Assessment:
Plot/Idea: In an age when "all documents are conspiring documents" in the eyes of The Government, mill worker Jax's discovery of books and secret artifacts is shattering—and sets him on a crash course with danger (and enlightenment) as he navigates the twists and turns of this suspense-driven story. The complex plot demonstrates creativity and careful forethought, taking readers into surprising territory in this unfamiliar world.
Prose: Though the story starts slow, with blunted dialogue between Jax and his friend Kip, the narrative improves once it moves beyond the initial chapter, with clear and energetic prose alongside steady (and convincing) worldbuilding.
Originality: This is a highly original novel, with a creatively intricate world that will astonish readers.
Character/Execution: Jax is an inviting character, and the author lays bare his motivations and desire for something greater than the world he's currently living in. Mica is every bit the rough, ideal-driven veteran fighting for his own version of freedom.
Date Submitted: July 03, 2023
The novel’s suspense rises not just from Mica’s explosive missions or young Jax Rogue’s discovery, in Area Thirty-Eight, of a lockbox containing mysterious contraband, including a bible, an iPod, and records of American history. The tension also comes from the unsettling puzzle of how these narratives—Mica’s firmly anchored in time and place; Jax’s pointedly unsettled in either—will fit together. The moment they do is a thrill, and Miles builds to it cleverly, as he fully develops the characters, worlds, and dilemmas of each half of the novel. That thoroughness comes at the cost of narrative momentum, but readers fascinated by alternate histories and futures will relish scenes like the lengthy, engaging glimpse of Mica’s government class at Harvard, which offers tantalizing hints at how and when this counter-America split from our own.
Seeded throughout is the resonant idea that a dystopia isn’t just brought about by villains, as Miles makes clear that American citizens surrendered power in the interest of efficient government. The conflicts and action are inventive but, crucially, connected to ideas; both narrative strands boast desperate struggles, painful sacrifice, and stakes both personal and much larger. Readers who prefer page-turners will find the length a barrier, and the novel could have been tightened without losing power or meaning.
Takeaway: Two epic, surprisingly connected stories power this sweeping thriller of American dystopia
Great for fans of: Omar El Akkad’s American War, Claire Vaye Watkins’s Gold Fame Citrus.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: B+
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A-
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