Lightning-fast read contained a strong mix of dystopian, sci-fi, and fantasy elements
While The Erik Blair Diaries told a compelling and cautionary tale, the best ingredient(s) for this novel was its perfect blend of dystopian, science fiction, and fantasy elements.
Dystopian? Check. Science fiction? Check. Fantasy? Check. Hmmm, anyone who knows me will also know that I freaking love any book that fuses those three genres. Wonder why that is? Oh, right, it’s because dystopian, sci-fi, and fantasy elements like to run rampant in my own work, complete with libertarian messaging, might I add.
That said, I definitely found a cool comp title not only to share here but with my core reading audience. Because something tells me they’ll fall head over heels here.
When I first picked up The Erik Blair Diaries by John W. Whitehead, I thought I’d get simply a dystopian/sci-fi novel since the two run hand-in-hand. But no, I ended up with a work that contained just enough fantasy, making this one a complete genre-fusion read. And it’s something we don’t always have enough of across roughly 10 million-plus books on Amazon and other outlets.
The dystopian elements were self-explanatory, as this book is a ‘spiritual successor’ in many ways to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. But, with a mass surveillance state in 2084, in which there are numerous ‘robo animals’ and ‘insectoids,’ among other terrifying creatures, the fantasy concepts got me since one doesn’t even have to explain the latter if they don’t feel the need. In other words, they’re virtually limitless in every way imaginable.
Fantasy elements made The Erik Blair Diaries click
In my previous piece (linked above), I mentioned that I can see a lot of what’s going on in this book happening in the future. But, of course, not all of it is possible, as Whitehead is still writing a story from his imagination. Or, at least I think that’s the case, as this guy is so knowledgeable he might know a thing or two that the rest of us don’t.
It’s, in many ways, the same style I used when I wrote The Rebellion Awakens, Book I in my Sentrys of Terrene Trilogy. And before you ask, I spelled Sentrys that way on purpose as opposed to Sentries.
Anyway, now that I got that little fun fact out of the way, the cautionary tale was the big picture behind Rebellion, sharing quite a few qualities with The Erik Blair Diaries. Here are just a few of those similarities (and warnings):
Mass surveillance
Mass tracking
Med tyranny
Recite and repeat what you’re taught without questioning
Dissenters will be rounded up and potentially termed
But still, elemental magic, rune magic, communication with spirits, and other good stuff added that extra element in Rebellion. For Whitehead’s work, I saw something similar and if The Erik Blair Diaries wasn’t complete initially, those extra elements treated me to some added entertainment.
Hoping Whitehead’s wrong on one subject, however
Ghello, the queen from Mars who reminded me of Princess Jadis (you may know her as the White Witch) from The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, was said to be the brains behind building the pyramids and Stonehenge, which we now know are pagan in nature.
Blood and human sacrifices, and some of that more disturbing stuff followed. Now, don’t get me wrong, all of that occurred throughout the world in the pre-Christian era, but as someone who has a thing for some aspects of pagan religions, here’s to hoping my soul isn’t on the line—especially given my love for Germanic and Norse Paganism. So much that I actually have a statue of the God Tyr on my TV stand, plus runes decorating my apartment.
But if it makes you feel any better, I do have a dystopian novel with a Catholic slant perched on my coffee table, so maybe I’m just the Prime Jedi wielding both sides of the Force, right?
Regardless, it was an entertaining slant, even if I pictured Ghello’s right-hand man, Malkin, as a certain star hockey player. Which was weird, but whatever. I found myself getting a kick out of it, and not long after came one of the many showstopping scenes in the work in which Eileen could have pulled the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat if she were part of a particularly popular book series, given her bravery.
Where dystopian, sci-fi, and fantasy entwine
Earlier in the work, when Eileen and Erik went into what I believe was the Earth’s inner core, we met a few interesting creatures there, and I was briefly transported to The Silver Chair, another classic courtesy of C.S. Lewis.
Of course, it wasn’t long until Erik and Eileen uncovered arguably one of the more disturbing elements I’ve ever come across, and I’ve read a lot of dystopian works—failed human experimentation subjects left to die in a morgue, if my memory serves me correct.
That said, it wasn’t long until we’d seen some of the more successful experiments featuring animal-human hybrids, plus the method in which some of the more demented med pros turn dissenters into compliant drones. If it feels like I’m going all over the place, it’s because this work, which is like 195 pages in length, throws a lot at you.
But, as I mentioned in my previous article, it also leaves you wanting more. So, once again, Mr. Whitehead, a sequel and a complete trilogy would be great. I’ll be back next week with my official review of the work following what I hope was a pair of entertaining articles featuring some of The Erik Blair Diaries’ finer tidbits.