In Gary Morgenstein’s Dark Depths Trilogy, the World’s Only Hope Lies in the Death of Antisemitism—and the Rebirth of Baseball

Oct 26, 2023 by

By Sue Weston and Susie Rosenbluth, Two Sues on the Aisle

Gary Morgenstein’s terrifyingly timely The Dark Depths dystopian trilogy (BHC Press) begins in a nightmare all too easily imagined these days: It’s 2098; America and the West have lost World War Three to the Islamic Empire, and baseball is now synonymous with terrorism and treason.

In the three books—A Mound over Hell, A Fastball for Freedom, and A Dugout to Peace—Mr. Morgenstein uses the all-American sport as the symbol of hope destroyed and rekindled.

In all this, Jews have not been spared. Israel was the first nation destroyed, and worldwide pogroms took care of the rest. Sharia rules most of the world. Surrounded, America is now a seemingly benign nanny-state, controlled by “The Family,” led by Grandma. Democracy is dead. Religion and patriotism are banned. So is social media under the Anti-Narcissism Law.

A Mound over Hell, A Fastball for Freedom, and A Dugout to Peace

Darkness to Light

Dark indeed. Yet a light for freedom burns among a wonderfully engaging cast of characters, including a charismatic Jewish baseball historian, a wacky art teacher, a sassy shoe store owner, and a courageous Muslim fisherman. At the heart of the tale is a brave orphan who flees Arab abuse to come to America.

A baseball lover himself, Mr. Morgenstein lures the reader into a rich tapestry of world-building in which the “Nation’s Pastime,” vilified for its association with the old great America, starts its last season ever at the crumbling Amazon Stadium. But buoyed by the inexplicable return of some of the game’s legends – and an all-time great female player from the future – baseball is revived and becomes the epicenter of the Resistance: a reminder of what America once was.

As the trilogy evolves, both America and the Caliphate slowly crumble beneath the growing whispers for freedom. Grandma reaches out to the Grand Mufti’s disgruntled son, who wants a real Islamic Reformation to replace Sharia. But hard-liners on both sides sabotage the talks, plunging the world into war once again. Complacent Americans turn to robot armies to do their job, and in a move that could be stripped from the front pages of today’s newspaper, the Caliphate arms its nuclear warheads.

The unlikely and reluctant heroes risk their lives and their loved ones to fight for rights they never knew in a sweeping adventure filled with twists around every literary bend. They race against time, from the battered America to the Caliphate of Europe, until finally, the conclusion takes them to a forgotten island in the Mediterranean as the world stands poised for a nuclear holocaust.

Confronting Antisemitism

A prolific novelist and playwright, Mr. Morgenstein is no stranger to confronting antisemitism head-on. As in some of his most provocative plays, notably A Black and White Cookie and Dancing on Glass, in The Dark Depths, he spares no details of the trappings of hatred. The language, brutality, and oppression are uncomfortably real and vivid, much like what can be seen today on the streets of our major cities and suburbs.

But in his trilogy, Mr. Morgenstein offers his own version of “Hatikvah.” Through fascinating plots, colorful characters, welcome humor, and today’s politics shrewdly wrapped in the future, the three books provide a roadmap to a better world if only there were more courage, understanding, and a willingness to ignore those whose ideology is death in order to clasp hands with those whose hope is life.

In Mr. Morgenstein’s absorbing trilogy, those hands of many colors clutch a baseball.

*****

Two Sues on the Aisle bases its ratings on how many challahs (1-5) it pays to buy (rather than make) to see the play, show, film, book, or exhibit being reviewed. 

The Dark Depths dystopian trilogy received a 5 Challah rating

5 Challah Rating

Five Challah Rating

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