Blog Archives
The INCARNEX Rebellion
The INCARNEX Rebellion, by A.J. Roe, is a dystopian sci-fi adventure about a fractured Britain, a world reshaped by a mind-transferring technology called INCARNEX, and two people trying to survive its aftermath. We follow David, a reluctant scientist carrying the weight of his past mistakes, and Celia, the sharp, stubborn girl he’s raising in hiding. When Celia runs away to confront the man responsible for destroying their lives, everything spirals into a collision with rebels, corrupt leaders, and a system built to keep ordinary people powerless.
The writing stays close to the characters, especially in the early chapters, where we see the quiet rhythms of life at the cottage and the messy push-and-pull between David’s fears and Celia’s hunger for freedom. I liked that the writing doesn’t feel rushed. It lets moments breathe, even the simple ones like a missed step on the stairs or the silence between two people who care but can’t quite say so. When the action hits, it hits hard. There’s a grit to it that matches the world: street gangs armed with acid, labour camps, and collapsing governments. The scenes are vivid without feeling showy, which kept me invested rather than overwhelmed.
What stood out most was how the author handles the ideas behind the plot. The INCARNEX technology could’ve easily become a cold, high-concept gimmick, but instead it’s tied to identity, memory, grief, and the messy ways people try to fix what’s broken. David’s guilt and Celia’s anger feel real because they’re rooted in that same question the book keeps circling: what do we owe each other when the world falls apart? The political threads, especially the growing fractures between cities and the power struggles after Julius’s downfall, add a believable weight to the stakes without losing the human focus. Even the final scenes feel grounded.
By the end, I found myself caring about these characters more than I expected to. The story balances tension with warmth, and even in its darkest moments, there’s an undercurrent of stubborn hope. If you enjoy character-driven dystopian science fiction with a mix of action, moral questions, and emotionally messy relationships, The INCARNEX Rebellion will sit comfortably on your shelf. It’s a great pick for readers who like stories about rebellion but want them told through the eyes of people who never planned on becoming heroes.
Pages: 315 | ASIN : B0FX3F2C3W
They Could Be Saviors
They Could Be Saviors is a wild and thought-provoking novel that blends psychological suspense with biting social critique. The story follows a group of billionaires kidnapped by a secret network of women, psychedelic therapists who believe the only way to save the world is to dismantle the egos of the men destroying it. As the captives awaken inside a high-tech facility designed for “healing,” the line between therapy and punishment blurs. It’s a heady mix of moral reckoning, hallucinatory experience, and social rebellion wrapped inside an eerie psychological thriller.
The premise sounds almost absurd at first, but author Diana Colleen sells it with conviction. Her prose crackles with sharp edges, alternating between satire and sincerity. The early chapters, especially those inside Josh Latham’s ruthless corporate mind, feel uncomfortably real. There’s a cold humor in watching a man who’s weaponized “sustainability” for profit wake up in a place that forces him to face himself. The writing feels cinematic yet claustrophobic, like being locked inside someone’s fever dream. At times, I felt disturbed, at others, unexpectedly moved. The story doesn’t let you sit comfortably, it pokes, prods, and dares you to care about people you’d rather despise.
What really grabbed me were the emotional undercurrents beneath all the sci-fi and social commentary. Mel, the therapist leading the operation, is a fascinating mess of empathy and control. Her struggle with addiction, grief, and idealism feels painfully human. I found myself torn between admiring her conviction and fearing her delusion. The women’s mission, noble on paper, curdles into something obsessive. Still, I couldn’t look away. The book doesn’t spoon-feed morals. It leaves you wrestling with big, ugly questions about power, redemption, and what “saving” the world might actually cost. The language swings from lyrical to brutal, sometimes in the same paragraph, which made it both exhausting and exhilarating to read.
If you like your fiction clean and uplifting, this one might rattle you. But if you’re ready for a raw, provocative trip into the psyche of our times, this book is worth every page. I’d recommend They Could Be Saviors to readers who crave stories that take risks and don’t shy away from moral gray zones. Fans of Black Mirror, Margaret Atwood, or Chuck Palahniuk will probably devour it.
