Noise Floor by Camilo Gomez; Echoes by Matthias Meinhardt

 

Noise Floor by Camilo Gomez 

This review is also on Reedsy Discovery. 

Camilo Gomez’s anthology Noise Floor explores human curiosity, learning, innovation, progress, and knowledge in all of its many forms. 

Sometimes the results are for the betterment of the individual and society and sometimes the stories end on a sour, pessimistic, or bittersweet note. But the situations often involve a protagonist discovering a problem, a discrepancy in the usual flow, or just a simple idle question of what if something happens, why it happens, and how it could be changed. In a way the stories are the scientific method told in narrative form.

Full disclosure: Gomez's introduction reveals that the book was partially inspired by and with conversational assistance from an AI program. Yes, there are some serious real concerns about AI’s involvement in the arts. It's a controversial issue and it is disconcerting towards human writers, artists, musicians, and other creators over where it will lead.

 These are not unreasonable concerns and I myself share them, especially the fear that one day I may not be able to tell the difference between a human and an AI author. I also share them even though I confess that I have used AI when it comes to writing unpublished fanfiction back stories and additional scenarios. 

However, I will say that in this particular situation with this particular anthology and this particular theme, it kind of works. This is an anthology about innovation, invention, scientific curiosity, and fears and anxieties about technology and progress. It makes sense to use it to comment on, criticize, and at times satirize the tools that simultaneously move us forward but also hold us back.

The best stories are:

“Thermopylae Time”

Nathan Carey, a dying chronobiologist, is interested in how time moves differently for those who are at the point of death. 

It's an interesting theory and Nathan asks some provocative questions. How can someone with a brain tumor feel like they have had an entire afternoon of thought and observations in only eleven minutes? Does time work differently when faced with one's own mortality? Is it different if the death is sudden (like in an accident or in wartime) or long-term (like after an illness)? 

Nathan searches through case studies, historical accounts, and his own memory and observations to come up with his conclusions. The experiences themselves are very revealing. 

A composer uses this expanded time to complete her magnum opus. King Leonidas foresaw his own death with his 300 man Spartan Army but still managed to put up a resolute force against Xerxes’ Persian Army. 

Despite or because of their physical decline, they transcended their thoughts, emotions, and mindsets into the work that outlived them. Nathan is faced with that situation as well. 

What will outlive him? What will his final moments be like? What will his legacy be? How will he face that uncertain time when he thinks in days,the clock on the wall shows only minutes, and his body stops for good? These are questions that haunt him as he reaches the end.

“Noise Floor”

The Narrator studies the behavior, thoughts, and emotions of a test subject to determine and evaluate his progress and potential life trajectory.

This story is dense in scientific terminology and analysis. It can be discombobulating for many readers, especially those who don't have a scientific background. However, what makes this narration work is that it is intentionally technical and mechanical.

The subheads such as “Threat Assessment,” “Approach Vector Selection” give the appearance that we are reading a peer reviewed article from an academic scientific journal. It gives the impression that the Narrator is clinical and almost robotic in studying their subject. 

Also we don't learn either the Narrator or the Subject’s names (or even whether the Narrator is human or AI). This shows the detachment between researcher and subject. During most of the studies, the Subject could be a cell of clustered bacteria for all that their observer cares about.

However, there are times when emotions and human frailty are called into question. The subject acts in unpredictable ways. The researcher notices miscalculations in their analysis. They even start to express concern, confusion, and anxiety over his welfare. It seems that the one thing that the researcher could not account for was the human factor.

“In This One”

Erik, an actuary, discusses numbers and mathematical equations with his curious daughter, Sophie. She reminds him of his late mother, a math teacher.

This short story demonstrates that sometimes a child's best teacher can be found within their own family. Sophie asks her father plenty of questions about the thickness of pennies, breaths in a year, steps to the moon, or seconds she has been alive. Erik activates her curiosity by encouraging her to figure these problems out for herself. 

Numbers become a shared language between the three generations. In his job, Erik has to itemize how much time one has left. A number which is a literal prediction of life and death is later reinterpreted as a game and communication source between father and daughter.

The presence of numbers also becomes a calming source in Erik’s life. After Sophie was born and had trouble breathing, Erik counted the seconds between the beeps on the heart monitor and her breathing.This moment let him hold onto something tangible and connected him to Sophie in infancy.

The numerical connection between Erik, Sophie, and Erik’s mother is manifested through imprinting and pattern recognition. Erik’s mother used her educational experience and mathematical studies to instill that numerical learning style in her son. He used his interest in quantifying risk and social situations into life assessments so Sophie could create an interest in problem solving and using math in everyday applications. 

These three generations show how that passage of knowledge can change from academic book learning, to theoretical concepts, to practical applications, to everyday use. 

“Proof of Work”

The Narrator tries to weigh their life in numbers while trying to find a way out of their pressing financial situation.

Like Erik and Sophie, The Narrator is obsessed with numbers. But where numbers were previously seen as a means of connection, shared language, and an important legacy passed from parent to child, in this story they have darker connotations of reduced status and systemic dehumanization. 

The Narrator often thinks in terms of half-lives. The American Dream has a half-life which has met the sixty-hour mark. The dollar has a half-life as money is deposited, transferred, saved, and spent. The Narrator’s meds are half-used as they take them to cope with pain and anxiety.

The constant references to halves contain a feeling of ambivalence. There isn’t enough to feel completely negative about, but there isn’t enough to be hopeful about either. The halves minimize the Narrator into someone who can’t aspire for more because he is always waiting for the bottom to drop out. One can’t plan for the future if they can’t see or imagine anything differently. 

The Narrator also uses the word “nonce,” often. A nonce is a number used once, has no value, and no identity. The Narrator sees the nonce everywhere but particularly in terms of money and finance. It’s highly significant that this story keeps going back to money and the impact that Bitcoins have on the financial sector.

Finance is one of the factors that determine status: how hard a person works, how they present themselves, how they face cost of living pressures, and how they can plan and determine their future. In the Narrator’s life, finance is another number that challenges their sense of self and dehumanizes not only them but all of society. They are simply reduced to a number, a nonce.

“All The Time There Was”

Curtis, a musician, and his former band mates are cursed after they play a strange musical composition.

This story recognizes the mathematical process that can be found in music by creating patterns, establishing a tonal rhythm, measuring a beat, and keeping time. In fact Curtis’ contribution as a bassist is to “keep good time and not get in the way.” He knows that even though he isn’t as flashy or innovative as a performer, he is an important member for being the steady rhythm for the others to stand out. 

The conflict begins when Eric, the bass clarinetist, plays a section that is jagged, angular, out of place, and filled with deep emotion and unpredictability. The other musicians follow suit and play in a different manner than they are used to. The composition puts them into darker head spaces to keep up.

