Title: Thy King Dumb Come
Author: Stephen Tryon
Publisher: AccountabilityCitizenship.org
ISBN: 978-1734304725
Pages: 186
Genre: Political Fiction/Genre Fiction
Reviewed by: Tony Espinoza
Pacific Book Review
One of the most divisive topics on the world stage has to be politics. Especially in recent years, politics have played a major role in the way our society functions and treats one another. In the United States, the line between Democrats and Republicans has never been clearer, and has led to some pretty intense confrontations rather than honest and open discussion. As John F. Kennedy once said, “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”
In author Stephen Tryon’s Thy King Dumb Come, the author explores the impact of the nomination and subsequent victory of 2016 President winner Donald Trump through satire and humor. Exploring how religion, especially Christianity, has been co-opted by politicians to fuel the rage and hate of a specific group of people. Examining a society where the vision and rhetoric of politicians and candidates like Donald Trump and the use of religion as a means to an end, the author takes readers on a humorous journey as a student falls asleep and finds himself traveling through a dreamworld and must overcome great obstacles like a day in the Senate or a presidential rally to find his way out of the dream he’s stuck in.
A hilarious, creative and fairly quick read, author Stephen Tryon does an excellent job of blending the realities of our current political situations with wit and charm. Taking a philosophical approach to the utilization of religion into politics, the narrative focuses on a young student’s journey through the dream world as open-mindedness and acceptance are targeted and become the center of a court case. The setting of this dream world is perfect for this satire, as it allows the more fantastic elements of dreams like a talking dog named Socrates or other talking animals to intersect with the ridiculous nature of some of the behavior of recent political figures.
This is the perfect read for those who enjoy satire, humor and political fiction, especially in the wake of the 2016 election and more recently the 2020 election in the United States. As a fan of the genre and as someone with a great deal of interest in the recent elections, it was interesting to see the protagonist desperately trying to navigate the dilemmas of the book, as they brought the thoughtful and logical approaches to highly irregular events and behaviors by the supporting characters of the narrative.
A majorly entertaining, educational and heartfelt narrative, author Stephen Tryon’s Thy King Dumb Come is a brilliant read. From the book’s first pages exploring a tense, ridiculous yet sadly easy to believe exchange in the Oval Office, the reader is treated to moments of deep thinking and moments of hilarious satire, creating the perfect entertaining read.
