This Fever Dream of a Novel Will Leave You Reeling

Midas had returned to Toronto with a new business plan. After years of big deals in the South, he decided to do it better. It was always so hard to make money and do good at the same time. With his indie café he’d do both. But this reinvention comes at a mysterious price as strange visitors arrive with insistent business propositions.

Making it more difficult, the town he’d left is as overwhelmed by the notorious sins as everywhere else, buckling under ecological decay, a weakened state, and rampant fraud and violence. As Midas defends his café, his world morphs in bizarre and threatening ways. One wonders if his growing horror is real or a distraught misperception of reality, and a clue comes from an unlikely place: his favourite customer.

Zora has her own troubles. A progressive artist, she’d recently quit a revolutionary movement, until she’s drawn back in. Zora’s journey and perception of reality morph too, and both she and Midas participate in a grander struggle over the absurd elusiveness of truth.

Goodreads Synopsis

Overall Rating

5/5

Quick Take

Indie by Paul MacLeod is a beautifully written sci-fi thriller that reads like a fever dream. MacLeod’s writing is smooth and vibrant, and his passion for his story leaps from the page. Fans of sci-fi are sure to be transformed after ingesting this read!

Tell Me More

I’ve always been interested in sci-fi, but I have to admit that I am fairly new to reading it. Indie by Paul MacLeod was a great book to read as a new fan, because it was easy to understand and utterly captivating.

Indie by Paul MacLeod is a dystopian/apocalyptic sci-fi novel that focuses on Midas, a man who runs his indie cafe in a world that is that is becoming increasingly violent and disastrous. The novel follows his journey as he tries to defend his cafe, but his world quickly becomes corrupted. The casual setting of the cafe in a world that is impacted by such extreme sci-fi elements is intriguing and blends the importance of human relationships in a decaying world with existential dread.

Zora, an artist with revolutionary interests, was by far my favorite character in Indie. She elicits the “manic pixie dream girl” complex, but while she possesses the characteristics of this trope, her character is an independent and essential element to the novel. She is creative, marches to the beat of her own drum, and while stuck in a world that is frequently changing and further deteriorating, she stands her ground. Zora’s and Midas’ chemistry oozes from the pages of the book, and I quickly became engrossed in their relationship.

With Indie, MacLeod has proven himself to be a deeply passionate and unrepeated author. He managed to create a sci-fi novel that not only explores apocalyptic elements but is filled with philosophical interests and deep relationships that allow the reader to reflect on their own life. There are so many ways to interpret this novel, and I was thoroughly impressed with the prose. Indie is MacLeod’s first novel, and with it he has created a lifelong reader of his work in myself.

If you are a sci-fi fan and enjoy philosophy and complex interpersonal relationships, Indie by Paul MacLeod deserves to be on the top of your to be read list. This author is sure to go far.

Published by Ashley Nestler, MSW

Ashley Nestler, MSW is a survivor of Schizoaffective Disorder, Quiet Borderline Personality, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, multiple eating disorders, and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Ashley has dedicated her life to educating others on mental health and illness, as well as providing online resources for those who may experience barriers when seeking help for their mental health. Ashley is also the author of “Beautiful Nightmare”, “Into The Fog”, and “Behind Broken Glass Walls”. Her short stories and horror poems have been published in various anthologies. She is an educator on writing and loves to help authors through her book critiques and reviews. View all posts by Ashley Nestler, MSW

Originally published at http://peachykeenreviews.com on January 24, 2023.