Book Review: The White & Gold People by Segun Starchild

Something happened not too long ago, a news event if you will, that divided folks pretty much in two. You’ll almost certainly remember it and if you do, you will have definitely chosen your side. I say “chosen” but you didn’t really have much choice – which camp you fell into very much depended on your own personal circumstances, how you see the world. And once you declared your allegiance, you couldn’t understand how those around you, some very close, could not see things the way you did. No matter how much you argued, how much you told others that they were wrong, they could not be persuaded to change their view.

No, I’m not talking about Brexit. Nor am I talking about Donald Trump. I’m not even talking about Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I am, of course, talking about “The Dress“. Was it White with Gold stripes? Or was it Blue with Black stripes? We all had an opinion, and we all saw one or the other, and until the science of it was explained, we could not understand how anyone saw it differently.

It’s this debate which becomes the basis for Segun Starchild’s science fiction adventure. A rather strange set-up? Perhaps.

University student Laura first notices there’s something odd when she tells her boyfriend Dave about a white and gold dress they saw while out shopping. Dave, of course, has no idea what she’s talking about because all he saw was a blue and black one. So far, so-every-second-conversation-you-had-in-February-2015, and then things get weird. You see, the dress itself is not all that important, but the colourful debate reveals that humankind is on the verge of a huge change and those who see White & Gold are in the process of taking that next step up the evolutionary ladder. But those who see Blue & Black, the ‘normal’ people are, to all intents and purposes, about to become obsolete. And some Blue and Black people see the emergence of the superpowered ‘Goldies’ as a massive threat to their very existence.

What begins as a comic drama about the love lives of two college roommates veers wildly into a much more mystical and frightening superhero adventure. If you think Clueless meets X-Men by way of The Hunger Games, you wouldn’t be a million miles away!

On the surface, it’s a fun fantasy romp, and if you read it as such you will enjoy following the adventures of White & Gold Laura, her Black & Blue best friend (and ‘Goldie’ ally) Angie and the various friends and enemies they make along the way. But if you dig a tiny bit deeper you’ll find there’s plenty of food for thought as The White & Gold People makes serious points about prejudice against minorities and acceptance of those with different views to our own, as well as delving into some deeper mystical and philosophical ideas about what it means to be human.

The White & Gold People is the first part in a planned series, with the sequel due out in March next year and while TWAGP works fine on its own, it sets up that follow up with an intriguing cliffhanger which left me wanting to know where the Goldies go next.

Oh, and way back in 2015 I saw White & Gold, so… well, just saying…


About The Author

Segun Starchild’s previous works include ‘Black Egyptians’, ‘The Capability Test’ & ‘Kamun vs. Leviathan’. He is a self-confessed seeker of ‘The Truth’ and has a great hunger to know the mysteries of life. He has studied the esoteric mysteries of great sages to gain a reputable amount of wisdom and has the blessing of taking a journey through life with confidence and true knowledge of self and kind. He hails from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria and is for the unification of the African continent. Segun currently lives in London, working in IT Development and Support and the director of Akasha Publishing Ltd.

You can find him on:

And you can buy The White & Gold People at:


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Paul Childs

As well as writing for Den of Geek and Your Truth, Paul also runs Badgers Crossing, a site for ghost stories. He loves the 1980s and thanks to a keen interest in Public Information Films he has never been electrocuted or set himself on fire.

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