Miriam Schwellnus
Would you rather believe a comfortable lie or the messy truth?The Millennial and the King is a sharp, self-aware, and darkly funny reckoning with the power of narratives-how they protect the powerful, pacify the public, and shape our personal lives in ways we rarely admit.Told through the eyes of a fan-turned-legacy detective, this book unravels the most successful public relations campaign in pop culture history: the mythmaking of Michael Jackson. From the highs of Thriller to the lows of courtroom scandal, from teenage adoration to adult criticism, the author takes one last ride through the King of Pop’s carefully curated kingdom in search of the truth.Part media autopsy, part midlife reckoning, part PR masterclass, this genre-blurring literary collage explores our hunger for stories-even when they serve someone else’s agenda.The Millennial and the King zigzags between personal essay, cultural analysis, and anecdotal memoir, parodying ’90s movies, YouTube shows, and the absurdity of fandom. Using AI while it’s still cute, the two protagonists even meet for an interview that transcends time, reality, and probably ethics.For anyone who’s ever gone to battle for their hero only to find themselves on the wrong side of history, The Millennial and the King is a reminder that some stories are designed to entertain-and others are designed to control.
