CONQUERGOOD & THE CENTER
OF THE INTELLIGIBLE MYSTERY
OF BEING
by
CG Fewston
Science Fiction / Dystopian / Steampunk
Date of Publication: October 17, 2023
Number of Pages: 381 pages
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One of resilience and transformation, Conquergood’s life-changing discovery explores the depths of family, memory, love, and the mysteries that lie at the heart of the universe.
In 2183, Jerome Conquergood is an outcast roaming the abandoned and crumbling skyscrapers of Old York City outside the Korporation’s seductive and dizzying headquarters, a post-apocalyptic security-city for the mega-rich. Despite his hatred for the techno-optimism and the Korporation, Conquergood is compelled to save his mysterious twin brother Vincent by joining the Korporation, a mega-corporate and governmental entity in a world oppressed to peace.
This book is not an easy read, nor is it easy to review. There is so much happening, so much introduced to a reader, that it’s difficult to focus on just a few aspects of the story. While reading Conquergood, I was taken back to my college days when I was first introduced to the work of James Joyce, specifically Ulysses. That novel, like this one, is deep and philosophical and often wanders in long streams of consciousness, some of it fascinating and some of it going past the place of fascination. At least for some readers.
The purpose of a novel like Conquergood, in addition to wanting to entertain, is to make the reader think, and we think about a lot of things, just like Jerome Conquergood does as he goes through his education. In many ways, it was nice to be prodded into really contemplating the future of mankind in an ever-evolving world of technology. The author challenges us to consider moral and ethical questions about AI, genetic manipulation, robotics, and who is ultimately the entity that should control humankind.
Those things are all relevant to our time today, as well as our future, and I do enjoy a good deep pondering now and then, especially when the invitation to do so is couched in a compelling story.
Even though I found the novel a little unbalanced in places, there is much to enjoy about the writing. There’s a wonderful use of language; such as in this quote, “Society had passed him by without waving, never failing to stop to consider the welfare of him or his twin brother, Vincent, orphaned and destitute. The world consumed itself with business, and he knows nothing about the grand successes of the Korporation.” Then the narrative would go off on a philosophical tangent that was just a little too long to have a cohesive feel to it. I’d read, go back and read again, and wonder what I was to take from that particular discourse.
Then I’d turn a page and come across another lovely turn of phrase that would settle me back into pure enjoyment.
Coupled with the engaging narrative is an abundance of interesting characters, some of whom have clever lines of dialogue such as: “I recall my first time in a K-Line . I’ve been only a lab flunky, acne and all, back then. Doktor Kajd was the one who took me up to the Korporate labs. I nearly exercised my right to express my lunch all over the good Doktor’s sandals. Can you imagine that?”
Throughout the story, Conquergood is looking for his twin brother, Vincent, and there are times he’s told that there is no brother. He’s never had a brother. Because the idea of Vincent is introduced in the beginning of this tale and touched on throughout, the big reveal at the end of the book is most satisfying, while also being a huge surprise.
A major question that Conquergood asks himself during his education after he joins the Korporation is, “all cannot be lost, or can it?” That seems to be a central question in the theme of this book as well, and is certainly something that resonates with me as I consider the state of our world today.
Perhaps it will be a question you consider as you read this engrossing tale that’s a mix of sci-fi, dystopian, and literary fiction. You won’t be disappointed in giving it a try. I recommend the book to fans of all three genres, especially those who like a mixed-genre salad in their reading.
(Photo Credit: Thor Fewston) The American novelist CG FEWSTON has been a Visiting Scholar at the American Academy in Rome (Italy), a Visiting Fellow at Hong Kong’s CityU, & he’s been a member of the Hemingway Society, Americans for the Arts, PEN America, Club Med, & the Royal Society of Literature. He’s also been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) based in London. He has a B.A. in English, an M.Ed. in Higher Education Leadership (honors), an M.A. in Literature (honors), and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing & Fiction. He was born in Texas in 1979.
Fewston is the author of several short stories and novels. His works include A Father’s Son, The New America: Collection, The Mystic’s Smile ~ A Play in 3 Acts, Vanity of Vanities, A Time to Love in Tehran, Little Hometown, America, A Time to Forget in East Berlin, and Conquergood & the Center of the Intelligible Mystery of Being.
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“A mixed-genre salad.” I like that, and I like that this book provides that for readers. Variety is the spice of life, after all! I am always a little intimidated by literary fiction, in part because I feel like I’m not in a place that I can give it the time to properly read and synthesize the text. This sounds like a book I’d like and need to read, though. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
It’s definitely not a book to read in small increments just for entertainment. Not a bedside book. 🙂 I read the book in the morning while eating breakfast, and extended my breakfast time to an hour. Like you, I shy away from literary fiction unless I know I can make the time to read the way it needs to be read.