Cower not, fierce reader! We have today a tale of upsetting the social order. A work of satire...or is it? Please note, this book is not for the gentle of spirit.
Fenris Wulf has presented us with an interesting tale, filled with crimes against Social Justice. The first section of the book is filled with accusations against the modern "music" industry. We have stories of talent getting ignored and buried, a culture that hates its supporters and enablers that will commit any crime to make the record happen.
We are also presented with a blatant hatred of all things leftist. That does not push our characters to the opposition party, for in fact they do not oppose but in name. Actual rights are abandoned in favor of rights that put one at the mercy of or in the control of the government. The government is shown repeatedly to be complicit in crimes of kidnapping, drugging, and outright murder of people that are problematic. Hmm.
As I stated, there are moments where one is unsure of it being satire. Of course, there are things that are clearly satire, such as Presidential trial and succession by duel. These are televised, of course. Blackmail, obsession, and divided loyalties are the tools of the day, and there are no depths the story's villains will not stoop to.
This story will make you laugh, mostly at how close to reality it is. The music industry actively avoids talent, audiences don't listen anyway, and our political parties have been so similar it's ridiculous. A fine story, and one I'm happy to recommend. 7/10 fell deeds.
Now, I'm going to address one aspect of this book I have some evidence for: the quality of editing done by Vox Day and the Castalia House team. An early version of this tome was one of Castalia House's new release newsletter free books. I started reading that version; I actually got bored, and did not finish. Since then, it has been tightly edited to within an inch of its identity, and everything unnecessary has been chopped out. The transformation is remarkable, in terms of how much better the book became, while keeping the same story. Congratulations on the transformation, Vox.
I would like to further note that this is no insult to Fenris Wulf. I have seen some unedited versions of John C. Wright's work, and he needs editing as well, despite being a master of prose. This is not for the quality of the words, but rather, the flow of the narrative, and an editor makes all the difference.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
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