Despite an uneven story, Morell delivers an unsettling, thought-provoking perspective on political realities.
A reporter chases after broken dreams in Morell’s alternative history of secession from the United States.
Covering the “secessionism beat” for theAtlanticmagazine, Roman Wolfe has traveled around the world and seen the anger and frustration driving people to try to create new nations and divorce themselves from the political status quo. After 17 fraught months of fighting and tension, one movement has succeeded, resulting in Independence, a new country within the Great Plains of the United States that covers parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Roman successfully enters the blockaded country, where general instability has left people with dwindling resources, notably fuel. Tensions only continue to mount when a man is found dead—Independence’s first homicide—sparking heated debates about security and illegal immigration. A decimated police force has opened the way for violent local militias and misinformation campaigns about Mexican cartels funneling their smuggling operations into the new nation. (“We didn’t secede from the most powerful country ever to get our rear ends kicked and chased away,” a local tells Roman, justifying his contempt for migrants arriving from Mexico and Central America.) Roman drifts through towns observing and writing about what he sees, but his real motivations for coming to Independence are revealed when he reconnects with Kat Taylor, a veterinarian that he had met by chance in Texas years earlier. Kat has consumed his thoughts ever since their passionate encounter, and he has been desperate to see her again, even desperate enough to come to Independence to try to build a life there. While Kat seems uneasy around Roman, the two decide to fix up an old farm together, struggling to find their way as a new couple in a country that is also laboring to find its footing. Elections bring more political instability as mayor Albert Gonzalez rises to power, further destabilizing the allocation of resources and igniting the fiery rhetoric around freedom and community.
Morell successfully builds an expansive and immersive world out of a “what if” scenario. From Roman’s first summaries of various uprisings and populist movements to his struggle to get a money transfer into an embargoed country, Morell’s alternate history feels dense with realistic detail. Independence becomes a strange microcosm of the real world, with debates about immigration and government overreach. It’s a fascinating thought experiment exploring notions of self-determination and freedom; readers will encounter the same infuriating problems and political theater they see on the news. (“It seemed everyone harbored their own propriety blend of reality,” Roman reflects as revolutionary rebels turn against the government they supposedly chose.) Roman’s bittersweet romance with Kat should be a source of more interpersonal and emotional drama, but her sudden appearance feels inorganic and forced. (“In part two of this book, she’s inextricably intertwined with my experiences,” Roman announces abruptly to readers.) The protagonist’s disconnected, sparse, first-person narration works well when he is drifting aimlessly through desolate landscapes, but it does not feel appropriate to the troubled romance central to the book’s latter half. Readers curious about political science and visions of the future will nonetheless find it compellingly troubling how strangely familiar Morell’s fantasy world feels.
Despite an uneven story, Morell delivers an unsettling, thought-provoking perspective on political realities.Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2024
ISBN: 9798218988111
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Unconscious Will Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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