Author: Brad Norris
Genre: Science Fiction
Year Published: 2022
Nerdection Rating:
“Nerdection Good Read”
Spoiler-free Plot
It is the year 2078 and Earth has changed quite a lot. A mutation that started in 2020 has led to the decline of most of humanity, leading to women taking charge of the situation. Society as a whole is collapsing and there is a reign led by the twin Trutneva sisters, who are constantly trying to expand their empire.
As all of this is happening, we have the main character, Captain Philippa Calenos of the Richmond Security Command, who is a hardened war veteran and someone that still holds ideals in such a declined civilization. Astrid, her beloved, tries to show her the beauty of humanity but ends up getting kidnapped, which throws Philippa into action.
My take on Division: The Chronicles of the Fallen States of America
Brad Norris’ Division: The Chronicles of the Fallen States of America… is a complicated one. There is a lot to dissect with this one.
Sci-fi has often been the best-suited genre to explore a lot of elements of humans and society as a whole. It is through this genre that a lot of authors have shown their views and critique of a lot of elements that are hurting the human race at the time of their releases. It’s very normal and something a lot of authors are eager to do. However, the story should always be above anything else and that is key.
Norris is a good writer. He understands storytelling and as I was reading the book I had the feeling that he really enjoyed the story he was writing. I also think he had a very clear notion of what he wanted to convey and pushed that very hard at some points of the story (perhaps way too hard for my liking). However, that sometimes came with a cost.
Division: The Chronicles of the Fallen States of America has a very strong premise, albeit one that has been done time and time again (collapsed society in the future), and Norris goes to great lengths to show the world the characters are in. This is great because it flows in a way that feels natural and gives us a lot more content about a lot of different things that are going to be very important in the story, which is always necessary and a lot of writers tend to struggle with.
Philippa, though, wasn’t a very compelling main character for me. She has a solid background and her ideals serve as a healthy contrast to the whole cynic vibe we see throughout the story but sometimes I found her very passive and not having a lot of initiative. Philippa is often reacting to a lot of different situations instead of coming up with her own initiative, desires, and actions, which is something that could lead to a lot of people having a problem with her as a protagonist.
However, The twin Trutneva sisters are solid antagonists. They have interesting motivations and I enjoy the way they are introduced in the book, which is often very important to make a solid first impression. I would have liked to see a bit more of a contrast of their ideals when compared to Philippa but I admit that is more of a personal desire than a valid criticism of the story as a whole.
The pacing of the book works quite well. You can read it without much problem and it can give you a lot of enjoyment from time to time. Despite having such a hefty world-building, it is done in a way that flows quite well and you can digest all the information that Norris has given you, which is always important from a reader’s perspective.
All in all, this has been a good read, albeit with some clear issues. However, it is definitely worth your time.
About The Author Of Division: The Chronicles of the Fallen States of America
Brad Norris is an active writer and avid reader. He has primarily written fiction including screenplays but occasionally has written non-fiction pieces for topics that interest him. He believes that only by reading widely and across topics can a writer understand better the complexities of human character and narrative. Division is his second novel.
