Having read several books by this author, I knew what to expect from his next novel. In the case of this book, it is no different and the author reaches for the schemes he likes, namely totalitarianism and control of society.
Life on Earth is controlled by beings who claim to have saved humanity from invasion by other aliens several decades ago. They present themselves as disinterested friends who spread a safety umbrella over the little-guessed inhabitants of our planet. Reality, however, shows otherwise. Earth’s resources are being stolen by the “defenders”. Censorship is widespread - only good things should be said about the Proxies (that’s how the hosts and defenders of the Earth are called). No one knows what they look like and on what principle their supposed cooperation with humans really works. Strange bans and orders reign (e.g., a ban on honey).
The narrative is conducted from the point of view of a teenager. We learn, for example, what education is like in such a hypocritical world controlled by aliens. Receiving evasive and contradictory answers to his questions from adults, doubts arise in the young man’s head.
The situation presented in the book is a very obvious reference to the situation of Poland during the communist regime. Our eastern “brother” (USSR) presented itself as a defender of freedom and a guarantor of economic success. In reality, these were times of occupation for Poland and life under the totalitarian system imposed by the USSR.
Zajdel in his novels is able to create worlds that depict interesting social and political systems. His visions of the future are usually bleak. However, as in his previous books, there are many simplifications and shortcuts in “Exit from the Shadow.” There is little action, the dialogues are rather stiff and unrealistic. The ending was very poor. Unprepared and unlikely. However, these few downsides do not change the overall positive reception of this book and the author’s work as a whole. For me, his novels are a must-have item for science-fiction fans.