First published 1986
The war is over, and America has lost. Billy Justin watches foreign soldiers march through his small town as the reality sets in. The United States military has been crushed, and now Chinese and Soviet armies occupy the country that once called itself the land of the free. Justin and his neighbors must navigate life under foreign rule, where former freedoms have vanished and survival depends on adapting to new masters. The occupying forces bring their own systems of control, reshaping American society from the ground up. Some citizens collaborate with the new regime, while others resist in whatever ways they can. Justin faces impossible choices as he witnesses his country transformed beyond recognition. The story explores how ordinary people respond when their world collapses and familiar institutions disappear overnight. Kornbluth examines the human cost of defeat, showing how individuals struggle to maintain dignity and hope when everything they knew has been stripped away.
Genres: dystopia, historical-fiction, political-thriller, alternate-history
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, survival
Setting: America, China, Soviet Union
Period: 20th-century
256 pages · Paperback · Tor Books
Content warnings: war