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Destruction Unit
In this heart-pounding Irish dystopian thriller, Alex SECAM takes speculative fiction to the next level. When corporate giant Kavanagh Industries infiltrates Cork City Hall, entire communities become expendable. The poor are expelled, corrupt vulture capitalists move in, and Cork's heart is carved up for profit.
Jacker and Paul never planned to become resistance fighters. But when Kavanagh's Eviction Unit tears them from their apartments - literally sucking them through their front windows and dumping them beyond the city walls - they discover an underground network of fellow exiles fighting to reclaim their homes.
In a world where neighborhoods are commodities and people are obstacles to profit, can two ordinary rebels bring down a corrupt empire before their city - and everyone in it - is lost forever?
Perfect for fans of dystopian fiction, gentrification thrillers, corporate conspiracy thrillers and stories of ordinary people fighting back against impossible odds.
With their backs against the wall and their former lives in ruins, these unlikely heroes must take on the seemingly destroy Kavanagh's ruthless Eviction Unit and stop the corporate takeover that's devouring everything they once called home.
A gripping speculative thriller that exposes how corporate power could reshape our cities - and our lives.
Jacker and Paul never planned to become resistance fighters. But when Kavanagh's Eviction Unit tears them from their apartments - literally sucking them through their front windows and dumping them beyond the city walls - they discover an underground network of fellow exiles fighting to reclaim their homes.
In a world where neighborhoods are commodities and people are obstacles to profit, can two ordinary rebels bring down a corrupt empire before their city - and everyone in it - is lost forever?
Perfect for fans of dystopian fiction, gentrification thrillers, corporate conspiracy thrillers and stories of ordinary people fighting back against impossible odds.
With their backs against the wall and their former lives in ruins, these unlikely heroes must take on the seemingly destroy Kavanagh's ruthless Eviction Unit and stop the corporate takeover that's devouring everything they once called home.
A gripping speculative thriller that exposes how corporate power could reshape our cities - and our lives.
180 pages, Paperback
Published August 15, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 6, 2026
Destruction Unit is a story with paranormal elements. With ghostly quests and spirits, it has a haunting element that is hard to deny. But the true horror of this story? That comes from the dystopian realism that is somehow much too close to reality for comfort.
The city of Cork is a fortress, with solid walls manned by armed guards. The rich and powerful rule over the city, while the poor and disadvantaged are forcibly evicted and taken beyond the walls. Pockets of resistance bloom, as technology becomes deadlier by the day, and the stakes get higher.
The callousness of the powerful is matched only by the resilience of the resistance. The value of human life is measured in this story and found wanting. And just when you think you know where this story will take you, Alex Secam leads you down an even darker path that you hadn’t even noticed.
With short, sharp chapters, this novella is a fast and tense read which will make you look at the world anew, and really think about which side you are on. This rebellion isn’t over yet…and despite the grim, bitter dystopian nightmare that you have escaped, you will find yourself eager for more.
With characters you will love, some you will despise, Secam cleverly builds his world without a single wasted word. While some characters could have used a little more background or development, the bursts of personality that you do get are punchy (sometimes literally), and definitely move the plot along.
While some aspects of the story seems a little jumpy or disjointed to me, this enhanced the read as it felt chaotic and tense, which perfectly matches the plot.
3.5 stars
The city of Cork is a fortress, with solid walls manned by armed guards. The rich and powerful rule over the city, while the poor and disadvantaged are forcibly evicted and taken beyond the walls. Pockets of resistance bloom, as technology becomes deadlier by the day, and the stakes get higher.
The callousness of the powerful is matched only by the resilience of the resistance. The value of human life is measured in this story and found wanting. And just when you think you know where this story will take you, Alex Secam leads you down an even darker path that you hadn’t even noticed.
With short, sharp chapters, this novella is a fast and tense read which will make you look at the world anew, and really think about which side you are on. This rebellion isn’t over yet…and despite the grim, bitter dystopian nightmare that you have escaped, you will find yourself eager for more.
With characters you will love, some you will despise, Secam cleverly builds his world without a single wasted word. While some characters could have used a little more background or development, the bursts of personality that you do get are punchy (sometimes literally), and definitely move the plot along.
While some aspects of the story seems a little jumpy or disjointed to me, this enhanced the read as it felt chaotic and tense, which perfectly matches the plot.
3.5 stars
August 21, 2025
"Jacker and Paul never planned to become resistance fighters..."
Destruction Unit by Alex Secam is a dark dystopian thriller set in a near-future Ireland (specifically Cork City) where politicians and public servants work on the payroll of the highest corporate bidder, investors and developers both domestic and international carve up swathes of the city for their own ends, and the poor and disadvantaged are literally sucked out of their homes by Eviction Units and dumped outside the city walls to make room for "progress". The money-men behind it all use the media to maintain this status quo by spreading fear of the "other" aka the poor, the immigrants, the refugees, and the homeless, while state-sanctioned thugs rain down violence and intimidation on those same people.
That much of this sounds like I'm talking about the present day (and the rest sometimes feels like an inevitability waiting just around the corner) is testament to how the author builds on very real fears and issues, cranking them up to 11, his anger at the state of "what is and what should never be" clear in every word. This book is described as "1984 meets the Housing Crisis" which is highly accurate but it also throws in shades of the absurdist-technocratic nightmare of Terry Gilliam's Brazil and the Droog-like ultra violence of A Clockwork Orange. We're given characters we care about and shown what happens when they're run through the grinding machinery of a system that simply does not want them to exist.
Highly recommend for anyone looking for gritty speculative fiction with a message, full of interesting characters, a wry sense of dark humour, and a warning to question the motives and methods of those in power...while there's still time.
Destruction Unit by Alex Secam is a dark dystopian thriller set in a near-future Ireland (specifically Cork City) where politicians and public servants work on the payroll of the highest corporate bidder, investors and developers both domestic and international carve up swathes of the city for their own ends, and the poor and disadvantaged are literally sucked out of their homes by Eviction Units and dumped outside the city walls to make room for "progress". The money-men behind it all use the media to maintain this status quo by spreading fear of the "other" aka the poor, the immigrants, the refugees, and the homeless, while state-sanctioned thugs rain down violence and intimidation on those same people.
That much of this sounds like I'm talking about the present day (and the rest sometimes feels like an inevitability waiting just around the corner) is testament to how the author builds on very real fears and issues, cranking them up to 11, his anger at the state of "what is and what should never be" clear in every word. This book is described as "1984 meets the Housing Crisis" which is highly accurate but it also throws in shades of the absurdist-technocratic nightmare of Terry Gilliam's Brazil and the Droog-like ultra violence of A Clockwork Orange. We're given characters we care about and shown what happens when they're run through the grinding machinery of a system that simply does not want them to exist.
Highly recommend for anyone looking for gritty speculative fiction with a message, full of interesting characters, a wry sense of dark humour, and a warning to question the motives and methods of those in power...while there's still time.
July 31, 2025
A dark dystopian psychological thriller that feels all too real
Cork, Ireland is undergoing extreme gentrification. The working class expelled from the city to live destitute and demonised by society, riled up by shock jock media. Do you rebel, or conform? Those willing to take a stance will use every resource to fight back.
This is modern dystopia with supernatural overtones. And the fight doesn’t seem to be quite over…
Cork, Ireland is undergoing extreme gentrification. The working class expelled from the city to live destitute and demonised by society, riled up by shock jock media. Do you rebel, or conform? Those willing to take a stance will use every resource to fight back.
This is modern dystopia with supernatural overtones. And the fight doesn’t seem to be quite over…
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews