The Power is actually about the reversal of power. What if the raw, physical power held within the bodies of men was overshadowed by the raw, electrical power generated within the bodies of women? Would this changing of the guards of power cause the scales to rebalance? Would it usher in world peace? Would women, the mothers of all, take on a caring and nurturing role and reset the world to be a functioning matriarchy? Or would power redistribute to bring untold instability? Would this new, rising power to take down an enemy and defend be abused? Would the brutality of man simply become the brutality of woman?
The Power is a fascinating examination of these questions. In these pages, we follow a handful of character through the first days, months, and years of the awakening of women’s ‘skeins’: a new organ that allows women to discharge electricity, similar to that of an electric eel. We are introduced to each as follows:
- Allie, an abused foster child, who uses her power to rebrand as Mother Eve and follow her internal voice to create a new religion (or cult?) and forever change the world
- Margot, a city mayor, who uses her power to help women learn to use their new ability with skill and fight back against years of oppression
- Tunde, a burgeoning journalist, who puts himself on the frontlines of women’s’ uprisings with perfect faith and optimism at the intrinsic ‘goodness’ of women. He aligns himself with this change – to both further his own career and spotlight this watershed moment in human history
- Roxy, the illegitimate child of a gangster, uses her power for revenge, status, and profit
- Tatiana, the beautiful and caged first lady of Moldova, who uses her power to change her country forever.
But the destination of these core characters is far from where they start.
If you’ve only seen the Amazon Prime series and think you have a measure of the story, I urge you to reconsider. The book added layers, depth, and complexity to this story in a way that was both troubling and unexpected. It may not be a comfortable re-imaging of society, but it may also not be too far from fact… 5 twisting skeins out of 5.
