As the books are told from Tammie's point of view, there's a lot that might be glossed over simply because she doesn't care. That's where this blog comes in.
Oh man, I can't handle my cartography skills (I really did try very hard!).
Engantus is the country in which The Decoder takes place. I'd tell you all about it, but Tammie does it quite well in chapter one:
Around one hundred and fifty years ago, some kind of insane disaster almost destroyed the world. The Earth itself remains, but pretty much everyone died. We hear about it a lot in history, except for what actually happened. We just know that it did.
One country, The United States of America, wasn't hit quite as bad as the rest of the world. About three-fourths of the population was totally wiped out, but everyone else survived. After a couple of years of living like wild animals, someone stepped in and took control. They built a capitol city where Kansas used to be, divided the country into Sectors and ordered the people to plant fresh crops of the blood-soaked lands of their fathers. That's totally the way to restore order and civilization.
That government was apparently no good, because after just twenty years, it went down in a coup. Flicker Smith and his family took over, and we've had a President Smith in office ever since. The country was renamed Engantus and the capitol renamed Maelhaven, the Sector lines were redrawn and a new railroad system was built. In addition to all of that, an elite army and police force were trained – to keep who out, no one knows. But I mostly think they're here to keep people in.
There are four sectors of Engantus, like four states. Maelhaven is the capitol city, and it's about the size of Kansas, located where (get ready) Kansas used to be. This isn't like The Hunger Games, though. No one is really identified by their birthplace or Sector; it's simply a way to keep the citizens organized and the affairs of the country under control.
Montshore is the capitol of Sector Four, and it is where Tammie is departing from when the story begins. It's close to modern-day Atlanta, Georgia.
Riverwick is the school, located on the shores of the Mississippi River, right where Memphis, Tennessee currently is. Specifically, Riverwick's campus is several miles from Tom Lee park, about twenty minutes away. That's not relevant to the plot in any way, but whenever I drive by the park I like to think, Just wait.
All other locations in the book are explained through Tammie's eyes, and for now, that is enough.
As far as the style of Engantus goes...
The Decoder takes places at least 150-175 years in the future (it really doesn't matter how far in the future it is. It's in the future and that's that.). But the style of clothing is anything but futuristic.
Pulling inspiration from both the 1920s and 1940s, the people of Engantus have a semi-dieselpunk style. And when I say that, I mean that while these people are surrounded by incredible technology, they dress in what we would now consider a very dated style. There are no corsets, there are no top hats and canes or anything like that... they are simply dressed like my great grandparents. This is partially because I absolutely love those eras in American history and would like to keep it looking historical, partially because the Engantian society would reject so many extraneous things in their styles, but mostly because I say so.
I'm a very visual person, so get ready for pictures.
Those in the police forces, the Engantian army, and any number of organizations will be dressed as seen here, rather than the crazy get-up often portrayed in steam/dieselpunk. They lean towards black, streamlined clothing. These will lean more towards the 1940s style.
The Riverwick school uniforms are more 1920s based. The students all wear white dress shirts with a collar. The girls wear either a skirt or jumper; those are brown and blue plaid, as a throwback to my Catholic high schooling. Boys wear brown pants, and all students have brown blazers, with the Riverwick logo stitched on the left chest. These aren't exactly right, but they're the right era:
At a particular point the story, Tammie wears a "traveling" dress. She comments on how pretty it is, but it's incredibly outdated.
And in closing, LOOK AT THIS AMAZING PIECE OF ART/PROPOGANDA! This is relevant because it's gorgeous.
