SYMBOLION

AND CITY WITHOUT STARS

REVIEW

Review by translator Viktor Horák

I considered shortening, editing, or even replacing the review with a brief summary. In the end, I decided to keep it whole. It captures the essence of the novel with sensitivity and reveals connections that might be lost if it were shortened. And since I have the space for it, you can now read the full review. That truly makes me happy.

The question I face repeatedly is, „What to read?“ After hundreds of sci-fi books I’ve read and countless sci-fi movies I’ve watched, few things surprise me. In a bookstore, sometimes I barely pick up a book that happens to be part of a current advertising campaign, and after a quick skim through it, I return it to the pile with a sigh. Space colonies – hmm. Superheroes – aha. Aliens – of course. All this has already been here …

I admit, I was already starting to despair. Especially recently, many new authors have appeared and it is becoming more and more difficult to find my way among them, to decide what I should devote my time to, what is worth reading.

Why doesn’t anyone come up with something really original? And then I got my hands on the book „Symbolion“,
which I read in one breath. It is a remarkable sci-fi novel written in a novel way, in which Romana Ana captured the atmosphere
of the twilight of humanity.

The game is completely different than they expected.
And what they take away from it can change everything.

Can you imagine complete hopelessness? A time when humanity has run out of time and there is nothing before it, but absolutely nothing?

How would you live in the last city in the world, threatened from the outside by electromagnetic discharges that can wipe you out at any time? What would you do in that strange gray space, where even suicide does not bring relief? With this awareness of the inevitable absolute end, how would you govern the last human community? Would you be able to prevent the outbreak of anarchy? And does it even make sense?

I asked myself these and other questions
while reading Symbolion.

And at the same time, I found answers to them in the pages of the book: No stars can be seen in the city, because it is all hidden under a protective hatch that (at least partially) protects it from electromagnetic storms raging in the immediate vicinity of the dead planet Earth. The remnants of humanity are controlled by the mysterious Unifier with the help of the secret police.

The main characters gradually uncover the mysteries of the planet, but I will not reveal their shocking discoveries to you so as not to thwart the moment of surprise. I can only express my admiration for these brave rebels who are fighting for all of us.

Despite the repressive apparatus that seeks to maintain order, however, people still remain free, they are not enslaved as in Orwell’s novel „1984“, for example, they are not brainwashed by propaganda. Regardless of the hopelessness of the situation, they want to live normally, have fun, love, celebrate Christmas.

And some, if they get to one of the playing cards of the banned game Symbolion, enter the virtual world and progress through individual game levels, where numerous surprises await them. Because the game is completely different than they expected. And what they take away from it can change everything.

Even in the greatest hopelessness there is hope
– this main idea has a veritable validity

While reading, I couldn’t help but think about where this story from the future takes place. We find ourselves in an unknown world, which is also familiar to us. Is it a reflection of a life that we have already lived once, or that we perhaps live in other realities? Where does the plot actually take place? Is it really a fictional city? High-rise buildings confirm the once advanced and wealthy economy. We can find jugglers, fortune tellers, craftsmen and cozy pubs, but also wide streets, an extensive tangle of underground tunnels and crumbling housing estates on the outskirts. So where can this place be located? It was only on the second reading that I noticed an inconspicuous detail that clearly identifies the location. Everything fit together exactly! I won’t say :D)

In any case, the specific GPS coordinates where the story takes place are not important. The physical environment, hidden under the hatch and trembling from the horrors taking place behind its protective cloak, is all secondary. What is important are relationships between people, mutual competition for scarce personal energy (but also its selfless sharing), willingness to elevate the benefit of the whole over one’s own interest, the strength to fight fate despite the slim chance of success, love. We are witnessing many moving examples of solidarity and self-sacrifice for others. These topics are also burning for our own time.

Reading Symbolion is an adventurous journey full of discoveries.

Because the book, which bears the title of illegal virtual games, is also a kind of game for the reader. Together with the main characters, the reader sets out on an adventure, gradually uncovering the secrets hidden in the parables. At times, he may think that he already knows where the plot is going,
but sooner or later Symbolion will make him reconsider his expectations.

Care must be taken because things may not be what they seem. The site brings passages that reward the attentive reader with numerous aha moments. I will also not reveal these hints, ingeniously encoded in the text, in advance, so as not to spoil the joy of independent gradual discovery of history, geography, intentions, relationships and characteristics.