Pages: 349 | ASIN : B0FP5X958N
A Confounding World
Not Yet Your Time follows a self-deprecating office worker whose mundane New York life derails after a near-death encounter with a mysterious woman, leading him to question everything he knows about time, fate, and faith. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I have always felt that the best drama or comedy follows from individuals being placed in situations for which they are utterly unprepared. (Being trapped on Everest while climbing is not the same as crash landing on Everest in your swim trunks) I have also always had the sneaking suspicion that our history, our myths, and the foundations of our culture are on very wobbly grounds. Finally, as someone who spent a full career in marketing, I know that reality is just a press release away from changing.
I found Titus to be an interesting character who gets pulled into a strange situation and manages to adapt despite everything that happens to him. Were you able to achieve everything you wanted with the characters in the novel?
When I embark on creating, in effect, an entire world, I need a central character to react to, digest, and pass through it. I needed Titus to be that person. I gave him the vulnerabilities and hidden strengths to attempt to deal with a confounding world that has sucked him in against his will, only because he was attracted to a mysterious woman. I was also pleased with Kanenas, my, in effect, flawed and reluctant messiah. A good man with ideas, totally unprepared for the greatness that is hung on his shoulders. (Inside secret) I patterned him after the attitude and speech mannerisms of the late actor Peter O’Toole, also a great and deeply flawed person.
I found this novel to be a cutting piece of satire. What is one thing that you hope readers take away from your novel?
Absorb all you can in life from as many sources as you can tolerate because no one person or philosophy has all the answers.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
The world’s greatest historian has a dark secret. He travels back in time and gets deathbed confessions from great figures in history. A Gesture to the Wind is narrated by the historian’s unsuspecting assistant, who is drawn into a world of illegal historic relic dealers, Russian spies, EPA investigators, and the Battle of San Juan Hill, all while developing a deep and abiding friendship with a time-displaced Ben Franklin. (As you can see, I’m having fun.)
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | LinkedIn | Website | Amazon
This odd trio embark on a perilous odyssey that includes imprisonment in a labyrinthine security complex under the ruins of the World Trade Center; flight through a murky unfinished tunnel beneath the Hudson River, a safe house masquerading as a defunct museum; and a perilous train ride to link up with a terror cell. Ultimately, the reluctant Titus will face a rendezvous with life, love, death, and destiny in the green wilds of New York’s Hudson Valley.
What Might Be Possible
Dark Place centers around three students who stumble on an unsettling truth that society is being manipulated, and those labelled as “dispossessed” are being erased from existence. Where did the idea for this novelette come from?
I wanted to develop a near-future story in which a worldwide authority invokes extreme emergency powers to control a burgeoning population, resulting in the loss of freedom and rights.
The idea of a hidden penal colony came to mind, and a social scoring system would be the mechanism to segregate and banish the dispossessed.
My writing of the story started as a typical dystopian trope, but as it grew, I didn’t want it to be stark black and white: ‘good’ idealistic rebels versus ‘evil’ authority. So it becomes more nuanced when the three protagonists are stranded in the Dark Place and learn that it has a greater purpose with profound consequences. The protagonists must navigate not only external dangers but also their own internal struggles, confronting differences between themselves and moral dilemmas.
Dark Place has been described as subverting dystopian tropes and I hope readers find that rewarding.
What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?
There is a degree of anxiety in the world today about the future. Perhaps every generation in the past has had similar misgivings.
My intention is to write about what might be possible a few steps down the road. I don’t want to write far-future settings with fantastical technologies far removed from what we have now. Grounding the story in a familiar world, echoing some of today’s challenges, has more resonance.
The science inserted in the fiction, I felt, was well-balanced. How did you manage to keep it grounded while still providing the fantastic edge science fiction stories usually provide?
A lifelong interest in the societal implications of technology began in the 1980s when I taught the new technologies of microelectronics and microcomputers in colleges and universities. This early professional life directly influenced my creative pursuits, leading to my first story Larrs’ Ghost (published in a computing magazine) which explored a “computer-generated world” long before virtual reality was a common term. More recently Close To You is a cautionary tale about the imminent dominance of big corporations developing ever more powerful artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
Dark Place is set in a time just down the road from now, so the technology is a plausible extension of today: drones are becoming more advanced; flexible microelectronic circuits (I call them membranes) already exist in rudimentary form; AI is advancing at speed.
