What would you sacrifice to live a peaceful, content life in a community of shared values where everyone was equal? Never having to fight, no need for prisons or punishments, never having someone disagree violently. Is it even possible? It is in Concordia.

The peace still held. Not that Tova didn’t expect it. After the great war one hundred years ago, Concordia formed a colony with those who valued community and peaceful communication. It was all she knew. On the way to work, she loved hearing the greeting and response of “I’m content” among all the people. It was like pulling a warm blanket around you on a cold evening when the heater couldn’t keep up. It reminded her that the community was one and, with each person glowing with contentment, nothing could harm them.

As a new graduate psychologist, Tova learns the cost of keeping the peace when trying to help the “malies’—malcontents—recover from past trauma, and learn to express their feelings without anger or aggression. The work is not easy, but is definitely worthwhile.  Each step puts her on the brink of becoming a malie if she’s not careful.

Will she be infected by the malies and rebel? Or will she find a way to preserve the peace for all? Concordia hangs in the balance.

 

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“This story reminds me of some of the dystopians of the past like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, but it deals with a lot of conversations we are having today. Tired of all the hate, despair, and inability to talk to each other I hear all kinds of things people are willing to not have to worry anymore. This well-written book shows how one society chose contentment–not utter happiness or riches, but contement. Everyone thinks it’s a wonderful way to live, and so much better than before. But only a few know what price is being paid for everyone to be content. IT really made me think deeply about what’s most important.” –Evie Bohn 

“The concept of Concordia, a community built on shared values and peace, and the tension created by those who challenge it is fascinating and thoughtful. The journey of Tova as a new graduate psychologist navigating the risks of becoming a malie while striving to preserve harmony is compelling and rich with moral complexity. This story has a rare ability to make readers pause, reflect, and feel invested in the lives and choices of its characters.” — MJ Pursell

Cover for Pax Reborn, story by Maggie Lynch

Other SF Books by Maggie Lynch