There is a sickness - and it is eating away all that is good and pure in people. It has been since the dawn of time. We can't afford to dwell on it as we go about our daily lives, it's just too much, too much to take in, too much responsibility. There have always been people who've wanted the world consumed Charles - and century after century, for thousands of years, the Trust has existed to systematically identify and eliminate them. But they keep coming. Because of the sickness.
- from the Chapter V (Reality Sucks)
Glen Neuman, the CEO of Endymion Armaments, is preparing for the day filled with glorious prospects. In a matter of hours he will either climb up a step or two in the food chain, or be teared apart and consumed, if he is found wanting. In a day like this it's all about perfect appearance, it's all about making perfect first impression; choosing the wrong tie for a meeting like this 'would be like presenting Baby Jesus with a scented hand-grenade; a real naivety scene' (p. 3).
Unbeknownst to Neuman, all his despairing with the attire will be in vain and he might as well dress up as Jesus. After several hours his meticulous appearance will become entirely meaningless, and his sense of reality will commit a suicide. And what is worst of all - all this is just a passing prelude for yet greater horrors.
Holochrist is Ryan Anschauung's, who is better known as an essayist of the Sinister, first novel-length stab at writing fiction. He has always been a man of surprise and change - to the annoyance of his critics and to the pleasure of his supporters - and Holochrist doesn't constitute an exception to the rule.
If the genre known as 'sinister fiction' usually leans towards occult horror, with demons, witches and wizards playing their schemes and ploys in a (mostly) rural setting, Anschauung's novel comes out as a long-awaited update of the genre. By placing the story in today's USA and by weaving together a rich tapestry of conspiracy theory, fringe science and alternative history, Anschauung leads sinister fiction to a new and uncharted territory.
For those who have read the author's previous works - especially The Theory of the Beast - the theoretical undercurrent of the story will open quite easily, but there are parts which would have needed a more thorough treatment. A good example of this is the Black Time / White Time distinction (p. 65 -71), of which especially the latter remained rather vague. Hopefully the author will give a more thorough treatment of it in some other context.
In terms of language and style, there is very little to comment on; there is a good flow in the text, and you can easily absorb the whole book in one or two sittings. Most of the imagery used by the author works just fine. Some of it is, in fact, quite witty, especially those used in the first chapter (p. 2 - 19).
To wrap all this up, if you are looking for the story that will provide a good shaking to your brains, and are not awfully allergic to the dystopian sides and shades of science fiction, please do check Holochrist out. You will not be disappointed.
Order the book: here.
Read a sample chapter: here.
Thanks for your review Mr Grey. I appreciate the nod and your own participation in evolving Holochrist to a higher stage. Black Time refers to the actual stage of technological capability, which capability is cloaked through the needs of political military and illuminati necessity.wherein extraordinary advances in technology are kept secret and filtered down into the mainstream perception a fraction at a time, but a good 20-30 years behind what is actually available; UFO;s Superweapons, Fully Developed Clones, Supersoldiers, Quantum Developments and so on etc. Thusly, White Time, is the time the general populace perceive through this altered reality of what is available by what is released to them - wrongly believing the moment they live in is the most technologically up to date. Companies for instance tend to hold back on features available to them to put into a device to create the demand for a next model, thus slowly ebbing those features out over time - features the populace believe are cutting edge, but which have filtered down in a castrated version to multinationals to sell, from higher grade military applications. There is no reason all the quality features and all-purpose GUI could not be assembled to make one unitary super machine except that to do so would ruin the technological continuum and the companies would exhaust their card hand, all at once, leaving no room for a future model and no need. So in summary, White Time is what the general populace perceive to be the most up to date with technology at its cutting edge, Black Time is thirty years or more beyond this handed-down technology and is the actual time of technologies edge, but the disparity is used to keep "Progress" going as a capitalist continuum and to retain control over less-empowered individuals who have no idea the disparity exists.
ReplyDeleteWell, thank you for explaining the part mentioned in my review. It is most likely useful to those, who want to deepen their understanding on that topic.
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DeleteAre there other details I may have missed fleshing out you'd like more comment on?
ReplyDeleteAs far as I can see, no. I think that the distinction between White Time / Black Time was the main thing brought up in my review of the Holochrist.
ReplyDeleteRyan Anschauung's full sinister novel Holochrist can now be read from the Temple Wordpress.
ReplyDeletehttp://thetempleofthem.com/holochrist-full-novel-chapter-1/
The full novel of Holochrist can now be read from the Temple Wordpress.
ReplyDeletehttp://thetempleofthem.com/holochrist-full-novel-chapter-1/