Can we look forward to more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?
I feel there’s a lot more to develop with the premise of Dark Place. Although the ending finished with a profound reveal, I deliberately left some aspects of the story open-ended that mirrors the uncertain future facing the characters and the broader society. The lack of a neat, conclusive resolution hopefully encourages readers to reflect on the story’s themes beyond the final page.
So now I’m working on parts two and three. Part two is how the people in the camps progress in the knowledge that the outside world is in total collapse and how they rise to the challenges they face. Part three is how they defend themselves from an external existential threat. How much will they fall back on technology to protect their new world? The three protagonists will have increasingly conflicting ideas on how they see their future world.
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In a near-future world ravaged by resource depletion, society is controlled by the Authority, which enforces a strict social credit system. Failure to maintain a high enough score means banishment to the mysterious “Dark Place.”
When three inquisitive students, Ros, Femke, and Domhnal, discover that parts of a hidden Earth have been concealed from the privileged population of the “Light Place,” they are determined to expose the Authority’s brutal culling system. To do so, they must intentionally lower their scores and enter the Dark Place, only to discover it holds secrets far more profound than they ever imagined.
Dark Place is a gripping novelette that transcends typical dystopian narratives. Praised for its compelling dialogue and nuanced characters, a testament to author Christopher Kell’s experience as an award-winning playwright, the story is a masterful exploration of moral ambiguity, technology’s ethical implications, and the enduring resilience of the human spirit. It is a thought-provoking journey that invites readers to reflect on the nature of freedom, the quest for truth, and what it truly means to survive. This powerful and multi-layered examination of contemporary issues through a dystopian lens is a key element of the novelette’s intellectual value and demonstrates the author’s ability to imbue a short work with significant philosophical weight.
Dark Place: A dystopian novelette
Dark Place tells the story of a near-future world where survival is tied to a Citizen Score. Anyone who slips below the threshold is “dispossessed” and sent to a bleak exile known as the Dark Place. We follow Ros, Domhnal, and Femke, three students who stumble onto a terrible truth: society is being manipulated, and the dispossessed are hidden away in camps designed to erase their existence. They enter this world themselves, struggling with survival, trust, and the weight of their discovery. It is a tale of control, rebellion, and the raw question of whether knowledge can really bring change.
The writing is tense and gripping from the very first chapter. The author doesn’t waste time painting a rosy picture. Instead, we are pulled straight into the fear of surveillance, the quiet scratching of chalk on a board, and the dread of the Authority’s power. The pacing is sharp and restless. Sometimes I wished for more quiet moments to breathe, yet the urgency also matched the desperation of the world. I liked how the story didn’t just rely on technology to shock me. It leaned on doubt, on whispered conversations, on the guilt and courage of young people who want more than lies.
The whole system of citizen scores felt uncomfortably believable. It stirred up anger, but also sadness, because the dispossessed aren’t faceless. They are old people, sick people, stubborn thinkers. The book made me wonder how easily we might trade fairness for comfort if pushed. I admired the way the characters held on to friendship as their anchor, even while arguing and stumbling. Their flaws made them feel real, and that rawness carried the story more than any twist did.
I’d recommend Dark Place to anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction that pushes beyond gadgets and sci-fi trappings into questions of survival and morality. It isn’t just about rebels and villains. It’s about choices, fear, and the stubborn hope that truth matters. If you like dystopian science fiction that leaves you unsettled but also a little fired up, this one will be worth your time.
Pages: 78 | ASIN : B0DYK6YC2B
The World Persists
Ghost of Nostalgia follows a woman living in an impoverished village who is taught to suppress all emotions or risk death at the hands of mysterious, ethereal beings drawn to human emotions. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
As cliché as it sounds, I had a dream. In this dream, there was a magnificent city floating in the sky surrounded by a spherical energy barrier. The land around the city was a complete wasteland, and underneath the city was a pile of battered cylindrical tubes. Suddenly, a hatch along the bottom of the city opened, and a silver tube dropped and landed on the pile. Something happened next, but for the sake of spoilers, I’ll have to keep the rest to myself.
