Category: Political

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Sedition

Sedition, Road to Breaking, Book 3 ISBN: 9781733107983 published, copyright and written by Chris Bennett.

The story continues with huge changes involving Mountain Meadows, its inhabitants, and the entire country. Megs interrupts a meeting among the elder leaders of the cabin slaves detailing their misunderstanding of a difference between them and the house staff slaves. The results are most productive and effect almost immediate changes. Meanwhile, as a State Senator, Nathan must journey to Richmond for an important session as to whether Virginia will join the Southern states in the call for secession from the United States of America. Fort Sumter has been attacked and appearances seem to be growing more favorable for election of Abraham Lincoln and the impending freeing of the slaves. Individuals espousing one particular element of the south are especially desirous of maintaining their position of political power and will use any available means to win. When Nathan left home he was accompanied only by two of his men because he was afraid that his neighbor might attempt again to harm his mother and destroy their home. Lack of sufficient support along with particularly audacious moves from this southern component result in serious injury to him and a need to leave for home rapidly and secretly even though severely incapacitated. Evelyn again appears, but in an entirely new roll and the reader is introduced to two new elements of the era that played an enormous part during this chaotic period. And even the huge Irish wolfhound/English Mastiff who Nathan had of necessity left behind when departing for Richmond by train, again enters the picture.

Discussion: In this third book of the series, the author has managed to present a most intriguingly interesting and well-paced, suspenseful tale. Additionally, he has provided further informative material with respect to probably existent political activity as well as features such as the Underground railway in preparation for a hopefully as well-managed finalé.

Another 5* read.

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Princess of Independence

Princess of Independence published, copyright and written by Icarus Bobain.

The author has set forth a tale of Italy’s intense struggle for arrival as an independent unified country in the days following Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat and the country’s continued existence as independent states whose northern half was under the hated Austrian rule. Christina Trivulzio was a member of the royal aristocracy of Italy who devoted her life to fighting for the country’s unification and independence from the rest of the European countries. Her hatred was heightened by the manner in which both her father and stepfather were treated by the Austrian rulers of Northern Italy. She married Emilio Barbiano Belgiojoso, a highly positioned member of the aristocratic ruling class who, although kind and extremely generous, unfortunately also indulged in additional dalliances. They separated and she devoted her time increasingly to aiding the revolutionary element. She was charming, intelligent and devised ways in which to become ‘someone with whom to be associated’ through providing soirees that provided memorable evenings associating with famous musicians and others of note and distributing the proceeds to the Carbonari and others struggling for the country’s unification and liberty. She had been exiled to France where she had an illegitimate daughter, Maria, who she attempted to indoctrinate with her same passion for politics. Forced by Napoleon’s defeat to flee France and unwelcome in Italy, she headed west, finally obtaining a farm in the less settled area of Turkey with a trip to the Holy Land that was vigorous, dangerous, but rewarding, and return to the farm. Through it all Emilio, provided a degree of support and she finally was able to return to her own country and her proper position. The story is told with alternating chapters describing the varying periods of time from the perspective of Christina and that of Maria as the years progress,

Discussion: The author has described an interesting story of Italy’s intense struggle for unity and independence in the early 1800s. For devotees of fictional tales that follow historical activities and include interchanges and/or interrelationships of well-known figures of the period, this book definitely is for you.

5* Especially for readers sited in the discussion.

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Redlined

Redlined, a novel of Boston ISBN: 978097282233Brunswick House Press, copyright and written by Richard W. Wise.

Jedediah Flynt is an ex-Marine with a considerable amount of hand-to-hand combat experience, an ex-wife and two small children for whom he pays support but seldom sees. Presently he is an ‘organizer’ in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts under contract to the Catholic Church for projects helping the poor and downtrodden in their fights against public projects such as a just completed victory against the Boston Building Commissioner. He still is a well-conditioned, attractive, somewhat charismatic individual who believes in what he is doing and has the ability to analyze and truthfully face a situation and manage it. Sandy Morgan is a newly hired young woman who he sends to watch a vacant building that he fears will be next for gutting by explosive arson in a developing pattern that, on the surface makes no sense. Sandy does not follow his orders and is killed by the arsonists. Thus begins a fascinating story that builds to a climax with involvement of: another new young woman replacement being heavily involved through excellent research activity and becoming threatened; a part of a local Chinese ‘tong’ group; a large Chinese Gambling Syndicate and representatives of a mainland Chinese ‘Mafia- like’ group; an immensely wealthy entrepreneur; several groups of local resident organizations; marine corps friends of Jed; and even several levels of the Catholic Church. The story builds to a fascinating climax that is logically thought producing on several levels.

