Dystopian fiction is one of the most popular genres in modern publishing, so standing out requires considerable originality. Thankfully, Judy L. Mohr’s Dancing in the Purple Rain is one of those rare books that does exactly that. It plunges readers into a near-future dystopia where survival is rationed out by corporations, identities are embedded in pharmachips, and even the rain itself is toxic. At the heart of this world is our POV character, Michaella “Mike” Davison, a courier for the shadowy Pregutor, tasked with delivering packages that seemingly almost always mean death. Burdened by White Rabbit syndrome, a genetic disorder that makes her both vulnerable and gives her strange powers, Mike must fight for her survival in a city divided into sectors of privilege and poverty.
The aforementioned Mike has a job so dark that it’s a miracle she’s not got crippling depression. Her assignments come in brown packages which contain guns, bombs, biochemical weapons, you name it. She doesn’t get to ask questions, doesn’t get to say no. She just delivers. She’s not exactly a conventional hero, then. But she keeps going because if she doesn’t get money, her body will betray her, as Mike has White Rabbit syndrome, a fictional neurological sickness that scrambles her mind and eats her from the inside out. The only thing keeping her sane is Miransine, a drug rationed by the very same bastards who use her as their delivery girl.
But the novel isn’t just about poisoned cities and corporate chokeholds. Mike’s closest ally, George, is caught on surveillance making a fatal mistake during a delivery, handing a package to the wrong person and standing frozen. Not long after, another comrade, Lucas, turns up dead with a chilling note pinned to his body. These moments begin to turn the story into a conspiracy thriller, or “technothriller” where Mike begins to suspect that other people out there have the same gift—or curse—that she does: the telepathic ability to slip into another mind.
The city Mike moves through, Crystal Hills, is split into sectors as if some nightmarish cake, the rich and poor all living in different sectors like The Hunger Games districts. Pharmachips under the skin track every breath, rumoured to control one’s thoughts. Apparently a Prince reference, the rain that falls is literally purple, poisoned with chemicals that stain the streets. The Pregutor and Rhodon Corporation run the whole show, a marriage of government and business so close you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. The effect of reading is slightly suffocating, with little rays of hope throughout. “Yeah, sucks to be me,” Mike aptly remarks, and we can’t help but agree.
It’s not difficult to spot the elements of political commentary and critique of modernity in the story, which seems to be set in the mid-22nd century. In fact, in 2025, where most are struggling with the cost of living and the minimum wage has not risen in years, the book feels frighteningly realistic. Mike lives in a closet that passes for an apartment, pays too much for coffee that tastes like garbage, and does her best not to shake when the medicine runs low. Do I need to say more?
Written in first-person, Mohr’s writing style doesn’t waste breath. The chapters are generally pretty short and you will be turning the page to see what happens well into the night. At 540 pages, it’s a longer book, but it is a standalone novel so you get the entire story here. The pacing is tight, sharp, and when the story cuts, it cuts deep. Mohr knows how to describe a world where a thimble of coffee can be the best part of the day, where you’re constantly at risk of acid rain eating holes in your jacket. I’ll also say the novel is competently edited and beautifully presented throughout, befitting a traditional publisher. Apparently, the book is released by a small independent press called Black Wolf Publications, so kudos to them.
Overall, the Dancing in the Purple Rain is a timely read, and though it is a bleak story, it’s not really a hopeless or overly depressing one to read. What makes it stick is the humanity and humour underneath all the grit. Mike jokes, swears, rations coffee, listens to Purple Rain to stop herself from falling apart (which means, depressingly I guess, Mohr’s future world is supposed to be the future of our own). These little rituals and her struggles just to make ends meet make Mike a real and relatable character, and in many ways, that’s one of the most difficult things to do well in fiction. When the hammer comes down, you care, because at the end of the day she’s just a person trying to keep her head above water like all of us.
Final verdict: Dancing in the Purple Rain is a rollercoaster of a novel for fans of dystopian fiction like The Hunger Games, Neuromancer and The Giver. Apparently, Mohr is a writing coach, and I would hire her based on this, as she is definitely a skilled writer. This is one of the best books I’ve reviewed on this site in this genre, and maybe at all, so it’s highly recommended. It does what the best dystopias do: it makes you look at the real world outside your window, and wonder how much better our society really is compared to fictional dystopias like this.
You can get your copy of Dancing in the Purple Rain here!
