What They're Saying
[Out of] The Gray Zone will hopefully motivate
young people to get involved in the defense of freedom. The book
will also hopefully underscore the necessity of the older generations
to convey the principles of liberty to those coming behind.
Larry Pratt,
Gunowners of
America
======
I am not going to tell you about the plot of this
book. All you need to know about the plot is in the little blurb
above the reviews. I'm not going to gush about how thrilling,
engrossing, well written and vibrantly emotional this book happens
to be -- though it's all those things.
I'm addressing this review to two groups:
Science Fiction fans, because this is the real deal,
my fellow brothers and sisters in sense o' wonder. And to parents,
because this is a book both you and your children need to read.
This is a book about the world your children are going to inherit.
I won't lecture you on politics (neither will the
book) but I'll extend you the benefit of the doubt that you are
observant, thoughtful and interested enough in your life to notice
those little changes that seem to come a little quicker with each
passing day. Those little sacrifices you are asked to endure.
While they happen, they tend to be painless, like a mosquito bite.
But...they do pile up on you. What happens ten years down the
road as these daily little sacrifices are counted? Fifteen?
That's where the SF part comes in. Wolfe and Zelman
tackle what I consider the toughest nut in literary SF: the near
term immersive novel. They pull it off spectacularly. This is
no guided tour through a future. It's not a dystopia or a utopia.
The authors do not fall to the temptation to take the easy way
out. Instead, they give us a vivid, believable, but scarily different
society that resembles today the way a gangly teenager resembles
his baby pictures. I say this as an absolute and utter science
fiction snob. Rebelfire is a wonderful first novel for any genre,
but for the authors to tackle such a difficult type of SF novel
on the first go and succeed so well is quite the feat.
The world they present is one we do not wish to
believe, but it's constructed from things going on now. If anything,
it's conservative in it's doomcrying.
And that's where you parents come in: this is an
important book. Its themes are the same as almost every laudable
young adult novel I can name: the power of believing in yourself
and your dreams. The importance of bravery in the face of adversity.
The supreme need for loyalty to and from those we love. There
is no lack of adventure, but it's adventure of an oddly personal,
realistic type. There are no shining heroes or last ditch rescues.
The people and events of Rebelfire are conflicted and fallible;
the events are quiet but no less momentous.
This is a book that you and your children need to
read, and discuss. This is a book that may make your children
pay a closer eye to current events, and ask clearer questions
about social institutions like government and politics.
So. SF fans, pick up the book and be one of those
people who can say 'Oh yeah. I remember that when it was just
a small press book.' Our genre is being compressed and overwhelmed
by franchise crap based on TV shows and movies. Major publishers
seem less and less willing to take a chance on anything provocative,
or deeply felt, or passionate. Remember that [i]we[/i] are the
people who demand books like Rebelfire. If we don't support them
when they appear, well...we'd better learn to enjoy STAR WARS
novelizations.
And parents, buy this book. Read it first, then
pass it to the kids. Be prepared for some hard questions. Some
thoughts your child may have never encountered before. Some thoughts
you may have never encountered before. This is a book from which
many conversations will be born.
Because, I'm sad to say, in this book is the world
your children will inherit, unless we start changing things in
our own small ways now.
And it's not too late.
George Potter
======
Set
in the Brave new world of tomorrow, “RebelFire, Out
of the Gray Zone” shows the out of control nanny State.
In this place, and in the very near future, everyone is tracked
everywhere by the State for their own good. Even your own mother
can look you up everywhere! Dreams and ambitions are given compulsory
“treatment”. Spy cameras are everywhere and people
are monitored tracked and told everything they can and can’t
do. Privacy is a thing of the past and the eyes are everywhere.
Even
more frightening is the technology for this new Orwellian world
is here today and being put in place now. “RebelFire,
Out of the Gray Zone” shows our legacy of complacency
towards today’s nanny State. Jeremy is a kid trapped in
this world of his parents and grandparents. He has dreams in this
world where freedom is a meaningless word. His only escape lies
in forbidden music from a band called RebelFire which he listens
to covertly. It draws him out of the fog of existing day to day
towards the flames of true freedom.
The
book provides a unique experience with the music CD included.
It allows the reader to further immerse into Jeremy’s world.
“RebelFire, Out of the Gray Zone” is the
first in the series and will appeal to teens and adult readers.
Hopefully the readers can draw from this great story and apply
the lessons to today’s world and ensure Jeremy’s world
remains in the genre of great science fiction. Like all good books
Rebel Fire tells an interesting and entertaining story
and gets you thinking about the world of today and the Human condition
of tomorrow. It was one of those books I could not put down and
I anxiously await the next one in the series.
For
the adults, I sincerely hope that they think about the world today
and the pieces being put in place to make Jeremy’s world
a fact. People on the political left and right will no doubt be
very upset. It shows some of their control issues taken to the
extreme in a full blown police state. It illustrates why individual
freedom and choice are better. The world in RebelFire
isn’t a huge leap away either. Everything from political
corruption and cover-ups to full time monitoring and control are
here today. It shows the results of the war on terrorism, drugs,
obesity, (fill in the blank). What sounds like good policy “for
the common good” today from our “representatives”
leads to Jeremy’s world tomorrow. Totalitarian states are
not new themes for humankind. Question is will the people reading
today have the intestinal fortitude to put the brakes now or will
they let their children or grandchildren do it. For the adults
of today “RebelFire, Out of the Gray Zone”
provides the looking glass into their grandkids' world.
For
the young reader it shows why you need to question authority.
Don’t buy everything the teachers and adults tell you. Some
readers will be able to relate to Jeremy. Yes the world today
is troublesome, but don’t buy into the “solutions”
being offered. “RebelFire, Out of the Gray Zone”
isn’t a boring adult book and most will find it entertaining
and thought provoking.
Sean Glazier
Lead Software Engineer
Cincom
Smalltalk
And new RebelFire
Fan