RebelFire: Out of the Gray Zone

I am not going to tell you about the plot of this book. All you need to know about the plot is in the little blurb above the reviews. I'm not going to gush about how thrilling, engrossing, well written and vibrantly emotional this book happens to be -- though it's all those things. I'm addressing this review to two groups: Science Fiction fans, because this is the real deal, my fellow brothers and sisters in sense o' wonder. And to parents, because this is a book both you and your children need to read. This is a book about the world your children are going to inherit. I won't lecture you on politics (neither will the book) but I'll extend you the benefit of the doubt that you are observant, thoughtful and interested enough in your life to notice those little changes that seem to come a little quicker with each passing day. Those little sacrifices you are asked to endure. While they happen, they tend to be painless, like a mosquito bite. But...they do pile up on you. What happens ten years down the road as these daily little sacrifices are counted? Fifteen? That's where the SF part comes in. Wolfe and Zelman tackle what I consider the toughest nut in literary SF: the near term immersive novel. They pull it off spectacularly. This is no guided tour through a future. It's not a dystopia or a utopia. The authors do not fall to the temptation to take the easy way out. Instead, they give us a vivid, believable, but scarily different society that resembles today the way a gangly teenager resembles his baby pictures. I say this as an absolute and utter science fiction snob. Rebelfire is a wonderful first novel for any genre, but for the authors to tackle such a difficult type of SF novel on the first go and succeed so well is quite the feat. The world they present is one we do not wish to believe, but it's constructed from things going on now. If anything, it's conservative in it's doomcrying. And that's where you parents come in: this is an important book. Its themes are the same as almost every laudable young adult novel I can name: the power of believing in yourself and your dreams. The importance of bravery in the face of adversity. The supreme need for loyalty to and from those we love. There is no lack of adventure, but it's adventure of an oddly personal, realistic type. There are no shining heroes or last ditch rescues. The people and events of Rebelfire are conflicted and fallible; the events are quiet but no less momentous. This is a book that you and your children need to read, and discuss. This is a book that may make your children pay a closer eye to current events, and ask clearer questions about social institutions like government and politics. So. SF fans, pick up the book and be one of those people who can say 'Oh yeah. I remember that when it was just a small press book.' Our genre is being compressed and overwhelmed by franchise crap based on TV shows and movies. Major publishers seem less and less willing to take a chance on

Claire Wolfe and Aaron Zelman are doing something quite wonderful. They're talking to kids. And what they're talking about is freedom, determination, and self-reliance. OUT OF THE GRAY ZONE is the first in a projected series of "young adult" novels, a category of fiction dominated until now by adolescent warlocks, happy dragons, and high school girls angst-ridden over their latest crush. You won't find any of that in this initial "RebelFire" book. This is the story of teenaged Jeremy, whose rock 'n roll inspired dreams are being quashed by CentGov-sanctioned spycams, sensors, monitors, permits, and doses of dope - "all for his own good." In the Gray Zone of America's Pacific Northwest, even his favorite rock band, RebelFire, has been silenced and replaced by "a cheerful bleat of very bad march music" on the satellite link. Jeremy's always lived under the control of CentGov and its Departments of Firearms Elimination, Drug Enforcement, Homeland Serenity, ad nauseum, but he's become increasingly dissatisfied. And now that they've taken RebelFire away... Jeremy's adventures are exciting, sometimes shocking, often violent. The characters he meets will stir you. And if you don't fall in love with Hero, the furry mutt who joins Jeremy along the way, you've got a heart made of steel wool. Shame on you. This new RebelFire series is just what the Freedom Movement ordered. I can't recall a libertarian novel as truly perfect for teenagers (yet entertaining for adults) since J. Neil Schulman's ALONGSIDE NIGHT, and that was 25 years ago. If you have a kid, or even know a kid, who enjoys reading, drop OUT OF THE GRAY ZONE into their hands. It's a terrific tale of despair, perseverance and, ultimately, hope. It may turn their heads around. And you'll like it, too. (Final note: The book comes with a nifty CD that contains two distinct versions of the RebelFire anthem "Justice Day." The first, by Rockne Van Meter, is classic rock and very good. The other, by Opium War, is labeled "heavy metal" but reminds me of X, the greatest punk band I ever heard or saw in the early '80s. I can imagine John Doe and Exene cranking out this song on a tiny stage in West L.A. Chinga, it sounds good!)

