Since Democracy Jones: 7/13 was published on, you guessed it, July 13, reviews are now starting to trickle in. Here are some highlights so far:
Annika Nilsson on Goodreads was REALLY paying attention! Check out how well they articulated the themes and subtext.
ANNIKA NILSSON’S REVIEW: Even though this book takes place in 2040, it is a deep critique of the current American socio-political condition. I hadn’t realized that at first. Literally, I just ran across someone’s Instagram story about a goodreads giveaway and decided to give the book a read since I liked the cover. I had no idea I was getting a knowledgeable deconstruction of the effects of the commodification of journalism, the effects of social media algorithms, the effects of critical theory, the effects of reliance on rhetoric, the effects of technological breakthroughs that outstrip collective human maturity, the effects of the power of the entertainment industry, the effects of over-rationalization, the effects of the rise of authoritarian behaviors, and maybe the most important idea in the book, what the author Eamon Loingsigh calls the “bifurcation of values.”
The bifurcation of values is the sociopolitical divide or polarization between conservatives and liberals, or the left vs. the right. These competing ideologies utilize damaging rhetoric to denounce each other, while strengthening their echo chambers. The example he uses throughout the book is the Late Republic era of Rome, which experienced a very similar bifurcation where everyone had to choose a side, or risk being called a traitor by both. The rhetoric used by each side can imperceptibly escalate and lead to political assassinations, mob violence and eventually civil war or a coup. Unless, of course, we use some of the ideas from the Enlightenment that inspired American democracy in the first place. Namely compromise. But I don’t see Republicans and Democrats and their voting blocs compromising much these days, and this book provides a worst-case scenario if we continue down this path.
You may not agree with Democracy Jones: 7/13, but there is no way you can ignore its powerful premise.
The first example from the book I’ll show here is how conservatives slander liberal groups with racist rhetoric. When a group of black college students come together to defend black veterans who aren’t offered the same benefits as white veterans, they are smeared as “Black Bourgeois Terrorists.” This leads to a nationwide debate and what became known as the “Color Fodder Protests,” which the conservative media logically calls the “Color Fodder Riots.”
The second example concerns the character Zeke Greenlea, who is a local conservative in a small town in 2040 America. He was to inherit the family business. They are contractors of residential homes. But a liberal international real estate magnate wants the contract the Greenlea family business earned for Golden Door Estates, a gated housing community in town. So what does the magnate do? He uses his wealth and connections, forcing the small Greenlea contracting company into court. More importantly, the magnate hires social media “End-fluencers” (a play on Influencers) to smear the Greenlea name in the much more powerful court of public opinion. The mainstream media picks up on it, and soon enough Greenlea Contracting is liquidated by the federal government, allowing the liberal magnate to take over the contract in the small town.
In the book, we see that during the military coup that takes place on July 13, 2040, Zeke Greenlea sets out for his revenge. And you get the sense, he’s got pretty good reasoning.
But Democracy Jones: 7/13 does something no brand should do in today’s free market. It critiques both the left and the right. As the left primarily holds sway over the book industry, and the entertainment industry as a whole, it follows that the industry assumes the book comes from a conservative perspective. But that is not the case at all.
Unfortunately, I feel like most people will miss out on this important work.
Another quality review comes from Davis Stamford on Goodreads. Check it out!
DAVIS STAMFORD’S REVIEW: Probably my favorite author at this point. Democracy Jones: 7/13 is a departure, but this short science fiction horror novel packs a humungous punch. Since the biggest reveal is in the description, I don’t think I’m giving any spoilers when I say AI software for neural chips causes a military coup in 2040 USA. And it is an epic downfall. Worse than the twin towers, Jan. 6 or anything you can think of, all rolled into one.
There is a lot of suspense that builds up to an explosive coup by the 3/4 mark. Each of the first 20 chapters or so have time stamps. 4pm is when the coup is supposed to happen, but we start at 11:30am and things just get worse and worse as the day progresses until boom time at 4pm.
The novel takes place in the fictional small town of Ellington, FL where we follow a group of people and their impressions and involvement in the coup.
Haisley Jones is the protagonist. She is a mixed race former Marine who is 3-weeks pregnant (yeah, in the future you’ll know right away when you’re pregnant). Haisley grew up in Ellington, but was sent to prison when she was 17 for murdering her father and leaving him in the Everglades for the buzzards to devour. Yikes. Now, ten years later, she moves back with her black husband De’ontay to start a family.
Captain Dick is Ellington’s Chief of Police. His wife is cheating on him, and he allows it since it helps her political career. But simmering below the surface is a terribly dangerous man who was an army officer during two previous wars (remember this is 2040). When the coup takes place, Captain Dick turns into a monster (i.e. antagonist). In fact, his favorite song is called “Monster Man.”
Abra is a five year-old Jewish girl who provides some light-hearted, innocent yet biting commentary. She just says exactly what’s on her mind, and it really helps the story move along.
Highly recommend! Loved it, hope there is a follow up to this. I’d love to see what happens after the coup.
One more for the road by Keith!
Not what I would call a summer beach read, lol. This book is a futuristic satire about the over-rationalized critical theories of the left juxtaposed with Trumpian-style politics of the right and how, if the two sides don’t start compromising, at some point it will be too late and mutually assured destruction will set in.
I gotta say though, through the black smoke and the purposely absurd political rhetoric in the dialogue of the characters, there are some funny parts that had me chuckling. As you can tell by the book’s cover, vultures play a role in the story and at one point the narrator describes how they watch over scenes of violence like “cynical comedians.” The quintessential loud-mouthed chief of police, his name is “Captain Dick” (Boss Hogg meets Negan), regularly cracks super dark, satirical jokes like when he told his wife there must have been two dead bodies in the grave that has an epitaph that reads, “Here lies a lawyer and an upstanding citizen.”
If you haven’t read Candide by Voltaire, you might think you’re supposed to take this book at face value, but it’s satire folks. Classic SATIRE!