The dream stayed with me for a long time, until I finally decided to take it to the page. The feeling of it was so bleak. The isolation is absolute. I realized the reason I remembered the dream so perfectly was because of how it made me feel. I sought to capture those emotions by making emotions the center of my world. I wanted them to be something that could set you free or lead you to death. But as I find with all my writing, it doesn’t come out quite the same as the inspiration. The dream was definitely more hardcore science fiction, but as I’m quite a romantic at heart, the result ended up softer with a heavy dose of romance. Even with those changes, I sought to have Gavril’s world be one that stirred the heart in many ways.
I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from, and how did it change as you were writing?
I’m glad you think so! Steampunk played a heavy role in inspiring the setting, but as much as I love it, I wanted to branch out into something that had a similar feeling but with its own flavor. This is one reason I decided to go with an electric-based power system rather than a steam-based one. As for the cultural inspiration, Victorian England was out, so I did a bit of research and landed on pre-revolutionary France. It had everything I was looking for: elaborate fashion, notable architecture, and a stark class divide. Gavril’s home, Nostalgie, is a village literally made of scraps. They have nothing but hope. I wanted to show the progression of “moving up” as Gavril travels to different towns, and how, instead of sympathy, the rich feel nothing but contempt for the “lesser.” Since each town is isolated in its own barrier, they feel like different worlds of their own. There is no camaraderie, just hope for the government’s favor. As Gavril learns along her travels, even the most beautiful place can be a cover for ugly behavior.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
One of the biggest themes of Ghost of Nostalgia is control. Controlling emotions, controlling citizens, and controlling towns. All of these are accomplished in different ways and play different roles. As the story progresses, it becomes less clear who actually benefits from this behavior, and despite the suffering of some citizens, the world persists as is. Part of this is the class divide, and yet, no one rises to challenge the authority of the land.
Other themes are more personal to Gavril. She’s seen as a burden, and then the town’s fate rests on her shoulders. Self-worth, sacrifice, and being true to yourself are challenges she faces, especially in this patriarchal world, which sees her as only worth what she can birth. Her view of the world is full of despair, but sometimes hope can be found in the unlikeliest of places. Finding one’s truth is central to the story.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
The sequel! The sequel, which is tentatively called Sphere of Ardent, is currently in the editing process at Indigo River Publishing. We do not have a release date yet, but I’m hopeful I’ll be able to make an official announcement by the first half of next year. I’m very excited about it. The world-building really takes off, and the themes blow up in such unexpected ways.
Since I’m a glutton, I’ve already started writing the third book, which will finish out the intended trilogy.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Gavril follows the rules. Don’t dream. Don’t imagine a better future. Don’t cross the barrier, and whatever you do, don’t open your heart to emotions-especially the most powerful one: love.
Breaking the rules is deadly. Phases surround Gavril’s rural, impoverished village of Nostalgie. These mysterious ethereal beings, attracted to human emotion, suck passion and soul from anyone they touch-if the victim survives the encounter. Despite the danger, demanding questions linger in Gavril’s heart. What might life be like beyond the electrical barrier keeping the Phases at bay? What happened to her father, a legendary Résonateur gifted with the ability to combat Phases, who vanished several years ago? What does freedom feel like?
When the Solenoid powering the village’s barrier begins to die, Nostalgie’s mayor offers Gavril’s hand in marriage to the son of a nobleman in the distant village of Envie-a woman of a Résonateur bloodline to raise the family’s prominence in exchange for a new Solenoid. Gavril has no choice but to comply. If she refuses, the barrier will fall.
Gavril will do anything to save her mother and fellow villagers-even if it means breaking a few rules.
Led by a heart that suppressed curiosity and compassion for far too long, Gavril befriends a Phase named Morrow. When her actions are discovered, she is deemed a traitor by her future in-laws and sent to the Capital, Éthéré Coeur, for judgement. Commandant Serein, a Résonateur like her father, escorts her to her destiny.
In the whirlwind of French-influenced, retro-futuristic adventure that follows, Gavril’s spirit is freed. She meets wonders of human achievement-from motorized automatrams and flying soulevers to massive electronic libraries holding the world’s secrets.She encounters the rich, vibrant, and sometimes horrifying world beyond Nostalgie . . . and she falls in love.
