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| Author | Daniel Haight |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | D'wayne Dino Murphy |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Novel |
| Publisher | Telemachus Press |
Publication date | 2012 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (paperback) and E-Book (Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook and iBooks) |
| Pages | 206 |
| ISBN | 978-0615562544 |
Flotilla is a post-apocalyptic fiction novel by American author Daniel Haight, and is the first volume in the Flotilla series, which is the first novel published by this author. Initially written as a short story in 2006, Haight published Flotilla as a complete novel in 2011. The story centers on the adventures of Jim Westlake, a teenage boy with a history of alcohol abuse, who survives terrorist and pirate attacks with his family while living on a seasteading colony off of the Channel Islands of California. Flotilla is currently scheduled for re-release as a second edition by Telemachus Press in November, 2012 and will be followed by the sequel, Iron Mountain.
Plot summary
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Flotilla is a narrative novel, told by the main character Jim in a series of blog entries after he escapes from the seasteading community that he refers to as either "The Colony" or "Pacific Fisheries Colony Complex D." Jim Westlake comes to the colony after exiting an forced 21-day stay in an alcohol rehabilitation facility. His estranged father, Rick, lives on the community aboard a battered pilothouse yacht raising fish for sale through mariculture and immediately begins using Jim as cheap labor for himself, friends and business partners. As the story progresses, it becomes apparent that the community is a corporate enterprise that raises fish for sale and sells franchise opportunities to people who are not professional fishermen.
Because the community is offshore and filled with people who are not professionals, many offer services and sale to each other barter or for profit. Rick is engaged in a variety of small businesses ranging from fishing to gardening to sales of pharmaceuticals and Jim is included in many of his deals ("scams"). Jim sees the Colony as a boom town as he sees 'numerous indirect businesses develop to cater to workers.' Some deals are innocent exchanges but it slowly becomes obvious that many illegal activities are also happening in secret while mariculture operations continue. Jim discusses many different interactions that indicate his growing acceptance by the Colony D community.
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At the end of the summer, Jim returns home. He continues to struggle with his own addiction and his increasingly-dysfunctional family. Jim meets Stacy during a brief Winter Vacation visit to the Colony and they begin to date. Stacy is a teenage girl living with her parents on a temporary boat called 'The Seas of Cheese' and Jim has to endure threats of violence if they allow their relationship to become physical. As the next summer approaches, a drinking relapse causes Jim's step-father to force him to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings before sending him back to the Colony for another summer. As Jim arrives, he quickly learns that the illegal activity has escalated and his father is the target of scrutiny by Pacific Fisheries corporate security and an undercover DEA agent.
Mexican drug cartels are menacing the Colony (Similar to the drug piracy occurring on the Falcon Lake reservoir in Texas) and the Colony is forced to defend itself. His mother is unaware of the danger and makes arrangements to send Jim's younger sister, Madison, to the Colony for the summer. Jim tries to warn his mother and make his escape but Miguel warns him that 'they' are watching him, although it is unclear whether 'they' means the authorities or the drug cartels.
When Madison arrives, Jim hopes for the best and stops trying to leave the Colony - the three try to enjoy several weeks of quiet family time. Suddenly, the news reports that multiple terrorist attacks have occurred. Dirty bombs, flesh-eating viruses and conventional weapons have been used in various cities throughout the United States. As the Colony reacts to this news, the Pacific Fisheries corporate security announces an immediate relief flotilla comprised of all able-bodied men to go ashore and assist in relief activities.
The tension of the attacks on shore, coupled with the danger Rick has placed his children in cause Jim to erupt at Rick, who responds by physically abusing Jim. As Rick reacts in shame and frustration, he is forced to return to the Pacific Fisheries administration ship, where he is drafted to go ashore with the relief flotilla. Jim and Madison are left behind to deal with the drug cartels and authorities on their own. Several tense moments convince Jim to leave the Colony behind on his father's yacht, even though he has no experience in sailing. A new attack begins on the Colony as a storm moves in and Jim makes his escape under cover of the battle and rain. They sail northward, eventually landing on San Simeon Beach after almost two straight days of sailing. They are taken in by an older couple and Jim ends the story by falling into an exhausted sleep, unable to process everything he has just experienced.
Characters
[edit]- Jim Westlake - (Main Character) A 15-year-old male teenager living in the near-future in suburban Los Angeles. As is typical for many American adolescents, Jim is physically unremarkable and has yet to demonstrate any talents or aspirations. Through a series of incidents, Jim begins to fall into alcohol abuse and is forced into rehab by his mother and step-father. From time to time, Jim shows that he can act responsibly but he is also capable of self-destructive episodes that leave him depressed and angry with himself. As the events of Flotilla progresses, Jim is forced to both accept his personal failings and be determined to rise above them to save himself and his sister.
