What About The Otters?
Since this blog promises snarky reviews and Wilcox's take on Steven Erikson's Rejoice was a little too serious, I wrote another review for Twitter. You can read it below.
If you suspect the aliens could be planning something nefarious, well, the Donald Trump stand-in agrees with you. This means you're a bad person and should be ashamed of yourself for not being grateful to the unseen omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient aliens. Trump isn't the only real-life person with a Rejoice counterpart. There's also an Elon Musk whose electric cars aren't flammable and whose spaceships don't explode. For some reason, he's black. Also for some reason Erikson decided to make the Canadian PM a woman. The US VP is a sensible non-Trumpian woman surrounded by idiot men. The head of the UN is a sensible woman surrounded by idiot men. And the assistant to the Koch brothers stand-ins is also a sensible woman dealing with idiot men. Is there a pattern emerging?
Erikson is probably one of those men who think the world would be a better place if women were in charge. Because unlike men, women aren't individuals and instead share a single beautiful, caring, peaceful, nurturing mind. Clearly, that means Elizabeth Holmes Marine Le Pen, Ghislaine Maxwell, Ilse Koch, and Marion Zimmer Bradley aren't/weren’t really women.
But don't let those little details stop you from enjoying the Utopian world of Rejoice, where a warlord and his sex slave can walk hand in hand. After she gets possessed by the aliens' AI. Oh, don't worry, she was already catatonic from being raped and drugged, so that's fine.
Anyway, given the emphasis on human violence, does this mean the AI hasn't stopped animal violence? So, otters are still going around being their psychotic furry selves? Will no one think of the baby seals? Clearly, Erikson didn't.
Rejoice must be the only science fiction novel that argues for Humanity to be controlled by an invisible all-powerful force. That's certainly refreshingly original. It also makes me wonder what would happen if Erikson and N K Jemisin ever worked together. I'm guessing the Earth would probably be sucked into a vortex of self-righteousness and condescension. Anyway, Rejoice? Waste of time.
By Danforth