vVilrRuUsS: I Never Forget—An Apocalypse Full of Ambition

Sadly, I couldn't get the coffee cup in shot this time. Glare mitigation took priority. —Taken with an iPhone 8

One of my favorite scenes in Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, is when Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect find themselves at the mercy of Prostetntic Vogon Jeltz who makes them sit through a poetry reading before they get shoved out of an airlock. It was funny to watch the reactions of both the mostly non-plussed Arthur and writhing Ford, but it also made me appreciate how science fiction could change the way one saw the world through the power of comedy. Decades since the publication of my favorite novel, a new author by the name of Jaz Jazalyn seeks to do the same thing, but instead of comedy, she does so through the power of verse.   

 vVilrRuUsS: I Never Forget is a poetry-driven, fiction novel where three distinct viruses infect the masses throughout the course of what could be considered a long apocalypse. The first one sets the stage by making everyone criminals in one form or another, while the second messes around with people’s memories, and the third one could be considered the panacea that protects the survivors by enlightening them on the past. 

This is probably the best interpretation of events as the poems lead themselves into discussing civil unrest, what it means to love and be loved, the definition of God (at least, presumably in the Christian sense), the state of mental health, and a few other topics. In a way, it is like Jaz Jazlyn covers the stories of everyone impacted by these viruses, meaning that no account is left behind. Even with no proper protagonist, Jazalyn makes up with the world-building alone, verse by verse.      

As I read through the book, I could not help but feel slightly lost in-between viruses. If the gap between pandemics was long enough, it started to read as more of a poem anthology than a poetry novel. Considering the novel’s ongoing apocalypse, this may be intentional and that the reader might also be infected by proxy. If Jaz Jazalyn did plan out the novel with this idea in mind, that sort of artistic ambition makes this book worth the read alone. 

My personal favorite from this novel is a poem called “.M.A.C.H.I.N.A.T.I.O.N.S.” where the words form themselves into something resembling a hat. At the hat’s peak, the words make the it look like it has a plate attached to it and what slips into the hat, well, does not exactly bode well. It reminded me of the idea of a “tin foil hat” on first impressions and one could easily think it has conspiratorial roots. Considering the first words that get fed into the hat, I thought so too, but with how these viruses impact the populace, it might not be the case. It may be that survivors, both infected and clean, are trying to figure out what kind of world they are living in by patching available memories together. 

There is another poem of note shortly after “.M.A.C.H.I.N.A.T.I.O.N.S.” titled “Of the Trash” that had a sort-of cyberpunk feel to it. There is an unknown group that is all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-powerful, and the speaker seems to be rallying people against it by calling out every presumed injustice. It does feel similar to the way some cyberpunk novels involve a drastic power struggle between the affluent and the working class, but that is about it. In a way its a sort of turning point in the novel where the masses are now aware of the multiple pandemics.

 vVilrRuUsS: I Never Forget is an interesting science fiction novel in verse, where chaos exists in both the world and the text itself. It may be a hard sell for those who are into the typical apocalypse novels, cyberpunk thrillers, and dystopian literature, but this is far from Vogon poetry. If you are looking for a unique science fiction experience, or just enjoy a good set of poems, Jaz Jazalyn has you covered. 

In Sum: Artistic Drive meets Dystopia Mayhem—3.5 out of 5

vVilrRuUsS: I Never Forget is available through book retailers including Barnes & Noble and Amazon.