WYONATION

In Jones’ speculative fiction novel, Wyoming loses its statehood and becomes a new political entity.

In a time “many years from now,” a poacher has just been killed in Wyonation, the region formerly known as the state of Wyoming. Due to the 28th Amendment of the United States Constitution ratifying a requirement that all states have a citizenry the size of at least 1/700th of the nation’s population, Wyoming lost statehood. Described as a “brand-new, geographical entity… that lies entirely inside” the U.S. borders, Wyonation has its own governing body and laws, and its residents live by different rules. With the death of the poacher, who's discovered to have been a Chinese national, a whole set of negotiations with representatives from the Chinese government must begin, with the U.S. acting as an estranged middleman. After a tense afternoon of back-and-forth between politicians on both sides, Grayson Woodley, who was the point person for protecting Wyoming citizens during the state’s transition, decides to get a drink at a local bar to wind down and is joined by Mr. Tang, one of the Chinese delegates. Tang is very interested to learn how Wyonation went from statehood to its new designation, and in Woodley’s role in it all. Though Woodley is careful not to reveal too much information to a foreign agent, it seems as though Tang may be more involved in Wyonation’s creation than Woodley could have ever guessed. This speculative novel deftly develops its fascinating concept by detailing the politics that go into creating a new region almost entirely from scratch. Grayson Woodley is a likeable hero—a small-town Wyoming man forced into political life to try to save his state, managing to make friends on both sides of the fence with his easygoing attitude and general likeability. The back-and-forth-in-time structure of the story keeps the plot moving briskly, and the political material, rather than dragging the story down, proves intriguing.

An entertaining speculative fiction novel with an affable hero stuck in a rough political situation.