Ben H. Winters: Underground Airlines (2017, Penguin Random House)
336 pages
English language
Published Jan. 4, 2017 by Penguin Random House.
"It is the present-day, and the world is as we know it: smartphones, social networking and Happy Meals. Save for one thing: the Civil War never occurred. A gifted young Black man calling himself Victor has struck a bargain with federal law enforcement, working as a bounty hunter for the US Marshall Service. He's got plenty of work. In this version of America, slavery continues in four states called "the Hard Four." On the trail of a runaway known as Jackdaw, Victor arrives in Indianapolis knowing that something isn't right--with the case file, with his work, and with the country itself. A mystery to himself, Victor suppresses his memories of his childhood on a plantation, and works to infiltrate the local cell of a abolitionist movement called the Underground Airlines. Tracking Jackdaw through the back rooms of churches, empty parking garages, hotels, and medical offices, Victor believes he's hot on …
"It is the present-day, and the world is as we know it: smartphones, social networking and Happy Meals. Save for one thing: the Civil War never occurred. A gifted young Black man calling himself Victor has struck a bargain with federal law enforcement, working as a bounty hunter for the US Marshall Service. He's got plenty of work. In this version of America, slavery continues in four states called "the Hard Four." On the trail of a runaway known as Jackdaw, Victor arrives in Indianapolis knowing that something isn't right--with the case file, with his work, and with the country itself. A mystery to himself, Victor suppresses his memories of his childhood on a plantation, and works to infiltrate the local cell of a abolitionist movement called the Underground Airlines. Tracking Jackdaw through the back rooms of churches, empty parking garages, hotels, and medical offices, Victor believes he's hot on the trail. But his strange, increasingly uncanny pursuit is complicated by a boss who won't reveal the extraodinary stakes of Jackdaw's case, as well as by a heartbreaking young woman and her child who may be Victor's salvation. Victor himself may be the biggest obstacle of all--though his true self remains buried, it threatens to surface. Victor believes himself to be a good man doing bad work, unwilling to give up the freedom he has worked so hard to earn. But in pursuing Jackdaw, Victor discovers secrets at the core of the country's arrangement with the Hard Four, secrets the government will preserve at any cost. Underground Airlines is a ground-breaking novel, a wickedly imaginative thriller, and a story of an America that is more like our own than we'd like to believe"--
This is a re-read for me. It's a current-day spy novel, set in the greater London area and it's great fun. Mick Herron writes funny dialogue.
Winters does well covering political and legal aspects of US slavery and the domestic and international repercussions, but where he shines is in bringing to life the personal costs to those both inside and outside the "Hard Four" slave states and the violence that underlies it all.
I'm not usually much of a fan of alt-history - it just isn't the kind of science fiction I enjoy most. But this was absolutely an exception to this rule. First, I think it probably is an interesting mix between literary fiction and alt-history - there are definitely literary elements to it. The character development of the main character in particular is stunningly well done.
He's complex, and layered, and all of that comes so clear as the story unfolds. There are a lot of surprises, and it's definitely a page turner.
It's also a fascinating look at what could have been, and, frankly, it's not so far-fetched. It has a way of highlighting our current difficulties with race, and region, and culture.
I would recommend this book absolutely for alt-history fans, and I would recommend this book to just about anyone who thinks about the history and culture of …
I'm not usually much of a fan of alt-history - it just isn't the kind of science fiction I enjoy most. But this was absolutely an exception to this rule. First, I think it probably is an interesting mix between literary fiction and alt-history - there are definitely literary elements to it. The character development of the main character in particular is stunningly well done.
He's complex, and layered, and all of that comes so clear as the story unfolds. There are a lot of surprises, and it's definitely a page turner.
It's also a fascinating look at what could have been, and, frankly, it's not so far-fetched. It has a way of highlighting our current difficulties with race, and region, and culture.
I would recommend this book absolutely for alt-history fans, and I would recommend this book to just about anyone who thinks about the history and culture of the United States.