Curtis becomes a more creative player. He is able to hold down a root note that makes him stand out instead of fade into the background. He also experiences slower time feeling 45 minutes to an hour have gone by while the composition lasts only twelve minutes. This is similar to Nathan’s studies in “Thermopylae Time” with some slight differences.

 While Nathan looked into the time expansion at the point of death, Curtis looked into it during a time of creation and birth. Instead of an awareness of the mind and body coming to a close, the band is awakened to a deeper energy and awareness. 

A change occurs within the musicians in the decades afterwards. It veers the story into horror as each member suffers a traumatic fate. They engaged in musical careers before dying. It doesn’t say whether they were affected by the music though Curtis believes it to be so.

It’s worth noting that while a couple died at young ages, some of them lived to be older and had medical issues beforehand. In some cases correlation may not necessarily equal causation, but there could be something else at play.

Perhaps the price of reaching such creative heights where the music or art envelops you so much is that you will forever live outside of real time. Once you have seen boundless creative energy sources, it is impossible to return to the real world and known society. The band’s souls are captured within that composition.

It also explains why so many musicians and artists lived troubled lives and died young. They access an inner world that cannot exist through natural means. It has to be experienced fully through exploration and inspiration. The natural world seems slow and mundane to a creative brain that can no longer access or process it. 

“The Marginalia of Brother Lukas”

In the Middle Ages, Brother Lukas, is ordered to remove some volumes from his collection. He weighs which books can be sacrificed. 

This story is the best in the anthology even if it contains the loosest connection to the overall main theme. Unlike the others which put a scientific or mathematical concept at the forefront, this book celebrates the history of the act of passing knowledge itself.

Like other characters in this anthology, Brother Lukas decides to go through this tough book weeding scientifically and analytically. He researches each volume in terms of frequent use, number of copies, how long monks spent to work on it, and other factors to determine the book’s value and necessity to the collection. 

While he loves each volume, he knows that some have to leave the safety and comfort of the library and be cast aside. Each must be evaluated for their contribution to the library as a whole, the monks reading it, and eventually the community in which that information will be shared. 

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to separate the whole from the individual parts. Like many librarians, Brother Lukas loves his library as a complete collection. He gives it his own personal style and system. He gives the shelves names like Silence, Hunger, Breath, and Contrition offering some hints about the book’s contents and their usage.

 He knows which books are favorites among the monks and which have never been opened or read. If someone requires a specific source of information, he knows which shelf that it sits on, what the book’s main topics and subjects are, and what page and line number the information is on. 

Brother Lukas treats each volume like a beloved child to be cared for, protected, leant out into the world, and returned safe and sound where it belongs. That’s why this task is so difficult for him. He appreciates the library as a whole and treats breaking it up like breaking up a family. He understands not only the weight of the volume that contains the information but the work that went into creating them. 

He also understands the labor that it took to create them. This is back when monks transcribed such works by hand and created beautiful illuminated pages. There were true works of art and some spent years even decades working on them. There also were very few copies so if Brother Lukas selects one to be removed, it doesn’t get rid of just the physical copy of the book but the information that it provides. Whatever those pages tell will be gone forever and never remembered because there wasn’t enough shelf space for them.

While other stories in this anthology touch on the process and results of what can be learned, this story honors the vessels in which that knowledge is contained. It demonstrates how important it is to hold onto it, when to decide to bring that knowledge out into the open, and what can be lost when that knowledge is forever silenced. 

Echoes by Matthias Meinhardt 

This review is also available on Reedsy Discovery.

Echoes is a powerful anthology that lives up to the title. It details the conflicts that echo throughout history between the individual and the society in which they live.

 The settings are often fractured and the characters are given close views of the cracks and fissure. The main characters are often faced with moral, ethical, or legal challenges that define the world in which they live and their own placement within it.

“The Law Ur, 2080 BCE”

Akkadu, a potter, and other people are affected by the laws and rampant bureaucracy that surrounds them.

Akkadu becomes an eyewitness to various trials. A woman is found guilty of adultery and sentenced to death. He is ordered to pay a fine for knocking over a priest's offering table. To settle a dispute, two men are ordered to be servants to each other.

These situations recognize the order and system which exists in Ur. It's a system that creates rules, laws, and standards and punishments when those standards are violated. Like the ziggurats that surround the city, the laws are the structure of their civilization. However, it's a very flawed structure.

As many know, laws can be standard (Don't steal. Don't murder etc ), but they are subjected to interpretation by those who wield them. The interpretations often are skewed in favor of the interpreter and are not as fair or as equal as they should be.

The woman is charged in a male dominated society and is subjected to a harsher penalty than the man that she had the affair with. Even when her husband wants to forgive her, the judges are adamant. 

Akkadu is also marginalized because of his economic status. A priest has more value than a potter so he has to pay more money than expected. The two men are given an arbitrary sentence that is decided on paper instead of the judge treating it as a different unique case that requires a different answer. 

The laws favor the wealthy, male, and entitled. Everyone else is forced to accept it as part of the community’s social contract. As long as they are part of the community, they have to resign to the laws. 

Akkadu fears the price of rejection would be isolation. He has chosen the community over the individual. 

“The Empire Rome, 130 AD”

During the Roman Empire, a prideful senator holds onto the delusion that the Empire will last as he is challenged by Belial, a mysterious man who knows about empires falling.

The two men differ in their views of history and the longevity of a power structure. The senator is in an elevated position in a society that considers itself the corner of the so-called civilized world. He sees the infrastructure, the military regiments, and the conquests of various countries. 

He is convinced that the Empire is too big to fail. He is guilty of hubris, pride in his city. His pride blinds him to the approaching enemies surrounding him. The Senator encapsulates the arrogance surrounding a society that believed that it was infallible and impenetrable.

Belial offers an alternative viewpoint. There are implications that he is immortal, or has been reincarnated. At the very least, he is very old and learned. He knows that other empires rose and fell like the Assyrians and the Greeks. 

Like Rome, they believed that they were indestructible. Like Rome will be, they eventually ended by natural disasters, conquering armies, or were defeated from within. 

The Senator sees eternity but Belial sees an inevitable end. The Senator shows that Roman arrogance was its own undoing. They believed that its enormous size, tight structure, vast citizenship and regimented military would protect it. 

They ignored the gathering armies at the door, the dissatisfaction from the people especially those far from the central power seat, the economic disparity, the increase in corruption, decline in values, and the changing standards until it was too late. Like those before and since, Rome fell. 

It's very easy to read this short story and compare it to subsequent governments, empires, and countries trapped by their own egocentric narrative. It's a warning that the moment that the leaders believe that their society could last forever is often the moment that collapse begins.

