Ayn Rand fans might enjoy this unique homage to her work.
Karademas’ debut novel reads like alternate history fueled by political manifesto.
The novel starts slowly, bogged down by the narrator’s overly long description of the minutiae of daily life. Fed up with what he sees as a stagnating country, Karademas, the narrator, decides to do something to fix it. His solution is to write an essay, which he publishes via a vanity press. Inspired by Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and the Rush song “The Trees,” the credo melds ideas for a planned residential community with Randian philosophy. With the publication of the essay in early 2011, the novel switches style to become an alternate history, as Karademas hits the road with Republican presidential frontrunner, Ron Paul. It isn’t until well into the book, when the narrator is badly injured in a bombing at a Paul campaign stop, that we see any real action. At this point, the book suddenly picks up speed. The narrator is contacted by the influential Bilderberg group, an event foreshadowed earlier in the book. This sets in motion a string of events that helps him realize his vision for a utopian community, completely transforming his life. Marital tension mentioned at the start of the book surfaces as the narrator falls for another woman. These novelistic touches temper what is essentially a political rant, a fact broadcast by the warning in bold typeface that concludes the first part of the book: “Obama beware. Utopia is coming.” By the second half, the action and political intrigue are stepped up a notch, which almost makes up for the slow start. The book closes with an invitation for readers to share the book and its message. While Rand’s influence runs though the novel, the writing here evokes her beliefs far more than her writing ability.
Ayn Rand fans might enjoy this unique homage to her work.Pub Date: March 26, 2012
ISBN: 978-0985234256
Page Count: 601
Publisher: Pallas Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Inspirational historical fiction based one woman’s remarkable life and travels.
Based on a true story, Rodgers presents a moving novel that pays tribute to the power of an adventurous spirit.
In 1938, 17 year old Adriana Blaauw considers leaving behind her family in Rotterdam and move to the island of Java in the (then) Dutch East Indies. Her uncle manages a tea estate, and he and his wife describe their beautiful home at Tjiboeni. After some initial hesitation, the protagonist undertakes the long sea voyage to Java. The story beautifully narrates Adriana’s daily experiences in the Dutch East Indies under colonial rule. She finds happiness in her new home, revels in her independence and ultimately falls in love with an Australian national, Charlie. Despite the beauty and ease of her exotic lifestyle, Adriana is not exempt from heartbreak. The realities of World War II and the arrival of the Japanese put an end to her idyllic life. She and her family spend years in a Japanese internment camp, somehow surviving the violence, starvation and disease to be liberated at the end of the war. Reunited with Charlie, Adriana journeys to Australia, Java, Holland and eventually settles in New Zealand. Based on the accounts and memories of the real-life Adriana Blaauw, Rodgers’ novel is an engaging tale set during a turbulent time. Adriana is a compelling figure, and Rodgers outlines an complete portrait of a woman who struggles with weakness, yet remains a study in strength and endurance. The cast of characters surrounding her, some real and some fictional, depict a period in history that is likely unknown to many American readers. Although Rodgers’ occasionally struggles with language anachronisms that jar the reader out of the past, she does an admirable job of bringing the 1940s to life.
Inspirational historical fiction based one woman’s remarkable life and travels.Pub Date: Nov. 21, 2011
ISBN: 978-1463440626
Page Count: 464
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: July 24, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A witty narrative about the quirks of the Internet age, bugged by an unsatisfying denouement.
An alienated high-tech project manager in Seattle tries to figure out his absurd life in Mills’ debut novel with a sci-fi twist.
Seattle oddball Maxwell Greyson is the narrator of this postmodern novel, which consists of Greyson’s text messages, emails, chat-room threads, scripted sketches, avant-garde poetry, satirical lists and dialogues. Greyson—who insists he can hear when people pronounce his name “Grayson,” with a A—evidently makes a good living working on Web design and mobile-phone gadgets; he lives in a home he had custom-built on a highway traffic island. But Greyson depicts his job and identity as a project manager as an absurd, Kafkaesque puzzle. He has a syndrome called prosopagnosia that prevents him from recognizing individual human faces, he suspects he’s getting messages from dead people, and he feels that some inborn quality dooms him to be disliked instantly by everyone he meets. Greyson has a Tyler Durden-esque friend, Sid, with whom he has discussions about quantum multiverses. Greyson and Sid promote a hoax restaurant together, solely to tease the city’s poseurs and would-be gourmands. Then Greyson finds a girl whose face he can actually remember: Ruby, his regular barista at a coffeehouse called Café Entropy. A late plot twist abruptly transforms and reboots the narrative, transforming it from a snappy story of digital-age existential angst into a somewhat creaky and familiar cyberpunk-ish sci-fi tale. Author Mills has an infectiously entertaining knack for punny wordplay and repartee that carries the story’s metaplot along. And, yes, he deploys a profusion of emoticons along the way. Mills also created no fewer than 17 tie-in websites, each based on a different chapter, to supplement and hype this book, and even used the novel’s Amazon paperback price tag as a numerical inside joke.
A witty narrative about the quirks of the Internet age, bugged by an unsatisfying denouement.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-0615692555
Page Count: 314
Publisher: Twice Two Media
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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