Discussion: A tremendously well-written story with an excellent pace, well-developed characters and a plot that holds the reader enthralled until the end. A highly recommended thriller/mystery provided by an author who seems eminently qualified to produce such a tale.

5* Thriller/mystery highly recommended.

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Inherent Greed

Inherent Greed ISBN: 9781734436167 Authoraide Publications, copyright and written by Carney Vaughan.

The author opens with a synopsis of the story that explains a man by the name of Cameron Parmentor “a self-swerving, cunning, cold-blooded adult, matures with eyes upon a career in Australian federal politics” and describes the manner in which he achieves his desired position. It further introduces two police officers who are captured on film exchanging a large amount of cash in a situation deemed to be corrupt. One of them disappears and the other, Jack Penrose, is cashiered from the force with only his word to verify that is was in return for a debt owed to him. A battered housewife neighbor to whom he is kind is the only one who believes him but then both are declared murders when her husband is killed. The story follows their attempts to evade capture and brings into the tale a large number of other characters that play important roles leading to a most interesting and unexpected climax.

Discussion: This is an account of a sociopathic killer that begins slowly but gradually evolves into a circuitous trail of events that are unraveled only by the tenacity of a woman journalist of sorts along with help from her husband, a retired detective, the disgraced policeman and a couple of Parmentor’s heavily affected victims.

5* Absorbing tale mystery readers will not want to put down.

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Anti-Racist versus colorblind 2064: Woke Wars

Anti-Racist versus Colorblind 2064: Woke Wars assumed published copyright and written by Winthrop Rosenberg.

The story opens with the assumed protagonist introducing himself as Edmund Hsu in the year 2064. He explains that he always has felt like a human being. He has existed in a body and existed in a broader world but that his humanity has never been his body or station in life nor any other aspect that could define him. Thus, to rephrase, he might be characterized as an abstract wandering around observing and taking some part in this world that has become a strange place dominated by a society that now is racist in the extreme. He compares 1964 which basically promised freedom and opportunity to all if they worked hard and didn’t break laws with the present year of 2064 a land where social and economic opportunities are rationed out to members of different racial categories in accord with their race’s overall percentage of the nation’s population and where freedom, particularly in terms of speech, association and movement are significantly curtailed. The restrictions on speech are to minimize anyone hearing criticism of the system that those in power deem “racist”, and the restrictions on association and movement are to ensure that different institutions and geographic districts in nations borders are properly designated, unless one is in one of the sporadic designated racial “safe spaces” that have been established, which allow a race exclusivity in a particular area or organization. The new regime designates its population to consist of 7 categories for a population of 450 million with a dominant 51% Hispanics. The manner in which divisions are made is described and the resultant resentment against these “Wokes” who had “viciously perpetrated a despicable, patronizing, murderous, dehumanizing, and disgusting racial cast system” finally bubbled to overflowing and the “Third Civil War” begins. The attendant activity is provided in detail along with those of the protagonist and the total over viewed in the final Chapter 7 Epilogue dated 22 December, 2098.

Discussion: The author has presented a satire on the repetitive activity of governments that keep evolving into dystopia and/or complete self-destruction. The basic plot can be described perhaps as a ‘personalization of history with projection for the future’. For history buffs it provides recall of various activities of any number of governments going back to the Chinese Dynasties. Assignment of a specific rating level is difficult for this reviewer. The plot is especially pertinent to the present situation within this country of overabundance of the assignment of the term ‘racist’ or ‘racism’. If the author’s acceptable description of the protagonist’s mental attitude is loosely applied, the characters are adequate. The pace, although somewhat slowed at times by extended discourse, is acceptable. The overall message of each side attempting to justify the brutality and/or atrocities they undertake in the name of justice and fairness is a position that demands respectful thought.

4* Reasons as described in discussion.

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Diary of a Time Travelling Alien

Diary of a Time Travelling Alien ISBN: 9781234567890 assumed published, copyright and written by Yaakov C Lui-Hyden.