A society that is too large and too arrogant to care about the people within it should not be surprised when people seek to challenge, change, or destroy it.

“The Printer Lubeck,1543”

Hans Keller, a printer, and his customers welcome the change that the Protestant Reformation brings, unaware of the huge consequences that will befall them.

Instead of characters that respect the status quo like in “The Law” and “The Emperor,” the next two stories feature characters that rebelled and changed things, but still found their upended world worked against them.

This story is set after Martin Luther nails his anti-Catholic thesis that led to the creation of the Protestant religion. Hans and the others see a new way of thinking that dismantles or changes the infallibility of priests, the offering of indulgences, the requirement of confessions, and other concerns that many had with Catholicism. 

They see a way of thinking that concentrates more on a personal relationship with the spirit than requiring an intermediary. They seek a religious path that encourages individual experiences rather than organized ritual.

For people like Hans’ friends, Katharina and Samuel, individual experiences are important. Katharina wants the Protestant Reformation to focus on women's roles in the church instead of being viewed as bearers of sin.

Samuel, a Jewish man, believes that his people will no longer be seen as an enemy and will gain acceptance in a world free of priests. They feel that they are finally given voices and representation.

Unfortunately, they find a system that is as corrupt and authoritarian as the one they left behind. Katharina finds that she is still suppressed in a male dominated society. Samuel finds that Protestant fanaticism has led many to attack him and his synagogue. 

The system that they thought would be different is now proven to be more of the same with slightly different means of prayer as a way to distinguish the two. They got rid of one authoritarian church for another.

Hans also has to bear responsibility in his role in spreading Protestant propaganda. He was commissioned to print pamphlets decrying Jews and women, words that he knew weren't true but published them anyway. 

His hands created the copies that spread hatred, suspicion, and individual action that led to violence, witch trials, pogroms, and death. 

“The Executioner Paris 1793”

Etienne, an executioner, is challenged by Louise, an outspoken prisoner, about his loyalties and allegiances during the Reign of Terror.

This story takes an opposite approach to “The Printer.” Instead of surrendering one system for another that brings a more rigid and structured order, this story features characters surrendering one system for another that creates more chaos.

Etienne and Louise represent different perspectives of France after the Revolution. Both were probably rebels against the monarchy or at least recognized the flaws in a system that favors the wealthy elite over the people and promoted the divine right of kings. They recognized the flaws in the system and hoped to change it through ideals, revolution, and actions.

They differ in where the Revolution has gone. Louise recognizes the evil that is inherent when the revolutionaries ignores their former values in the name of escalating violence.

 She sees the tyranny that comes when mob rule stands in the way of justice. Rampant emotion rules instead of reason. When those who were once oppressed become the oppressors. 

Louise wasn't afraid to fight for her values before and isn't afraid to fight now. She acts as Etienne’s conscience by questioning his actions and wondering if he is serving a darker master than the one who left. 

Etienne is steeped in the blood of Revolution and now in the blood of Reign of Terror. He tries to justify it the way others do when faced with an authoritarian system that they helped create. “(He) is just following orders.” “(He) isn't the one making the rules.” “They will come after (him) if (he) refuses.” 

Most importantly, he refuses to see the flaws in the system because he is on the same side. He can't recognize the evil outside because he doesn't want to recognize the evil that exists within himself.

Etienne shows what happens when a political following takes the place of morals, ethics, self-respect, and individual responsibility. The State becomes Etienne's reason for being and even if he recognizes the cracks, he won't acknowledge them. 

Acknowledging that the system is wrong would make him admit that he was wrong in supporting how far it has gone. Etienne would rather behead hundreds and take his own life instead of acknowledging that he willingly let tyrants through the door and continues to hold it open for them.

“The Movie Star Berlin 1926”

Clara Bode, an American actress accepts a role from German director Felix Keller during the Weimar Republic as hints of Fascism cloud the horizon.

The previous four stories show how society affects the individual by forcing conformity or by rebelling but finding tyranny in the remaining ashes. This and the next story show how individuals are shaped by the society around them. They weren't a part of making, upholding, reporting, or blindly following the system. They just survive within it. 

This story is more subtle in depicting the Weimar Republic and Hollywood through Clara’s eyes. She recognizes the illusion in filmmaking. She knows that in American cinema, she is mostly admired for her looks. In the era of silent films, she doesn't have to say anything.

 She just has to look good and represent the free spirited bubbly flapper. She represents the shallow excess of the Jazz Age of living fast, opulent, and wild without weighing the consequences.

In Germany, she sees directors and filmmakers treat cinema like an art form. Felix encourages her to use her face and expressions to act and uses lighting, set design, writing, and other components to create a new artistic medium. 

Unlike the US which treats film like a business and uses the face to bring more filmgoers, Germany treats cinema as a form of expression and uses the parts to tell a visual story.

The turn that German history takes is not outright revealed but there are hints of Nazism in reference to violent groups, disgust with the ineffective Republic, and anger at the economic downturn. Some have even said that the darkness found in German Expressionism foreshadowed the rise in Nazism.

These films depicted human psychology, rage at the System, and acceptance of the existence of evil and insanity. This is what Felix directs and Clara portrays but it is also what they will live in less than ten years.

“The Fixer Athens 1961”

Eleni plays multiple sides as an agent, informant, and courier during the Cold War leaving allies and enemies in constant states of confusion.

Like Clara before her, Eleni is affected by her society. She doesn't need a pretty face or acting talent to survive the system, she just needs to survive.

Eleni lives in Greece which is a center for Cold War intrigue. It is right where the East and West collided so there were many people who represent one side, both, or neither.

 Agents can pass messages then return to sympathetic countries for shelter. This is a world of strict “if you're not with us, you're against us” mentality. They separate the world into good guys and bad guys so someone like Eleni is a threat to that shallow outlook.

Eleni stands on the outside of both governments. She does not support the Soviet Union nor the United States’ allies and instead uses them both for financial gain and to stay alive. She has no loyalties. Her only allegiance is to herself and this single mindedness threatens loyal agents on either side.

It's no coincidence that this is the last story in the anthology. We have seen people questioning, fighting against, defending, and living in various systems.

 Eleni is someone who is outside of those societies. Her country begins and ends with her body and mind. She has her own code and is answerable only to herself. She is the individual with no society of her own.

The Quest for Freedom (The Conquest Trilogy Book 1) by Matthew Devitt; Action Oriented Witty Slave Rebellion Fantasy Hints Darker Things to Come

 The Quest for Freedom (The Conquest Trilogy Book 1) by Matthew Devitt; Action Oriented Witty Slave Rebellion Fantasy Hints Darker Things to Come

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: On the surface, Matthew Devitt’s The Quest for Freedom, the first book in The Conquest Trilogy can be taken at face value. A human slave getting tired of mistreatment leads a rebellion against his oppressors. They alert others and armies grow larger and rebellion spreads. One faction of slave owners is toppled leading to victories to come and freedom is on the horizon.

