Certainly paints a grim picture in the mind, and one that looks quite likely to be in our future. I listened to it on Substack’s “text to reader”… it’s a pity the stupid thing is programmed to read out every single quotation mark. You may well have written the best dystopian novel since 1984.
I bought “Zone 23” (from my local independent bookseller) when you posted the review from the 73 yr old last March.. Being close to the same age, I had to check it out.
As a psychoanalyst, I loved your factious description of the DSM and I guess the whole mental health paradigm (IMO, constructed by the pharmaceutical industry).
I haven’t finished the book as there simply hasn’t been time over the past few months. I am heavily involved in pushing back against corrupt government policies here in Canada when I am not seeing patients.
Parts of the book that I have read scared me as I believe you depicted clearly what the globalists are trying to achieve and they’re getting too darn close for my comfort! For example- I read recently that you have to return to court which is also very scary that this case could get this far..
I found “Zone 23” extremely creative and a brilliant depiction of all that is going wrong today.. I look forward to the next in the series.
I write sometimes myself, and the kind of thing I'm interested in concerns the Theory of the Progression of Evil -- which, as it seems to me, is a major aspect in certain of Shakespeare's plays, such as Hamlet and Macbeth. But nowadays most people don't want to bother themselves with such things, and when I try to explain that Hamlet is a story of spiritual warfare, including a process of defilement, it doesn't make sense to them.
Not only that, but if we take J.R.R. Tolkien's division of the stages: Not Very Good, Second Best, Third Rate, Bad, Abominable, we note that most stories skip over Bad, or the region between Bad and Abominable. People don't want to see it, or rather they want to pretend such things don't exist. Consequently stories trail off in their depiction of character somewhere beyond "Third Rate," or make arm-waving references without much impact. While it's true that some stories do depict the Abominable (Morgoth in The Silmarillion, for instance -- I haven't read Milton) at that level the spiritual aspect dominates -- usually malice -- but the other usual aspects (emotion, violence) have dropped off, so that what is happening usually goes over the head of the reader, again lacking in impact.
But if we're considering a character between Bad and Abominable, then we've got not only malice, but foul language, mayhem, you name it. So when readers complain there's too much foul language in certain scenes with certain characters what they really mean is that they don't want to seriously consider stories with characters who fall between Bad and Abominable. They don't want reality.
It reminds me of an incident in Akira Kurosawa's Something Like an Autobiography. About 1923 there was a big earthquake in Japan, and much of Tokyo burned: upwards of 100,000 casualties. Kurosawa's brother took him on a tour of the devastation and forced him to look at it, and told him that being an artist means looking at what is real and not averting one's eyes.
I love that you mention the DSM - we can see where all of this overly-excessive labeling is going - categorizing humans into stalls of compliance, so that our souls can be milked for other beings seeking to control us.
This is sweetly realized, crazed confabulation. It's as if Thomas Szasz has met Mona Lisa Overdrive on crystal meth, and they've decided to write a story. My work pales in comparison, yet, here goes: <https://hickeyj.substack.com/i/136379132/mad-cows-and-englishmen>.
I probably would have avoided based on Nana's review. I can't afford to have my head shat in when I have things to do. But then the extract and my head says actually I love being shat in.
I don't know, CJ. The colours of that cover are reminiscent of a certain Reich-era flag. Are you sure you haven't transgressed some sort of colour diktat or something? Come to think of it, if you look at it a bit squiff and rearrange the spokes of those pram wheels, I think I can just about make out the outline of at least four swastikas. I may need to report this. I'm feeling a wave of nationalist socialist fervour sweeping over me as I type.
You should put t on Smashwords or Kobo. Not everyone wishes to patronize the Kindle platform. With your politics you should be especially receptive to that!
Certainly paints a grim picture in the mind, and one that looks quite likely to be in our future. I listened to it on Substack’s “text to reader”… it’s a pity the stupid thing is programmed to read out every single quotation mark. You may well have written the best dystopian novel since 1984.
I bought “Zone 23” (from my local independent bookseller) when you posted the review from the 73 yr old last March.. Being close to the same age, I had to check it out.
As a psychoanalyst, I loved your factious description of the DSM and I guess the whole mental health paradigm (IMO, constructed by the pharmaceutical industry).
