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Survival At All Costs
The Wanderer’s Quest takes readers on a journey to a bleak and devastated future Earth along with Raydr and Madan, both escaping their own horrors. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration comes from my own bleak outlook of the future, if humanity persists in its destructive ways. Climate change is happening at an alarming pace, whether people acknowledge it or not – or want to acknowledge it. In the novel, a pandemic destroys most of mankind, and the industries that we have created run amok, as they would if there no longer were human tenders to see to nuclear power plants and nuclear waste as well as chemical plants. What we do, what we have done, what we will do, has consequences. We must learn to think in sustainable terms, renewable terms, rather than think of profit because, in the long run, money might just become completely irrelevant.
There was a lot of time spent crafting the character traits in this novel. What was the most important factor for you to get right in your characters?
The most important factor of the personality of my characters was to show their inner dilemma. Survival at all costs has a cost: the loss of belief in oneself. I wanted to show how people who have been shattered by inconceivable pain can rise back up from the depths of their misery.
When you first sat down to write this story, did you know where you were going, or did the twists come as you were writing?
I develop a story in my head first. When I started writing, I knew the general outline of the plot, but a lot of details were added after. It’s a long process to craft a novel!
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
I am currently working on a new project called Pioneer: The Volunteer. I expect it to be done in the next 6 months. Hopefully available soon after that. I have also written a children’s book, which I hope to make available soon. And I sent some of my poetry to a few contests, crossing fingers that it could be available to readers soon.
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Disease, radiation, and violent storms have ravaged the earth, laying waste to all that was civilised and good. Now, it is every man for himself in the struggle for survival against tyrannical despots who would exploit the innocent and vulnerable for their own gain.
Madan, fifteen years on the run after the death of his family and collapse of his city, is growing tired, and desperate.
Raydr, eight years escaped from horrific captivity, has learned the hard way the sacrifices it takes to survive in this world.
Thrown together by circumstance and a shared need for vengeance, can these two learn to trust each other in a kill-or-be-killed world? As they begin to open themselves up to the possibility of hope – hope for revenge, for the chance of a real future – they will find out just how important the actions of two people can be, and what the cost of vengeance really is.
The Wanderer’s Quest
On a future Earth where humanity’s gravest climate change anxieties have become a horrific reality, The Wanderer’s Quest, by Veronique Racine, unfolds. Disease is rampant, resources are scarce, and the world is dominated by oligarchs who greedily amass more than their due. Amidst this dystopian landscape, our protagonists, Raydr, a hardened ex-prisoner, and Madan, a world-weary traveler mourning the tragic loss of his family, cross paths. Driven by revenge and an aspiration for a brighter future for the oppressed, their journey tests the limits of their resilience in a world where hope and redemption seem all but unreachable.
Racine’s science fiction novel, though reminiscent of the grim narratives of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and William Gibson’s dystopian works, carries a unique imprint. The envisioned world of The Jackpot, as created by Gibson, where political disorder, pervasive anarchy, and climate change catastrophes concurrently culminate in a dystopian nightmare, echo throughout Racine’s narrative. Racine’s prose rivals Gibson’s in both its impact on readers and its arresting delivery.
Racine’s ability to articulate a compelling narrative is undeniable. The character development of Raydr and Madan, both vivid and relatable, is the lifeblood of this narrative. Their shared suffering and pain stir the readers’ emotions as they find themselves yearning for the pair’s triumph against seemingly insurmountable odds.
The Wanderer’s Quest, by Veronique Racine, ultimately delivers a striking commentary on the human spirit and its capacity to withstand forces vastly greater and more destructive than itself. Our protagonists, Raydr and Madan, in their refusal to surrender to the oppressive weight of their daunting reality, offer a potent reminder of our own resilience. Their story, in this respect, serves as an inspiration, proving that even in the bleakest of landscapes, hope and tenacity can thrive.
Pages: 266 | ISBN : 1804391646
LITERARY TITAN 