- Madison Westlake - Jim Westlake's younger sister. Madison interacts very little with Jim until she joins him on board the Colony in the second half of the novel. We eventually learn that Madison is a cancer survivor and that Jim feels very protective of her because of her previous illness. At 11 years of age, Madison occasionally acts as Jim's conscience, forcing him to confront personal failings and refusing to accept his weak answers.
- Rick Westlake - Jim Westlake's father. Jim and Rick begin a cautious relationship with each other after being apart for almost a decade. Like Jim, Rick is also an alcoholic but is frequently seen drinking beer and smoking cigarettes, indicating that he does not take sobriety as seriously as Jim does. Rick is engaged in a number of small-time moneymaking operations on the Colony but they are usually poorly-planned and end up with Rick on the losing end of the deal. As the novel climaxes, Rick loses his temper and physically abuses Jim - the novel ends before any resolution occurs between them.
* Miguel - The Mexican owner of the Barco de Arma ("Barco de Arma" in Spanish translates to "Gun Boat"), the floating gun range of the Colony. Miguel frequently partners with Rick in different schemes and is laid-back but also demonstrates his ability for revenge and violence. He has a criminal past that is hinted at but never fully detailed and is married to a white woman who is rarely seen while sober. Miguel also serves with the Colony militia organization as part of a PKM machine gun crew when pirates attack the Colony.
Themes and Topics
[edit]The novel explores themes related to father-son relationships, masculinity, redemption and coming of age. As a teenage recovering alcoholic, Jim must choose to remain sober despite his past track record and present circumstances. Reconnecting with his father has allowed him to have a much-needed familial relationship but it also allows him to experience the outcome of his choices through his father's circumstances.
Jim also deals with issues of masculinity at various points throughout the novel when the community holds him accountable for his own behavior as they would any other adult, not just as a child. He achieves a personal redemption throughout Flotilla by successfully navigating many different problems without coaches or mentors. By the end of the novel, Jim has clearly begun coming of age even if he does not recognize the experience for what it is.
Other topics discussed in the novel include:
- Alcoholism and recovery for teenagers
- Dysfunctional family dynamics
- Physical abuse
- Illegal Drug Operations
Pop Culture References
[edit]After the book's release, Haight quickly admitted to throwing many pop culture 'easter eggs' into Flotilla. Chapter titles reference songs written by The Clash and Don Henley and characters from Something Wicked This Way Comes written by Ray Bradbury. The book also references album titles by Primus, the American TV Show The Shield and board game details from Monopoly. Dan Haight also revealed to Adam Carolla during a phone-in interview that he included many references to the Adam Carolla Show as thanks for Adam's on-air advice about becoming a creative professional.
Flotilla and Seasteading
[edit]As Flotilla deals with a community living on the open ocean, it has been compared to the seasteading communities discussed on Seasteading.org. In a blog post, Daniel Haight pointed out that Flotilla avoids the political aspects frequently mentioned by proponents of seasteading. As a floating community, the Flotilla colony tends to resemble the Aberdeen Floating Village in Hong Kong. These differences have not presented a conflict to Daniel Haight or the seasteading community and he has contributed at least one guest post to Seasteading.org.
Reception
[edit]Flotilla is an independent, self-published novel and has not been reviewed by mainstream book review sites. Independent readers have been generally positive toward Flotilla, giving it positive reviews rating it 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com and 4.75 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.com.
Some criticisms have been raised by readers, specifically related to the apparent lack of denouement at the end of Flotilla and by spelling and grammar errors in the First Edition. Haight has responded to these criticisms by assuring readers that Iron Mountain, Flotilla's sequel, will provide resolution on many different story-related questions. Haight additionally re-published Flotilla on Createspace to correct spelling and grammatical errors - further corrections are made in the to-be-released Second Edition of Flotilla.
Online Community
[edit]The Flotilla series has a complimentary online community at www.flotillaonline.com to allow fans and interested parties to learn more to discuss different topics like mariculture, post-apocalyptic scenarios and seasteading. Dan Haight interacts reguarly on Seasteading.org and talks about Flotilla-related topics on Facebook and Twitter.
Publication History
[edit]Flotilla was initially published as a short story in 2006 on Indieink.com (No longer online). The full-length novel was published on November 25, 2011 via Createspace as a paperback and Amazon Kindle e-book. A second edition, with updates to the cover art and content, is due to be released on November 23, 2012.
Additional Reading
[edit]- Seasteading
- Mariculture
- Modern-day Piracy
- Alcoholism
- Post-Apocalyptic Scenarios
- Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
External links
[edit]- FlotillaOnline.com - Online Web Page of Novel Series
- Northern71st.com - Online Web Page of Author Daniel Haight
- Flotilla on Facebook.com
- Flotilla on Twitter.com