It's a familiar trope and it works well here but there are hints that this is a much more subversive take with more nuanced themes and darker motives than are originally believed.

The plot is set in Affer, a rigid world of species divisions with angels, elves, demons, damned, hybrids, and humans. Once the dominant species, humans have been overpowered by the others. Humans were wiped out and the survivors were forced into slavery. 473 years later, Fletcher Rush decided that he had enough of this mistreatment so he, his best friend Ji, and some new acquaintances band together to rebel against their otherworldly masters. Unfortunately, the other races also have plans of their own.

This series has some interesting touches in world building particularly with the hierarchy among the species. It goes angels, demons, damned, hybrid, elves and humans. It's the kind of structure in which various characters are fighting to retain their status or move upwards. 

Angels behave with indifference and disdain among the lesser races. Demons dominate the lesser species, particularly the humans which they delight in torturing and enslaving. They also probably wouldn't mind taking the highest spot ahead of the angels. The elves are right above humans which does not make them companions with the exception of a few characters willing to go along with the human rebellion.

This structure reminds me of a quote from the book, Little Little by M.E. Kerr. “The fellow on top often does not pick on the one on the ground. They look down at the one on the rung right under them. The one on the lowest rung looks down at the one on the ground.” 

This is at play when we see species look down on others right below them instead of realizing that the whole system is corrupt. It also emphasizes the uphill battle that the humans have to not only rebel against their immediate conquerors but the ones above them to the angels. It's like the smallest doll in a matryoshka/nesting doll set trying to take out the other dolls to become the largest.

Despite being about slave rebellion and containing the dismantling of a series of various higher castes, there is a detached tone to the novel that tries to find humor, mostly dark humor, in this situation. Dare I say it, at times it comes across as light hearted or rather satirical particularly with its lead protagonists, Fletcher and Ji.

Fletcher and Ji act more like a comedy team than rebellion leaders. They are constantly bickering back and forth by mocking each other's actions or doing meta commentary on the plot development. (Ji: I guess you'll just have to wait and witness my unrivaled fighting process for yourself. Fletcher: Damn, I'm sure our enemies are already shaking in fear with those sword skills.)

The humor with the characters' dialogue is reminiscent of satire found in works like M*A*S*H. They are using humor as a means to deflect from the dark situation that they are in. It's a way of retaining their friendship and humanity in the face of what will be an ongoing war with plenty of violence and death.

However, there might be another reason. It may not be just satire within the characters' current incarceration, it may take a more subversive tone that implies there are darker intentions at play.

I wouldn't be surprised if the tone changes in future volumes. The lighter a series begins, the darker it ends.

Fletcher gives some stirring speeches about fighting for freedom which are compelling but also potentially fanatic. There are moments where Fletcher's plans put several people in danger and he is called out about this. Ji and other allies question methods and sometimes the results make the questions completely justified. However these conflicts are hand waved or remain unresolved for now.

Now it could just be Fletcher is a clueless rookie who doesn't know what he's doing but his actions could lead to nefarious motivations. He may have ulterior motives that are less concerned with freeing human slaves and more interested in moving humans back to the top. He might not want to dismantle the hierarchy but reshuffle it. 

Most of this is speculation so it might not pan out, but it is based on my experience reading similar books and some of Fletcher’s questionable tactics. So for now it's more fact than theory. Let's just say that it wouldn't surprise me if the series takes a darker, more sinister turn. We might see the makings of a hero but we may also see him live long enough to become the villain.

Magnificat (The Galactic Milieu Series Book 4) by Julian May; Galactic Milieu Series Ends With Emotional Catharsis, Mental Impact, and Provocative Questions

 

Magnificat (The Galactic Milieu Series Book 4) by Julian May; Galactic Milieu Series Ends With Emotional Catharsis, Mental Impact, and Provocative Questions

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Stop! Before you do anything else, I request that you read my reviews for Jack The Bodiless and Diamond Mask, the previous books in Julian May’s Galactic Milieu Series to fully understand this review. I will try my best to keep spoilers to a minimum but I can't make any promises so from this point out this review may contain MAJOR HEAVY DUTY SPOILERS!!! Read at your own discretion.

Ready? Good. On we go.

All good things must come to an end and Julian May chose a great way to end her Galactic Milieu Series with Magnificat. She gave it the right blend of emotional catharsis, mental and psychological impact, and still managed to ask and answer some thought provoking questions of the characters and themes involved.

The previous volume, Diamond Mask, ended with a final wham line by revealing a potential true identity of Fury, the violent manipulative alter ego that has been haunting the powerful metapsychic Remillard Family for decades since the death of patriarch Victor. Magnificat builds on that claim by narrowing the identity down to two family members both of whom might not be aware that Fury dwells inside their minds and refuses to leave. Meanwhile Fury’s protegee Hydra, once five cousins sharing a hive mind, is whittled down to one remaining member who is losing their sanity and planning a more personal approach towards revenge.

The undercurrents of rebellion against the Galactic Milieu have finally exploded and they have found their new figurehead in Marc Remillard. Marc is not only the Rebel leader, he is invested in his Mental Man project of creating babies injected with heightened amounts of the Remillard psychic DNA so he can communicate through them. Be the Fury to their Hydra if you will. Marc’s project and rebellious involvement pits him against his brother, Jon “Jack the Bodiless” Remillard and Jon’s wife, Dorothea “Diamond Mask” McDonald-Remillard, both of whom are determined to stop him and create Unity even if they have to use their entire minds, souls, and bodies to do it.

May’s gift for deep characterization and themes can be found in this volume as well as the others. Jack The Bodiless was mostly about Jack and his unique birth and overwhelming talent and his relationship with his dysfunctional family particularly his parents, Paul and Theresa Kendell-Remillard. Diamond Mask looks at Dorothea’s youth and transition from outsider to profound intergalactic leader as well as Hydra evolving from one mind into five distinct individuals.

 This final volume focuses specifically on two characters: Rogatien “Rogi” Remillard, the dry deadpan narrator hiding his own emotional pain and conflict behind a veneer of detachment and observation and Marc, who straddles the lines between genius and insanity, empathy and coldness, understanding and fear, rebellion against this higher threat and forcing his own brand of conformity. Through their eyes, we see a changing world erupting from the violence and tyranny within.

Rogi has been on the sidelines through most of the series, a part of the family but observing them at an emotional distance of wit and sarcasm. (When his great-niece, Anne reveals Fury’s identity, Rogi is not relieved about the resolution to a mystery that has been plaguing the family for over twenty years. Instead, he grumbles that she ruined what would otherwise have been a perfect day of Jack and Dorothea's engagement party.) However he is where the story begins and ends.

