Nego Huzcotoq
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Nick Wong is a magician, a master at the art of deception; but who strangely hates lying to his betters. Who happen to women. He lives in a world where men are second class citizens; relegated to living in small apartments and low paying jobs and are referred to as Mankey’s. A derogatory and belittling word, to remind them that they’re barely evolved from monkeys and have no social standing in the New World Order. Nick barely has any friends of much value, simply a couple of acquaintances that annoy him and a few women who he secretly cherishes as friends, but has no idea how to be friends. He’s not happy, but he’s not unhappy either; accepting his lot in life as a remnant of the Age of Oppression when males would do nothing but abuse women and children, Until, that is, one particularly rainy day when in. a rare fit of altruism, he offers his umbrella to a fellow Mankey with a terrible cough.
What was so compelling about Severed Roots was the underlying mystery involved in Nick’s story. Why, exactly, is the enigmatic Karla so drawn to him? What is his relationship to Angelina; his old facilitator at the Children’s Centre where he grew up. What exactly is Morrie’s overall plan? Why did he approach Nick on the bus that day, specifically? So many questions in what is, a relatively short book.
But it’s not just those questions which made this a must read. It’s the story telling, the drip feeding of the history of the world, and it’s cultural anecdotes. The world building of this New World Order is stunning, with Huzcotoq providing a terrifyingly realistic view of what could be. The so-called Age of Oppression ended some 20 years before; criminalising marriage, the concept of family and even relationships between men and women. Men are bred only for the purpose of being a sperm donor, and even for the ones who are born, they are offered incentives to transition. All in the name of eliminating violent crime against women and children. Women are also victims of this New World Order. Those who desperately wish for a baby to hold and nurture are given the tag of having a mental health problem. Babies are only born in the name of ‘human manufacturing’ by surrogates, before being passed on to a Children’s Centre to be raised as a perfect group of non-violent non-females and powerful, strong minded females.
As Nick begins to feel more and more that the world around him is skewed; that family isn’t necessarily the root of all evil as he’s been taught; that not all men in the past harboured violent urges towards women, we watch his character grow from a placid, obedient (and somewhat clueless) Mankey, to someone brave who challenges the status quo in his own, quiet way. Severed Roots is a joy to read.
S. A.
First published on Reedsy Discovery as part of their ARC program. You can read the original review here.
You can purchase Severed Roots by clicking on the books name. Available from Amazon.