Omar El Akkad knows something about revolutions, lost causes and cautionary tales. He has reported at length on the misadventures of the West in the Middle East, on terrorism and on oppression at home and abroad, and its effects on the oppressed and how they choose to resist.
The 2nd American Civil War (2075-2095) is described through the eyes and words of Sarat Chestnut, a child of the drowned and desperate 'Free Southern States' some fifty years hence. In this doomed enterprise, the South is fighting for another economic 'lost cause', in this case the right to continue to use the fossil fuels whose effects on climate have drowned the cities of the coast and disrupted the economic house of cards of the once mighty USA.
it is a treatise on the way in which the strong seek to keep their opposition divided and weak. The mighty are of couse, only here to help. 'Our guns, but your blood', says Joe, the representative of the solar power rich Bouazizi Empire, now ensuring that the nasty little war over a lost cause continues to be sustained. It just needs the right tools. Sarat Chestnut turns out to be a perfect tool for the purposes of those who pull the strings. 'When will you know that the tool is ready? The tool is ready when it does what you need it to do.'
There is no glory in the exploits of the warrior class. It is merely the old and the powerful using the passions of the young and desperate to delude them to their own destruction, and the destruction of anything they hold dear. Atrocities and abomination are the lot of the soldier. But 'If it had been you, you'd have done no different'. The important thing is how the tale is told. 'Wars are fought with guns. The peace is fought with stories'. So it goes.
It is not a happy story. There is no closure or vindication to be had. But with our world as it is now, with the pre-eminence of hateful and ignorant voices, it is an important one. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.
The novel has been nominated for a 'Dragon' award (Dragoncon's attempt at a Fan award), in the Alternate History category. It is really too good for that award!
The 2nd American Civil War (2075-2095) is described through the eyes and words of Sarat Chestnut, a child of the drowned and desperate 'Free Southern States' some fifty years hence. In this doomed enterprise, the South is fighting for another economic 'lost cause', in this case the right to continue to use the fossil fuels whose effects on climate have drowned the cities of the coast and disrupted the economic house of cards of the once mighty USA.
it is a treatise on the way in which the strong seek to keep their opposition divided and weak. The mighty are of couse, only here to help. 'Our guns, but your blood', says Joe, the representative of the solar power rich Bouazizi Empire, now ensuring that the nasty little war over a lost cause continues to be sustained. It just needs the right tools. Sarat Chestnut turns out to be a perfect tool for the purposes of those who pull the strings. 'When will you know that the tool is ready? The tool is ready when it does what you need it to do.'
There is no glory in the exploits of the warrior class. It is merely the old and the powerful using the passions of the young and desperate to delude them to their own destruction, and the destruction of anything they hold dear. Atrocities and abomination are the lot of the soldier. But 'If it had been you, you'd have done no different'. The important thing is how the tale is told. 'Wars are fought with guns. The peace is fought with stories'. So it goes.
It is not a happy story. There is no closure or vindication to be had. But with our world as it is now, with the pre-eminence of hateful and ignorant voices, it is an important one. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.
The novel has been nominated for a 'Dragon' award (Dragoncon's attempt at a Fan award), in the Alternate History category. It is really too good for that award!