I’ve been gratified by the early reviews of Burn Down the Sky, both from readers and critics. “Never before have I read such a vivid, intense novel,” wrote one book blogger. Another critic said, “I could not stop reading…I found myself shouting out loud when…” (spoiler).
There have been a lot of great comments, and they’re all nice to hear after spending eighteen months writing the post-apocalypto six days a week.
One concern two bloggers have mentioned is how uncomfortable they are with having the story’s deadly disease named “Wicca.” In both cases the women said they got past the obstacle. I’d like to note that the official name of the disease in the book is “Immune Disintegration Disorder,” or IDD (a wink at Freud for a disease spread by sex), but as noted early in the novel, “’Wicca’ had come into far greater usage after enraged fundamentalists of all faiths started calling it the ‘devil’s disease.’” Which is how religious fundamentalists in this post-apocalyptic world see any deviation in what they would think of as proper thought. So it’s little wonder they would defame Wiccans, Pagans, or anyone else not adhering strictly to their beliefs. Let’s face it, it’s not far removed from what we see currently with religious fundamentalists “of all faiths.”
In my own little mountain town a friend’s son was recently told by a man that he shouldn’t play with a plastic centaur because that was “witchcraft.” We’re abundant with those kinds monde bizarro beliefs, and I strongly suspect that as climate change produces truly devastating events, we’ll see a sharp proliferation of superstition.
Even though BDTS brings to life climate change’s worst case scenario, the events noted in the book also are not that far removed from reality. I think that’s what makes the story so hard to stop reading and, yes, makes you want to shout out loud when someone starts to fight back in this starkly imagined world.
Drop me a line. You can reach me at www.marknykanen.com, or read my blog, which links readers to important climate change stories at www.postingfromthepostapocalypse.com
Please spread the word. The very best reviews come by word-of-mouth.
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