Having read Ms Wolfe's non-fiction books("The Freedom Outlaw's Handbook" and "I Am Not a Number") and liking her friendly one-on-one writing style, I pre-ordered a copy of "Rebelfire: Out of the Gray Zone" anxious to see her first foray into fiction. My creative writing teachers alway preached hooking the reader in the first sentence. I'm not a teenager and the first couple of pages dealing with Jeremy's music/light fantasies didn't hook me. Neither could I identify with his teen angst before he decides to make his break for freedom. Thank goodness I didn't stop there or I would have missed a great story that not only has a message but is a good adventure as well. Once Jeremy is on his own and starts to learn what the outside world is like the story takes off like a missile and I could not put it down (always my sign of a good book). His education reflects my own, though not as dramatically, in how the government wants to track and domesticate us. His future world is easily seen in what's is going on in our world now. And the comparison to Harry Potter, you might ask? Harry, like Jeremy, is youngster trying to reach his potential. In the last two Potter books, I found Harry something of a petulant teen and my liking for him declined. But I think Ms Rowling knows that he has to go through this phase, like any teenager, and will bring him back to being the hero we know and love. Jeremy, being older than Harry, matures a little more quickly under some equally dire circumstances--practical rather than magical. Once I got fully immersed in Jeremy's story, like Harry's, it rang a deep chord in me. I may be chronologically older than these protagonists, but in my heart, nothing's changed. That yearning for "potential" or "freedom" remains in all of us and learning can take place at any age. We are never too old to learn from the young. I am eagerly awaiting the sequels which I know must follow. My only real criticism is that is was too short. Claire and Aaron, better get 2.0 and 3.0 out soon. As an adult I really liked this novel. If you are a parent, you could not do better for your child than to get her/him to read this book. The future is up to them and I hope it will help them make a stand.

So I sat down with Claire Wolfe and Aaron Zelman's RebelFire 1.0: Out of the Gray Zone a couple of days ago stopping only briefly here and there to move the laundry from washer to dryer or to grab a snack. There are two sure signs that I enjoyed a book. 1. I read it cover to cover in one marathon stretch. 2. I finish it thinking, "Why the heck isn't the sequel to this out yet?" Both of those happened. And, I might add, I cannot remember the last time I read a book in one stretch. I used to do it all the time as a kid (can't put Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden down until everyone's out of danger or you'll have all sorts of nightmares), but somehow I've lost that as an adult. It was really a good read. RebelFire is sort of a 1984 for 2005. This is not stuffy, difficult literature you slog through. It's fast-paced, suspenseful, gory at times, rather ominous throughout, but it still leaves you on a hopeful note at the end. I liked that it conveyed the seriousness of the situation without leaving me in utter despair at the end and ready to kill myself. I was bawling on p. 172- it upset my dog greatly. Then I had to clean my glasses to be able to finish the book. There was only one scene where I sort of popped back into reality thinking that it was just too good to buy as true, but then I remembered I was reading fiction and I consciously suspended my disbelief and in a couple of pages was back into the story. I also didn't get some of the italicized lingo. But other than those two little things, I really loved reading it and I'm looking forward to a sequel.

Jeremy is trapped in a distopian future. His every move is tracked, via the chip in his arm. The level in his bloodstream of his required medications is checked regularly. RebelFire, his favorite band, his link to the spirit of liberty, has disappeared from his Player. He can no longer practice his art. He is only sixteen years old, but he must escape. Claire Wolfe and Aaron Zelman tell of Jeremy's journey, warn of the darkness of our possible future, and remind us of the importance of dreams, of decency, of will. RebelFire: Out of the Gray Zone is a page turner from beginning to end. A frightening prediction of where America is headed. And the conclusion blew me away. Tears and sobs. Joy and hope. Wow!