Dripping with satire and absurdity, ‘Hail Regina’ might be the perfect lockdown read
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14.07.2020

Dripping with satire and absurdity, ‘Hail Regina’ might be the perfect lockdown read

Words by Tom Parker

Take a ride with the frivolous e-book series, Hail Regina.

Today’s world is about as close to dystopian as it gets – as COVID-19 reigns, humans are at the mercy of an unforgiving pandemic that’s boxed us into our homes due to the reality of incessant spread.

Such apocalyptic circumstances are not only brought about by a virus, however. In the new Hail Regina fictional e-book series, readers will be thrown headfirst into a society ruled by alternate destitution – one of economic turmoil and political upheaval.

Fast forward to 2027 to a world that’s been upended by an economic crash. Society is divided and those at the helm of the disaster are being scolded for their efforts, or so rumours suggest. As the rising state moves to revive a fallen world, millions of people are momentarily forced into camps having lost their homes. Food is being rationed while radio stations move to provide pastoral assistance to the people.

On face value, the e-series seems sinister but the story is bubbly and accessible to all ages as author Kevin Karmalade gives it his satirical spin. Hail Regina is written to entertain and enlighten, to create moments of warmth and humour. Across the eight episodes that make up season one, readers will be welcomed into the wonderfully-effervescent mind of Karmalade and into a world that’s more fascinating than frightening.

The first season of Hail Regina is available now and two more seasons will ensue, the second being released in October and the third in February next year. The e-book series has been inspired by four external works including Erasmus’ In Praise of Folly (1511), Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726), Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (1847) and Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita (1928-37/1967). Hail Regina is also a far more light-hearted work than previous classic dystopias tended to be within the genre.

Observing a similarly-felled society through a comedic lens, it might be the perfectly-relatable lockdown read.

Hail Regina is brought to us by HR Arts Factory, an arts-based, experimental AV lab which has delivered a concept EP alongside the e-book, providing readers a window into the soundscape of the work.

Hail Regina is out now via HR Arts Factory in conjunction with Gatekeeper Press. Find out more via hailregina.com.

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