Ray Sweatman’s Making Vespuccia Great Again is a sharp, fearless, and at times laugh-out-loud political satire that imagines a dystopian America rebranded as “Vespuccia.” Set in a twisted mirror of our current socio-political climate, the novella follows the rise (again) of President O.J.C. McDonald, a grotesque caricature of a certain orange-hued reality TV personality. Through absurd characters, biting dialogue, and a surreal plot that includes everything from sentient fish Founding Fathers to LGBTQ revolutionaries called “The Pronouns,” Sweatman delivers a fiery send-up of authoritarianism, fake news, and cultural division in America.

From the very first chapter, Sweatman goes full throttle, skewering the January 6th insurrection with the same kind of commentary you’d expect from The Onion if it took acid and watched Idiocracy on repeat. The fake news anchors Donna Dumay and Don Drapery narrating the Capitol attack like a sports event? Genius. “Oh my, this is better than Getflix!” Donna chirps as democracy crumbles. I was equal parts horrified and laughing out loud. Sweatman walks that tightrope masterfully, never letting the humor soften the blow of the real critique.

One of my favorite arcs was Reverend Swindlemore and his daughter-turned-nonbinary-hacktivist Bucky (aka They/Them). The Reverend is a grotesque blend of fire-and-brimstone televangelists with just the right dose of unhinged righteousness. His hell-obsessed sermons feel ripped from real-life absurdities, and when Bucky forms a rebel group of queer hackers, I was all in. It’s outrageous, it’s camp, but there’s heart. You get the sense that Sweatman deeply respects those fighting for justice, even while cranking the satire up to eleven.

And then there’s the Founding Fathers. Literal fish-people who rise from the sea, transform into Jefferson and Hamilton, and get swept into a costume shop where they breakdance to Rick James’ “Super Freak.” It sounds insane because it is, but somehow it works. These absurd moments don’t just entertain, they hammer home Sweatman’s larger point: when truth dies, history becomes theater, and we’re all stuck on stage, flailing. Watching Jefferson defend his slave-owning past while Hamilton snarks and George Washington threatens to shoot him with a shotgun? That’s satire doing its job, shining light through the madness.

Making Vespuccia Great Again isn’t for everyone. It’s blunt, crude at times, politically fiery, and proudly liberal. But if you’re the kind of reader who enjoys Dr. Strangelove, South Park, or Vonnegut on a rampage, you’ll eat this up. Making Vespuccia Great Again is for the disillusioned, the politically exhausted, the angry, and the hopeful. It’s for anyone who still believes words have power, humor can cut deep, and that fighting back might look a little ridiculous but is still necessary. I laughed, I cringed, I shook my head. And I’d read it again in a heartbeat.

Pages: 252 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DY4T96PV