Many readers have kindly emailed me about the pop culture this book uses and the buried secrets inside it. I can’t explain how much this made me happy. Since this is maybe the fifth edition of the book – finally edited properly – I decided I should add a note, explaining some things that might be of interest to you if you liked the series so far. But before I do, please note that those secrets aren’t what the book is about. As a storyteller, I wanted to enrich the world-building of I AM ALIVE by paying my respects to movies and books that were an inspiration for the ideas in the book – if the world ends one day and we’re about to get on a ship or something to survive, there are number of awesome movies, songs, and arts that I’d like to pass on to the next generation.
I will list only some of these here since there are other points I’d prefer to mention later so I don’t spoil anything of the coming episodes:
1) Eva Hutchinson and her brother Dan Hutchinson are named after the kid characters in Shirley Jackson’s notable book, The Lottery, one if the first books that tackled ideas mentioned in I Am Alive in such an original and unusual way. In I Am Alive, Dan is mentioned to be holding a black box, which was a major element in Shirley Jackson’s novella. What was in Dan’s black box in I Am Alive. You will know in upcoming books.
2) Madame Delacroix and Madame Dunbar who killed their children are also named after characters in Shirley Jackson’s the Lottery.
3) The Breakfast Club is named after 1985 John Hughes movie which is one of the best movies ever to tackle teen issues in my opinion. The rebellions call themselves the Breakfast Club, inspired by the movie. You might wonder who the Breakfast Club exactly are, and where they came from. This will be explained in book two and three.
4) The nation of Faya is the shape of a Decagon, a closed shape of ten sides and ten angels with the capital Sol in the middle. I can’t say more, but it is a crucially important info in the coming books.
5) Cubberlay, the school Decca graduated from is named after the city where an important incident, called the Third Wave, happened years ago. It’s a true incident that proved that an experiment to demonstrate democratic societies are not immune to the appeal of fascism. You can google it, and you will instantly see how it is related to the world of Faya.
6) Hannibal Xitler is named after the character Hannibal Lector in Thomas Harris’ Silence of the Lamb, and Hitler – we all know who that is. The superficial use of names is to hint the superficial world of Faya. I didn’t use complicated names because when the Summit found what’s left of America’s history in containers, they were far from interested in complicated and intricate namings. Try to imagine how intricate the Romans, Greeks, or the Ancient Egyptians really were, and compare it to what we think we know about them, then apply this to nation of Faya and what they think they know about us now. Speaking of names, there is a lot to be interpreted in Decca’s name, but will be revealed later.
7) The Mirage is named after the place where Siegfried and Roy, two famous tiger trainers, had their shows organized. One of them was eaten by a white tiger called Manticore which Carnivore’s name is inspired from. Why I used them as a reference? It’s the same thing like the rest of Faya. They are no original nation. They are simply a bad remake of a so-so movie. I imagined the Summit reading the stories about Siegfried and Roy and saying, ‘Hellya! We’re going to create a creature and call him Carnivore instead of Manticore.’
8) The Rabbit Hole that everyone is looking for was right in front of your eyes – and Decca’s eyes – but you both missed it. It will be discovered later.
9) Some characters like Decca or Woo seem to be underdeveloped. They’re not. This is a trilogy. We will learn big things about these two, and Leo, along the way.
10) The Z letters are silly and cheesy. I like it. We all have to loosen up once in a while.
11) A detail that was mentioned once, and it seems that it didn’t linger with some of the readers, is that the Amerikaz buried the history of the world before the Great Disease in containers under the Burning Man effigy – who was not meant to be considered a God. He was more of an x-marks-the spot so survivors would notice it and dig for the history of America and learn from it. I am mentioning this because some argued that no one should remember David Bowie – and the pop culture references – anymore, which is far from the truth. Nothing died. It was all documented in the containers under the Burning Man. Think of it like Noah’s Arc. What happened was that Xitler and his family altered it and messed things up, which brings up to the most controversial Zootube and Zwitter issue. They are by far no intelligent naming in a dystopia, but here is the thing: Xitler, as much as he is fierce ruler, is douche bag. He just added this Z letter everywhere to differentiate himself from his ancestors.
12) Yes. Decca’s love for Leo was insta-love. What’s wrong with insta-love? But Leo’s love for her wasn’t insta-love. Again, what’s wrong with insta love? J
13) If you have never been bullied, you will never get what being a Monster feels like, and you might not get a lot of the spirit of this book at all.
14) Decca’s scattered feelings are intentional. She is young, and the Summit has messed with her brain through the iAm, like TV and internet messes with everyone.
15) The idea of the iAm is true. It’s called Self Quantification. You can search about it and read about how people and big companies are already planning on using it very soon.
16) Finally, remember one thing: You’re not your heart rate, you’re not your weight, and not your education. You are all, infinite, and unpredictable, and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise because you’re capable of change and transcendence.
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List of other books by Cameron Jace available so far:
1 Snow White Blood Red
narrated by Snow White Queen
available HERE
2 Cinder to Cinder & Ashes to Ashes
narrated by Alice Grimm
available HERE
3 Beauty Never Dies
narrated by Peter Pan
available HERE
4 Ladle Rotten Rat Hut
narrated by Little Red Riding Hood
available HERE
5 Mary Mary Quite Contrary
as told by the devil
available HERE
6 Blood Apples
narrated by Prince Charming
coming out in mid October
7 Jawigi
narrated by Sandman Grimm
coming by the end of October
Through Your Eyes ( I Am Alive Series Book 1 Episode 3 ) (I Am Alive serial) Page 11