Pandemonium by Bill Harvey
This discussion is one that’s still in progress — and probably will be for some time to come — so the boundaries aren’t clearly marked. The one thing however that many seem to agree on is that possibility — that is whether the elements of the novel could conceivably come to pass — is a major determining factor. Science fiction explores what is possible (even if it’s improbable), while fantasy explores the impossible. As Ray Bradbury put it, “Science fiction is really sociological studies of the future, things that the writer believes are going to happen by putting two and two together, it’s a logical projection.”
This logical projection is exactly what author Bill Harvey does (to a frightening degree) in his recent novel Pandemonium, second in his Agents of Cosmic Intelligence saga. Set in the near future, Earth is on the verge of a third world war after a “psychic monster” in the form of a charismatic terrorist takes over Iran, planning eventually to rule the world. Complicating matters is an unhinged United States president, who seizes control of the country and pushes the world to the brink of nuclear Armageddon with an insane agenda.
PLENTIFUL AND ACCURATE PROJECTIONS OF THE FUTURE
As tensions escalate, two psychic soldiers — Ed Templegard, an operative in America’s secret psychic paramilitary group, Theta Force, and Nastassia Slayevsky, Russia’s most powerful 17 year old psychic — join forces in an attempt to save the world from an ancient threat that has been biding its time for millennia.
Pandemonium’s biggest strength lies in its plentiful and accurate projections for the future. While the future in Pandemonium is bleak, each element of the world is conceivable both in terms of technology and the sociology behind the ways in which it has evolved. Augmented reality advertisements known as “hallucinads” line every street-corner and billboard while “Gibsons” — marketing devices that blur the lines between reality and the virtual world — are an everyday part of the average citizen’s life.
The inspiration behind these technological advancements are all born from trends we can see in society today, and will have readers thinking long after they close the book. Commentary on ideas such as increasingly intrusive advertisements and society’s disturbing reliance on rose-tinted glasses and escape from the real-world comes through loud and clear while still managing to not come off as pushy or on-the-nose.
ENTERTAINING YET THOUGHT-PROVOKING
On a similar note, the sheer number of concepts and plot lines Harvey seamlessly weaves into the nearly 500 pages is impressive. Fans of everything from theology to aliens, nazis to robots, and psychic powers, shared consciousness and Lucifer himself will find something that speaks to them in this book. Many authors often fall into the trap of trying to cram too much ambition into one project, making for a jumbled mess of half-baked content. Harvey deftly executes each plotline he introduces in an entertaining yet thought-provoking manner that readers of all varieties will love.
While science-fiction can often feel intimidating due to the intricacy and complexity that go hand in hand with the genre, readers need not feel this way with Pandemonium, as within its pages there is something for everyone.
Pandemonium is available for purchase here and here.
About Bill Harvey:
Bill Harvey is a world-renowned media researcher who has on more than one occasion changed the course of the media industry. He is credited with many innovations to research and business process over the past 35 years, based on new insights into media audiences and new ways of thinking. Bill received an Emmy® Award in 2022 for pioneering technology development. He is also the recipient of the Advertising Research Foundation’s Great Mind Award. His childhood experience on stage led to a lifetime of study of the flow state, the state of consciousness most conducive to success.
Bill evolved the trigger words contained in his books and videos as his own internal system for bringing himself up to his highest level of creative effectiveness. This process started early in his life when his show business parents had him on stage from age five on.
Bill discovered that he sometimes experienced perfect performances which occurred while he observed himself without making any effort to perform – as if from outside, behind, or above himself. At other times performance required effort and was not perfect and at these times he appeared to be inside himself in the familiar daily state of “normal waking consciousness”. He sought to find out more about the first state which he observed to be “supernormal” in terms of performance effectiveness.
Bill lives with his wife Lalita and their cat Zohreh in the beautiful Hudson Valley. He has a daughter Nicole, and with Lalita has four grandchildren, Nicholas, Gabrielle, Jessica, and Alexander, and now their first great-grandchild, Zara.
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