In the future, he is recruited to write the memoirs of the Galactic Milieu and the Remillard Family by an enigmatic character called The Family Ghost and The Atoning Unifex, an ageless god-like being who seems to know more than they let on and are clearly manipulating the situation for their own purposes. Rogi’s memoirs are a means to separate the truth from the lies and to show the reality of Milieu seen through the eyes of a family that lived through it. Rogi gives his family the chance to tell their own story.

Rogi is largely an observer but does take an active position in previous volumes. His most prominent action previously was to hide a very pregnant Teresa Kendall-Remillard in the Canadian wilderness and communicate telepathically with Jack while he was still in his mother's womb. This moment shows him as someone who puts his family before his own needs every time, a motivation that propels him in this volume as well.

Rogi is a contradictory character. He is a member of the Rebellion but is still close to the family members like Jack and Dorothea who support Unity. He is unmarried and sterile having no immediate family of his own but has a lost love and considers himself a father figure to the younger generations. He is as powerful as some of the stronger members but keeps his psychic levels firmly in check, assuming the form of a befuddled eccentric bookseller. He considers himself a coward but is proven to have the strongest moral character and highest amount of integrity in the entire cast of characters.

Rogi's most powerful moments occur when he is face to face with Fury. His anguish between destroying a monster responsible for the deaths of many and a beloved family member who became a surrogate child to him is deeply felt. He realizes that he is the only one who can kill the monster even if that means killing the vessel that he has grown to love.

Another character who gets a strong focus is Marc. His evolution from a devoted older brother to primary antagonist is one of the strongest character arcs as we see a man of immense talent and genius, unhappiness and anxiety about the world that he has been given, and an arrogant vision and ego to recreate it.

Much of Marc’s characterization comes from the themes of unity vs. rebellion. Many of the characters support Unity, combining their minds as one with the rest of the intergalactic species. The rebels want to maintain Earth's standing as an independent world. 

Marc and Rogi have some interesting twists to their characters, particularly their opinions towards Unity. Most Science Fiction readers are hard wired to be on the side of the Rebellion. Think Star Wars. Dune. 1984. Brave New World. Handmaid's Tale. Fahrenheit 451. Parable of the Sower. The Hunger Games. So on and so forth. It seems as though May is no different. 

After all her narrator character and one would assume Author Avatar/Creator Favorite character is Rogi, dedicated rebel. However he is not as cut and dry as one would think. Rogi is proud to be a rebel so much that when the mental call for Unity is thought around the globe, he mentally shuts down and refuses to join no matter how much Jack and Dorothea beg him to. However, he is chronicling the Milieu history on behalf of the most powerful being of the Milieu suggesting that his Unity involvement was pending. His true loyalties are multi-layered and three dimensional.

Marc is even more multilayered than Rogi. Jack and Dorothea falter a bit becoming card carrying supporters of Unity. They spend a lot of time getting married, starting a new life together, and become central figures on Earth and in the Milieu but become opaque and remote, no longer human or identifiable. As their characters become weaker, Marc’s strengthens. He weighs his actions and looks at the wide picture of what the planet could gain and lose. 

Marc's decision to become a Rebel is motivated by the cold logic of loss outweighing gain. He is the one who we see pursue goals, aspire for greater positions, respond with righteous anger and pride, fall in love, get his heart broken, fall down, and pull himself together. Since Jack and Dorothea are far off from us, Marc is the one closest to us. However there is a catch to understanding Marc’s humanity.

One would suppose that we are meant to support Marc’s rebellion but his creation of Mental Man muddies the outlook. He isn't looking to break from Unity for altruistic or global reasons. He is looking to create his own version of Unity and he can't allow any interference with those plans. He is not a Winston Smith fighting Big Brother because he wants to be Big Brother himself. 

The layers in character make the themes even more open-ended and invites readers to make their own decisions by presenting no side as being completely right or wrong. That is what this series’s ultimate gift is to make us see this fictional world but decide what we believe and where we stand for ourselves.

On a final personal note to the late great Julian May (RIP): Thank you for a groundbreaking and influential series that has meant so much to me and has led to almost 25 years of loving a genre that has given me so much creativity, imagination, inspiration, wonder, and joy.

Britannia Rises by Russell Dumper; Involved Relevant AU Science Fiction Where Britain Still Rules The Waves

 Britannia Rises by Russell Dumper; Involved and Relevant AU Science Fiction Where Britain Still Rules The Waves

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I did not plan this but I suppose that it is most appropriate to review Britannia Rises by Russell Dumper for Independence Day weekend. This Alternate Universe Science Fiction novel has an involved and sweeping plot that is surprisingly relevant in modern United States where this once Democratic Republic is transforming into something else entirely.

In this timeline, The British Empire never ended. The United States lost the Revolutionary War and many other countries like India, Hong Kong, and South Africa are still under their leadership. In fact, they are interested in expanding by seizing more countries such as Venezuela and Nepal. They are faced with challenges from other superpowers like China, USSR (yes they are still around and intact), and The European Union, but are also feeling the pangs of rebellion from within. There are rebellious factions like the Dayak, a resistance group with which the Nepalese branch is highly active in this volume.

With a plot this wide reaching and complex, there are going to be various characters who are affected and this book covers such diverse characters and perspectives. Jamie Bayston is a university student who ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time and is forced to go into hiding. Edward McLaughlin is an American operative who crosses paths with young Bayston and ends up becoming his protector. Trevor Layttle is a German K6 agent whose security investigation takes him to higher and more conspiratorial levels. King Alfred is showing signs of mental decline and is preoccupied with potential foreign invasions, so his avaricious manipulative older son, Prince Leopold and his weak willed apathetic younger son, Prince Christian acquire the regency for the good of the kingdom and their father, so they say. Letitia Pearl leaves her native Canada for Nepal to enlist in the Dayak and is involved in key battles. Bob Royce is a career soldier whose assignment in Nepal allegiances with more violent soldiers cause him to question his own loyalty and humanity.

This is one of those books that scarily lines up with real life. I don’t know if Dumper was intentionally thinking of the current situation in the United States but it’s definitely suggestive of these times. Ironically as I am reading a book about a fictional British Empire strengthening their hold so other countries don’t gain their freedom, the United States may be in the process of losing theirs but not by outside forces but from our own government taking on a more Authoritarian Fascistic rule. 

This book shows what happens when the people surrender their will to a dictatorial society. It’s in the grand tradition of many Science Fiction works like 1984, Handmaid’s Tale, Idiocracy, CSA: Confederate States of America, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451 and the various books that I reviewed in the past eight years. They take a far off future or alternate history to comment on the situations that are happening now. 

