Paperback, 222 pages
English language
Published Nov. 22, 2021 by AK Press.
Dimos Horacki is a Borolian journalist and a cynical patriot, his muckraking days behind him. But when his newspaper ships him to the front, he’s embedded in the Imperial Army and the reality of colonial expansion is laid bare before him. His adventures take him from villages and homesteads to the great refugee city of Hronople, built of glass, steel, and stone, all while a war rages around him. The empire fights for coal and iron, but the anarchists of Hron fight for their way of life. A Country of Ghosts is a novel of utopia besieged that challenges every premise of contemporary society.
I always enjoy Margaret's writing. This was a quick and enjoyable read that, for all its brevity, still managed to expand my mind.
I always enjoy Margaret's writing. This was a quick and enjoyable read that, for all its brevity, still managed to expand my mind.
( em português → sol2070.in/2025/01/livro-a-country-of-ghosts/ )
"A Country of Ghosts" (2014), by Margaret Killjoy, is a delightful dystopian/utopian novel, especially appealing to anti-authoritarians readers.
It’s a political fantasy set in an alternate world approximately at the beginning of its industrial revolution. A colonial, expansionist military power invades a mountainous region to exploit its resources, knowing little about its inhabitants. They are deemed primitive, simplistic, and violently resistant to the incursion — people to be exterminated or enslaved.
We follow a journalist assigned to cover the conflict. Embedded with the troops, they soon discover that the local people are far more politically, culturally, and combatively sophisticated than presumed. The region is a free, autonomous confederation — a living anarchist utopia.
While it’s not so uncommon to find anarchist elements in dystopian or utopian fiction, when the author herself is an anarchist, the portrayal becomes much more vivid. …
( em português → sol2070.in/2025/01/livro-a-country-of-ghosts/ )
"A Country of Ghosts" (2014), by Margaret Killjoy, is a delightful dystopian/utopian novel, especially appealing to anti-authoritarians readers.
It’s a political fantasy set in an alternate world approximately at the beginning of its industrial revolution. A colonial, expansionist military power invades a mountainous region to exploit its resources, knowing little about its inhabitants. They are deemed primitive, simplistic, and violently resistant to the incursion — people to be exterminated or enslaved.
We follow a journalist assigned to cover the conflict. Embedded with the troops, they soon discover that the local people are far more politically, culturally, and combatively sophisticated than presumed. The region is a free, autonomous confederation — a living anarchist utopia.
While it’s not so uncommon to find anarchist elements in dystopian or utopian fiction, when the author herself is an anarchist, the portrayal becomes much more vivid. Great examples include "The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin and "The Fifth Sacred Thing" by Starhawk.
Described as a story in the tradition of Le Guin (and Sherri S. Tepper), the work is also an epic about war — the destructive oppression against freedom in its purest form.
Killjoy writes the best anarchist newsletter/blog ( margaretkilljoy.substack.com/ ) I know and is an exemplary storyteller, especially in queer libertarian fantasy. I’m eager to read her acclaimed latest novel: "The Sapling Cage" (2024).
Short novel of imagined collective non-hierarchical resistance to imperial war. Reminiscent of For Whom The Bell Tolls, but in this case I wish the central plot were not one of war and violence.
Margaret Killjoy is a great author and this story is captivating. What a fantastic perspective of anarchist resistance to colonization. I would love to eventually read a prequel about Hron that talks about the influx of refugees into the area and discusses the dangers of projecting Utopian ideals onto a "new country" that is already inhabited by indigenous peoples.
Margaret Killjoy is a great author and this story is captivating. What a fantastic perspective of anarchist resistance to colonization. I would love to eventually read a prequel about Hron that talks about the influx of refugees into the area and discusses the dangers of projecting Utopian ideals onto a "new country" that is already inhabited by indigenous peoples.
Cette collection "Black Dawn" est décidément très prometteuse. Après Grievers d'Adrienne Maree Brown qui m'avait déjà beaucoup plu, je crois que le deuxième roman de cette collection m'a encore plus séduit.
Margaret Killjoy nous plonge dans un univers de fantasy inspirée de notre XVIIIe ou de notre XIXe siècle pour nous parler de notre monde. Le protagoniste est un journaliste embarqué au sein de l'armée impériale dans une guerre de conquête coloniale. Sa mission est de suivre le général en chef de cette armée et de livrer à l'opinion publique la propagande attendue par l'Empire.
Evidemment, rien ne va se passer comme prévu et nous allons suivre notre journaliste à la découverte de la population indigène. Loin des sauvages et des barbares décrits par la propagande - celle qu'il était chargé d'écrire - il découvre une société basée sur la liberté, l'autonomie, la solidarité, et l'aide mutuelle. Il découvre une …
Cette collection "Black Dawn" est décidément très prometteuse. Après Grievers d'Adrienne Maree Brown qui m'avait déjà beaucoup plu, je crois que le deuxième roman de cette collection m'a encore plus séduit.
Margaret Killjoy nous plonge dans un univers de fantasy inspirée de notre XVIIIe ou de notre XIXe siècle pour nous parler de notre monde. Le protagoniste est un journaliste embarqué au sein de l'armée impériale dans une guerre de conquête coloniale. Sa mission est de suivre le général en chef de cette armée et de livrer à l'opinion publique la propagande attendue par l'Empire.
Evidemment, rien ne va se passer comme prévu et nous allons suivre notre journaliste à la découverte de la population indigène. Loin des sauvages et des barbares décrits par la propagande - celle qu'il était chargé d'écrire - il découvre une société basée sur la liberté, l'autonomie, la solidarité, et l'aide mutuelle. Il découvre une utopie anarchiste, en tout cas telle que l'autrice l'imagine.
Ce roman est peut-être l'oeuvre de fantasy la plus politique que j'ai lue, la preuve qu'un univers fictif ne peut être qu'un moyen idéal pour parler de notre société. Ce récit est également l'un des meilleurs romans de fantasy que j'ai lus. Une oeuvre remarquable pour présenter l'idéal anarchiste et le rôle de la fiction pour imaginer des utopies. Les imaginer, pour ne pas seulement les rêver, mais commencer à les construire.
There's always been a problem with recommending theory like the Bread Book to get people interested in anarchism. It is very easy for someone who has never questioned The Way Things Are to go "that's a nice thought, but it would never work" even though it literally has worked in the past. More enjoyable worlds are possible. Worlds free of authority are possible. Fiction allows them to suspend their disbelief long enough to actually consider what we're trying to say.
"A Country of Ghosts" occasionally reads like it's an overly didactic story, but it's trying to present its characters as people responding to the ignorant questions of a person from another culture. It covers their living arrangements, their decision-making, how to maintain services, how they might make war. This is what we should be telling the curious to read. Theory can come later.
There's always been a problem with recommending theory like the Bread Book to get people interested in anarchism. It is very easy for someone who has never questioned The Way Things Are to go "that's a nice thought, but it would never work" even though it literally has worked in the past. More enjoyable worlds are possible. Worlds free of authority are possible. Fiction allows them to suspend their disbelief long enough to actually consider what we're trying to say.
"A Country of Ghosts" occasionally reads like it's an overly didactic story, but it's trying to present its characters as people responding to the ignorant questions of a person from another culture. It covers their living arrangements, their decision-making, how to maintain services, how they might make war. This is what we should be telling the curious to read. Theory can come later.
A well-constructed world with real though put into how societies could construct themselves differently, and how they would interact if they did.
Purchasable
Purchasable
https://www.akpress.org/countryofghosts-audiobook.html.https://www.akpress.org/countryofghosts-ebook.html.