What is A People’s War actually about?

With A People’s War coming out tomorrow, we wanted to talk a little about what the second novel in the sequence is about. We’re going to avoid major spoilers for the first book BUT…our definition of spoiler may not be yours so read on at your own peril.

At the end of the first book it becomes apparent to Helena that she needs to find her father. That he may be the only person who can stop a the war that started in the opening chapter.

Book 2 picks up straight after these events, following on in the aftermath of the events that caused Helena to question everything she knew about who was on what side and why.

Yet with so many massive events, the aftermath is one of confusion and difficult questions. Helena’s own role in the war comes under scrutiny and this hampers her freedom to simply jump on a plane and go find her mother.

Even if she could, Edith has already been revealed as a woman that doesn’t really care for Helena (and the feeling’s mutual). Helena doesn’t know what her biological mother is going to do when they meet again.

In the background to all of this are events in the wider world. It’s clear that with good information people will find out what the corporations are up to. If you found out corporations were going to decide when you were allowed to live and die what would you do?

Our gut reaction when discussing this was that we’d not stand for it. Then we looked at history. We looked at how other people really have responded to such situations and we thought about the rise of populism right now in the liberal democracies of the west.

The story of A People’s War, the title even, make it clear that the answer to this question is not as straight forward as our initial take might make it seem. We experience this story through Helena and her own struggles but her world is larger than she is. While she’s figuring out what she thinks and fighting for her life, the rest of the world is getting on with a war to decide the fate of all humanity.

A People’s War is about the 99%, about what they might do when faced with the stark choice of live or die by the 1%’s rules.

We love it and hope you will too.