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 Hero Virus by Russell Dumper; Having Super Powers: The Reality

 The Hero Virus by Russell Dumper; Having Super Powers: The Reality

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I have read many novels where characters obtain super powers or special supernatural abilities and they have been portrayed in different ways. They can be allegories for people with disabilities or from different races or ethnicities. They could represent a young character going through puberty or searching for their family or identity. They could result in a search in which the protagonist finds acceptance and belonging. This genre could be satiric, serious, tragic, fantastic, comedic, beautiful, scary, or intelligent but almost always at least entertaining. Some place the fantastic premise for all of its worth, some take a surprisingly realistic approach. Very few have taken the premise of people obtaining supernatural abilities and superpowers as realistically as Russell Dumper does with the novel, The Hero Virus.

Chris Taylor’s wife died and he is depressed to the point of suicidal. He has tried to kill himself several times but something always keeps the trigger from being pulled. During his latest attempt, he falls ill and passes out for a few days. When he wakes up, he finds that he has sudden energy and super strength. With the help of his friends, Tim and San, and Dr. Mike Norbury, of the Health Protection Agency (HPA), Chris learns that his super strength is the result of a virus that gives people special abilities. As they learn when they encounter Chris’s friend Nathan who has the ability to project lightning from his fingertips, the virus is spreading. As more people are afflicted with these abilities, England becomes the center of a health crisis that is threatening to go global. One of the newly afflicted is Tim who has the power of absorbing other people’s powers and is gaining a vengeance seeking megalomaniacal personality in the process leaving behind the misfit likeable stoner that Chris once knew. 

The phrase that kept coming to my mind as I read this was “of course.” Of course people would panic as others develop powers. Of course authorities would want them contained. Of course they would treat it like a virus. Of course it would be exciting and terrifying at the same time. Of course the body would suffer from serious side effects. Of course most people would use them for their own personal gain. 

Despite the fantastic premise, The Hero Virus plays it very straight. It shows how the real world would react if people suddenly developed super strength, speed, telekinesis, and so on. This isn’t a Science Fiction novel out of the MCU where these abilities are seen as a gift and colorful costumed heroes fight larger than life villains. Instead these are regular people with unique powers and no real way of understanding, controlling, or mastering them. They have the powers of gods but the limited capacity of humans. It’s enough to drive anyone insane. 

Chris is someone who recognizes his powers and the responsibility that comes with them but struggles to hold onto his humanity. He tries to retain connections with friends and family and hold onto memories of his late wife. He also wants to retain his memories of Tim and the man he once was. He doesn’t want to believe that his friend is capable of violence, so he lies in denial. He couldn’t save his wife, so he wants to save his friend to retain the last hold of his humanity. He feels that he was saved from suicide for this exact purpose to become a real life superhero and also be a decent person. Through trying to save Tim, Chris wants to preserve his former self, and still have the abilities of the god-like being that he turned into by accident.

The people are terrified, albeit amazed of those affected by the virus. When your spouse suddenly projects the ability to make fire when they are mad, you have two options: stay on their good side or leave. You never know that a disagreement with a work colleague could erupt with them creating earthquakes, you telekinetically shoving them into the side of a building, or hundreds of bystanders getting killed in the process.The book is interesting because it’s so real. People would panic and fear those who are different while also being in awe of and envious towards those who can do these amazing things. 

While many would like to believe that they would use superpowers for good, the truth is most people probably would be like Tim. Suddenly, you have unlimited powers and can finally seek vengeance on the people who made you miserable, make a mark in society when you had been ignored or overlooked, and become powerful and wealthy in the process. Plus, the particular power that Tim has, absorbing other powers, would increase one’s emotions and mindset. He develops paranoia, delusions, and uncontrollable rage. He can no longer feel anything but his various powers. He is addicted to them and craves more. For him, going back would mean going back to his old life as a failed single miserable writer. His pursuit for super powers could end up killing him and destroy the world around him, but he has lost the ability to care.

Naturally, the government would get involved and cause problems by isolating and containing the virus, its spread, and those who have it. They also wouldn’t mind turning those abilities into weapons for example, super strong soldiers, invisible spies, or assassins that can enter and exit through shadows. That would be too tempting for even the most idealistic politician to resist, let alone those who are driven by greed, power, or in Norbury’s case obtaining knowledge. 

Norbury does not himself have powers nor does he obtain them. But he does have a keen insight into human nature as well as knowledge about biology and how the virus affects people. He is mostly neutral, an observer for other’s actions particularly Chris and Tim. He bears some fatherly concern for how the virus has affected them but he also views the events with a detached scientific analysis. He is fully aware of the gains and advantages the virus could mean for his research and for the government at large. He plays Chris and Tim like chess pieces, aware that he will be the one with the checkmate no matter who is the victor in their conflict.

Chris and Tim’s conflicts are central to the book which while excellent for one and one battles could benefit from expanding the initial concept. Nathan’s powers are introduced in a chaotic manner that unfortunately puts him into a coma before he is able to affect the plot. There is an intriguing chapter in which other characters gain other powers like releasing pheromones and shape shifting but they really aren’t developed very much as people before they become appetizers for Tim’s lust for obtaining more abilities. 

Now that Dumper has created this concept, it would be interesting if he explored it further. Maybe writing different books set in the same universe about other people who contracted the virus and how they are affected with these strange gifts, how they evolve, how they choose to use their powers, and how they lose or regain their humanity in the process.