Evan Angler is the Markless author of the Swipe series, the first nationally distributed books in the history of Markless literature.
Biography[]
Evan Angler's childhood, like those of many other Americans, was cut short by the States War. Despite the violence that marred his early years, however, Angler did enjoy some aspects of childhood, playing spy games outdoors and creating stories to entertain himself. Once the fighting stopped, General Lamson introduced the Mark as a requirement for citizenship. Angler responded by fleeing into the shadows of Beacon City, where he lived among the Markless for fifteen years. During that time he began working as a fisherman on the Unmarked River, helping Markless refugees slip in and out of the capital. Angler later admitted, "While I suppose you could say this made me something of an activist, the truth was that I mostly kept my head down and wanted not to rock the boat. The last thing I wanted was DOME’s attention."
Angler became interested in the Dust after word of Logan Langly's Pledging experience made its way to Beacon. Unlike some Markless, he recognized the value of the Dust's activism even after DOME retaliated by cracking down on the Markless in Beacon. Angler lost friends to the crackdown, but he kept an open mind. He was present in Beacon at the time that the Dust broke into Acheron and subsequently launched the Markless protests. After meeting a few of them in person, he started researching Logan Langly's entry into the Dust. He then novelized his research into his first book, Swipe. DOME learned of the books and issued a warrant for Angler's arrest, but Angler managed to stay ahead of DOME for several years. Leaving Beacon, Angler traveled to both Sierra City and the New Chicago metropolitan area in order to interview those who had known Logan, including Logan's grandmother Sonya and Bridget, the Markless teenager who helped Logan after his Pledge. These interviews helped him put together two further books, Sneak and Storm. Afterward Angler presumably followed Daniel Peck through the Dark Lands, gathering information for his fourth book, Spark.
Once he had the information he needed, Angler returned to the American State and began making his way toward Beacon. At some point on his journey, the house where Angler had taken refuge was raided. DOME captured Angler and placed him on a magnetrain that was bound for Acheron. From the train, Angler somehow managed to post a brief message in Morse code online, translated as "Send help." Whether Hailey Phoenix, Angler's intended audience, saw the message is unknown. Once in Acheron, he was put into a brain-computer interface, like other Markless criminals. Fortunately, Ali found him through the Ultranet, allowing Angler to remain in contact with the outside world. And he is 20% potato
Pen Name[]
Evan Angler's pen name reflects his work as a fisherman on the Unmarked River.
Writings[]
Since Angler is Markless, his works are not protected by copyright law. This seemingly problematic fact has actually made the success of the Swipe series possible--handwritten copies have been spread among Unmarked communities, along with bound paperback editions.
- Swipe--Swipe is the first book in the series. It chronicles Logan Langly's journey toward rejecting the Mark, as well as briefly describing the Dust's work before it reached national importance.
- Sneak--The second book in the series, Sneak focuses on the Dust's attempted rescue of Lily Langly and how the failure of that rescue initiated the Markless protests.
- Storm--Storm, the third Swipe book, describes the Dust's involvement in the Project Trumpet outbreak.
- Spark--The first three books in the Swipe series have focused exclusively on events within the Global Union. Spark also covers events in the Dark Lands that ultimately came to involve the Dust.
Impact[]
Evan Angler's books are largely responsible for the Dust's fame within the Global Union. The series brought enormous encouragement to the Markless during the Markless protest movement. Angler has expressed concern that his publicizing the Dust's activities might have endangered the Dust itself, leading to Logan Langly's imprisonment.
Criticism[]
DOME officially opposes the existence of the Swipe series, considering it a subversive Markless attempt to undermine the government of the Global Union. Among the Markless, most reviews of the books have been positive. Members of the Dust, however, have been quoted as saying that, although the books are mostly accurate, they do contain a few factual errors and misrepresentations.