The story is of a fictitious Alien who begins with: “dear reader, be this a tale of woe and hope; two things you love above all else. It is difficult to write. To collect my thoughts of a millennium and my motives for doing so I’m not even sure of. Perhaps simply because I can.” He then continues to describe how he belonged to a race that destroyed itself in wars, not foolishly fought on their own territory, but that of others, until they were the conquerors. Further, this was the cause of the wars, they fought for ‘souls’ which their technology had developed technics to move from one body to another. With shortages as a result of the wars (with technical advancements again allowing the bodies to be maintained [rather than killing]. Their fantastically advanced society, once arriving at their conqueror state, led to complete destruction ultimately through infighting among themselves. He had been a soldier and his last days on his planet he was dead, or as he explains: “Not dead because we had gone far beyond that”, but his consciousness was dormant. He now, and for some millennia, was destined to travel the universe as a bodiless wraith that, if desired could again enter another’s body. The story is of his attempt to do so and the disastrous consequences of his action.

Discussion: The author has generated a fast moving tale that offers a unique and distinctly different plot. It is one that lives up to providing suggested insights into the human condition with sarcasm and wit. Most unfortunately, these insights are mostly momentary statements. The opportunity and desire for expansion not only is there, but looked forward to by this reader with thwarted anticipation. Certain episodes also, such as with the dinosaurs, is too extensive for the material offered, as are occasional others. There also is a certain amount of confusion in following the action, part of which is handling of the unusual subject matter. Judicious editing would have helped tremendously. It is my understanding that this is the author’s first novel and as such problems encountered are no more than can be expected. However, this book demonstrates the advent of an author with a tremendous amount of promise.

3* fine effort from a new author demonstrating 5* uniqueness in plot design.

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The Price of Safety

The Price of Safety ISBN: 9781950890811 World Castle Publishing copyright and written by Michael C. Bland.

The storyteller opens with his statement that “Igniting a miniature sun was the riskiest thing we’d ever attempted. Yet we were doing it in front of the entire planet” With 45 seconds left in countdown, he was mentally checking all aspects of the project while his onetime best friend and company co-founder CEO Nikolai, was in front of the 200 assembled CEOs bragging about the various accomplishments. The ignition is accomplished, in part, but must be terminated by a structural failure. From this introduction the tale continues as we follow the activity of Dray Quintero, a brilliant scientist who is the inventor of the extensive array of methods employed by the government supposedly to protect and provide a better life for the citizens. He discovers far too late that instead, these features are being employed to control them. Seemingly, the CEO has been able to provide the manner in which they are disseminated and has been completely tied to the government resulting in great wealth for himself, while Dray was involved in the brilliant investigative activity of providing the blueprints. The story is a matter of many twists and turns that involves his wife and three children. Death of the first one having a tremendous effect on him and his wife and directing their attention in an unhealthy manner toward attempts to protect the remaining offspring. But here, we discover that the older daughter has an agenda of her own. There are a large number of twists and turns in the plot with abundant distrust, deception, betrayal and treachery discovered to have been extant for some time and even within his own family.

Discussion: The author has provided a tale that reflects much of the thought and attitudes of much of today’s population set in a sci-fi of a number of years in the future. There is much repetition and some inexplicable thoughtless activity. However, this is a book for individuals who are devotees of sci-fi non-stop action thrillers. Regrettably from this reviewer’s perspective, it may be a little ‘over-the-top’ for even the reader who enjoys sci-fi/thrillers but is a tad more pragmatic.

3* 5* great read for die-hard readers of action-packed sci-fi/thrillers; -2* as explained.

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The DAR LUMBRE Chronicles

The Dar Lumbre Chronicles ISBN: 9780692086162 assumed published, copyright and written by Don Johnson.

The author has devised an interesting plot where a highly intelligent geneticist, Dar Lumbre, was about to be arrested by the government for his continued work in the field. Although he had engineered the only viable heart replacement available, one evolving from actual heart tissue. They were concerned about other of his experiments and decided he must be apprehended and kept from continuing. The heavily controlling government was unable to find him in spite of all their efforts. The book opens a hundred years later, where the government has evolved into an all-encompassing power where there were only two political parties that alternated years of control, but regardless, all housing, food allotment and distribution of other necessities were administered by the ruling body. There was a requirement for citizen enrollment in one or the other party with non-registrants considered ‘Outsiders” who were forced to survive the best they could. Trouble begins with the DL-666 heart tissue losing ability to function properly and two extremely intelligent geneticists Craig Hopkins and Annie Lee working for the owner, Cal Tech, are assigned to discover why it is failing. The new laboratory director who was hired to ‘turn the company around’ because it was losing revenue, ultimately dismisses Craig. Because the wife of the government’s President suddenly requires a heart transplant, Craig is rehired and he and Annie continue to make advances in repairing the damage. Numerous other complications arise with a long-existent, but secret, Dar Lumbre Society surfacing and registering the ‘Outcasts’, an overwhelming majority of whom believe that eventually  the missing Dar Lumbar wil reappear  a hundred years after he disappeared while in his late fifties or sixties. Numerous supportive characters add levels of suspense to the tale as it evolves and any further details would be a complete disservice to the prospective reader.

