In the year 2034, Dr. Diana
Scorsi has developed a powerful AI called Symmetra, which causes all
who experience it to believe that it's god. She soon finds herself
kidnapped by Ravelton Parley, founder the of the incredibly
successful Righteous Burger fast food chain who wants the technology
for his own purposes. With Symmetra at the center of a potential
international incident with various nations fighting for the
technology, government agents Tuck Squires and Ken Clarion set out to
rescue Dr. Scorsi before it's too late.
“Whether families or neighbors or armies, the reasons people
kept fighting were so often mysterious, so far beyond the realms of
ethics or reason, that they might easily seem like the province of
otherworldly powers.”
Pax Americana is
a satirical sci-fi spy thriller in the vein of Pynchon and Vonnegut.
There are numerous absurdities within the world, such as an extended
run of Republicans in the White House leading to a ideology known as
Christian Consumerism taking hold in America. This results in
Christian-theme products and businesses, such as the Righteous
Burger, taking over the mainstream. The anti-hero of the book, Tuck
Squires, is the opposite of a suave, smooth-talking secret agent.
He's a prudish WASP from a rich family who failed upwards into his
position. Through most of the book, he's carried by Ken Clarion, a
grizzled veteran of the field.
In spite
of the many humorous elements, Baumeister plays the spy plot mostly
straight. It's full of intrigue, action, backstabbing, and lots of
things blowing up. He balances these elements well, creating an
entertaining read without losing the satirical looks at religion,
American hegemony, and capitalism. This would make for a great film.
The
book is incredibly evocative of the Bush administration era. Within
the world of Pax Americana,
the Iraq invasion was successful and resulted in a series of
Republican presidents up until 2034. American hegemony is all but
assured (hence the title), but is beginning to unravel due to a
failed invasion of Syria. The development of Symmetra is causing even
more problems, with every country desperately wanting the technology
that would completely upend everyone's understanding of religion.
Religion
is often the center of mockery in this novel. Both the anti-hero Tuck
Squires and the villain Ravelton Parley are self-righteous Christians
who are obsessed with loyalty to American and capitalism, and use
both to justify morally questionable things. One scene that stands
out in particular is when Parley is pretending to be a Muslim while
speaking with an associate from an Islamic theocracy and the result
is both a mockery of the Othering of Islam by Americans and of the
religion itself. Symmetra itself is essentially a brainwashing
program that is able to convince all who interact with it that it's a
sort of machine god, which gives the people fighting over it various
theological motivations to get a hold of it.
Pax
Americana is a funny and entertaining read with a lot to say about
the place of religion in society today. It can be enjoyed both for
its plot and action as well as it themes. I highly recommend this and
I look forward to reading what Baumeister puts out in the future.
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