Official Review: Then Comes The Flood by John Payne

[Mai Tran]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Then Comes The Flood" by John Payne.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Facing an unplanned pregnancy as a result of a sexual assault during her freshman year in college, Megan Alladee felt she had no choice other than abortion, a decision she went through with and instantly regretted. With the help and support from her family, she later formed an anti-abortion movement that strives to empower women who find themselves in the same situation that she was. As the story begins, Megan becomes a key witness in a car accident that kills Kayla Dean’s baby. The two women gradually bond over their faith as the trial progresses.

Even though this book has a prominent religious theme and takes a moral stand against abortion, its purpose is not to take away women’s rights but to give them the freedom to choose when the sociocultural and economic pressures that influence their decisions are lifted. The author has also tried to include arguments from every side possible, especially from the women who are directly affected by abortion: Megan, who went through the procedure as a student and regretted it, and Cindy, whose belief in the anti-abortion movement is challenged when she has an unplanned pregnancy of her own.

On the other hand, the story is almost entirely dialogue-driven and tends to get a bit repetitive as the same information is relayed to different characters. However, my biggest issue with this storytelling approach is how the characters would make side comments about the Chinese food they’re getting in the middle of a serious discussion about abortion. I found those comments distracting and a bit distasteful.

Then Comes The Flood by John Payne is a proposal for a more sustainable solution to reduce abortion in the form of a novel. The story has a solid plot with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. It's also professionally edited without any grammatical error. Unfortunately, I couldn’t award it a full-star rating because the dialogues seemed repetitive and redundant at times, with details that could have been left out. For these reasons, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.

The book has a non-descriptive scene of sexual assault and a single instance of borderline profanity. I could see it as a reading assignment for students of religiously affiliated high schools and colleges. The characters will have long discussions about abortion in this book, so I wouldn’t suggest it to someone who doesn’t feel comfortable with this controversial topic. I also wouldn’t suggest it to someone who already has a firm opinion regarding this topic because the opposing viewpoints would most likely annoy them.

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Then Comes The Flood
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[Tablito]

Cindy revisits the opinion she has on the anti-abortion movement when she gets an unplanned pregnancy.

[Tayejim1]

This is a very relevant theme because abortion is a worldwide plague. Thanks for a thorough review.

[Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala]

"Even though this book has a prominent religious theme and takes a moral stand against abortion, its purpose is not to take away women’s rights but to give them the freedom to choose when the sociocultural and economic pressures that influence their decisions are lifted."
I appreciate this statement as it gives the impression that the author does not impose their belief on the reader nor does it condemn those with opposing views.

[Luluwa79]

I think it is important to be well informed on the issues of abortion with the things happening in the society today. I'm sure this book will help a lot on that.
Nice review.

[CharlieMax1516]

This sounds like it is a very thought-provoking book. I appreciate your explanation of the author's bias without judgement. Thank you for a great review!

[SweetSourSalty AndSpicy]

... is a proposal for a more sustainable solution to reduce abortion in the form of a novel.

I appreciate you mentioned the contribution of the novel. Thank you for the comprehensive review.

[namuyong]

looking at the tittle i was expecting lots of water and people crying, loosing their properties an life. great approach by the author.
nice job on review it seems you enjoyed reading every page of the book. your honesty is appreciated

[Raluca_Mihaila]

Great job with the review! The author chose an interesting way to introduce such an important theme as abortion.