Discussion: a well written, spaced and paced, sci-fi, mystery, thriller with extensive details on genetics presented in a readable fashion.

5* Pleasant, easy to read sci-fi/mystery/thriller involving genetics.

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The Covid Legacy

The COVID Legacy assumed published, copyright and written by Lance Haynes,

The book opens with a description of areas of the country/world completely devastated from “The Dying Time’ when large portions of the world’s inhabitants were wiped out by a pandemic viral infection. It then introduces the reader to Brian, the son of Anders and Melissa Thorson and his wife Desta. He was from the northern section of the inhabited world and she was from Ethiopia. They discovered each other via an internet search and were allowed to get married and assigned to a home previously owned by a deceased billionaire near Jackson Hole by the UN Authority who functioned as the regulatory arm of the shadowy but all-powerful Dominus. They had been living here for 15 years and recently had been permitted to have children, or at least, a child. Brian possessed a brilliant mind and performed requested duties for the administrative body. The house assignment and other ‘favors’ signified their importance to the controlling authority. The story evolves as Brian attempts to learn more about his grandfather, Carl. From notes and other mementos of his grandfather he received and/or discovered from his father, he was able to discern the brilliance of the man and his manipulation by the controlling force of Dominus. Also revealed were the fate of his grandmother, existence of an equally brilliant aunt and more. Ultimately, the entire situation in large part designed and developed by his grandfather is addressed by the unexpected appearance of a believed long dead relative who with Brian, and a small cohesive group attempt to somewhat alter it for the good of all.

Discussion: The author has employed the present viral pandemic in a fictional setting that uses a tentative agenda where such an instrument, coldly but efficiently, was set in motion to solve the constantly discussed world problems of overpopulation, intercountry as well as personal greed and scrambling for dominance, cold and hot wars, global warming and the rest. It is a very readable thoughtful but in some ways ‘uncomfortable’, philosophical discussion brought to mind by China’s seeming culpable involvement. The discussion may be a little heavy for some, but coverage as set forth generally is acceptably comprehensible as pertinent to its placement within the story.

4* 5* story, probably -1 for (really required) lengthy philosophical passages.

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Grand Masquerade

Grand Masquerade Born Publishing copyright and written by Stephen C. Perkins.

Setting: The setting for the story is the small town of Rupert, Vermont with its surrounding farmland and dense forests. The town is small but seemingly prosperous with well-run stores and farms with a particularly large dairy that also provides a far better than to be expected Bed & Breakfast that also includes a series of well positioned hunting blinds for those who like especially to hunt deer.

Characters: Outsiders that include a man running for President of the United States; the owner of a technological company that is ‘taking over’ the technology sector of the world by his company’s cutting edge advances; his spoiled well-educated but play-boy son; his long-standing and trusted CFO; his Chinese chief designer; a few lesser characters. Insiders are composed of a sizeable number of residents of Rupert that include the owners of the Dairy/B&B/hunting complex; several of their children; city residents and prominently one daughter of one of the wealthiest; the Sheriff and his Daughter who is somewhat of a ‘bulldog’ investigator; a doctor who is gaining an increasing position of renown as a healer who uses non-invasive techniques. A third set of characters, ‘the Others’, seemingly existing as those of legend and not really existing except as the after results of some form of horrendous activity. Legend has it that they exist because of an unholy alliance they had reached with certain residents of Rupert many years ago.

Plot: The book opens with a gruesome attack on a young boy riding his motorcycle in the dense woods followed by his disappearance. The local Sheriff provides a seemingly plausible reason but the State Police Officers decide to investigate further. They reportedly are attacked of several bears with disastrous results. From this point the reader is taken into a world of political machinations interwoven with the equally corrupt life of business with off shore hidden accounts, deceased individuals who are not dead but living and getting paid as another, and dishonesty, distrust, betrayal, deceit, and treachery rampant. All of these activities gradually interweaving with features concerning the legendary “Others”.

Discussion: The author has set forth a quite intriguing mixture of politics, unprincipled business tactics, personal greed, lack of morality, seeming lack of ability to have any semblance of deep affection all overshadowed by a mystically malignant power in which it is enveloped. A quite intriguing horror (?) story highly recommended.

5* Highly recommended multi-genre/suspense tale.