"Dread Nation"

“Dread Nation”

Written by Justina Ireland

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“Dread Nation” is a fantastic and very exciting adventure and sci-fi novel, told in post-Civil War Baltimore and the Western United States. After the Union and Confederacy soldiers perished in the war, they rose up again as the undead ‘shamblers’, which are akin to zombies. This brilliantly created apocalyptic world is full of danger, fear, rebellion, and hope, similar to the hope from a favorite of mine, “Station Eleven”. We meet Jane, our main character: a fearless, caring, and fantastic fighter. In this world, black youths are sent to ‘combat schools’, which are academies to teach them how to fight the shamblers and protect rich white people. The themes that are present in this novel allude to the real-life dislike of blacks after the Civil War.

Jane weaves her story and explains how the shambler plague had begun and how it affects the world at present in this book. We also have her story weaved through letters to and from her mother at the beginning of every chapter. After an excellent beginning, the book does not leave any moments feel dry and endless. Every scene is heart-pounding and exciting. Jane and her friend, Katherine, are fantastic fighters, protecting the high society rich Baltimore folks from certain death at a scientist’s vaccination presentation. We have so many interesting elements in this book that relate to famous and beloved fictions, such as “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, “Gone with the Wind”, William Shakespeare’s classics, and even my own personal modern love, “The Vampire Diaries” television program. I also felt a large comparison to the fantastic “Hamilton”, especially with the historical aspect and rebellious, sassy characters.

After Jane, Katherine, and their other friend, Jackson, prove themselves to be a bit of a threat to the conspiracies behind “shamble-free Baltimore”, they are sent to “Summerland”, a Western compound full of cultish characters and evil townspeople. I felt that this part of the story also reminded me of “Westworld”, or well, the theme park that was created to be South-Western, then turned corrupt and evil. Jane, Katherine, Jackson, and a few others begin a plan to overtake the false prophetic preacher and the slimy, murderous sheriff and escape. The town’s “tinkerer” is Gideon, a kind scientist who is trying to vaccinate the townspeople, in the right circumstance. Gideon seems untrustworthy at first, but we realize how he is trying to help. There is a bit of a romantic vibe between Gideon and Jane, but I enjoy that those elements barely come to light in this story. This book does not need a romance, but I like the small foundation that has been set.

I really enjoy the alternative history elements of this story. We see how the real-life events of the Civil War and aftermath are impacted by this shambler plague. We hear of presidents, celebrities, authors, and literature that we are familiar with, so we do relate and feel part of the story. I also enjoyed the world-building in a sense that we have work songs, lullabies, and fight songs created for this, but they feel reminiscent of the world we live in.

To continue, I have to sing the praises of the characterization written by Justina Ireland. Each character is developed just enough in the first book, so that we’re aching to receive a sequel. We can even see the characters develop throughout the story. Jane begins to care and love Katherine, who was her rival at the combat school. Katherine has lost her snootiness and has learned that survival is the more important thing, rather than being better than others. To be fair, she was not unlikeable at the beginning, more just a fun mean girl. However, she is easily my favorite character. We have the villains who are super annoying and dangerous, which make every satisfying ill move towards them feel rewarding. We understand the rebellion. We feel the characters’ anger and fear. We hope for them as they move on to the next step at the end of the book, ready to continue the adventure. I am eagerly awaiting the next book by Justina Ireland, but dear God, I do not want this story to end. I would absolutely adore a television series adaptation of this.

Additionally, a large aspect of this story is social commentary. With the racism these characters endure, we can still sadly see the mistreatment of these types of individuals in society in our real 2019. We have interesting glimpses and perspectives of what it is like to be black, in this story, but these characters and their experiences do not feel like fiction. We have a minuscule representation of bisexuality, but hey, why not? I, a member of the bisexual community, is absolutely thrilled to have a little bit of a mention. (I would personally love to see this explored further. Shall we create a name for Jane and Katherine? Kane?)

Lastly, I could explain every single thing I love about this book, but it would take me a year. It’s fantastic. It’s really enjoyable. Just read it.