I haven’t finished the book as there simply hasn’t been time over the past few months. I am heavily involved in pushing back against corrupt government policies here in Canada when I am not seeing patients.
Parts of the book that I have read scared me as I believe you depicted clearly what the globalists are trying to achieve and they’re getting too darn close for my comfort! For example- I read recently that you have to return to court which is also very scary that this case could get this far..
I found “Zone 23” extremely creative and a brilliant depiction of all that is going wrong today.. I look forward to the next in the series.
I write sometimes myself, and the kind of thing I'm interested in concerns the Theory of the Progression of Evil -- which, as it seems to me, is a major aspect in certain of Shakespeare's plays, such as Hamlet and Macbeth. But nowadays most people don't want to bother themselves with such things, and when I try to explain that Hamlet is a story of spiritual warfare, including a process of defilement, it doesn't make sense to them.
Not only that, but if we take J.R.R. Tolkien's division of the stages: Not Very Good, Second Best, Third Rate, Bad, Abominable, we note that most stories skip over Bad, or the region between Bad and Abominable. People don't want to see it, or rather they want to pretend such things don't exist. Consequently stories trail off in their depiction of character somewhere beyond "Third Rate," or make arm-waving references without much impact. While it's true that some stories do depict the Abominable (Morgoth in The Silmarillion, for instance -- I haven't read Milton) at that level the spiritual aspect dominates -- usually malice -- but the other usual aspects (emotion, violence) have dropped off, so that what is happening usually goes over the head of the reader, again lacking in impact.
But if we're considering a character between Bad and Abominable, then we've got not only malice, but foul language, mayhem, you name it. So when readers complain there's too much foul language in certain scenes with certain characters what they really mean is that they don't want to seriously consider stories with characters who fall between Bad and Abominable. They don't want reality.
It reminds me of an incident in Akira Kurosawa's Something Like an Autobiography. About 1923 there was a big earthquake in Japan, and much of Tokyo burned: upwards of 100,000 casualties. Kurosawa's brother took him on a tour of the devastation and forced him to look at it, and told him that being an artist means looking at what is real and not averting one's eyes.
After discovering CJ on Substack I bought all of his books.
I couldn’t put Zone down. I never read paper books anymore. Hell I don’t have time to read fiction anymore. It’s that enjoyable.
Go buy it.
I love that you mention the DSM - we can see where all of this overly-excessive labeling is going - categorizing humans into stalls of compliance, so that our souls can be milked for other beings seeking to control us.
This is sweetly realized, crazed confabulation. It's as if Thomas Szasz has met Mona Lisa Overdrive on crystal meth, and they've decided to write a story. My work pales in comparison, yet, here goes: <https://hickeyj.substack.com/i/136379132/mad-cows-and-englishmen>.
A prescient view of the not too distant future. Sort of echoes the 2013 film Elysium. 🥶
I probably would have avoided based on Nana's review. I can't afford to have my head shat in when I have things to do. But then the extract and my head says actually I love being shat in.
Hope this does not do you a disservice: https://open.substack.com/pub/bigmouth/p/here-for-you-always?r=rcjpz&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Absolutely love and respect your passionate and steadfast middle finger!
I don't know, CJ. The colours of that cover are reminiscent of a certain Reich-era flag. Are you sure you haven't transgressed some sort of colour diktat or something? Come to think of it, if you look at it a bit squiff and rearrange the spokes of those pram wheels, I think I can just about make out the outline of at least four swastikas. I may need to report this. I'm feeling a wave of nationalist socialist fervour sweeping over me as I type.
Zone 23 was a great read. It's a cliché to say "it was hard to put down", but that was really true in this case. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
I so I will purchase a copy. Dense, florid description and narrative are so hard to find these days.
You should put t on Smashwords or Kobo. Not everyone wishes to patronize the Kindle platform. With your politics you should be especially receptive to that!
It is available from pretty much any bookstore on the face of the earth. A few examples are listed here ... https://consentfactory.org/consent-factory-publishing/booksellers-list/
I mean in digital form of course (in a Kindle context we are talking about digital books).
You're back in the saddle CJ!
If I had to pick one book to tote around after "The Event", this might be it.
If only as an allegory..
Plus it would indeed make very fine kindling, should I ever need to whip up a pigeon paella.
Just ordered it! That was a gripping read; can't wait till it arrives.