Official Review: Light and Transient Causes by Mel Hawkins

Cody Mathews · Post by **Cody Mathews** » 11 Sep 2013, 19:44

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Light and Transient Causes" by Mel Hawkins.]

“Light and Transient Causes” is a fiction book of about 360 pages in length. It comes across as a thriller, however I found myself unable to put it down. The best book I have read this year. I was riveted by the way all the actors were introduced and woven into the story without falling short of any details or suspense. Absolutely, hands down, knock your off your socks book to keep you wanting to read more.

The book is set in “present day” plus a few years, the author chooses to open the book in 202x, with the “x” being up to the readers imagination. The U.S. Government has begun to cleanse the American population of minority races. Indianapolis is chosen as a test project by the newly installed “Military Governor of Indiana,” and the action begins right from the beginning of the book all the way to the last sentence. The scary thing was the references to present day people (President Obama) and the events that have taken place (Invasion of Iraq, Policy on Israel, etc.) to make me feel like this “could” happen, but felt good knowing that it was fiction.

If I had to improve one thing, it would be plot development. The book starts medium paced, however, it wasn’t clear why certain actors and scenes were introduced, because as the book went along, they never fully developed. It wasn’t until midway through the book did I realize that the focus was on the “battle of Indianapolis” which took up the majority of the action. The author could have cut out the beginning portion and focuses specifically on the battle scenes.

If you want to read a thriller that has a lot of battle scenes straight out of a war novel, than I would recommend this book. I give the book 4 out of 4 stars. It is worth reading for both fiction and non-fiction readers. I am more of a non-fiction, war novel type reader, so that is why I feel this book was so good. I have read many war novels that fell short with the battle scenes; this book was right on the money.

If there was one thing that I would change, it would be the title of the book. “Light and Transient Causes” should be re-titled something with a modern day revolution twist to it. I would recommend something like, “The War Within,” but no matter the title it is a great book!

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Buy "Light and Transient Causes" on Amazon

melhawk46 · Post by **melhawk46** » 21 Sep 2013, 23:01

Thank you to Bookworm_82 for the 4 Star review.

-- 02 Oct 2013, 17:55 --

Can these reviews be posted at Amazon?

Michelle-lit · Post by **Michelle-lit** » 19 May 2015, 18:04

Interesting. I really got sucked in by "The U.S. Government has begun to cleanse the American population of minority races," but I wish I knew more about where the book was going with this.

gali · Post by **gali** » 06 Mar 2017, 11:36

Intriguing premise and far too realistic for comfort. I agree with you that the title isn't very fetching.
Good job on the review!

greenstripedgiraffe · Post by **greenstripedgiraffe** » 06 Mar 2017, 11:52

Another vote for this needing a new title. When I read the Amazon blurb, I was convinced this was talking about President Trump. Then, I read your review, and realized it was during Obama's time. Wow. Either way, I am not sure this is a book I would like to read, although your review makes it a little more tempting than the Amazon blurb. Thanks for the review!

SandraTWP-BRW · Post by **SandraTWP-BRW** » 06 Mar 2017, 11:55

Okay - I started reading this book and found myself kind of confused based on the blurb. Your review, in particular, your explanation of the structure of the book helped clear things up quite a bit. Thank you - great job.

ashley_claire · Post by **ashley_claire** » 06 Mar 2017, 12:07

I also thought this was supposed to be some sort of satire or something based on Trump but then realized it was published several years ago. I'm not very interested in political fiction, but this reading as more of a thriller has me intrigued. Great review!

som73 · Post by **som73** » 06 Mar 2017, 12:20

The book contains 360 pages as per official review. It is book of war climax more than a common matter as per official review

AA1495 · Post by **AA1495** » 06 Mar 2017, 12:56

Interesting that you want to change the title of the book. I'm glad you enjoyed reading the book. Thank You for the honest review.

karolinka · Post by **karolinka** » 06 Mar 2017, 12:59

I would want to know more about the main character(s) and what their motives might be in this story. All in all, this is not book that I would normally read, but it could be interesting if I knew more about the plot.

CrescentMoon · Post by **CrescentMoon** » 06 Mar 2017, 13:00

I actually am a big fan of political thrillers. This definitely sounds like an intriguing read. Great review!

Strangerthanfiction · Post by **Strangerthanfiction** » 06 Mar 2017, 13:06

Great review. I agree that the premise of this book is both intriguing and far too realistic for comfort. I saw how many people thought that this was referring to Trump. It's almost eerie. I do love a good political thriller and am looking forward to reading this one. This may be scarier than some of the horrors I've recently read. Thanks so much for sharing.

Sarah_Khan · Post by **Sarah_Khan** » 06 Mar 2017, 13:11

Good job on the review! This book definitely caught my interest, considering the conflicts in politics these days and it's awesome that the author made it free for today, I look forward to reading it. Seems like a great novel for fans of action.