Animal Farm 2
Animal Farm 2 continues George Orwell’s 1945 political satire Animal Farm, updating it to include the Cold War and its aftermath, within a broader context of the superpowers’ environmental movements. The farm is on Caruba, a tropical island controlled by the Social Republic near the Democratic Union, who are in an arms race and space race with them. Pigs had led a rebellion of the animals, ousted the farmer, taking control and ruthlessly exploiting the animal workers.
When the farm animals discover coal on the farm and mine it to supply a power station constructed on the farm, they become embroiled in the climate and energy manoeuvring of the DU, SR and Caruba governments. They realize they are victims of totalitarianism. The animal workers study pidgin and climate science, denouncing fake science and fighting for animal liberation to obtain their freedom at any cost. The satire is humorous with animal characters based on leaders of superpower nations, an animal liberationist and a climate campaigner.
Reviewed By Divine Zape for Readers’ Favorite. Review Rating: 5 Stars
Fans of Animal Farm by George Orwell will adore Martin Knox’s Animal Farm 2, a fable with strong hints of political satire set on a farm on tropical Caruba, an island in the grip of the Social Republic. It is set within a cold war between the Social Republic and the Democratic Union. After successfully leading an animal revolution, the pigs take over control of the farm and put the animal workers under unacceptable and harsh working conditions. When coal is discovered on the farm, it attracts the attention of the superpowers who are in it for their own interests. The animals find themselves embroiled in a war of climate change, where they have to decide to shut down the power station and the coal mine or use renewable energy. But the consequences will be dire for the animals including the loss of jobs. So, the only option they have is to fight for their freedom from totalitarianism. But can they win?
This is a cleverly plotted story with interesting characters, and readers will relate to the animals that behave like humans; the anthropomorphism is brilliantly executed. Readers will encounter animals such as pigs (Lords Napoleon, Natalia), cattle (Tosser, Earl, Henry, Arnold), sheep (Sharon, Trudy, Sophie, and others), goats, llamas, horses, donkeys, mules, and more. Animal Farm 2 is open to several interpretations with political manipulation, abuse of power, superpower interests, and those who bear the brunt of political maneuvering. It is a fable, but it is the same story that we see being played out too often in the political world. The novel features relevant and deftly written political themes, a debate on climate change, and the effects of totalitarianism. The characters are elaborately written and readers can see in them a portrait of what politicians do. The satire is biting, ingenious, and written in a context that readers can relate to. Martin Knox’s satirical novel is a work of great imagination.
ONLINE BOOK CLUB by Tony Official » 03 May 2022
Animal Farm 2 by Martin Knox is a political satire that was also written as a fable, just like George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Written as a follow-up to Orwell’s masterpiece, this novel talks about the continuance of the revolution of the animals. It is a jump from frying pan to fire, judging from the fact that the animals that were hoping for a better life after the revolution found themselves in the totalitarian hands of the pigs.
After the revolution spearheaded by Old Major and Napoleon many years ago led to the deposition and banishment of Farmer Jones from his establishment, the animals sat back, hoping to enjoy the fruits of freedom that took every drop of their blood, sweat, and tears only to find themselves in the hands of a terrible government where votes didn’t count and voices were not heard. But then, the animals realized what they had to do; they invested a lot of time, risk, and resources in educating themselves in science and learning. After a very long while, their quest for freedom from the pigs began with the rise of Arnold the bull.
As a follow-up to the great Animal Farm, I would say that the book really made its mark, considering the big shoe it had to fill. The description and imagination of the author to create scenes depicting animals going about their daily activities like humans were amazing. At some point, it felt like a science textbook because the author tried to drive home his points with his knowledge of chemical engineering, a course he studied at the university. This made the book more appealing, especially since the author has a lot of knowledge about science. Pain and freedom were predominant themes in the novel, and the way he was able to balance both is commendable. As a child, I had always hoped that the book Animal Farm would have a sequel. This book by Martin Knox fulfilled that fantasy.
The book had very few grammatical errors, a testament to good professional editing. However, the only negative thing about the book is that at some point, it turned into a textbook on climate change. With all of these very well-considered, I’ll rate this book four out of four stars. I couldn’t convince myself to give it any other rating other than this.
I strongly recommend this work of art to lovers of politics. People who enjoy reading historical-fiction novels and lovers of literature would be best suited for this book. This book is also recommended to science students.
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