Summary

Before the main body of the novel begins, there is an introduction in the form of a fictional editor’s note. This note begins by explaining that the following novel is the work of Eugene Allen, a young Vietnam War veteran who killed himself after he had finished this manuscript. The note further informs the prospective reader that Allen took liberties with the historical record while creating the setting for Hystopia. However, the editor’s note itself is set in an alternative-history timeline. As the editor explains, in this fictive universe, President John F. Kennedy survived multiple assassination attempts. He lived on to serve three terms until he was ultimately shot. Following this, there were major riots across Michigan. According to the editor, in the following novel, Allen has moved the successful assassination’s date up by a month and exaggerated the...