The parallels can be seen. King Alfred, an Authoritarian despot who is clearly showing signs of mental instability has a lot in common with Donald Trump (with a lot of King Charles thrown in). The actions by his inner circle notably Prince Leopold are similar to oligarchs like Elon Musk and the Heritage Foundation who use the current Administration, narcissistic President, and his gullible followers to feed their own ambition. 

The experiences from Jamie Bayston, Letitia Pearl, Bob Royce and Trevor Layttle can be clearly seen today by people who are suffering from these actions in one way or another. All anyone has to do is read or watch the news and find out what’s happening to various groups like immigrants. LGBT+ people, Liberals, academics, investigative reporters, and voters, even those who once followed the current regime and have grown to regret it. Of course the organized protests such as No Kings certainly cause one to think along certain terms. 

We can all see the similarities especially when we are living inside them. The actions of the characters might be how we would act in some ways. We might be Bayston just a naive part of things until it hits us personally. We might be people like MacLaughlin or Pearl, people whose grief transformed into anger and then action against the system that caused it. We might be Layttle who learn too much and become targets because we shared that knowledge with others. We might be Royce those who followed the system until our conscience got in the way. 

We might be many of the unnamed unknown characters on the outside, average ordinary people, immigrants and citizens that find our lives irrevocably changed by people who take sadistic unconscionable delight in the suffering of others. Even those who once voted for it and actively campaigned for this regime will soon suffer under it. We all will just some of us will realize it quicker than others. 

While this is a relevant novel, it’s not a political tract. It is filled with depth in characters and situations that tell a suspenseful thrilling story. There are plenty of moments that will make the Reader nod in sympathy, rage in anger, or applaud wildly. Royce’s transition from loyal soldier to potential rebel is very real as he mentally shows unease during other soldiers’s boastful dark humor over what they will do to their victims. It then multiplies as those words and jokes become depraved actions and he has to rationalize what they did with what he allowed to happen. 

MacLaughlin and Bayston’s relationship is also a highlight. MacLaughlin gives the younger man pointers on how to survive on the run so this naive sheltered middle class kid shows the potential to become a street smart gun toting fighter. The moment where Bayston learns that he lost everything that he once held dear is predicted but no less heart wrenching as the boy realizes that he is unable to go home. It will be a tough road with plenty of sacrifices, more violence, and may only result in mere pin pricks against those in charge. Bayston has to decide if he is ready for it. 

Britannia Rises is not only a great example of Alternate Universe Science Fiction. It is very relatable to this universe’s current events. 

The Mantis Variant Book 1 in The Mantis Gland Series by Adam Andrews Johnson; Lunar Naturals: Alpha Squad by V.S. Hall; Two Allegorical Satirical and Topical Science Fiction Novels About People With Special Abilities

 

The Mantis Variant Book 1 in The Mantis Gland Series by Adam Andrews Johnson; Lunar Naturals: Alpha Squad by V.S. Hall; Two Allegorical Satirical and Topical Science Fiction Novels About People With Special Abilities 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: The Mantis Variant Book 1 in The Mantis Gland Series by Adam Andrews Johnson and Lunar Naturals: Alpha Squad by V.S. Hall are two novels that combine two frequent tropes found in Science Fiction: the existence of people with unusual abilities and an allegorical storytelling style that comments on the fictional world in the book and the real world surrounding the Reader. It is how the two works are approached in content, style, storytelling, and inspiration where the differences lie.

The Mantis Variant is an empowering novel that uses special abilities to comment on marginalized communities and the control that religious institutions have on the people underneath. 

The Mantis Variant focuses on three women who represent different statuses in futuristic Teshon City. Agrell is a member of the Messiahs, a cult that controls the city around them and has brutal means of enforcing that control. During a ritual, Agrell becomes sickened and runs away. Dozi is a street smart thief living by her wits and wants to be a Demifae, a mystic with special powers. Ilya is a Shift who has the ability of flight and has to take cover as her commune of Shifts is destroyed. The three women meet and become involved in the larger struggle between the Messiahs and those that they want to crush like the Shifts and Demifae.

The Mantis Variant touches on many current issues that exist in this fictional environment. The most prominent issues concern the stranglehold and fear mongering that groups like the Messiahs have over the people. They use their narrow minded world-view as a means to control and gain dominance over others, particularly marginalized people like the Shifts. The Messiahs’ influence is vast as Shifts are treated as second class citizens and either huddle up in homeless enclaves or are rounded up to serve their purposes.

 However, it's not enough for the Messiahs to have complete control over their people. They want the Mantis Glands, the glands that give Shifts their powers. Despite fearing the Shifts’ abilities, the Messiahs want to swallow those glands so that they can obtain power. That's what causes Agrell to run away. This inhuman process of not only denying a people's rights to live but to eat them like they were cattle is too far for her.

While the Messiahs represent the upper class in power, the Shifts stand for every minority, immigrant, LGBT person, person with disabilities, anyone who is considered an outsider or the “other.” The Shifts look different because some of their abilities manifest themselves in physical abnormalities. Their thought processes alter so they have highly elevated perspectives. Above all, they are often loyal to each other forming surrogate families to survive this oppression. 

Agrell, Ilya, and Dozi are taken in by Mystic and his husband,Theolon, a pair of Demifae who give them unconditional support and a plan for the future. They are part of a resistance against the current government and for the first time in a long time or ever, the trio are able to visualize a life without their oppressors. They also have another reason to bond with the young women. The couple’s Shift daughter, Lahari is missing and they need the trio’s help to find her.

Agrell, Ilya, and Dozi form a formidable trio that aids the resistance, their new friends, and each other. They begin to see the larger picture of fighting for others rather than their survival as individuals.

They also learn to adapt to their surroundings and evolve as characters. Ilya has felt cast aside, ignored, and hated by others, particularly her family. Now with her new allies, she accepts her abilities and finds a new family that understands her. 

Agrell was ashamed of her past and what her people did, often hiding much of herself like an empathetic nature or the extent of her powers. With her new friends and partners, she accepts those parts of her nature and personality that have been hidden because of prejudice. 

Unlike the others, Dozi doesn't have any special abilities and actually wants them. She feels insignificant and unimportant surrounded by people who do amazing things. Her evolution comes when she realizes that her street smart intelligence, physical dexterity, and survival instincts are valuable and no less important because she was trained to use them rather than being born with them. 

The Mantis Variant is a brilliant novel that reminds us that there are people who gain control by spreading fear and ignorance. But there are other people who counter that by accepting, understanding, and learning about others and fighting alongside them.

Lunar Naturals: Alpha Squad is definitely inspired by anime with its characters with wide ranging abilities, multiple action plots, and themes of young people rebelling against a tyrannical system.

