Commentary

On this page I will add my thoughts about themes in the story. Sometimes it’s raw thought, that I may refine as I go along.

The book is a story of personal exploration. When Yoni seeks escape from a desolate planet he discovers his own internal flaws and realizes he wants escape from himself as well. He awakens to this truth when facing the need for a selfless act. I know it’s heavy, but hopefully also inspiring about the breath of the human soul.

For those of you wondering why there is legal mumbo jumbo in the book, my inner-lawyer came out strong in this story for some reason. I suppose it’s partly because one of the core premises of the story is: what happens to a society that relies exclusively on law to resolve the consequences of generational environmental exploitation and neglect. When the problem is severe, the law becomes severe. I think it’s an interesting question, the role of law in addressing problems. On DeSolus, the society wouldn’t need severe law, if they had wised up centuries ago.

I ask many questions in the books, but I don’t necessarily have answers. For example, DeSolus is in many ways a utopian society. There is no war or measurable illness. Leaders are appointed by public consensus. Leadership is strictly seen as service. There are no elections or campaigns. There is no currency. Citizens work to promote the general welfare of their society. The city runs in harmony and all services are equally available to everyone. Yet–Yoni, the human captain finds the society sterile and bland. He yearns for the noisy and smelly streets of his hometown: MG-Chicago, (Milwaukee-Gary-Chicago Complex). Even though citizens have full access to city resources, they do segregate the off-world aliens to live and work in the underground operations (the Under City) that supply the city above ground. So, although many societal ills have been removed, DeSolus is not a perfect utopia. The story asks can there truly be a utopia. In our culture, writing dystopias are very popular. If I wanted to write a book that would get me attention, going with a dystopia would probably get me farther. But I find optimistic visions more interesting. Dystopias are “Debbie-downers.” Ironically, when I set out to create a utopian society, many flaws emerged, specifically from the reaction of the protagonist, Yoni. Perhaps I have an inner-dystopian that wants to emerge?

Often I am asked about the meaning of the title: Escape From Desolation. It’s a layered meaning thing. Superficially, the main character wants to escape the desolate planet. But he discovers over the course of his story that he must escape the desolation of his own heart. Also, other characters in the story want to escape desolation by restoring their planet’s ecosystems. It may not be a catchy marketing title. In hindsight, I wish I came up with something less esoteric. Oh, well. My wife wanted to call it, “Escape from DeSolus.”