Title: While Half the World is Sleeping
Author: Gabriel Anthony Lopez
Publisher: Great Writers Media
ISBN: 978-1-961416-10-9
Pages: 46
Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopian / Adventure
Reviewed by: Reia Midas

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In theory, science fiction is a fictionalized vision of a futuristic world and the world beyond our solar system. However, science fiction is a conscious calculation, done on the world’s current state to design to imagine with plausibility or possibility on what the future could hold. The result shows that despite all science’s futuristic creations and conveniences, the new world is similar to the world now. Author Gabriel Anthony Lopez’s While Half the World is Sleeping is a picturesque depiction of the future set with credible links to the present.

The story, set in 2041, is now in a dystopian world where the political, social, and economic state has completely changed. Humans now inhabit both the Moon and Mars. Earth has somehow gained control over the two cosmic bodies. Styex, a corporation, controls all three cosmic bodies: Earth, Moon, and Mars. A war has now broken out globally between Styex and their rival company, Rubion Corporation, who are attempting to take over control from Styex. Paris Pharell, the CEO of Styex, along with his friends Samantha and Cory, dives headfirst into the crisis to stop the devastation the war was wrecking on Earth as much as on the other two cosmic bodies. But the three don’t know a bigger enemy awaits on the horizon of their existing crisis.

Gabriel Anthony Lopez consciously built a futuristic world which shows a fictional state of a world controlled by heavy machines and advanced technology. Phones are replaced by a more advanced device called an ‘abstynth’, and a strange new screen replaces TVs. He carefully constructed each segment, such as the Mec Warriors, the futuristic suit that Paris wore, and the new modes of transport to build a perfect science fiction setting.

Other than the clever, creative takes on scientific advancement, Lopez has also shown the extremes of humankind. How greed and ambition can ruin a man, destroy their close bonds with people, and lead to their demise, which was carefully observed through the characters of Nicholas and Jennifer. Readers get brief glimpses into the state of desolation the world goes into during war and how it affects human lives – and everything around them. A significant moment in the book is the depiction of the desensitization of human beings during times of crisis. The synergy of science fiction being not simply a collection of cool gizmos, but also a mirror of society, is brought to full fruition through the work of Gabriel Anthony Lopez.

While Half the World is Sleeping is a novel which takes the reader into a world of advanced technology, huge aircraft, and even the Moon! But at the same time, it grounds the reader with the depiction of existing societal issues. Readers looking for the next science fiction with a dystopian world and an added touch of adventure will want to pick up a copy of this scintillating novella.