Vin Sylo is a refugee from Earth and has pyrokinesis. After a fight in which his powers are revealed, Vin is recruited by Roy, the leader of Lunar, an organization inside a space colony dedicated to ensuring peace despite the violent terrorist factions and dictatorial governments that exist. Vin meets his future compatriots: Lae, who is an expert markswoman,  Kyo, who can control darkness, and Kaz, who has extra fast reflexes and movement.

Fans of manga and anime will especially love this book which is a love letter to the Japanese born art form. Many of the situations, characters, and plot points aren't too dissimilar from works like Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho, The Gundam franchise, Dragonball, Get Backers, and Naruto. It is flashy, exciting, deep, and filled with tension and drama just like its film, television, and literary predecessors.

Vin is the archetypal lead in such works. He is a young hot head who had to get by his wits. Since he's been independent for so long, he isn't used to working with a team. Recognizing other's strengths, weaknesses, and his role within a group setting are the first tests that he must pass.

Most of the book is spent on Vin’s training which involves strategy and combat techniques. He learns to harness and increase his powers. He also learns when to attack, when to defend, and when to retreat. 

One of the best fighting chapters details a match between Vin and Kyo when both of their dark natures are unleashed. Watching the release of Kyo’s alternate demonic personality unnerves Vin but also pushes him to release the physical and psychological toll that his friend had been suppressing. He empathizes with his friend's plight and also recognizes the parallels between Kyo and himself with his own unchecked powers.

He has a similar situation with Lae when he is sent on assignment with the rest of his crew, Alpha Squad. At first he minimized Lae’s contribution and abilities while at the same time becoming attracted to her. When she takes their enemies down, he recognizes the full extent of her abilities and that she in many ways is Vin’s equal even superior in leadership and is able to even out some of the rougher edges of Vin’s personality as he does for her.

Anime fans in particular will love Lunar Naturals: Alpha Squad. But anyone looking for a good Science Fiction novel that explores young people discovering their own power against oppression will also enjoy it too.

The Crew by Michael Mohr; Gripping and Devastating Look At The Punk Culture and Real Rebellion Against Any Form of Conformity

 The Crew by Michael Mohr; Gripping and Devastating Look At The Punk Culture and Real Rebellion Against Any Form of Conformity 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: One of my former high school teachers said that “Teenagers are the worst conformists” and I can't help but agree. Many of them play at rebelling against their parents, school, and society but they also create a structure of their own. They often form tight peer groups and are quick to point out the weird ones who don't fit in. If someone steps outside that group's standards, they then become the target of the other’s rancor. You can rebel against anything that you want but not the teen status quo.

That attitude is perfectly explored in Michael Mohr’s The Crew which shows those teen conformist standards and how they apply in even the most rebellious of groups.

Jack “Dog” Donnigan is invited to join The Crew, a clique of punk kids who go to concerts, stay out all night, do a variety of drugs, get into fights and cause more trouble. They are led by the enigmatic Cannonball, who practically adopts Dog as a kid brother.. Unfortunately, when Dog falls in love with Cannonball’s girlfriend, Sarah, he learns that freedom comes with a price of Cannonball’s unquestionable authority. Woe on anyone who challenges that authority as Dog learns.

At first Dog is exhilarated by the acceptance and seemingly boundless freedom that the Crew seems to exhibit. This is perfectly encapsulated when Dog attends a concert with his new friends. Intoxicated by their acceptance and his new found bravado, Dog jumps to the stage and sings with the band. He feels the glaring spotlight and the attention and admiration which the Crew fills him with. This moment shows him as someone who is willing to move beyond his comfort zone to gain not only acceptance but to give himself a pivotal role within the group that accepts him.

As Dog becomes mired within the Crew’s interrelationships he starts to see their dark side, most notably in his interactions with Cannonball. He alternates between admiration and loathing for his leader. On the one hand, he thinks that Cannon is the standard that they should all aspire towards. On the other hand, he resents his complete control over the junior members. 

Cannon encourages Dog to challenge authority including his teachers and parents, even break ties with them. Their nightly meetings are partly to please hedonistic pleasures but also to question the standard life that the Crew had previously been given. Whether through drugs, music, or probing their innermost thoughts, Dog, Cannon, and the other Crew members are looking for answers and they hope that this surrogate family can provide them. 

It can become dangerous when a group becomes the central focus of a person’s life and Dog learns that almost too late. Once he starts a secret relationship with Sarah, he becomes the object of Cannnonball’s scorn. Once a favorite member of the Crew and potential second in command, he becomes their inside outsider. Cannonball creates a disinformation campaign which brings suspicion towards Dog from the other members. He also encourages sadistic pranks like abandoning Dog while he crashes from a drug high and escalates violent threats when he challenges his former recruit to a fight. 

Cannonball’s authoritarian hold on the Crew makes him a hypocrite to the act of rebellion that he claims to exhibit. It’s okay to thumb one’s nose at parents, teachers, and the law but disobeying Cannonball is a step too far. He becomes less like a gang leader and more like a cult leader who takes full authority over his followers to the point that he becomes surrogate father, teacher, mentor, leader, and deity. There are some implications that Cannonball’s unsettled home life left him rootless and he holds a tigh grip on his Crew to maintain a significance that otherwise would have been lost to him. However, that significance comes with it a dangerous ego that needs unquestionable blind worship to be satisfied.

It’s ironic that in his rebellion, Dog becomes more confined and boxed in than before. It is only in the end when he is deprived of everything that has held him: school, family, relationships, friendships, and even his old gang, that he finds the freedom that he has looked for and the uncertainty about life that freedom entails.

Weekly Reader: Root of All Evil: The Deluxe Edition by Ayura Ayira; Dictator’s Wife Fights For Love, Freedom, and Her Own Identity

 

Weekly Reader: Root of All Evil: The Deluxe Edition by Ayura Ayira; Dictator’s Wife Fights For Love, Freedom, and Her Own Identity 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Ayura Ayira’s previous book, The Protectress, was an erotic power play between two rival warriors who tried to dominate each other but ended up fighting on the same side. Though there were large stakes, the emphasis was on the personal, the two enemies turned lovers. Ayira’s latest novel, Root of All Evil: Deluxe Edition, combines the personal with the political, showing the internal struggles between characters and the external struggles in which they live. As a result she created a better story that is just as erotic but also widely encompassing and incredibly involving.

Zayani Ada is the wife of dictator Changa Ada and not by choice. A former child soldier, she was taken during an ethnic cleansing raid and forced into marriage for political reasons. Her husband's grip on his country and his wife is tight as she sees him for the monster that he really is.  Surrounding Zayani are plots of rebellion and assassination, including from some of her own people. A handsome aid worker, Stefan Du Mal, then appeals to her to become an active participant in the resistance.

