2 out of 4 stars
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A second American Revolution? Could it ever be possible? More importantly, could it ever be necessary? This is the main thrust of the novel, Publius: Libertas Aut Mors penned by Baltazar Bolado.
Richard Haler is not himself anymore. He has been conditioned by his government to be a man who no longer has any semblance of self. He is Delta 3, and he is a killer. But he also has a secret that the nanotechnology implanted in his brain cannot and must not find.
Richard is but the first of many primary and secondary characters who bring us ever closer to the battle for the Republic of the United States of America. The government has been “removing” people who they see as a threat to the way they run the country. They have been doing this by means of a covert organization of individuals who have eyes, ears, and agents anywhere throughout the country. Thankfully, there are those who know about what the government is up to and they have been planning for some time on how to fight them. And make no mistake, this is no “compound” type scenario. These people are ready to change the nation on a scale on par with the original founders: Revolution.
There is quite a lot about the plot of this book that is very interesting. The overall story by itself is a definite page-turner. The idea of a shadow government that is targeting American citizens for elimination most assuredly grabs the attention and imagination of the reader. Just as intriguing is having an organization who is trying to fight against the tyranny that such a government would obviously be to its citizenry. The move and countermove of each of these groups brings a lot of excitement to the story. I also enjoyed the historical quotes of real people that were placed at the beginning of each chapter of the book. This brought a sense of realism to the struggles that were going on in the story.
The bad news is that the execution of the story was not done very well at all. The poor descriptions of many of the happenings along with very stiff, unrealistic dialogue left very much to be desired from the presentation of the story. There also were quite a few spelling/editing errors throughout the whole of the book. These things really took any wind out of the sails the story had going for it leaving it kind of stranded with no real momentum all too often.
Overall, I have to give this book a 2 out of 4 stars. I would actually give it a 2.5 if I could because of the potential that is there for such an interesting book to come out of this story idea. Those who have a love of intrigue and cloak and dagger stories might still find this an interesting read even in spite of the problems pointed out above.
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Publius: Libertas Aut Mors
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