Once you break the rules, where do you draw the line?
Ghost of Nostalgia will resonate with readers drawn to rich worldbuilding, emotional rebellion, and character-driven dystopian fantasy. For fans of lyrical prose, slow-burn tension, and stories that challenge what it means to feel—this journey lingers long after the final page.
What If?
Go Back follows a tech journalist whose life is upended when she finds herself involved in a web of corruption and underground resistance. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
I thought about tech addiction and how reliant society has become on it, especially digital natives. Then I asked myself, what would happen if that technology was taken away suddenly? How would people contact anyone? Not many people memorize phone numbers. Also, many people are reliant on GPS to get around. Go Back is a sort of extreme luddite group that appeals to people’s fears of tech addiction and wanting to “detox” from it. The movement’s propaganda convinces even the president that the Centers are the only way to rid society of this horrible addiction that leads to family separation and mental health issues. Of course the movement also has other, more sinister plans as well.
What draws you to the dystopian fiction genre?
I often ask myself “what if?” or “what would people do if X happened?” I like to explore the future and what people would do if their world turned upside down. I’d like to think that my dystopia has a bit of hope in it as well.
What was the inspiration for Sarah Grimes’ traits and dialogue?
Sarah is based on some real people in my life. I was a young journalist at one time wanting to get that BIG story. That’s what she wants too. She wants to make a name for herself. Be careful what you wish for! Her character arc is compelling because, even though she is unsure of herself, her ambition and circumstances propels her to become a leader.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
Right now I’m wrapping up a short story. My next book is a far future dystopia. It’s about the aftermath of a cataclysmic event that happens in the U.S. and how people cope with the aftermath. It is still a work in progress.
After journalist Sarah Grimes finally lands the lead story, her life turns upside down. Sure, she exposed the Go Back movement’s evil plan to take everyone’s tech and pocket all the profit, but that also landed her in a digital detox center, otherwise known as the Center for Behavioral Recognition.
Inside, she finds a man named Chris she met before the roundup. She wants to escape with him, but he disappears and she keeps getting drugged. Thankfully, she teams up with an unlikely ally to escape.
As they all make their way to the headquarters of the resistance, they have to decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice for their tech.
Ghost of Nostalgia
Joanne Hatfield’s Ghost of Nostalgia tells the story of Gavril, a young woman living in the fading village of Nostalgie, trapped within a fragile barrier that barely keeps out the monstrous Phases. The novel blends dystopian worldbuilding with intimate human struggles, weaving themes of survival, betrayal, family, and the heavy cost of hope. Hatfield pulls readers into a world where emotions themselves can draw death closer, yet it is precisely the suppression of feeling that makes life unbearable. The book balances action with introspection, carrying us through desperation, sacrifice, and the quiet hunger for freedom.
What gripped me most was the atmosphere. The writing drips with tension, each page humming with unease. I felt the exhaustion of the villagers, the claustrophobia of the barrier, and the weight of being treated as both burden and bargaining chip. Hatfield’s prose has a raw, urgent quality. Sometimes it’s jagged, sometimes lyrical, but always alive. The world she created feels both fantastical and painfully real. I’ll admit, there were moments when I grew frustrated with the characters, especially with how much they clung to false hopes or petty power. But that frustration also made the story stick. It mirrored how people really act when everything is falling apart.
I sometimes wished the pacing slowed down to let me sit longer with Gavril’s inner life because I found it fascinating. The book races forward, crisis after crisis, and though that kept me hooked, I craved a few quiet spaces to breathe. Still, the emotional stakes stayed high, and I found myself surprisingly moved at the raw depiction of what it means to be called “a burden” yet still stand up and fight.
Ghost of Nostalgia is a story about resilience and the cost of hope when hope itself is dangerous. I’d recommend this book to readers who enjoy character-driven fantasy with a dystopian edge, especially those who like their worlds layered with both beauty and decay. If you want a story that makes you feel both despair and defiance, this one is for you.
Pages: 344 | ASIN : B0CW1DQJS2
LITERARY TITAN 