Zayani is a memorable protagonist in a very tough situation. She is part of the Ijuns who are considered a lower class and looked unfavorably by the Kcohomi, of whom Changa is a part. His goal in marrying Zayani is to make it appear that the Ijun and Kcohomi are working together when nothing could be further from the truth. He is controlling towards his people and his wife. He is like most tyrants: suspicious, paranoid, and corrupt. He can only lead by fear and intimidation because that's all he has. No new ideas, no ways of helping the people, no aid or comfort. Just shouting, belittling, arresting, and executing. Changa is physically, verbally, and sometimes sexually abusive towards his wife and tries to dominate her the way that he does everyone else.

While Zayani hates and sometimes fears her husband, she does not allow that to interfere with her goals of helping people. She secretly funds and volunteers for humanitarian projects to help the Ijun advance in society. While she does not take an active part in rebelling against her husband, she knows many that do and keep them secret from him. She considers these rebels to be family and doesn't want to turn in any of them. In one heartbreaking moment, she is forced to name one of the rebels and it's clear that this action will haunt her forever. 

It takes Stefan to guide Zayani into becoming a more active participant though not just for himself. When he tells her that some school kids are missing, Zayani realizes that she has passed a point of no return. She is now actively involved in the fight against Changa and that if caught could mean arrest, exile, or more than likely death. All of the times when she silently planned for her husband's death and a regime change now has to come true and she has to lead it.

Erotica plays a part in this book but isn't as evident as it is in the Protectress. There are some sexual moments between her and Changa that are uncomfortable and unpleasant but they are meant to be. Zayani is in a submissive position practically owned and sold into marriage. There is no love in their moments of togetherness. There is just his power over her and her subversive nature in debating and arguing against him.

 When Zayani is with Stefan, it's not only truly sensual. It's a breath of fresh air that she is with someone who is an equal match. He shares her ideals and sees her as an individual, not just the First Lady of her country. Zayani meets someone who is on her level and this love allows her to become more open to joining the fight.

There are certain twists that happen halfway through the book that change Zayani’s perspective. She emerges more active and takes a leadership position. She does things that the Zayani of the earlier chapters would never do but demonstrates a strength of character and the tough decisions that she has to make so that her country and people don't fall to another dictator.

Weekly Reader: The Descendants (The Descendants Series Book One)by Destiny Hawkins; Intriguing Concept in YA Science Fiction About Finding One's Own Personal Power in a World Full of Energy Abilities

 

Weekly Reader: The Descendants (The Descendants Series Book One)by Destiny Hawkins; Intriguing Concept in YA Science Fiction About Finding One's Own Personal Power in a World Full of Energy Abilities 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Many Science Fiction dystopian novels have characters being separated by some arbitrary type, as an analogy on how modern society separates people from larger categories like race and social class to minor sets like IQ's or personality types. Whether it's by brain type like in Brave New World, social and personality factions like in Divergent, or assigned careers like in The Giver. 

In each one, there is a character (or characters) that doesn't fit into these assorted categories and questions the system that does this. 

The themes often are that people are people. They are flexible, learning, adaptive, complex, messy, and can't always be put into a box. Human nature by its own definition is changeable and often resists such placement. A person who prefers to be introverted in private may be extroverted in their jobs. A person with a high IQ may not have a lot of common sense or street smarts. 

While sometimes exploring such concepts may be interesting, that's a poor way of viewing the society at large.

Studying one's race and culture may drive a person to look into their own family history and where they came from. When someone takes a personality quiz, they could find favorite interests or a career in which they shine. But what is problematic is when people use those types to maintain superiority rather than equality. When they use those categories as an excuse to isolate and segregate people as a means to maintain that superiority.

That is the main theme that can be found in Destiny Hawkins' YA Dystopian Science Fiction novel, The Descendants. It is set in an alternate future in which people have different abilities in which they can control energy. They are called Lighters and are in charge of the Lighter Nation. 

The Lighters are then put into three categories: Brighter (possessing incredible speed and strength), Elem (the ability to control earth, air, fire, and water), and Dim (create darkness). They are then separated into subcategories depending on the color that the Lighter emits like soma for dark blue, vex for turquoise blue, and kali for white. They then operate on different levels depending on the brightness of their light. As if to make the point less subtle, the narrator even remarks that it's a terrible way to separate people by color and by shades of that color (get it?). 

Then there are the Nulls, people who cannot bring light forward at all. Rayah Bardeau, the narrator and protagonist,  is one such Null. Nulls are treated horribly. If they can't demonstrate Lighter powers by the time they finish school, then they have to become slaves.

 Major Artemis St. James, Rayah's former owner, is licking his lips in anticipation for that moment. While Rayah is at the Academy, her mother has taken her place as a slave but it is clear that he intends to use Rayah for more than chores.

Nulls are subjected to pain tests and other students are allowed to bully them. There are many intense scenes where Rayah is bullied by Artemis and the Lighter students. She isn't a slave by name, but it is apparent that most people in Lighter Nation do not treat her as a human being with equal rights.

What is particularly fascinating about the scenario that Hawkins writes is that The Descendants is almost the exact opposite of the scenario of X Men. Whereas the Marvel franchise depicts the people with powerful abilities as the outsiders, The Descendants portrays the ones without abilities as "The Others." Either way, they make the same point: that somehow bigoted people will find someone different to scapegoat, to look down upon, to isolate, to hate, to threaten, to hurt, and sometimes to kill just for who they are.

Some of the most interesting passages are when Rayah is in the Wild Lands, an area outside her homeland in which the citizens are forbidden to go. Of course, Rayah does and encounters people who live outside of Lighter rules and regulations. Her romance with Soren, one of the people from the Wild Lands, is a typical one for this genre though they are likable characters.

 Soren is particularly helpful in that he sees Rayah as a person not a Null. She also sees Soren as a person and not a wildling. They see beyond the programming that society has given them into the soul inside.

What the Wild Lands chapters do is give Rayah chances to reveal her own power. During her academy studies, she has shown a strong talent for hand to hand combat. She is able to use that to defend her new friends when they are threatened. She also discovers new abilities that were never dead, just dormant.

Without spoilers, on the one hand this revelation plays into the problems in Rayah's society by revealing that she fits in after all. However, on the other hand, that could also be the point. The Lighter Nation citizens may believe that they need someone to look down on to the point that they will deprive someone of their innate abilities to make it happen. They would rather have a class of slaves than admit that everyone could be treated as an equal.

The Descendants has a lot to say about how we separate people into various types and categories and sometimes use them to look down upon others. It also shows how we can use our personal power to stand against that categorization and be seen as individuals.