Book Release — The Factory: Revolution's Call

A surreal tale of workers rising against oppression in an infinite, nightmarish factory.

When I began writing in earnest, I admittedly had no idea what I was doing. I just knew I needed an outlet for what I felt, a channel through which a river of emotion would thunder and tear away the banks of pent-up passion and disillusionment. I also realized I needed to write in English — first, to reach a broader audience, and, second, because the English language is far more amenable to the, well, weird lyric constructions I love sprinkling around my work than German and Croatian/Bosnian, my first languages, are.

The idea to write a surreal, Kafkaesque, perhaps Orwellian allegory to the plight of the modern working class came to me sometime in 2022. By the end of 2022, the work was completed, the editing done, satisfaction reached. The first version of The Factory: Revolution’s Call was thus released, self-published, to some excitement among my closest family and friends, on January 4 of 2023.

So far, it’s sold around 200 to 300 copies, I don’t know exactly, and reviews have mostly been positive, noting my particular passion, emanating from the depths of the pages, and the satisfying arc of the rather existentialist 15k-word short story.

Yet when I went back to the novella a couple of months ago, I was utterly devastated. This was the writing of an amateur! Overcomplex sentences, laborious constructions, weird grammar, repetitions — this cannot stand as my premiere and introductory work of fiction! The book will forever hold a special place in my heart, I still get tears in my eyes when I read the final pages, but it needed a doing-over.

So this is what I did.

After much time-consuming labor, The Factory: Revolution’s Call, let’s dub it The Definitive Edition, is now available as very pretty paperback on Amazon and all other major bookstores, and as eBook on my Patreon page and in the Kindle store.

Also, all paid subscribers receive a free eBook copy as a thank-you for your ongoing, magnificent support (just scroll to the bottom of this post). If you become a paid subscriber right now, you’ll receive your copy right with your welcome email!

If you’ve read the First Edition, the original one, do not worry. The story has not changed. What has changed is the ease and beauty of reading, the overall tone is a tad darker, the characters a bit more believable, the prose more satisfying. If you want to read the new Definitive Edition but have already read the First Edition and feel cheated now, just shoot me an email (antoniomelonio@proton.me) and I’ll send you a free eBook copy.

If you’re a bit on the fence, read some Goodreads reviews. Also, here is the official blurb:

In the depths of the infinite Factory, where hope dies and dreams wither, a spark ignites.

Chained to machines that devour souls, workers toil beneath the shadow of an ever-growing Tower. No light penetrates this realm of eternal darkness, where suit-clad phantoms oversee a nightmare of endless production.

But when an act of unexpected mercy shatters the illusion of inevitability, the oppressed masses begin to stir. As hammers are raised not in labor but in defiance, a primal question emerges: What is the true cost of freedom in a world built on suffering?

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“The Factory” is a haunting journey into the heart of human resilience and the desperate fight for dignity in the face of crushing despair. Antonio Melonio’s surreal dystopian novella explores the thin line between revolution and annihilation, asking whether liberation is possible when existence itself appears a cruel joke.

Prepare to be immersed in a fever dream of industrial horror, where the only certainty is that nothing shall ever be the same again.

Buying the book is a great way to support me while also getting something in return. Anyway, thank you so much for all the ongoing support and loyalty, and I’ll see you soon with the next essay!

Antonio Melonio

Free copy for all paid subscribers: