Journey into a World Where Robots Feel
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A Mirror Novel
VESS is a book of mirrors.
A mirror of our times, society, and characters, reflecting the fears, hopes, and present challenges in a seemingly eutopian future where even robots demonstrate sensitivity.
Zar’s world gently unfolds at the start — a subtle snare hinted at by an undercurrent of self-irony that will progressively take on cynical tones throughout the narrative. Despite being her debut novel, the author has already moved beyond the innocence of initial attempts and achieved a level of detachment towards her own work, preserving an element of sincerity.
Nevertheless, the writer does not falter in being truthful in her first book, going beyond the purity of beginnings to critically analyze her work.
Within this framework, the underlying message is disarmingly candid. Likely, the author commenced her journey at a critical crossroads and invites us to accompany her in a quest for balance, happiness, and deep-seated love These reimagined ideals appear in Vess, an ideal world whose inhabitants seem to bask in happiness. Yet, paradoxically, they are ruled by stringent laws and exposed to severe penalties that are often unconventional and primitive.
Therefore, the VESS society, dominated by separatists and dictatorial Tarchs, is a dystopia.
Unexpectedly, the battle between this world and our ancient planet begins. It is portrayed as going beyond good and evil and includes modern-day landmarks like intelligence services, power conflicts, passions, and crimes.
Could it be that the New World will succumb to the enduring power of the Old?
We come across archetypes like the Creator, the Father, the Daughter, the Son, the Twins, the Fighter, the Leader, the Rebel, the Soldier, the Seducer, the Friend, and of course, “the primordial couple,” Adam and Eve, in our quest to rediscover and redefine our humanity.
Enthralled by the stirring action, we are left with an indelible imprint of the cadenced phrase, “Devoted to my nation, a soldier standing tall; Faithful unto death, ready for the call!”
We encounter a work of fiction with immense creative potential, where motifs are being expertly integrated yet seemingly without a clear plan, leading to surprising twists and an unexpected ending.
Zar is a natural-born storyteller. Her writing is straightforward and focused, with powerful conversations occasionally broken up by evocative descriptions and other literary methods. Here’s a picture that will stick in your memory:
The entrance to Tissa was indeed beautiful.
Every time he entered here, Zollah couldn’t help but compare it to a wild maiden, disheveled, diaphanous on the outside, slurring, lame, and stuttering on the inside.
A carpet of short and velvety grass welcomed you, almost forcing you to go further because you couldn’t stop, it was so pleasant to touch; here and there, you could spot a little, white, pearly stone, which tempted you to pick it up, sure that under it you would find something hidden.
A murmur of water seeming to spring from afar sang in your ear and you were convinced that you had discovered a fairy tale location.
You walked and a warm breeze smelling of mountain flowers, fresh and green, stirred your hair and caressed your face.
You could see a flickering light and the impression of a fairy tale was increasingly tempting you to move forward; a deep serenity enveloped you and you could hear your mind breathing relieved.
Looking around, all your senses were dozing off, because everything you saw made you think that you were happy and lucky to have stepped into this place.
A warm laziness and much silence then urged you to sit down, or maybe to take a little nap in this magical place and the only thought you had was that you are somehow safe here.
Then you saw her!
Tissa Bacatta in all her ugliness!
Green and prickly, large, and distorted by the intertwined branches around the slimy water rocks, enveloped in a milky fog like smaller clouds floating here and there, as if after her putrid breath. A heavy smell of rot and wormy swamp turned your stomach inside out.
… but nothing compared to Tissa’s gaze.
Without eyes, without holes instead of eyes, just some excrescences like festering sores that followed you, paralyzing you with nausea, not fear, at first; the bulges blinked, and you couldn’t take your eyes off such a thing because they were the ugliest and most monstrous forms you had ever seen, and only then you became scared.
The distinctive allure of A.B. Zar’s writing stems from its linguistic innovation and poetic resonance.
The structure is complex but easily imaginable, enhanced by diverse narrative strands, explanations, and elements — especially appealing to science fiction readers and younger audiences, for whom the book is intended.
Dreams, archetypes, and symbols all appear to point toward analysis — possibly psychoanalysis. It’s a book with an inviting quality that challenges us to do introspective analysis. We reintroduce ourselves by asking ourselves questions. Ambiguity gives the action a complexity that compels the reader to read, think, and then pick up where they left off.
It’s a fascinating, disorienting, and eerie book. A book that both agitates and calms us.
Zar crafts her characters with the dexterity of an anthropologistm rediscovering humanity and projecting it onto various species, including robots.
Diverse races and species inhabit Zar’s fantastical universe, including the terrifying Tissa Bacatta, Ichthyos, Dekamen, Taktyrs, Ponykans, and Aquarians.
Some standout characters, such as Zollah de Vess, Karra, and Laya, find themselves intricately woven into an engaging narrative. The highly relevant theme revolves around love, friendship, treachery, and the competition for dominance and superpowers.
And finally, VESS is an enigmatic novel, perhaps prescient, maybe slightly confessional. Dare to decode its secrets and unlock the profound depths of its prophetic whispers, starting with the clues on the cover.
Julia Kalman, Bucharest, January 23, 2021
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Julia
Julia Kalman 