3 out of 4 stars
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Mere Anarchy by Richard Hart is a Hollywood hit waiting to happen! This mystery/suspense novel is packed full of action from start to finish. The story begins with an Air Force team, hand-selected for this top secret mission, traveling to the site of a downed Army plane to search for survivors and to retrieve (or destroy) the unknown cargo that was on board. Once the team arrives problems quickly escalate and many questions are left unanswered. As the story unravels and you read more about the mysterious cargo and the true purpose of the mission, chaos begins to spread. This is one story you want to read through until the end!
Mere Anarchy earns 3 out of 4 stars. I would really love to give this book 4 stars because, as I mentioned before, I could see this becoming a Hollywood hit movie. However, there are a number of spelling, grammatical, and other typographical errors throughout that make it impossible for me to give it the 4th star. Stephen C. Lovatt is noted as the editor for this novel and I think he fell a bit short on his job. Aside from missing periods, missing letters, and a few glaring grammatical errors, Lovatt also missed that the wrong name was used at one point during the story. Henry Barrow is introduced in Chapter 2, but in Chapter 19 he is referred to as Captain Wharton, who is another character in the book. If this change was intentional, it was never made clear why in the story, so I must assume it was a grave oversight.
Moving past the few pitfalls of the novel, it has more positive points. First, Hart uses impeccable details to set the scenes throughout the story. As I was reading this novel, it was easy to relate the events to other military action movies (i.e. - White House Down or Olympus Has Fallen). Hart includes a glossary at the end of the novel with some of the military lingo he uses throughout. This helps for readers that have no personal military experience. It would be nice to see notations next to words that are included in the glossary as you read, since I didn't realize it was there until after I had already finished the book.
Second, there are many shifts in perspective throughout the book, but it is easy to follow when the point-of-view is different. Hart uses symbols or chapter changes to show that there has been a change. These changes in perspective allow the reader to gain a full understanding of what is taking place and to see both sides of the situation. There is a lot going on as the novel builds, so being privy to all of the information helps keep things organized. That being said, you are never given all of the answers until the end.
The target audience for this novel is obviously mature. There is a lot of cursing and inappropriate language used, not to mention the gory content at times. As I have mentioned before, there is a lot going on, so you need a reader that can follow multiple events at a time. I don't think that the reader needs to have military experience to enjoy this book. As a reader with no military experience I was able to decipher the lingo, even without using the glossary provided. What I wasn't able to decipher did not take away from the story.
I have never really been good at guessing what the author's intention was with a written work. I always get so lost in the story and wonder why there needs to be any meaning more than a good story. It is possible that Hart is speaking to the corruption of government, the pitfalls of blind obedience in the military, or just the fragile structure of America. It is clear throughout that most of the characters have been challenged to make moral decisions (what is the right thing to do?) versus making political decisions (what is the best for me/the country?). The characters that make moral decisions don't do as well as the characters that compromise their morals for a more political stance. This change from moral to political plays an important role in the events that unfold.
With another round of editing and revisions to fix the minor flaws, I hope this novel takes off and draws attention from movie producers. This action-packed mystery/suspense novel is a book worth reading and could easily be adapted into a Hollywood hit!
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Mere Anarchy
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