Underground Airlines
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Founder | Ben H. Winters |
| Products | Science fiction novel |
Underground Airlines is a 2016 science fiction novel written by American author Ben H. Winters. It imagines an alternate-history United States where the American Civil War never transpired because Abraham Lincoln was assassinated prior to his 1861 inauguration, and a modified version of the Crittenden Compromise was implemented. As a result, slavery continues to be lawful in the "Hard Four" Southern states: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and a unified Carolina. The book’s title alludes to the historical Underground Railroad. It has been praised for its insightful examination of racism through this speculative historical perspective.
Plot
The narrative is told by Victor, an escaped former Person Bound to Labor ('peeb') from the Hard Four who is forced into working undercover for U.S. Marshal Bridge. His mission involves infiltrating networks that assist peeb fugitives, collecting incriminating information under threat of being returned to slavery or tracked via a spinal implant.
Victor follows an escapee known as Jackdaw to Indianapolis, where he ends up at Saint Anselm’s Catholic Promise community center, managed by Father Barton. Assuming the identity of Jim Dirkson, a consultant for Indonesian cellular provider Sulawesi Digital seeking U.S. expansion, Victor aims to liberate his enslaved wife Gentle from Carolina plantations and bring her to Little America, a Montreal suburb serving as a refuge for African American exiles.
After being expelled from a hotel on theft accusations, Victor befriends Martha, a white woman raising a mixed-race child. He uncovers that Jackdaw is actually Kevin, a freeborn African-American college student sent by Barton to infiltrate Garments of the Greater South, Inc. (GGSI), which covertly markets slave-produced goods through Malaysian front companies. Barton hopes that exposing GGSI’s operations will weaken the institution of slavery.
Kevin refuses to disclose where he hid the evidence unless a slave girl he cares for is rescued; during a confrontation, he is fatally shot by an Indianapolis police officer allied with Barton. Following this, Barton pressures Victor to recover the intelligence from GGSI.
Posing under false pretenses, Victor and Martha journey through the Hard Four states—Martha searches for Torchlight, a registry listing all Persons Bound to Labor, in hopes of locating her son’s father Samson. Skeptical about Barton’s motives, Victor betrays him and negotiates with Bridge for his own freedom by bluffing about the significance of the intelligence.
Disguised as Martha’s slave, Victor undergoes inspection at The Fence—the boundary separating free and slave states—and arrives in Green Hollow, Alabama. There, former peebs are sheltered in an old white lawyer’s mansion while Victor prepares to penetrate GGSI.
Martha unexpectedly returns; together they infiltrate GGSI’s headquarters and obtain data on Samson. They are captured by IMPD Officer Cook, another undercover Marshal agent who betrays both Barton and Victor but dies during the ensuing conflict.
Barton reveals GGSI’s horrific secret project: genetically engineering slaves classified as non-human using eggs harvested from female slaves. Victor pretends to cooperate and arranges a meeting with Bridge to have his tracking implant removed and receive a new identity. During this exchange, Barton ambushes Bridge’s team but spares Bridge at Victor’s urging. Bridge removes Victor’s implant just before he loses consciousness.
The story ends with Victor and Martha in Chicago at an elevator company connected to GGSI—where they plan acts of sabotage.
Development history
Winters has acknowledged that Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man significantly inspired the novel.[1]
Recognition
The book was shortlisted for several prestigious awards in 2017, including the Chautauqua Prize, the Southern Book Prize, the International Thriller Award, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. It secured the 2016 Sidewise Award for Alternate History.
Cover art
Oliver Munday created the cover design for the United States hardcover edition.[1] Meanwhile, a different UK version displayed a backdrop featuring the stars and bars from the Confederate Battle Flag.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
Reception
Kirkus Reviews praised the novel’s concept as "worthy of Philip K. Dick ... intelligent and well-structured."Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name Upon release, it entered the New York Times hardcover bestseller list at position #20 and reached #11 on the Indie Bestsellers ranking.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
In USA Today, Charles Finch characterized it as "a fast-paced, insightful, and passionate new novel" that reveals how slavery’s legacy persists today through impressive world-building.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
Jon Michaud of The Washington Post pointed out some distractions within its alternate historical narrative but ultimately regarded it as effective "due to its unsettling proximity to our current reality."Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name Critics generally found the alternate history believable. Maureen Corrigan from National Public Radio described it as "a gripping story full of betrayals and perilous journeys," set within "a troubling yet credible alternate American reality."[2] Writing for The New Yorker, Kathryn Schulz commended Winters for skillfully merging a credible alternate history with an authentic portrayal of life on the run in a modern context.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
Racial controversy
A profile in the New York Times portrayed the book as a "bold and professionally daring" work for Winters, with author Lev Grossman labeling him "courageous" as a white writer confronting black American experiences.[3] Corrigan highlighted potential debate over a white author imagining the perspective of a black protagonist.[2] Some critics contended that Winters received undue acclaim since science fiction themes involving racism and slavery had been previously explored, notably by African-American writer Octavia E. Butler in her 1979 novel Kindred.[4][5][6] Winters himself acknowledged Butler’s influence in a blog entry published three weeks prior to the Times feature.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
Adaptation
Winters has completed writing the pilot episode script for a television adaptation.[3]
Reviews
- Brown, Alex. "Chains and Darkness: Ben H. Winters' Underground Airlines", TOR, 7 July 2016.
- Kalfus, Ken. "'Underground Airlines', by Ben Winters", Financial Times, 8 July 2016.
- Sullivan, Kevin P. "'Underground Airlines' by Ben H. Winters: EW review", Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2016.
- Barnett, David. "Book review, Underground Airlines by Ben H Winters: a harrowing alternative US history in which slavery survives", The Independent, August 2016.
- Anders, Charlie Jane. "Underground Airlines is one of the bleakest alternate histories ever", Ars Technica, 4 September 2016.
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