4 out of 4 stars
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What would you do if you woke up one day and you were no longer allowed to vote, or hold a job? What if you had to wear a head covering? What if you weren’t allowed to go to the Church of your religion? What if the President of the United States you voted for turned out to be a totalitarian monster and wanted to rule forever?
Acts of Sedition by Dennis Stephan takes us to this alternate future where some elements ring all too familiar in today’s political climate. It is 2045, and the people of the United States have grown tired of a political establishment that doesn’t seem to care or want to help. Mohammad Abbas, a seemingly secular, charismatic, and conservative Muslim is voted in as President. Within months, he changes the social order and direction of the country by making it illegal for women to hold jobs in leadership roles and making them wear hajibs. He tries to amend the Constitution by getting rid of term limits for positions in government. He holds people without a trial and executes anyone that tries to protest these draconian changes. The country leans increasingly more and more toward Sharia law and the Constitution is slowly eroded into nothing more than a piece of paper.
Three years later, the people are quietly growing with discontent. Groups start to gather at secret meetings to discuss how to take back the country and remove the authoritarian stronghold. A resistance movement is borne with people of all affiliations to gain back the freedoms of their grandparents that had been taken for granted. Angela Mastronardo, from South Philadelphia and a former corporate executive, along with Rabbi Saul Rudzinsky, a New York City Rabbi, and two orphans from Syria, Makim and Qasim Khalid, put aside ideological differences to create a plan to overthrow the government. They are led by Major General Josh Redmond, a hero and superior military strategist who creates a bold and daring plan for a coup.
This story was disturbing to me because it is so timely. Much of what the author wrote can be taken into context in America's current events. His words stayed with me long after I had finished the book. Mr. Stephan does an excellent job of fully forming each character with a distinct personality and I thought about how these characters became a new generation of revolutionists with acts of sedition. I couldn't help but feel that Mr. Stephan's futuristic look at America is a bit too close for comfort and I worry about what will happen with our own country of today.
I did find several technical errors toward the end of the book. I would recommend to the author one more run-through with an editor. There were a few sexually explicit scenes in the book that may be alarming to some readers. I do not feel they were gratuitous.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Although, there were a few technical errors toward the end of the book, I felt this book was deserving of the highest rating because of the compelling storyline. This book offers a terrifying picture of what life in the United States could look like in 25 years. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy political thrillers and suspense. Because of a few graphic sexual scenes, I would recommend this book to readers 17 years and over.
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Acts of Sedition
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