Early Reviewers

So You Wanna Run a Country? is a satirical parable of the perils of authoritarianism, nationalism, and device-dependent groupthink.

After almost a century of being shut off from the rest of the world in self-imposed isolation, the neo-medieval statelet of Inner Azhuur suddenly volunteers to host the next season of the global streaming sensation So You Wanna Run a Country? The producers must now assemble the next crew of unqualified misfits whose ineptitude as they attempt to run the country will entertain billions across the globe.

From Newer York, where homelessness has been eliminated by rebranding it as a Thoroughfarian lifestyle choice, come Mooney and Wendy who meet while sleeping in discarded pipes on a vacant lot—one seemingly directed by Captain Dude, a statue attached to a skateboard, and one on the run after deliberately crashing a large chunk of the speculative economy. Cast as Regent of Inner Azhuur and Consort to the Regent, they are joined by Skid, a Dubliner kicked out of his fledgling band and eager to escape a stultifying job as a tourist ambiance fake street menace in Glasgow.

Arriving in Inner Azhuur, these three encounter a world of antiquated and indecipherable customs, all meant to glorify the vanished ruler, General D’Izmaïe, and return Inner Azhuur to some perceived former glory. As the reality show unfolds, our misfits are enmeshed in a mad power grab of overweening global ambition and find themselves in a struggle against the all-too-real, ruthless and sinister power brokers of Inner Azhuur. Holohan’s mischievous literary voice is sure to please fans of cyberpunk greats like Philip K. Dick and William Gibson.