The year 2025 marks the tenth anniversary of the publication of The Children of Darkness, my first novel and the start of The Seekers dystopian trilogy. To commemorate this occasion, I recently reread all three books. While an author will always be biased toward his own works, ten years distance does allow a fair degree of objectivity. So here are my thoughts.

This story is more relevant today than when I wrote it. The Seekers trilogy is about the eternal struggle between light and darkness, between progress and regression, between advances in science and the rejection of those advances, between truth and made-up myths, and between optimism in the future and a desire to return to an idyllic past.

The story takes place in a world that is the result of a cataclysm, which occurred a thousand years before. After a too rapid advance of technology that exceeded the pace of human evolution, the near destruction of everything occurred. As a reaction, the well-intentioned survivors formed a society committed to simplicity and a denial of science to prevent a return to the horrors of what they now call the darkness.

Over time, these beliefs hardened. Corruption and the lust for power resulted in an authoritarian theocracy based on lies and the suppression of all progress. This new religion: avoid a return to the darkness at all costs.

But the human spirit always finds a way to achieve its potential, to strive for a better world. Three young people discover the truth about the past and go on a quest to recover what has been lost. “For what are we without dreams.”

While the story opens in a darker period than where we are today, there are ominous hints of where we might be headed: polarization, distrust, misinformation, a suspicion of all progress, a desire to return to a mythical simpler time. Could we be witnessing the beginning of the end of the age of enlightenment?

Let’s keep in mind the reason why we love dystopian fiction–not to endorse the powerful and narrow-minded oppressor, but to cheer on the courageous few who oppose them and strive against all odds to make a better world. Just as the characters in my story never abandon hope, we too must continue to believe in a better future. As I approach my eightieth decade and worry for the younger generation, I embrace that hope.