Unsettling and all too believable in todays world
347976
Wow! Great performances, edge of your seat plot and an amazing performance by Samuel L Jackson !
1399938
a very intense story that appears believeable ,considering today's political and foreign climate. This book will hold you in suspense  as you tend to anticipate the ending only to throw a another curve at you. You won't want to put it down. The type of reading you take with you in the bathroom if you know what i mean.
3092019
well authenticated , utterly believable , the hatred in the world is so widespread , that I am so concerned for our childrens future !!!
2697585
A provocatively realistic glimpse of our possible future told in a strong manner with excellent character development.  The plot line is simple and yet terrifying possible.  The ruination of our nation because of the ignorance and excesses of politicians - if you don't believe it's possible take a look around you and then read some of the non-fiction material by David Walker, the former comptroller general of the United States.  We are quickly heading down the path described in this book and a second great depression looms as a real possibility.

The downside to this book?  There is a sequel and it isn't published yet!!!  This is another very good indie author with a well edited book who we can only hope gets the follow-up out quickly (hint:  QUICKLY).  Too many really good independent authors write one book and either because it doesn't sell as well as they hoped, or they only had one good story in them, and another book never gets written.  Please don't let that happen here!
3753814
This novel hits too close to the problems we are having today. The possibility of states pulling out of the union and of a president abusing his power is very realistic. A thought provoking story. Enjoy.
4863703
Great Read! So believable it was frightening. Characters were very well done, fully realized and complete human beings, not sterotypes. I am looking forward to more from this author and sorry I missed his earlier book.
1349413
The Innocents places you in a world where every time you leave your house, you are risking your life. You're taking a chance that someone who passes you will infect you, the shopping cart handle, or the gas nozzle will carry the Plague. The world has gone mad and society is in shambles. What makes this book such a terrifying, all-consuming ride is that it could happen. We could wake one day to find ourselves in this horrifying reality where no one is safe and every living being is truly equal, because the Plague doesn't discriminate.
974151
A novel filled with believable characters set in well-researched time and location, with such well-drawn historical insights it leaves the reader trembling for today, Kathleen Shoop's After the Fog is hard to put down, fiercely absorbing, and furiously real.

The conflict of jobs vs. environment, and financial vs. human concerns is vividly portrayed through the lives of a multi-generational family in Donora PA just after the Second World War. Unions have at least made living conditions less fatal for the workers and their families, but the idea that the air we breathe can kill us is still new, and a doctor campaigning for clean air meets obstruction from local workers who need the jobs as well as from rich mill-owners. I'd read of this kind of situation in poverty-stricken Eastern European countries. To find it in the recent history of the US was distinctly disturbing and scary, but the author has researched her background well and tells a convincing tale with great authority.

The protagonist, Rose, is a wonderfully complex character, living out her life and often saving lives, hiding the issues of her past as surely as the Donora fog hides suffering, and the need for money hides the importance of a healthy environment. Not always likeable, she's very believable, a wounded character who wants to save everyone but can't see through the fog to her own family's needs.

As the Donora fog descends, the fog over Rose's life begins to lift. A curious coincidence leads her to re-examine the past. Motivations become clearer, but clarity doesn't heal, any more than the lifting of the fog will release the citizens from its sickness. Lies and half-truths form a fog of their own in this tale, and healing is hard work. But there is light at the end of the fog, and the blend of personal lessons with environmental horrors is nicely unlabored in this long but absorbing novel.

