"'You're cannibals,' Tish panted jerking her hand away with no room for doubt now. ... 'And the stupid go hungry here,' another woman warned…"
 |
Legend of the White Dragon by Albert James Trafford Publishing
book review by Peter M. Fitzpatrick
Dystopian futures appear often in speculative fiction. This work combines that trope with romance, fantasy, and apocalyptic spectacle. A Unified Imperial Leader has seized world finances and built a new Temple of Solomon over the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The Emperor has filled it with stores, restaurants, sex bars, and ballrooms as well as high-priced "whores" that bring in millions. It is here that an assemblage of personages from "Atlantis," an orbiting space station, are summoned so that one Cherry Seldon can perform as a prima ballerina for the Emperor. The performance erupts into gunfire, and she is taken prisoner and raped by the Emperor. Cherry, along with her girlfriend Sheena, and a few others turn out to be "Newborns." naturally evolved humans who live hundreds of years. As the Emperor drives the world into chaos and doom, the "Newborns" are pivotal in retarding his efforts.
A major theme here is the innocence and vulnerability of women who undergo brutalization and torture by men. The characters Cherry and Sheena take turns being captured and made into sex slaves either the Emperor or degenerate gangs of men in general. The libido factor is consistently high; the "Newborns" seem to bring sexuality and gender roles to the forefront in all of their interactions. The issue of women's victimization even ushers in Armageddon toward the end. James keeps the pages turning in this massive 600 page book by amping up the sexual violence so that the reader's emotions are churning. The result is thought-provoking and edgy.