Tom O’Connell’s first novel, Lichtenberg, which is set in the future, reflects contemporary events as it explores what happens in a totalitarian world where lies and hatred dominate. He tells JUDY MURPHY about the appeal of dystopian fiction and the light it can shine.

There are scenes that are uncomfortable and more than uncomfortable,” says Tom O’Connell about his debut novel, Lichtenberg, which was launched last Friday night in Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop in the city. It’s a book “about being honest in a totalitarian state”, and while it’s set in the future, Lichtenberg has much to say about contemporary society, offering a terrifying insight into the ease with which lies can be spread and the consequences of this.

The book opens in Raidon City, a place that regards itself as the last bastion of civilisation in a barbaric world. Its citizens see outsiders as a threat, most especially the Ramasites, who are nothing more than vermin to them. Raidon employs an elite body of soldiers, the Corps, who are tasked with keeping its citizens safe.  The soldiers’ job is to hunt and kill the Ramasites, and it’s one they enjoy greatly.

Riven is the most fierce and most intelligent member of this elite group. But when he begins to uncover cracks in official propaganda and realises all is not as it seems, he must face a terrible reality.

“I wanted to create a world where it’s a totalitarian state, but not good at concealing that,” says Tom. Even worse, this state doesn’t worry about concealing what it’s at.

He mentions Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has spoken about paying influencers to promote Israel, and also refers to Donald Trump’s cavalier approach to the truth.

Some writers create totalitarian states where life initially seems perfect.  However, Tom’s aim with Lichtenberg was different – and it’s one that reflects the current reality in many countries.

“This is a government who don’t even try to hide what they are doing – and it doesn’t matter,” he says of the fictitious city he created.

Tom, who lives in Newcastle in Galway City, has known since childhood that he wanted to be a writer. And that’s when he started.

“I was five years old when I wrote a little story in a tiny notebook and brought it to school,” he recalls.

That was in Athlone where his family was living at the time, and he was asked to read it out to the class. He laughs at the memory.

Despite that early experience, he’s happiest out of the limelight and needs solitude to feed his imagination.

“The whole overarching idea for the book came to me in a moment of solitude,” he says. But that was just the beginning and there were several starts and much reworking of the story until Tom was happy with it. At the same time, he was studying at the University of Galway where he’s currently doing a PhD in Dystopian Literature under the supervision of award-winning novelist Mike McCormack.

After completing a BA in English and Law, Tom “did a bit of legal work for about six months but wasn’t passionate about it”. He soon realised that the commitment required to progress a legal career would leave no room for the writing that he loved.

So he opted for a Master’s in English instead, specialising in creative writing. Now, for his doctorate, he’s focusing on a genre he loves and one that inspires his own fiction.

In Lichtenberg, Tom explores how language can be used to distort perception, influence people’s behaviour and create ideology. His legal training, meanwhile, was useful as he created the harsh society of Raidon City.

The inequality of our current world, the housing crisis, immigration and the treatment of refugees feature large in this book, which offers a reflection on “the ways of thinking that we are in danger of walking into”, he says.

“There are so many influences from current affairs to dystopia” and, of course, “modern-day politics”.

Pictured: Tom O’Connell whose debut novel, Lichtenberg’ has just been published by Temple Dark Books. PHOTO: BRIAN HARDING.