Disclosure: I received a free ecopy of this novel from the World Literary Caf in exchange for my honest review.
2885915
This was a truly gripping novel that is particulary interesting and timely given the public's concern about bullying and school shootings and the recent article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine about early diagnosis of pychopaths/sociopaths (who may be diagnosable as early as age five.) Though fiction, this novel raises interesting questions about nurture versus nature and cause and effect (does a difficult child lead to a detached parent which leads to an even more difficult child?) Perhaps what is most frightening about the book is its absolute believability. The narrator is not sympathetic - a mother who has recognized from her son's earliest years that there was something "just not right" about him and repeatedly says so - and yet, given the other options (the sociopathic child himself, the father who refuses to see the truth) this unsympathetic mother somehow gets the reader on her side. As a mother myself, it was hard to read about a mother who had such cynicism about her own son, yet I found her painful, unimaginable situation compelling in a way that is hard to describe. I could barely put this novel down and only common sense (I do have a job, after all!) made me put this book down at night. Definitely one to read!!
3038978
Wow, what a story. Such a timely story that moved me so emotionally. To think that some of the events in this novel could actually happen sets it all on the edge of probability. There is so much unrest and fear these days that this taps into the very heart of it. The author has created a masterful view of how our lives could be should something like this happen.  It should be read by everyone who is voting in this election year.

So well done Mr. Pratt.
4099584
Raynes has done the truly visionary job of making the future feel like today.  The not-so-distant world of "Nation of Enemies" is both present and visceral, a dark mirror of our world and all too scarily believable.  I can't recommend it enough.
3050949
Peak Democracy, by G.D. Leon, is set two decades in the future.  Its an era in which the myriad consequences of our nescient reliance on artificial intelligence, social media, 24-hour surveillance, and corporate oversight have come home to roost.  Two large corporate entities share a monopoly on practically everything that humans rely on.

Ostensibly free, the average American is enslaved by debt, terrified of doing anything that might upset the debt holders, who could easily destroy their lives.  Loan insurance companies retain passports to prevent debtors from fleeing the country.  Its a claustrophobic and too-believable world in which news is filtered to avoid disruptive or unacceptable commentary.  Sound familiar?

Against this backdrop, August Remules, an executive of one of the two mega-corporations, finds himself entwined in both the clandestine aspirations of his corporate overlords and a handful of resistance cells.  One offers him power, the other a better, freer world.  His actions affect not only his future, but the futures of his family members, who are effectively corporate hostages, and its not long before his decisions start to tear his family apart.

There are some interesting feats of technology envisioned by the author, such as contact lenses that change colors to reflect their wearers mood and AIs that can almost perfectly imitate the voice of anyone you know.  Concepts that are fascinating and unsettling.

"Peak Democracy" is a pertinent story, given our current willingness to assume massive personal debt, our almost unconditional embracement of artificial intelligence and corporate monopolies, and our implied consent to be constantly monitored in the name of security.  The story is great fiction.  Let's hope it remains fiction.
927872
It is sad to believe that things like this can happen in todays world.  This story is an eye opener. I recommend it.
1399646
In a world where conspiracy novels are a dime a dozens and even those from established authors fail regularly this novel treats the horrors of the excesses of homeland security with humanity and compassion while weaving an intriguing story of how a man fights for his integrity in the midst of circumstances where we could all understand if he abandoned it for revenge. This is world class writing worthy of accolades beyond my capabilities. Now on my reading list for the future
3190977
I was enthralled reading this novel. It is non stop, politically incorrect (to say the least), and is very difficult to put down. The plot is as current as today's headlines. Mr. Coonts is not afraid to name names and outlines our current real world political environment in a very plausible scenario.
47834
Jose is a very believable boy, forced to see things he'd rather not see, to cope with a situation adults would shrink from--because there is no one else to turn to and others are depending on him.  A harrowing story--made all the more gripping by the fact that, while the characters are fictional, the background is real.  Terry Trueman does an incredible job of making us feel we are right there.
2208217
Going Underground presents a possible future, which seems far too believable, in light of headlines about suicide bombers. In fact, some aspects were as disturbing as the reports about the Nazi concentration camps and disgusting experiments of Dr. Josef Mengele.
The story projected a dark and forbidding feeling throughout. The description, characters  and attention to detail were well done. While Jen could be very annoying, she is a teenager, so she was believable.
IMHO, this sentence captures the concept of the book, "You will never be safe from scrutiny remain vigilant at all times. Do not let the government bureaucrats bring you to your knees, and don't give them a reason to make you victims."