Review of Severed Roots

[Arya James]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Severed Roots" by Nego Huzcotoq.]

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2 out of 5 stars

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What if a new world order emerges as a reaction to patriarchy? And what if women dominate this new dystopian world?

This is the central idea in Severed Roots by Nego Huzcotoq. In the new world order here, the position of men is degraded so much so that they are not even called men anymore. They are dehumanized and are called mankeys. Nick Wong, one of the mankeys is the central character. His coming-of-age from being a submissive mankey to gradually trying to understand the world around him forms the crux of the story. Two groups of people rebel against totalitarianism - the Hardinians (radicals) and the Progressives (family-oriented) - both have different intentions.

Nego Huzcotoq's prose is easy to read. The protagonist's understanding of the world around him and his being a magician is a clever take.

But, the entire world being dominated by women seems far-fetched. It is also like a criticism of feminism even if the intention was not. It feels like an extension of the patriarchal society's 'worries' of women taking over men though feminism is all about equality. There is no clarity in the ideology that the book is trying to convey. While the Hardinians are the bad lot, the Progressives seem to be upholding the Christian values as right which a large part of the world today does not agree with. So we cannot take a stance because the Progressives stress things like gender roles that are very sexist. Also, there is a lack of representation here. And it is evident that this is supposed to be a series, so if anything we would know it only in the latter installments.

Some characters are underwritten and you won't feel any emotional connection with them. There is also so much more telling than showing. But I liked the flashbacks and dream sequences.

Readers who uphold Christian values might like this book. Others might find the politics in the book frustrating and regressive.

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Severed Roots
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