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Review: Dark Satanic Mills by Marcus and Julian Sedgwick


Goodreads Synopsis
Set in a near-future Britain, Dark Satanic Mills tracks a young girl's journey from the flooded landmarks of London to the vast, scorched and abandoned hills of the north. Framed for a murder she did not commit, the innocent and beautiful Christie has no other choice but to run for her life. Both a cautionary tale and a rip-roaring road trip, Dark Satanic Mills is altogether an intelligent, captivating and thrilling ride - The Wizard of Oz for a new generation, told in exhilarating shades of light and dark.

Review
Dark Satanic Mills is a grim, brooding story of an England, very different yet still recognisable as our own, that has suffered acute environmental disaster.  This has been exploited by an opportunistic, fanatical religion known as The True Church who control the country through propaganda, fear and violence.  It is not dissimilar from V for Vendetta or 1984 – although in both those cases it was the state who were the totalitarian authority as opposed to a fascistic religion.
This has all been presented in a stunningly illustrated (for the most part in a black and white chiaroscuro) 176 page graphic novel.  It is extremely well written and rife with religious and literary references.  This tale of a dark future serves as a warning to allowing too much power wrest with any single body.

You'll love this if you loved
1984 by George Orwell
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

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