The cover of The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against the United States

The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against the United States

A Speculative Novel

by Jeffrey Lewis

Hoo boy. I haven’t read much speculative fiction — the Earthseed Series is probably as close as I’ve come lately — but I picked this up on a strong recommendation from Sourdough author Robin Sloan.

The 2020 Report is formatted as a congressional report following … you guessed it … a nuclear strike against the US by North Korea. The actions that it describes are simultaneously absurd and realistic: for instance, the president’s tweets are a major macguffin. Something about the matter-of-factness of the writing, combined with the ludicrous characters involved, really shook me.

The book itself is a quick read. I blew through it in a week or so of intense reading; it’s quite a page-turner. Highly recommended if you enjoy staring deep into the existential dread of the Trump presidency.