Take a Prepper Break in Gaiastan

October 6th, 2012 |

There’s nothing like escaping into a good book. We all need a prepper break now and then. I enjoy science fiction, provided it doesn’t get too weird, like a lot of the modern stories do.

Sometimes what we read in books or watch in movies reminds us of the reality we’re trying to get away from. But they can still be refreshing when they put a different spin on things. Science fiction often bounces off of what’s going on in our world now and gives it a different backdrop.

Such is the case with Troy Grice’s latest novel, Gaiastan. You may recall hearing my interview with Troy about economic matters on DestinySurvival Radio for October 4, 2012. Gaiastan is proof he delves into more than the realm of economics. My thanks to Troy for giving me the opportunity to review his book here.

Gaiastan is a story which, like many before it, deals with big ideas and concepts relevant to us today. Think of the most radical “greenie” ideas you’ve heard on the news. Then take those notions to the wall, so to speak, and you get the picture of what the place called Gaiastan is like.

Imagine a post Agenda 21 dystopian world where environmentalism dictates everything. In such a place you’d expect state controlled media and cradle to grave indoctrination of the dumbed down masses. But that’s just the beginning.

The state religion is Gaia worship, using perverted, twisted Christian Scriptures and symbols.

No private agriculture is allowed. All crops and livestock had been genetically modified.

Ironically, pollution is the solution for the problems brought about by pollution. Particulates in the atmosphere are deliberately injected to bring about global cooling. Aerosols are meant to offset damage supposedly done by former pollution which brought about global warming.

That’s presumably the concept behind chemtrails and geoengineering today. In Gaiastan it has led to global cooling and the advancement of mighty glaciers.

People are divided into distinct classes of Overmen and Undermen. Those who aspire to greatness and play by the rules must advance by degree, such as in Masonic lodges.Immortality is highly prized and achieved in a gruesome manner.

Babies aren’t considered to be human until reaching self awareness at age four. And one dares not go into the wide expanse of the Dehumanized Zone where the allegedly cannibalizing unhumans live.

This is the world astronauts Indigo and Staley return to when they come back from a failed mission to Mars. They’re the survivors of a crew of seven. It’s expected they’ll conform to the demands of those in power and be the heroes the masses yearn for.

Only it doesn’t exactly work out that way.

Staley found reinvigorated life in the wilderness with the so-called unhumans. His awakening came after he separated himself from the rest of the world. Events would force Indigo into nonconformity as well.

Can you identify with that as a prepper? You’ve probably discovered that you don’t have to go out into the wilds to get free of the world. By nature, prepping requires nonconformity to what the masses do. And sometimes necessity makes us do what we wouldn’t do otherwise.

But back to Gaiastan.

Mr. Lever is a member of the secret police known as the Sunstein agents. He’s after Indigo and Staley. But at the end of the story, his pursuit of the space men as well as his own immortality takes a bizarre twist. It’s the kind of thing that can only happen in science fiction or horror stories.

Suffice it to say justice was served upon one Mr. Lever. And the overarching idea comes through that concepts like individual freedom are bigger than any one individual.

I wrote a brief review of Gaiastan on Amazon and gave it a three star rating. It deserves better than that, but I didn’t quite feel comfortable giving it four stars.

I had a hard time following the story at times and had to reread parts of it to make sure I understood what was going on. Perhaps a second reading would make more sense.

The ending is strange. It makes one stretch the boundaries of the suspension of disbelief we all have to put into place when reading fiction.

Nonetheless, it’s a fun read with amusing little surprises tucked away here and there, and I recommend it. It’s a DestinySurvival Amazon Pick.

Get your copy of Gaiastan by clicking on its image below. That takes you to the Amazon page where it’s featured. Add it to your cart to start the order process.

And enjoy your prepper break in Gaiastan.

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