The Darkside Of Fear And Tradition

Zojaqan is a tale about a woman, Shannon Kind who finds herself stranded in an alien world.

As years roll by Shannon notices that presence on the strange planet has slowed down her ageing process. And thousands of years roll by she discovers that the creatures she used to hunt are growing bigger and evolving into smart intelligent beings.

Shannon adopts one of such species to watch over them, teaching them how to live. Through her the tribe she now calls Zoja comes to learn language, art, and self-defence.

The story continues by focusing on how Zoja lived over hundreds of years after Shannon's brief departures. More importantly, it expands on the terrible acts the young tribe enacts in an effort to follow Shannon's rules and guides.

Zojaqan is difficult to describe. On one hand, it almost feels like a fantasy about a lone human in an alien world. On the other, I sense a level of allegory about the world's present political and religious state. This ambiguity is one of the reasons why I love this tale. It is also probably why I still can't stop thinking about it.

All in all, Zojaqan does well to portray the desperation that takes hold of civilisations in grip of fear and tradition.

Many thanks to Diamond Books for review copy.