Book review, 1st Edition
First things first. I simply loved Enemies, Foreign and Domestic. It was a timely novel, written by an erudite individualist who is clearly fed up with the incessent nanny-stating collectivists who are out for total control of everything that we Real Americans stand for.
That being said, I can give Mr. Bracken's second novel in his EFAD trilogy a warm recommendation. That is to say, I liked it, but my reaction to it was not as strong as it was to the first book. Not sure why this is, other than to say that the character interaction wasn't quite as believable, yet the characters themselves were plenty believable.
There were more than a few passes at characters who happen to be former POTUS, actors, and radio "personalities". I also happened to rather like the characterization of the switch-hitting college professor; I loved the scene where he buys the farm, it made me laugh, in a gross kinda way.
There were a few good history lessons in this book, as there was in the last, and it seems that the author has done his homework on the New Mexico landscape, as the descriptions of the terrain I found to be right on.
I thought the plot progression a bit slow at times, and the final escape was late in its arrival. I also wanted a bit more confrontation between the heroine and the bull-dyke IRS/Homeland Security agent toward the end. This would have given the character the proper prominence that she seemed to "deserve" in my opinion.
Generally, I also liked the bit of edge that was added to Ranya's character, it gave her a more human approach. She was date raped, and knew it the morning after. She happened to find some RU486 in the medicine cabinet of her rapist, so she took it. No questions, no remorse about it, though the book touches on the "sin" she would need to later answer for. The sheer rage that she demonstrated on her wanton lesbian keeper at the "political re-education" camp was a fantastic scene. It gave her some weakness, a fault, that she was missing in the first book, though I can imagine that this was the intended result the author was after.
I give Mr. Bracken high marks for his sophomore effort here, and I am anxiously awaiting the final installment of his trilogy, Foreign Enemies.
That being said, I can give Mr. Bracken's second novel in his EFAD trilogy a warm recommendation. That is to say, I liked it, but my reaction to it was not as strong as it was to the first book. Not sure why this is, other than to say that the character interaction wasn't quite as believable, yet the characters themselves were plenty believable.
There were more than a few passes at characters who happen to be former POTUS, actors, and radio "personalities". I also happened to rather like the characterization of the switch-hitting college professor; I loved the scene where he buys the farm, it made me laugh, in a gross kinda way.
There were a few good history lessons in this book, as there was in the last, and it seems that the author has done his homework on the New Mexico landscape, as the descriptions of the terrain I found to be right on.
I thought the plot progression a bit slow at times, and the final escape was late in its arrival. I also wanted a bit more confrontation between the heroine and the bull-dyke IRS/Homeland Security agent toward the end. This would have given the character the proper prominence that she seemed to "deserve" in my opinion.
Generally, I also liked the bit of edge that was added to Ranya's character, it gave her a more human approach. She was date raped, and knew it the morning after. She happened to find some RU486 in the medicine cabinet of her rapist, so she took it. No questions, no remorse about it, though the book touches on the "sin" she would need to later answer for. The sheer rage that she demonstrated on her wanton lesbian keeper at the "political re-education" camp was a fantastic scene. It gave her some weakness, a fault, that she was missing in the first book, though I can imagine that this was the intended result the author was after.
I give Mr. Bracken high marks for his sophomore effort here, and I am anxiously awaiting the final installment of his trilogy, Foreign Enemies.
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