Babylon Working: A Dystopian Horror

by Davy Lyons

What happens if you cross Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty Four" and Heller's "Catch 22" with the horror tones of Stephen King and H. P. Lovecraft...? The authoritarian Union, a white supremacist, totalitarian dictatorship spanning from America to western Europe, uses the “Global Defence Authority” army to replace the old United Nations. Together with strong ally Russia, it sends endless lines of troops, male and female, to fight. The enemy is the African Islamic League, commonly referred to in the Union as The Terrorists, a quasi-Caliphate that spans much of Africa and the Middle East. Now, on the front line in the Egyptian desert, something extraordinary is happening... 2066. In London, society is downtrodden and lost. Britain is run by the neo-Fascist party, the B.F.P. and is under the firm control of ageing Prime Minster Mark Collins. Seventeen-year-old Aaron Styles is a black kid in a society where having anything but white skin severely impacts your life choices. Rundown ghettos, known as Estates, are the familiar symbol of racial divide, but Aaron has been brought up in secrecy away from the notorious Hackney Estate by elderly guardian Doctor Andrew Forrester, an 82-year-old middle-class white historian. The Doctor’s life has been one of regrets and inaction against the murderous political thugs that have taken society over. Now, he is left devastated by Aaron’s decision to “do his bit” and join the Global Defence Authority forces. Together with his lifelong friend and ex-resistance fighter Shirley Barnes, the Doctor decides he’s going to do something about it. In Egypt, the war rages on. Twenty-three-year-old Californian Jake Kochowski, a Corporal in the Global Defence Authority Marine infantry, finds himself at the heart of a horrifying supernatural event that will change the world and its warring occupants forever. Using the distinct voices of Aaron Styles, Doctor Forrester and Lieutenant Kochowski, “Babylon Working” is a dystopian dark fantasy sci-fi horror. It is a contemporary take on themes explored by works such as Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty Four” and Heller’s “Catch 22” with the horror tones of H. P. Lovecraft and a strong dose of the postmodern visionary genius of George A. Romero and Robert Kirkman.

363 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 3, 2017

Reviews

[Jordan Mitchell]

Possibly one of the most interesting books I have EVER read. Detailed where it needs to be (and it is incredibly detailed) while walking through likely outcomes (of a de-globalized world when the US walks away from security guarantor for all other countries) in a quasi-story-telling fashion. HIGHLY recommend.