Review: Blackwell Denver Memorial?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 21, 2014
Red Denver by D.L. Denham is a turbulent speculative fiction novel featuring an episode in the life of Reho, a survivor in a post-apocalyptic USA. Now known as Usona, the government has disintegrated into anarchic communities attempting to move on with their lives after the Hegemon Wars. In the spirit of the Mad Max series, we find the communities centered around industrial endeavors such as Soapy’s Enterprise and Exchange. Reho has run afoul of Soapy and is forced to engage in gladiatorial combat in the Red Rocks Arena, the centerpiece of the resurrected town of Red Denver. Reho is forced to survive against a warbeast, one of the Hegemons’ mutant creatures, for a chance to seek revenge against the scheming crime boss.The theme of corruption resonates throughout the novel as we find Usona relies on what is called Old World technology to enable local groups to thrive and prosper. Yet it is Soapy and his criminal regime which becomes the ultimate profiteers. We also see how the community enjoys a vicarious thrill in watching someone being ripped up by the Warbeast, just as their own world had been destroyed by the space monsters. It is also apparent that after ninety years since the nuclear holocaust, mankind has not changed its ways and still finds violence to be the best form of entertainment. Denham reminds us that those who do not learn from history is sadly condemned to repeat it.For speculative fiction buffs and sci-fi fans alike, Red Denver by D.L. Denham is one you won’t want to miss.