets then by all that is sacred, it should be for us. She almost becomes a Mary Sue of a character rather than an actual person.
There are glimpses of good characterization. Senator Mira Grant is an idealistic politician who leads the Resistance even at the expense of her own life. Jin-Soo still suffers from the trauma of living under government oppression as a child and is concerned whether his memories and experience affect his upbringing of Ashley. There is even an interesting story arc with one of the real people that encounters the Hybrids. They are caught between their legitimate desire to help people and the realization that they were manipulated by forces beyond their control. Unfortunately glimpses are all that we get.
It seems like Gray was not interested in writing a novel as much as he was interested in writing about these conspiracy theories. It seems more like a Nonfiction book with plot and dialogue rather than an attempt at writing a Science Fiction novel. It could be that Gray sincerely believes in what he wrote and wanted to build a story around it but there could be another possibility.
The book repeats itself constantly about the secret conspiracy, the evil Anunnaki, and the good Ashley. The adjectives and situation of the characters discovering something new, sharing it with others, and this information affecting Ashley's training is repeated to the point where it goes from tedious to self-parody and it does make one wonder if Gray was being serious or ironic.
It could be his standard good vs. evil dichotomy is not meant to be sincere but an intentional shilling meant to make us question the concepts and if we are meant to believe what the narration tells us about these events. In writing this book as a conspiracy theory, could he be trolling his intended Readers the theorists themselves? If so, it's not a very good troll. It runs on far too long, meanders, and ends too abruptly with several remaining chapters left to go. It might be real or it might be a joke, but it definitely needs to be a better book.
If you want to satirize conspiracies go ahead but again go all in and do so. Make the concept as far fetched and ridiculous as it sounds. Put in some laughs and parody it for all of its worth. It's a weird concept and weird people spread it. Have fun with it.
If you believe in this stuff and are serious, then make it challenging and thought provoking. Don't be timid and just tell us what is happening, show us. Make us fear this secret organization and hope that there are heroes to fight it. Make the protagonists worth rooting for. Make us aware of the high stakes and what needs to be done.
Gray’s writing style is detached, not trying for satire or sincerity. It's unclear whether he believes it or not and is instead keeping the world in the book at arm’s length instead of wanting us to be invested either way. Worst of all, this approach makes Disrupting the Power of Fear completely forgettable. Instead of Disrupting the Power of Fear, maybe Gray should have been Developing the Process of Good Writing.
