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everything is under control.
There is no need to panic. There is no need to be scared.
JOY
will protect you.
In this helpful guide designed to allay all sorts of fears and concerns that have risen in the post- JOY utopia, Ward Christopher - with assistance from The Union - presents explanations, examples, and solutions to the things that may be scaring you. From the shadows in your bedroom to politics, and even the very end of the world, this JOY -approved Reassurance Guide produced by The Union is here to tell you one simple thing.
Everything is under control.
From the author of the award-winning Wilthaven (BBNYA Finalist 2021) comes a new title introducing another world in which things aren't what they seem, and with a threat far larger than anything imagined. As always, they hope you enjoy.
In this helpful guide designed to allay all sorts of fears and concerns that have risen in the post- JOY utopia, Ward Christopher - with assistance from The Union - presents explanations, examples, and solutions to the things that may be scaring you. From the shadows in your bedroom to politics, and even the very end of the world, this JOY -approved Reassurance Guide produced by The Union is here to tell you one simple thing.
Everything is under control.
From the author of the award-winning Wilthaven (BBNYA Finalist 2021) comes a new title introducing another world in which things aren't what they seem, and with a threat far larger than anything imagined. As always, they hope you enjoy.
191 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 16, 2024
7 people want to read
About the author
Oli Jacobs
33 books20 followersOli Jacobs is a bearded chap who enjoys spinning a yarn or two. While now a hermit, he has been rumoured to be seen drinking beer and enjoying chicken in the wilds of Southampton. If seen, please approach gently as he has severe anxiety and may cry.
As well as Wilthaven, Oli has also wrote other Horror (The Children of Little Thwopping, The Station 17 Chronicles), Comedy (the Kirk Sandblaster series), Thriller (the Mr Blank series), and short stories (the Filmic Cuts series).
As always, he hopes you enjoy.
As well as Wilthaven, Oli has also wrote other Horror (The Children of Little Thwopping, The Station 17 Chronicles), Comedy (the Kirk Sandblaster series), Thriller (the Mr Blank series), and short stories (the Filmic Cuts series).
As always, he hopes you enjoy.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 24, 2024
*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
everything is under control is a very unusual horror story with a very clever premise: JOY has taken control of humanity and created a utopia, but some people stubbornly persist in their mistaken belief that JOY is a monster, humanity enslaved and the world as we know it threatened by forces of darkness and madness. But that’s okay! Because the author has produced this handy (Union approved) guide to the various challenges you might be facing under JOY’s reign. So, don’t worry: everything is under control!
The story is told in a press release / manual format in a witty parody of authority propaganda and presents numerous little vignettes of horror, styled as case studies or exemplars. There is humour throughout but the story is weighted towards psychological horror, so the sense of doom and despair pervades as you read.
I was reminded of some of my favourite podcast series – Welcome to Night Vale and The Magnus Archive – as the author has taken a similar slanted approach to the genre, whilst retaining his own style.
This was a quick but disturbing read and I would recommend it to horror fans looking for existential dread and space god-monsters.
Remember, JOY only wants what is best for you. Submit to JOY and rejoice. everything is under control. Be very afraid.
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
everything is under control is a very unusual horror story with a very clever premise: JOY has taken control of humanity and created a utopia, but some people stubbornly persist in their mistaken belief that JOY is a monster, humanity enslaved and the world as we know it threatened by forces of darkness and madness. But that’s okay! Because the author has produced this handy (Union approved) guide to the various challenges you might be facing under JOY’s reign. So, don’t worry: everything is under control!
The story is told in a press release / manual format in a witty parody of authority propaganda and presents numerous little vignettes of horror, styled as case studies or exemplars. There is humour throughout but the story is weighted towards psychological horror, so the sense of doom and despair pervades as you read.
I was reminded of some of my favourite podcast series – Welcome to Night Vale and The Magnus Archive – as the author has taken a similar slanted approach to the genre, whilst retaining his own style.
This was a quick but disturbing read and I would recommend it to horror fans looking for existential dread and space god-monsters.
Remember, JOY only wants what is best for you. Submit to JOY and rejoice. everything is under control. Be very afraid.
