Science fiction has long been a mirror for human fears, hidden in the folds of imagined worlds. The mid-20th century saw a surge of this reflective current, and in the tense corridors of the 21st century, the genre has reemerged as a powerful tool for writers. Dystopian visions become laboratories where nightmares can be examined without flinching, offering both warning and insight as society wanders through upheaval and uncertainty.
Published by a Tenerife-based press, the work titled Silence speaks through a blend of narrative modes. It weaves together storytelling, essay, contemplation, and reportage, guiding readers through a future fiction that reads like a social experiment. The central premise traces the creation and growth of a vast, progressive state called La Hiedra, a system that quietly supplants old economic, political, social, and cultural structures frayed by repeated crises. The story positions its inhabitants within an evolving landscape where freedom itself feels fragile, and where conformity certificates expose hidden flaws that threaten basic rights and privileges. The tension centers on the fear of losing freedom, a fear that resonates in today’s world where corporate power seems to loom large and control grows more pervasive. The book stages a meditation on whether society is merely treading water on the edge of unrecoverable change, a theme that feels especially relevant in moments of global turbulence. As a closing note to a trilogy about cultural decline, this work offers a stark, perhaps uncompromising, history of a world shaped by greed and the consequences that follow.
Miguel Ángel Zapata, born in 1974 in Granada, pursued literary and teaching studies in Madrid. He has published a wide range of fiction and nonfiction, with short texts earning awards and appearing in notable genre anthologies in Spanish. His early novel, Candaya’s The Hands (2014), earned recognition at European festivals and helped establish his voice in contemporary grotesque and satirical literature. His more recent works, including Voices for a Dead Tympanum (2016) and other titles published by Baile del Sol in Tenerife, have continued to receive acclaim and contest nominations. The Secret Architecture of the Ruins (2018) and Silence Will Devour Us (2021) complete a trilogy that later earned regional critical recognition and award consideration, highlighting Zapata’s bold engagement with cultural erosion and resilience amid crisis.
Silence can strike like a warning and a balm, a reminder that culture’s rot often grows from within. The text argues that the corruption of culture and society is not spawned by a single villain but by collective flaws—ambition unchecked by empathy, ego that outpaces communal responsibility, and a willingness to sacrifice solidarity for advantage. Read as the final act in a trilogy that began with The Hands in 2014 and continued through The Hidden Architecture of the Ruins in 2018, the narrative suggests that while the future may feel bleak, there is room for reconsideration and change. The concluding perspective hints that silence might hold the key to a healthier future, though it stops short of promising an easy resolution.