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Cull
China is demanding a UN imposed regime of zero net carbon dioxide emissions within five years. What will be the US response? Harry Fromm, career diplomat, must choose between loyalty to his President and the fate of billions. From the moment he questions their wisdom and loses their trust, they want him dead. But where is he?
"Cull is a fast moving political suspense story of intrigue at the highest level. But it keeps us grounded by following the desperate attempt of a Vietnamese family, victims of famine and pawns of the Conspiracy, to escape in a leaky old boat. They run the gauntlet of rapacious officials and murderous political opportunists, who prey upon them at every turn."
The planes are in the air, a madman is in charge, and Harry Fromm, the only man who can prevent the carnage, is in jail.
"Cull is a fast moving political suspense story of intrigue at the highest level. But it keeps us grounded by following the desperate attempt of a Vietnamese family, victims of famine and pawns of the Conspiracy, to escape in a leaky old boat. They run the gauntlet of rapacious officials and murderous political opportunists, who prey upon them at every turn."
The planes are in the air, a madman is in charge, and Harry Fromm, the only man who can prevent the carnage, is in jail.
416 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 13, 2014
Cull"- Stafford Ray
" A heap of broken images , where the sun beats .
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief
And the dry stone no sound of water .
Only there is shadow under this red rock "
- T.S Eliot , "The Wasteland"
Stafford Ray has written a novel for our times . Steeped in the vernacular and peculiar pathos of white Australian Anglo Saxon late- industrial culture , its deep humanity is what sets it apart .
Ray depicts in great detail the problems that beset most if not all western industrial societies , as the core promises and beliefs of the enlightenment descend into Machiavellan farce ; a mad scramble against the dying of the light , the race for whats left . Its chief protagonists are the bastard children of Bacon and Descarte , their disdain for the natural world , championing of artifice , ideology , process and reason ending in Shakespearean tragedy as the technocracy scrambles to paper over the ever widening cracks of Theodore Roszaks ever diminishing "Urban Margin .
Written in a conversational style , the deep empathy and emotional capacity of the musician author shines through as he weaves deep emotional connections between the characters, attention to detail second to none,
"Tanner tried to turn the conversation back to sport , but it was too late to resurrect the previous warmth " and
"Now that she had set the boundaries , she was able to reclaim some of his warmth "
Some of the story line is eerily prescient , such as the plan to hijack aircraft controls by remote access , shades of the Malaysian MH370 conspiracy , which must have occurred after the book was completed .
In an age where New Age Optimism is virtual religion , Ray is unafraid to explore the dark and gritty reality of our modern predicament , with humanity slowly being forced up against the hard geological and ecological limits which have drawn a line under the religion of economic growth , and may yet imperil its very existence . The subliminal guilt of the largely migrant , extremely wealthy urban population of lifeboat Australia is brought under the microscope , for the morally dubious qualities of the politicians in the story can only reflect the corresponding dubious morality of the people they represent , happy for the leadership to " do what it takes " to ensure continuing prosperity , while pretending to distance themselves , art imitating life , ie boat people . Parallels abound between this situation and the class divisions aboard the Titanic as she foundered , one of the most powerful and enduring images of our culture.
The increasingly questionable value of the U.S - Australia relationship at a time of the emergence of a new B.R.IC superpower is also held under the microscope , as the Imcreased U.S military presence on the Australian continent seemingly contradicts our enhanced economic and social integration into South East Asia , a glaring fault line that runs like a huge ugly unacknowledged scar across the Marilyn Manson like world of modern Australia , where people greedily accept cash payments to add more children to an already grossly overpopulated planet.
The central character , deeply flawed and feckless baby boomer veteran Harry Fromm , cut from the same cloth as his namesake , the Nazi General Erich Fromm , famous for having " a quid each way " in the july 20 plot to overthrow Adolph Hitler and (coming spectacularly unstuck regardless); nonetheless the reader feels compelled to empathise with this hapless character who has his entire belief system and Weltanschauung systematically dismantled as the plot unfolds , and is forced to deal with the hideous psychological consequences of this in real time , as he descends into the hellish Seven Circles that comprise the bastions of power in late 21st century capitalism . Along the way we watch him grapple with the contradictions of his own will to power and idealistic pragmatism , horror at the fate that is rapidly engulfing with the world , love of family and the many addictions that beset the modern westerner , food , sex , caffeine , alcohol and anxiety inducing 24 hour blanket media coverage . Ironically this anti hero is an American , perhaps symbolising Australians unquestioning embrace of all things U.S.A . Nonetheless , Harry Fromm is a crossdressing Kill Bill on a metaphysical thousand bomber Dresden raid , and he leads us to a most unexpected ending , a world where there is hope all the drones may be at last freed !