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
April 16, 2024
Oli Jacobs has a way of writing things that gives you a quiet unsettled feeling and the further you read and the deeper you go the more and more unsettling and uncomfortable his writing is. That sense of quiet unsettledness morphs slowly into a dawning horror of just exactly what is happening and it's worse than you can imagine as you are lead into a yawning black hole of the despair. It didn't help that I decided to have Alexa read this to me from the Kindle version and that unnerving unemotional voice felt like it was the perfect narrator.
June 27, 2024
In the world of everything is under control, by Oli Jacobs, a ruling group called The Union spreads and enforces the message of Joy – a mysterious entity that has made contact from outer space.
In short, now that all of Earth’s problems – including poverty, war, and climate change – have been solved, everyone should be happy.
However, a growing minority of people are expressing fears that should no longer exist. everything is under control. is a celebrity-authored handbook on behalf of The Union that outlines these fears and explains, through case studies, how it resolves them.
everything is under control. is such a creepy, imaginative read! The Union tries to present itself as a benevolent entity that only corrects people because it cares, but it can’t help but let the mask slip, and slip, and slip…
The fears it covers range from the prosaic – creepy-crawlies and things that go bump in the night – to the large-scale – wars and pandemics – to the existential – the judgment of the now-supplanted gods, and the infinite mystery of space.
As the fears under examination escalate, so do the methods The Union uses to deal with them, as demonstrated by the case studies. Through these, the author gets to exercise his talent for the comically extreme and absurd, in terms of both the situations and The Union’s solutions to them.
What becomes clear is that giant spiders with bat-like wings and the Boogeyman are real, though The Union vehemently denies this, blaming mass hysteria and fake news. This strong line in gaslighting extends to denying eugenics, racial and economic segregation, and genocide are, well, exactly those.
Naturally, this doublespeak, as well as the re-education and other punishments doled out to those who rebel against Joy and The Union, put me in mind of various regimes throughout history.
The Union also has parallels with many of the religions and sects it discredits, what with its claims to hear a message from another world, and its use of this message to control people.
The main message I took from everything is under control., though, is ‘humans gonna human’.
While the book’s universe, to begin with, seems utopian, with equality between all races, classes, and genders, people really don’t like being told what to do (especially when they’re told it’s ‘for their own good’) or not being allowed to disagree with those in charge, and there are always going to be people who feel hard done by or miss how things used to be.
And while – not unlike the rats in 1984 – the creatures and disasters bring the flavour, but the totalitarianism is the central horror.
everything is under control. is an unconventional, sinister, and thought-provoking horror story.
In short, now that all of Earth’s problems – including poverty, war, and climate change – have been solved, everyone should be happy.
However, a growing minority of people are expressing fears that should no longer exist. everything is under control. is a celebrity-authored handbook on behalf of The Union that outlines these fears and explains, through case studies, how it resolves them.
everything is under control. is such a creepy, imaginative read! The Union tries to present itself as a benevolent entity that only corrects people because it cares, but it can’t help but let the mask slip, and slip, and slip…
The fears it covers range from the prosaic – creepy-crawlies and things that go bump in the night – to the large-scale – wars and pandemics – to the existential – the judgment of the now-supplanted gods, and the infinite mystery of space.
As the fears under examination escalate, so do the methods The Union uses to deal with them, as demonstrated by the case studies. Through these, the author gets to exercise his talent for the comically extreme and absurd, in terms of both the situations and The Union’s solutions to them.
What becomes clear is that giant spiders with bat-like wings and the Boogeyman are real, though The Union vehemently denies this, blaming mass hysteria and fake news. This strong line in gaslighting extends to denying eugenics, racial and economic segregation, and genocide are, well, exactly those.
Naturally, this doublespeak, as well as the re-education and other punishments doled out to those who rebel against Joy and The Union, put me in mind of various regimes throughout history.
The Union also has parallels with many of the religions and sects it discredits, what with its claims to hear a message from another world, and its use of this message to control people.
The main message I took from everything is under control., though, is ‘humans gonna human’.
While the book’s universe, to begin with, seems utopian, with equality between all races, classes, and genders, people really don’t like being told what to do (especially when they’re told it’s ‘for their own good’) or not being allowed to disagree with those in charge, and there are always going to be people who feel hard done by or miss how things used to be.
And while – not unlike the rats in 1984 – the creatures and disasters bring the flavour, but the totalitarianism is the central horror.
everything is under control. is an unconventional, sinister, and thought-provoking horror story.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews