Poor Jerry Osiris

I don’t often write about books, but I want to write about this one.

Back in early August, I was ready to start a new book, so I looked through my library, and found this one called How High We Go in the Dark. I had bought it a while ago, and couldn’t remember what it was about. But I must have thought it looked interesting when I bought it, so…off we go!

And I recommend this book. I totally recommend this book. But I think everybody should know that when they read this book, they will be devastated by it. At least I was. I needed to finish it, but I found it to be crushing.

It was all about this plague that spread around the world, and the consequences that we had to face for generations. There was one part of the book that was set in an amusement park designed for kids who had the plague. After they had had a great time, they were loaded on this rollercoaster that knocked them out, then killed them. The rollercoaster was called the Chariot of Osiris. It was designed to euthenize kids rather than make them suffer through what the plague would inevitably do to them. There were so many little stories, and when each one would start, you would hope for something more positive. But so many were just a new level of pain. But every so often you would get thrown a crumb. When I found out it was written in 2022, I was even more devastated. This wasn’t something that was written years ago. This was written now, after COVID.

I’m such a dork. During that phase where I was telling life to honk on Bobo, I said to Steve that if life is a rollercoaster, I’m aboard the Chariot of Osiris! Yes, I was being dramatic…but things were kind of sucking. Then later, I said that the chariot of Osiris can suck it. I guess he had forgotten my rollercoaster comparison, so he was so perplexed. “Who is Jerry Osiris,” he said, “and what did he do?” So now when things are feeling dark and sucky, I just say “Screw you, Jerry!” I really will never forget this book.

So if you’re into sci fi with a warning about our future, I recommend this book. But don’t read it if you’re feeling down at all. It’s definitely a book where you need to brace yourself.