I don’t normally mention my literary work here on Substack, because (a) I assume that most of you are here for the political satire and commentary, rather than to hear about my experimental stage-plays and weird fiction, and (b) I’m really bad about promoting my literary work, as in I usually forget to do it.
I am reading Zone 23 now, as a matter of fact. And liking it a lot. I'm also a novelist and I also sympathize with your feelings (however misplaced) that for some reason people are more interested in your nonfiction satire than your fiction satire. Fiction actually has more power to reach a broader audience. I will be reviewing Zone 23 on Dactyl Review. I said that before, but now I'm actually on it. Please make an audiobook, if you can, but in the meantime, if you care to be a guest on The Strange Recital, I will recommend you to my friends there.
Man… I read Zone two times. This makes me read it again. To me, it’s one one of the best contemporary novels I know. Full of hardship, doubt, desperation. But also humor, suspense, action, profanity (did I mention humor?) and loads of HUMOR. I remember on the first reading being struck by this bit, included above… it is brilliant!
Everything happened for a reason, and if you couldn’t see the reason, that only meant that you couldn’t see it, and you probably had some detaching to do. Remove the beam that is in your eye and the speck in the other's eye disappears. Anger is nothing but projected fear. Freedom grants us the freedom to choose but not the freedom not to choose ...
I read Zone 23 sometime in Spring 2020. I ordered it on Kindle because at the time, as I remember it, Amazon said that it would take a long time to receive a physical copy but I could read it right away on Kindle. I hate reading on Kindle, but Zone 23 was so compelling that I read it very quickly. I was very impressed with the humanity of your characters Taylor and Valentina. And I enjoyed the moments of respite from the brutality of Zone 23 such as when Taylor's friends would eat pigeon paella together. Forgive me if I'm remembering this wrong. It's been 4 years since I read Zone 23. Now I want to read it again, but I want to get a paper copy instead of reading it on my ancient Kindle.
Read the book and it was great. Afraid there is nobody in my close vicinity to share the feelings. But it is part of the described game after all - I am not Normal, heavily Variant-POSITIVE. So, I have nobody than you to express my gratitude for this awful, counter-humanistic, Trumpler Putler promoting, no respect to human life carrying, collecting all f (fuck) words of the season, all worst traits signed, piece of art.
I'm writing a book, and at intervals I share parts of it with my writing group. The consensus is that such people, or anyone, don't like what I write. I think I've found the main reason why. One of my concerns is to engage characters who are in the grip of the Theory of the Progression of Evil. Ok, that's not so uncommon in literature (Macbeth, etc.). But what most authors do is, if they're actually depicting a scene where characters of this persuasion are found, is to pull their punches, so to speak. Readers will tolerate characters who are not very good, or second rate, or even third rate, but beyond that they expect a kind of arm-waving that has no real dramatic impact. And yet they seem to be able to tolerate really evil characters (at the level of abominable (Morgoth)) -- perhaps because those characters have jettisoned the emotional aspect and are more purely spiritual -- it probably goes over the heads of most readers. The problem seems to become most apparent with characters who are between bad and abominable: so you have malice depicted along with a strong physical and emotional component (physical violence (mayhem) and of course foul language of one kind or another). The readers don't want to face up to that aspect of reality; they want to pretend that we are living in a kind of quasi-heaven, or at least something rather neutral; as far as good and evil are concerned. Also, many of them seem to think that the attempt to do that type of depiction -- on the part of the artist -- violates some kind of group norm regarding propriety, or whatever. So their self-righteous anger is triggered and they attack both the work and the author, as a threat to their comfort, safety, and existence. Same thing they do toward those who don't wear masks, aren't vaccinated, don't have the right hairdo, have too many tattoos (or not enough), and so on. Such readers don't need artists. They want distraction. affirmation, television from the 1950s. That's fine; that's great that you're fine and I'm fine; as you say, it's great to be fine.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Laughed out loud a number of times, was sickened more than once, more so at the Clears who had been programmed from birth (genetically???) to view/feel that killing a "3" gone wild was an act of compassion (but with as much import as killing a character in a video game) than Taylor's killing for survival or out of passionate anger. Felt Valentina's and Taylor's hopelessness and then great hope. Thanks, it was a wonderful ride.
"Alpha children wear grey. They work much harder than we do, because they're so frightfully clever. I'm awfully glad I'm a Beta, because I don't work so hard. And then we are much better than the Gammas and Deltas. Gammas are stupid. They all wear green, and Delta children wear khaki. Oh no, I don't want to play with Delta children. And Epsilons are still worse. They're too stupid to be able to read or write. Besides they wear black, which is such a beastly color. I'm so glad I'm a Beta."
Regarding “Normals”: I view them/us through the lens of Pathocracy, viz government/state rule by psychopaths. There are basically two types of people. The naturally born psychopaths — comprising approximately 6% of the world’s population and unevenly distributed through all demographics and socioeconomic classes — and non-psychopaths. One might argue that the non-psychopaths are Normals. However, the Normals are subdivided into various categories of people. On the more evil side, are those evil sociopaths who learn from the evil psychopaths how to develop psychopathic traits. With the psychos, they don’t have to learn to be evil. They’re born that way. With the sociopaths — along with malignant narcissistic personality disorder and borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder — they are attracted to the power and the charisma of the psychopaths. The sociopaths decide that they want to go to work for the Pathocracy. They’re willing henchmen. Then we have the Normals who are the bureaucrats from top to bottom, from international organizations to county clerks to school boards. They’re just following orders. Doing everything necessary to keep the wheels of the Pathocracy well greased and well maintained and well balanced. Then you have the Normals who constitute the genuinely laboring Working Class. Those who work in the survival industries, working to provide food and clothing and shelter and transportation for the world’s population. And plenty of Normals are desperately poverty stricken.
I don’t see any Normals physically (materially, concretely) Organizing to resist the Pathocracy. I see Normals who claim to be totally awake to the fact that we live in a Pathocracy (even though they utilize different terminology to describe a governmental system ruled by psychopaths) and who criticize the system and some Normals who even go as far past mere criticism to state that the system needs to be fought against. But (again) I don’t see any Normals actually organizing. Is it premature to organize?
I am reading Zone 23 now, as a matter of fact. And liking it a lot. I'm also a novelist and I also sympathize with your feelings (however misplaced) that for some reason people are more interested in your nonfiction satire than your fiction satire. Fiction actually has more power to reach a broader audience. I will be reviewing Zone 23 on Dactyl Review. I said that before, but now I'm actually on it. Please make an audiobook, if you can, but in the meantime, if you care to be a guest on The Strange Recital, I will recommend you to my friends there.
The negative review made me determined to read it, though of late I find dystopian fiction way too close to dystopian reality to be fun.
Read it a couple years ago during the ongoing whatever and really enjoyed it!
This book is so good. It is a modern 1984 that made me laugh so hard. I wish you would do another in the same genre.
Man… I read Zone two times. This makes me read it again. To me, it’s one one of the best contemporary novels I know. Full of hardship, doubt, desperation. But also humor, suspense, action, profanity (did I mention humor?) and loads of HUMOR. I remember on the first reading being struck by this bit, included above… it is brilliant!
Everything happened for a reason, and if you couldn’t see the reason, that only meant that you couldn’t see it, and you probably had some detaching to do. Remove the beam that is in your eye and the speck in the other's eye disappears. Anger is nothing but projected fear. Freedom grants us the freedom to choose but not the freedom not to choose ...
I read Zone 23 sometime in Spring 2020. I ordered it on Kindle because at the time, as I remember it, Amazon said that it would take a long time to receive a physical copy but I could read it right away on Kindle. I hate reading on Kindle, but Zone 23 was so compelling that I read it very quickly. I was very impressed with the humanity of your characters Taylor and Valentina. And I enjoyed the moments of respite from the brutality of Zone 23 such as when Taylor's friends would eat pigeon paella together. Forgive me if I'm remembering this wrong. It's been 4 years since I read Zone 23. Now I want to read it again, but I want to get a paper copy instead of reading it on my ancient Kindle.
Read the book and it was great. Afraid there is nobody in my close vicinity to share the feelings. But it is part of the described game after all - I am not Normal, heavily Variant-POSITIVE. So, I have nobody than you to express my gratitude for this awful, counter-humanistic, Trumpler Putler promoting, no respect to human life carrying, collecting all f (fuck) words of the season, all worst traits signed, piece of art.
Love the image on the cover CJ. Did you self-publish?
Thanks CJ.
Please promote away.
