By Any Magical Means Necessary

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

While attending the 2038 annual Juneteenth march with her friends, activist and archivist Amina Fernandes witnesses a devastating terrorist attack using a mysterious technology that leaves dozens of police officers dead and injured. As the local Black community suffers under the resulting occupation by a federal taskforce seeking to apprehend the terrorist, Amina stumbles onto evidence that the attack might have been a false flag.

Horrified by the implication of this information and wanting to live up to legacy of Black radicals she's idolized all her life, Amina decides to do something about this seeming conspiracy and protect her community. Assembling friends and allies to aid her plan, Amina acts to uncover whatever plot is brewing in her city. What she doesn't know is that her need for answers and justice will spark a series of events that will change everything and test how far she's willing to go to live up to her revolutionary values.

-------New chapters published every two weeks. Get early access to new chapters, chapter syllabus, and other goodies by subscribing to my Patreon at:https://www.patreon.com/DecolonialBlack

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: DecolonialBlack

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 5.0/ 5.0
Views: 2,903

Chapters(11 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(1)

DestroyatronMk8Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
What would happen if America fell into fascism? What would it look like? What would we do? The story pursues these questions with disturbing accuracy. The MC's determined optimism lightens the tone enough to keep it out of Grimdark territory, but it paints a picture that'll keep you up at night. It's a solid, tightly written sci-fi thriller.
STYLE: The story's told in the 3rd person, from the point of view of the MC. The dialogue sounds natural, and the action is easy to follow. Descriptions are utilitarian but effective. The narrative drips with personality.
The prose gets rougher in patches, sounding less like a professional writer and more like an emotionally whelmed young woman. This is a neat trick for immersion, and the author uses it sparingly enough to avoid overstaying its welcome. Five stars all around.
STORY: The worldbuilding is as thorough as it is disturbing. The author doesn't hit you over the head with crazy societal restructures or nazi stuff like in The Handmaid's Tale. It feels like our world, but just a little bit worse. It shows things that are happening now taken just one little step further. The author draws heavily from things that have happened or are happening now, and it makes the terror feel more grounded, more real. Scarier. Most of the new tech you see is a logical progression from what we have now, and the culture shift is just enough to keep the world feeling familiar.
The plot itself is both character driven and not. A lot of what's happening is happening on a scale beyond our MC. She and her motely crew are doing what they can where they can, but the story does a great job of showing them out of their depth. I get the impression our heroes will find a way through, but it's tense. The stakes and the world feel very real.
CHARACTERS: All the characters are given distinct personalities and motivations. Even side characters feel like real people with lives beyond their part in the story.
The MC reminds me of Kitara from The Last Airben