If you haven’t read this science fiction duology yet, please check it out. With all that’s happening around the world today, this unique dystopian series is more relevant today than ever.
The two books in this series are ROOMS and THE CHOSEN. They were originally published in 2014, but an updated version of each of them was republished in 2019. People who have read them have often commented on how extremely relevant they remain, even today, in an almost prescient way.
This is because within the plot of the two books there exists a deep and abiding concern over the growth of right-wing, autocratic/oligarchic governments across the globe that come to power often times by promising their citizens that only they can improve their lives. However, in the end, these types of governments are influenced much more by the interests of large corporations and wealthy oligarchs than by anything else. When that is the case, terrible consequences inevitably arise for the poor, the middle class, for worker’s rights, the environment, for freedom, and for democracy in general. Sadly, this is even now beginning to happen in the United States.
I mention all this because I wrote the Rooms’ Series, in part, to cause people to ponder the possibility of just such a dystopian future. But you must also know that the series contains considerable “hope as well!”
So, please, take a look at ROOMS and THE CHOSEN, with the understanding that they contain a very creative, scene-driven story, told from the view of a large and diverse cast of characters.
ROOMS
Summary
There was a time in Earth’s past when the entire planet was sick and dying and could no longer sustain life. A group of wealthy humans, who called themselves "The Chosen,” decided to abandon the Earth. And just as a person might skip across a shallow pond, moving from stone to stone, the human race multiplied and over hundreds of years gradually stretched across the Milky Way in the hope of finding another jewel, another Earth-like planet.
In this time of exploration and colonization, the humans on each of these desolate outposts lived in protected settlements called lifeglobes. Their daily life had a surreal consistency that affected and numbed them. They longed to see beyond the horizon, to feel something new. Because of this, their freedays and evenings were often spent in Rooms. These were extremely sophisticated, holographic, multi-sensory game rooms, which could adapt to each player. Each session in a Room was unique and helped to fill the void created by constantly having to live inside an enclosure, always separated from the outside, never being able to walk open and free.
One of those humans was Rad. He had just moved to the lifeglobe on planet R-131 and was a member of the governing council. However, he was also an elite Rooms’ player. His main reason for coming to R-131 was that he had heard rumors about one particular Room, which was steered by a woman called the “old one.” It was supposedly unparalleled for its graphic realism and complexity. All the best players were moving there, and for some, like Rad, to be chosen to play it had become an obsession. However, this particular Room had not been designed for entertainment or pleasure. This Room had been created to change the course of human history.
THE CHOSEN
Summary
In the future, the Earth is dying and is abandoned by The Chosen, an elite and powerful, corporate upper-class. Most of their descendants have settled in lifeglobes on various rocks throughout the galaxy. Their original society and culture has been lost and forgotten everywhere except on M-78. On that rock-strewn, resource-laden planet, The Chosen’s way of life has remained in tact for over five centuries, and Harlequin has been their leader ever since leaving Earth.
But now, Harlequin is determined to locate another Earth-like planet to inhabit and exploit. She succeeds in finding one; its name is Loon. And not only does she learn how magnificent Loon is, but at the same time discovers that Earth has reset itself. The Chosen may even be able to reinhabit their ancestral home once again.
This sets up a struggle between two extremely divergent cultures: one where reason, science, and social awareness have created a society in tune with their world; the other, that of The Chosen, whose main philosophy is centered upon the acquisition of profit at any cost.
In The Chosen, these two societies and the unique individuals who inhabit them, tell a story of two worlds on a collision course, with the result being a galactic conflict whose outcome will impact the human race for eons to come.