Your "Rise of the new normal Reich" I value so much I have bought three copies to promote it
I'm writing a book, and at intervals I share parts of it with my writing group. The consensus is that such people, or anyone, don't like what I write. I think I've found the main reason why. One of my concerns is to engage characters who are in the grip of the Theory of the Progression of Evil. Ok, that's not so uncommon in literature (Macbeth, etc.). But what most authors do is, if they're actually depicting a scene where characters of this persuasion are found, is to pull their punches, so to speak. Readers will tolerate characters who are not very good, or second rate, or even third rate, but beyond that they expect a kind of arm-waving that has no real dramatic impact. And yet they seem to be able to tolerate really evil characters (at the level of abominable (Morgoth)) -- perhaps because those characters have jettisoned the emotional aspect and are more purely spiritual -- it probably goes over the heads of most readers. The problem seems to become most apparent with characters who are between bad and abominable: so you have malice depicted along with a strong physical and emotional component (physical violence (mayhem) and of course foul language of one kind or another). The readers don't want to face up to that aspect of reality; they want to pretend that we are living in a kind of quasi-heaven, or at least something rather neutral; as far as good and evil are concerned. Also, many of them seem to think that the attempt to do that type of depiction -- on the part of the artist -- violates some kind of group norm regarding propriety, or whatever. So their self-righteous anger is triggered and they attack both the work and the author, as a threat to their comfort, safety, and existence. Same thing they do toward those who don't wear masks, aren't vaccinated, don't have the right hairdo, have too many tattoos (or not enough), and so on. Such readers don't need artists. They want distraction. affirmation, television from the 1950s. That's fine; that's great that you're fine and I'm fine; as you say, it's great to be fine.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Laughed out loud a number of times, was sickened more than once, more so at the Clears who had been programmed from birth (genetically???) to view/feel that killing a "3" gone wild was an act of compassion (but with as much import as killing a character in a video game) than Taylor's killing for survival or out of passionate anger. Felt Valentina's and Taylor's hopelessness and then great hope. Thanks, it was a wonderful ride.
wow I can't believe how prescient that was--you captured the medical industrial complex the way it wants to be. Chilling. Now I have to read the book.
"Alpha children wear grey. They work much harder than we do, because they're so frightfully clever. I'm awfully glad I'm a Beta, because I don't work so hard. And then we are much better than the Gammas and Deltas. Gammas are stupid. They all wear green, and Delta children wear khaki. Oh no, I don't want to play with Delta children. And Epsilons are still worse. They're too stupid to be able to read or write. Besides they wear black, which is such a beastly color. I'm so glad I'm a Beta."
Aldous Huxley
Regarding “Normals”: I view them/us through the lens of Pathocracy, viz government/state rule by psychopaths. There are basically two types of people. The naturally born psychopaths — comprising approximately 6% of the world’s population and unevenly distributed through all demographics and socioeconomic classes — and non-psychopaths. One might argue that the non-psychopaths are Normals. However, the Normals are subdivided into various categories of people. On the more evil side, are those evil sociopaths who learn from the evil psychopaths how to develop psychopathic traits. With the psychos, they don’t have to learn to be evil. They’re born that way. With the sociopaths — along with malignant narcissistic personality disorder and borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder — they are attracted to the power and the charisma of the psychopaths. The sociopaths decide that they want to go to work for the Pathocracy. They’re willing henchmen. Then we have the Normals who are the bureaucrats from top to bottom, from international organizations to county clerks to school boards. They’re just following orders. Doing everything necessary to keep the wheels of the Pathocracy well greased and well maintained and well balanced. Then you have the Normals who constitute the genuinely laboring Working Class. Those who work in the survival industries, working to provide food and clothing and shelter and transportation for the world’s population. And plenty of Normals are desperately poverty stricken.
I don’t see any Normals physically (materially, concretely) Organizing to resist the Pathocracy. I see Normals who claim to be totally awake to the fact that we live in a Pathocracy (even though they utilize different terminology to describe a governmental system ruled by psychopaths) and who criticize the system and some Normals who even go as far past mere criticism to state that the system needs to be fought against. But (again) I don’t see any Normals actually organizing. Is it premature to organize?
It’s wonderful how a few words from a “Marge” can confirm one’s desire to read the book. I will let you know my thoughts.
I recommend that every writer read D. H. Lawrence’s replies to criticism, ( It’s in his collected essays).
As a young person I also wanted to be a book critic, but I couldn’t stand the sight of blood.
Wow. Yikes. Hooked. Just bought it for Kindle. (I like real books better, but there's already no room for me in my apartment.)