Red Ivy Afternoon is a novel of community and disenfranchisement, subversion and revolution in the digital age. The setting is a future we already know: good homes are unaffordable, good jobs are outsourced to other countries, and people anchor themselves to the glowing monitors in their homes to distract themselves. Julian Lightfall, a relatively successful Boston shipping secretary, lives his life from gadget to gadget and bar to bar in a haze of consumerism and boredom. He frequents the Portfolio lounge of the Ultimatum Hotel, playground of the rich and powerful, and throws his attention ineffectually at a sultry and disinterested regular named Christina. Another lone bachelor named Pyndan Calabas moves into the apartment next door. Calabas tells Julian he is a trauma surgeon and the two become friends. But, as Julian soon discovers, his new neighbor hides a secret that will change Julian's life, and the world, forever. Red Ivy Afternoon is a post-modern odyssey through a future that is already upon us.
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About the Author
Mark R. Brand was born in 1978 and raised in Evans Mills, NY. He graduated from St. Lawrence University in 2001 with dual degrees in Biology and Sociology. He is a practicing Massage Therapist and currently lives in Evanston, IL with his wife Beth.
His previous literature credits include the short stories "Cameron’s Encyclopedia" and "The Cabana" in Silverthought: Ignition: A Speculative Fiction Anthology, "The Riot Act" and "Ballerina" in Alien Light: A Science Fiction Anthology, edited by Carl Rafala, and an essay in To Wound the Autumnal City, a 9-11 tribute edited by Paul Hughes. Additionally, his young adult novel The Prince and The Pitchman was published in 2002. His work has been featured on several websites including Silverthought.com, Flagstonepublishing.com, and he is a cofounder of the literary site Dyingdays.com.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome to the Revolution,
This review is from: Red Ivy Afternoon (Hardcover)
I am always drawn to SF set in our own world that depicts societal breakdowns in the near-future as opposed to tales from far-flung galaxies filled with creatures and technology that I can barely fathom.
I was drawn to Red Ivy Afternoon, and I wasn't disappointed. Set in Boston in the near-future, in a Panamerica where paper is illegal and the only communication and entertainment device is a constant and blaring computer screen, the novel starts out slow and steam-rolls to a powerful and violent conclusion, one that will leave you pondering future revolutions as the rich these days just seem to get richer and the middle-class continues to shrivel. I had a hard time at first, liking the main character, Julian Lightfall, a young shipping clerk in Boston. Julian's characterization was pretty bland; he seems to live a life without meaning, until he meets his new neighbor, Pyndan Calabas (great name, by the way). The neighbor's arrival is one shrouded in mystery, and Brand does a great job drawing us into the story page by page as Julian learns more and more about his neighbor and more and more about the façade of a world that he lives in. I don't want to ruin the story for you, but I can tell you this, you will read it and finish it quickly, Brand's electric prose runs fast and makes for great reading.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Social Science Fiction,
By
This review is from: Red Ivy Afternoon (Hardcover)
The first thing I noticed about this book was that it isn't science fiction in the traditional sense. Though it takes place at some indeterminate time in the future - seemingly several decades - there is very little in the way of new or improved technology. "Red Ivy Afternoon" is more accurately described as social science fiction.
Julian Lightfall is our protagonist and narrator. He writes his memoir in vivid yet slightly old-fashioned prose. Much like any diarist, Julian skimps on self-description, but goes into loving detail about his Boston environment. Examples include a trendy nightclub (with the meaningful name Portfolio), and a working class eatery that transforms the breakfast rush into a highly oiled machine. The descriptions we get from Brand - through Julian - put us firmly in this sometimes drab, often desperate world. The most obviously alien aspect of this world is the illegality of paper. Unlike the somewhat similar world that Bradbury brought us in "Fahrenheit 451", in Brand's Panamerica, literature isn't dead. It thrives, but only in digital form. The loss of paper is about control of information. A dozen little grace notes keep us reminded of this slightly tilted culture - a note from a friend left not on a Post-It, but on a computer screen, the absence of bookshelves in Julian's spare, working-class apartment. Weaving in and out of Julian's narrative like a meaner version of Gandalf is Julian's new next door neighbor, the mysterious Pyndan Calabas. Calabas befriends Julian, which turns out to be a mixed blessing at best. Without revealing too much of the resulting mayhem, Calabas is the central figure of a dangerous political movement, and his proximity to Julian leads to complications, for both of them. The scenes between the two central characters are among the best of the book; the undercurrents of friendship and respect seem quite real. As I said, this is social science fiction. The nature of the culture and the government are the topics of interest. Brand brings them both to light deftly. I don't actually agree with characters' political view. But that doesn't mean I didn't care about the characters; I did. (Maybe that's the highest compliment I can give Brand.) Their desperation at their circumstances bakes off the page like heat. All in all, "Red Ivy Afternoon" is a very readable tale of an odd, yet relatable, world, and the small band of people who attempt to change it.
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