As for playing with readers, I now remember, for example, Robert A. Heinlein (I can perhaps afford some spoiler for classic, over sixty-year-old literary works, after all, everyone knows it anyway), who in „Friday“ revealed the point to the readers (who undoubtedly imagined the action scenes with a young light warrior all the time) only in the last pages, that the main character is actually black. With this small joke, Heinlein fought against the racial prejudices of the time.

He used the same trick at the end of „Starship Troopers“ (by the way, the book is much more philosophical than its wartime film interpretation) when he mentioned that the mother tongue of the brave American soldier Rico, the narrator of the story, is the Filipino Tagalog. Why not?

And for the third time, additionally shocking Heinlein – in the novel „A Stranger in a Strange Land“ , people like to swim together in the pool. A single subordinate sentence, actually just a few words somewhere in the middle of the book, then makes this image of self-confident people, happily frolicking in the water, more precise in the minds of readers that they definitely never use swimsuits when bathing. And what should be, you ask? But at the time of the novel’s publication (1961), such an idea was extremely outrageous – the era of „flower children“ and free love did not begin until a few years later.

Similarly, Romana Ana gradually presents (sometimes between the lines) revelations in her work, thanks to which the reader retrospectively understands and appreciates the plot so far – which maintains curiosity and entertains. The author has a gift for conveying the point of view of individual characters, revealing the inner motives of their actions without wasting words. It goes below the surface and the reader easily identifies with the heroes of the novel, fears for them, dreams about them – and relives their story in dreams.

Actually, not only in dreams

When I walk down a gray, foggy street – I remember a city without stars. When I sit with friends in a nice pub – I remember how much Kala, Zachary, Tobias and other nice „conspirators“ liked to meet in a similar place.

Whenever I put on a VR helmet and transport myself to a computer-generated artificial environment (there’s nothing like hitting virtual dwarves jumping out of virtual holes around them on the head with a virtual club :D), I think about how much more perfect the game Symbolion is/will be.

The jam pie with almonds and crumble, which Brett enjoys at his aunt’s and drinks with coffee, has been unsurpassed for me ever since.

And I barely think of a certain vibrant city, so colorful and busy today – I think of the ruins into which it will be transformed. It’s so well written.

The technological background, the functioning of society, the political and economic system are only hinted at, but given the dreamlike nature of the novel, it is probably not even desirable to discuss the specific physical conditions in too much detail.

Symbolion is simply a world that is both known and unknown
– like the fabric from which our dreams are woven.

It is rare to be able to activate the inner visions of readers in this way.

Romana Ana paints dreamlike paintings from Symbolion directly into the souls of readers. A lively action unfolds before their eyes – they can clearly see the ice floes and the flickering flames, hear the sounds of the market, their saliva converges on various delicacies, they feel the mustiness of the underground tunnels, the shiver runs down their spines when looking into the cosmic infinity and they fear for the fate of the heroic „conspirators“, whose efforts can be thwarted at any time by the secret police or a strong electromagnetic discharge, which penetrated through the protective shell of the dome.

A long time has passed, during which I have already read the novel several times, and even after such a long time, I still have to think about the fates of individual characters. Their human, sometimes even humorous behavior illuminates a world that would otherwise remain dark and perhaps not even worth saving. What happened to them next? I would like to visit the cozy bar U Prince again, sip the Black Corsair (amber-colored rum smelling of smoke and vanilla) and scratch the ears of the shaggy dog Toby under the table by the fireplace …

I long to return to Symbolion

Much remains to be explained, the basic plot remains, so I can’t wait for the sequel, which the author is currently thinking about. I am amazed at the spheres from which the author has traveled this captivating story of people from the future, that she perfectly captured the oppressive mood in a city crouched under a gigantic dome.

I just hope that the inspiration she had, and so beautifully artistically portrayed, is not supposed to be a prophetic harbinger of what is to come one day, but mainly a breathtaking literary memento or a warning.

Thanks to the bewitching style of Symbolion, the reader is so drawn into the plot that the adventure experienced together with the characters of the book leaves deep traces and to some extent influences his own view of the world.

In contrast to the masterfully described picture of a bleak future, I appreciate the new thing – that we do not live in it. For the terrible catastrophe hinted at in the book has not yet happened. Planet Earth is beautiful and full of life in our timeline. At night we can observe the stars, while during the day we enjoy the warmth of the sun. The world is still in balance. Every new morning is a miracle, an opportunity to show gratitude and contribute to making the world an even better place to live.

Viktor Horák, 2020

TRANSLATER VIKTOR HOKÁK