Unlike other writers of the genre ,Cormac McCarthy , J.M Greer , J.H kunstler , who have focused more on the post industrial future, Ray is here fearlessly tackling the present , holding up a mirror to a deeply unconscious yet increasingly uneasy populace , who nonetheless sense fact that the world is in trouble , though they have been thus far unwilling to acknowledge or address the situation , for fear it may reduce their present lifestyle and standard of living . Rays Australia is akin to Germany in the 1930s in many ways , and it is this umcomfortable truth which seeps from every page , drips from every sentence , daring the reader to look deep into him or herself and face the uncomfortable realities which are irrevocably hurtling our collective way .
But a word of warning , dear would be reader , if you take this red pill of a novel , for good literature has the power to change people " And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." - ( Nietzsche ).... But if you have a shred of humanity left about you , gaze in you must !
" A heap of broken images , where the sun beats .
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief
And the dry stone no sound of water .
Only there is shadow under this red rock "
- T.S Eliot , "The Wasteland"
Stafford Ray has written a novel for our times . Steeped in the vernacular and peculiar pathos of white Australian Anglo Saxon late- industrial culture , its deep humanity is what sets it apart .
Ray depicts in great detail the problems that beset most if not all western industrial societies , as the core promises and beliefs of the enlightenment descend into Machiavellan farce ; a mad scramble against the dying of the light , the race for whats left . Its chief protagonists are the bastard children of Bacon and Descarte , their disdain for the natural world , championing of artifice , ideology , process and reason ending in Shakespearean tragedy as the technocracy scrambles to paper over the ever widening cracks of Theodore Roszaks ever diminishing "Urban Margin .
Written in a conversational style , the deep empathy and emotional capacity of the musician author shines through as he weaves deep emotional connections between the characters, attention to detail second to none,
"Tanner tried to turn the conversation back to sport , but it was too late to resurrect the previous warmth " and
"Now that she had set the boundaries , she was able to reclaim some of his warmth "
Some of the story line is eerily prescient , such as the plan to hijack aircraft controls by remote access , shades of the Malaysian MH370 conspiracy , which must have occurred after the book was completed .
In an age where New Age Optimism is virtual religion , Ray is unafraid to explore the dark and gritty reality of our modern predicament , with humanity slowly being forced up against the hard geological and ecological limits which have drawn a line under the religion of economic growth , and may yet imperil its very existence . The subliminal guilt of the largely migrant , extremely wealthy urban population of lifeboat Australia is brought under the microscope , for the morally dubious qualities of the politicians in the story can only reflect the corresponding dubious morality of the people they represent , happy for the leadership to " do what it takes " to ensure continuing prosperity , while pretending to distance themselves , art imitating life , ie boat people . Parallels abound between this situation and the class divisions aboard the Titanic as she foundered , one of the most powerful and enduring images of our culture.
The increasingly questionable value of the U.S - Australia relationship at a time of the emergence of a new B.R.IC superpower is also held under the microscope , as the Imcreased U.S military presence on the Australian continent seemingly contradicts our enhanced economic and social integration into South East Asia , a glaring fault line that runs like a huge ugly unacknowledged scar across the Marilyn Manson like world of modern Australia , where people greedily accept cash payments to add more children to an already grossly overpopulated planet.
The central character , deeply flawed and feckless baby boomer veteran Harry Fromm , cut from the same cloth as his namesake , the Nazi General Erich Fromm , famous for having " a quid each way " in the july 20 plot to overthrow Adolph Hitler and (coming spectacularly unstuck regardless); nonetheless the reader feels compelled to empathise with this hapless character who has his entire belief system and Weltanschauung systematically dismantled as the plot unfolds , and is forced to deal with the hideous psychological consequences of this in real time , as he descends into the hellish Seven Circles that comprise the bastions of power in late 21st century capitalism . Along the way we watch him grapple with the contradictions of his own will to power and idealistic pragmatism , horror at the fate that is rapidly engulfing with the world , love of family and the many addictions that beset the modern westerner , food , sex , caffeine , alcohol and anxiety inducing 24 hour blanket media coverage . Ironically this anti hero is an American , perhaps symbolising Australians unquestioning embrace of all things U.S.A . Nonetheless , Harry Fromm is a crossdressing Kill Bill on a metaphysical thousand bomber Dresden raid , and he leads us to a most unexpected ending , a world where there is hope all the drones may be at last freed !
Unlike other writers of the genre ,Cormac McCarthy , J.M Greer , J.H kunstler , who have focused more on the post industrial future, Ray is here fearlessly tackling the present , holding up a mirror to a deeply unconscious yet increasingly uneasy populace , who nonetheless sense fact that the world is in trouble , though they have been thus far unwilling to acknowledge or address the situation , for fear it may reduce their present lifestyle and standard of living . Rays Australia is akin to Germany in the 1930s in many ways , and it is this umcomfortable truth which seeps from every page , drips from every sentence , daring the reader to look deep into him or herself and face the uncomfortable realities which are irrevocably hurtling our collective way .
But a word of warning , dear would be reader , if you take this red pill of a novel , for good literature has the power to change people " And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." - ( Nietzsche ).... But if you have a shred of humanity left about you , gaze in you must !
June 14, 2016
Fascinating premise. Writing builds a bit of suspense, but ending felt rushed.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews