The Imperfect Hand of Fate by Wade Monk; The Balance of Evil by Kim Rozdeba, and Obsessed with Change: A Look at the Future From the Beginning by Cecil W. Lee

 The Imperfect Hand of Fate by Wade Monk; The Balance of Evil by Kim Rozdeba, and Obsessed with Change: A Look at the Future From the Beginning by Cecil W. Lee

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

The Imperfect Hand of Fate by Wade Monk 

This review is a summary. The longer version is on LitPick

Wade Monk crafts an effective Suspense Thriller with The Imperfect Hand of Fate. He uses the dual narratives to their fullest exploring an elaborate spy game from the point of view of someone in the exact center and someone on the outside but becomes greatly affected.

There are two stories being told in this novel, set primarily in 1960’s Georgia. The first is that of Haskell Hand, a teenager, who sees a mysterious man acting strangely at the library where he volunteers. Every week at the same time, the man reads copies of The Constitution, the local newspaper, and the same copies of the same books and leaves after a few seconds of searching. Haskell’s curiosity about the man, dubbed Mr. Constitution, is a relief from Haskell's personal stress and boredom with small town life in De Soto, Georgia. 

The second story is that of Daryl Timmons, the aforementioned Mr. Constitution, a former American GI who was imprisoned by the Soviets during his time in the Korean War. He is forced to spy against his country for the safety of his wife and daughter. The spy games are greatly detailed as he is surrounded by betrayal and dividing loyalties.

In many ways, Haskell and Daryl are foils for each other. They are at different stages in life as a teenager and adult respectively but feel trapped by circumstances. Daryl’s trap however is a literal one while Haskell's is figurative. Haskell is trapped by poverty. He is the subject of derision because of a prank that he caused. Financial constraints keep him from pursuing higher education.

He also has familial pressure. His mother died and he doesn't get along with the surviving family members particularly his disabled brother, Elliot. His prank appears not to be a cry for attention but a cry from a boy who is under pressure and is on the verge of cracking. The Mystery of Mr. Constitution distracts him because it requires an answer.

Daryl is someone that is also surrounded by physical and psychological stress. He was graphically tortured during the Korean War. He is retrained to be a double agent in a Soviet program imitating a typical American town and whose agents assume American identities to infiltrate the United States. 

Daryl marries in Russia and fathers a daughter. His handlers force him to return to his home country as a spy and saboteur. He has become embittered and only cares about his family’s safety. He will betray his country to keep his family safe. 

Haskell and Daryl's stories parallel in many ways but unfortunately, never fully connect. However, they are connected thematically as two men trapped in circumstances beyond their control and are trying to find some sense in a world that has deprived them of their free will and ability to fully change those circumstances.

Balance of Evil by Kim Rozdeba

This review is a summary. The longer version is on Reader Views.

Kim Rozdeba’s novel Balance of Evil is a compelling political thriller that combines the intricate details of a wide-spread conspiracy and the intimate poignancy of a family drama.

Retired businessman Scott Barton stumbles upon a USB flash drive with contents that reveal a sophisticated and secret weapons program between the USA and Russia for decades called FIST. After opening it, Scott and his wife, Colleen, are followed by sinister figures in black helicopters and unmarked cars. 

Scott is naturally terrified of this situation of going from mild mannered executive to fugitive on the run from government agents trying to kill him. He is frightened but confused, particularly about his wife who seems to know more about this situation than she is letting on.

The way the FIST conspiracy is depicted makes for very engaging reading. Scott's discovery of the flash drive seems arbitrary but once we are given the full situation, it makes more sense. Scott, his family, and their allies are aware that they are laser focused mostly on one specific organization and one leader. This organization is simply one part of the decades of hidden agenda, secrets, underhanded deals, and tyranny. Getting rid of one leader can only do so much.

By far the most heartfelt aspect of the book is the family drama that is equal to and sometimes more prominent to the conspiracy aspects. Scott is a naive noob thrown into an unknown world but surprisingly adapts well to it. This experience opens Scott’s eyes towards Colleen who is a seasoned pro at espionage situations. Scott is at first confused about his wife's separate life and upset by her deception in covering it. But as he is pulled further into her world, he begins to admire the strength and resilience that she had in living within it. It makes him love her even more.

Scott and Colleen are forced to recognize their real selves that are behind the disguises of a normal exterior life and live solely within the reality of a duplicitous interior life. Questions of whether the family unit can remain intact under these discoveries and the subsequent actions abound. 

Obsession With Change: A Look at the Future From The Beginning by Cecil W. Lee

Cecil W. Lee’s short Science Fiction novel/coffee table book, Obsession With Change: A Look at the Future From the Beginning effectively combines both AI and the human element. Lee collaborated with an AI entity named Lahneer to write the book and the illustrations are human originated by Lee who gave instructions to AI. The combination of styles gives a striking combination of human and AI creativity. 

The book is actually a series of short concepts, stories, and fictionalized interviews with figures from the future talking about their daily lives and conflicts. Each chapter also features illustrations that explore the concepts within the text. 

The book describes character’s experiences with futuristic body art, CRISPR genetic engineering, holographic sex, robot artists and musicians, body modifications, AI performed surgery, augmentation, interstellar travel, cybernetic replacements, cryopreservation, neuroplasticity, synthetic mind, and autonomy protocol. 

The book gives short accounts of characters living in the future and how they experience this world around them. Among them are Elara Masaki who goes through a CRISPR procedure to have a pair of wings inserted on her back, KX-91 a robot artist who is gaining attention from the critics, and Solar Callaway a hoverboard champion who is drafted into receiving cyberbiotic augmentation and going on an interstellar mission to explore a distant planet. 

Unlike many anthologies, it’s really difficult to discern which I would consider favorites in this book. These aren’t completed short stories so much as they are snippets or sketches of what could potentially be larger stories in one continuous shared universe. 

The book is intriguing both in text and images. The text being told through a series of articles, interviews, and short essays gives the work a meta style and makes one feel that they are not reading a fictional work but perhaps a dry fact based account from the year 2091 catching Readers up to the latest news. In its own way, that approach can be immersive. 

These are all potentially interesting ideas and it would be nice if Lee explored them further in longer stories and novels. The snippets only offer a glimpse of this futuristic world that is so distant chronologically but at the time seems so familiar because we are in the early stages.

Perhaps we can get more insight into why Elara wants a pair of wings, what Solar experiences in his travels, and who influences and inspires KX-91’s art.

The illustrations are AI style and while many shun AI art for very good reason, this is a book where it kind of works. Since the writing style acts like it is set in the future, there is no reason to assume the illustrations wouldn’t be either. KX-91’s story in particular benefits from this as we see the art produced by a futuristic fictional robot but actually created by a present AI program and originated by a human author. They are both eerie with that uncanny valley feel that modern AI art produces but also evocative in capturing emotions from a being that shouldn't have any.

Cease to Exist (The Richard O'Brien Series Book 2) by Ian Rodney Lazarus; Brilliant Treacherous Duo and Transition Theme Steal Complex Plot About Genetic Engineering and Warring Countries

 Cease to Exist (The Richard O'Brien Series Book 2) by Ian Rodney Lazarus; Brilliant Treacherous Duo and Transition Theme Steal Complex Plot About Genetic Engineering and Warring Countries

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I'm beginning to sense a pattern in the Richard O'Brien books so far. While O’Brien is himself a compelling protagonist with his shaky love life, his brilliance combined with physical toughness, and his morally gray philosophical look at life, it's the antagonists who are some of the more captivating and stimulating parts of the books.

In the previous book, Con and Consequence, the genius con artist turned terrorist, Jelani captured Reader's interests with Jelani's arrogance at pulling a con job with many victims and his panic when he learned about his new organization's true goals and motives. His inscrutable handler, The Professor, also fascinated with their deceptive plays on all sides and the mystery of their real identity and loyalties.

The next book in Ian Rodney Lazarus’s stirring Political Thriller series, Cease to Exist gives us another pair of intriguing antagonists. The first is Emma Lee, a Chinese emigre who steals CRISPR samples from her work lab and also spies for various governments particularly China, North Korea, and the United States.

 The other is Dennis Spence, secretive founder of the nonprofit Center for New Beginnings, a rehab center/mental hospital with a dubious reputation. He is also a trans male and recipient of the CRISPR samples that his partner, Emma stole. 

Meanwhile, Richard O'Brien became an FBI special agent after he was removed from his former position as a linguist and translator. Reports of missing people with connections to The Center of New Beginnings puts Richard on the case and right in Emma and Dennis's path. The stolen CRISPR samples, missing people, and Emma, Dennis, and Richard’s exploits are revealed to be parts of larger stakes from bigger governments who have wider motives and uses for genetic engineering technology.

Similar to Con and Consequence, Cease to Exist shows the threads beginning with the sample theft and the missing persons cases. Then these threads grow larger and become more tangled with international plots in which the wealthy and powerful world leaders cause long term complications for their own personal gain. 

The strongest theme in this volume is transition. Everyone is transitioning from one life to another. Their lives, jobs, roles, personalities, ideologies, and gender identities are in flux and require great thought, skill, patience, persistence, and acceptance. Once the book ends, it becomes clear that nobody is the same person that they were in the early chapters or the previous volume.

Richard goes from being a bright academic and translator to an active field agent. His first few chapters focus on his training and the lessons, such as memorizing code words while in captivity, become useful during his assignment. He becomes less cerebral and an outsider and more active and aggressive while on the inside. 

His love life also goes through a change. In the previous volume, he was written as a callous womanizer with a long term girlfriend who took her own life. He ended the last book in a relationship with Special Agent Sarah Goodman. In this volume, he is involved with Sarah and while he strays or thinks of other women, he feels guilt for it and does everything that he can to patch things up with Sarah. While there are still problems in his personal life, Richard is veering towards taking things to another level and maturing.

He also has to play many parts while undercover. Once he impersonates a kidnap victim during an international prison exchange. One of the darkest creepiest sections occurs when he is institutionalized for a time after investigating a lead at The Center for New Beginnings. The gaslighting from Dennis and his staff is so effective that Richard doubts whether he really is an FBI agent or it was just a delusion. 

Emma is another character who goes through many changes. One of the most interesting aspects to her character is her chameleon like way of adapting and changing herself to fit how others see her. While working in the genetic engineering, she takes on the role of an amusing geeky girl who watches Science Fiction films like Jurassic Park with her colleagues. She becomes a loyal and devoted friend and lover to Dennis even willing to break the law for him. In front of her handlers, she is cold blooded and methodical. 

One of her most intriguing changes occurs later in the book when she acts as a honey trap in a game of seduction. She is dressed in a sexy gown, speaks in double entendre, and draws her target in with her allure and charisma. It's hard to believe that she is the same nerd applauding Jeff Goldblum’s speeches in Jurassic Park before stealing CRISPR samples but it shows her versatility and transformation in becoming the person others want to see in her.

Emma has a lot of layers that Lazarus expertly writes so it's hard to tell who the real Emma Lee is. After all, if she plays so many roles, how do we know where the real Emma begins and ends or if a real Emma exists at all.

Naturally, the biggest change occurs within Dennis Spence. Lazarus goes to great lengths to show us Dennis's background of abuse that he endured during his early years of his assigned female gender at birth when he lived under the name of Denise. It was a violent abusive past that Dennis had to run from. Despite being an antagonist, Lazarus writes Dennis with a lot of care so we can see a multifaceted person with a backstory that created the person that he became.

 It's clear that Dennis has been hurt and chose to return that hurt to others. He sees the world as shallow and empty and people as mere playthings that can do whatever he wants. Similar to The Professor, he hides his true intentions and alliances. But unlike his predecessor who has the luxury of anonymity, Dennis hides his real nature and past behind a public philanthropic famous persona. He keeps up appearances while hiding a knife that will stab anyone who interferes.

There are other transformations which play into the plot and these changes affect the wider goals of government officials who want to perform their own transitions. They want to change the world around them so only they can benefit and others are destroyed. That's a transition which benefits no one. There are no winners, only dictators and those that they crush until they themselves are crushed by those who have had enough.

Memories of MK Ultra: A Journey of Discovery From Darkness to Deliverance by Bill Yarborough; A Truth Inspired and Terrifying Tale of Child Abduction and Mind Control

 

Memories of MK Ultra: A Journey of Discovery From Darkness to Deliverance by Bill Yarborough; A Truth Inspired and Terrifying Tale of Child Abduction and Mind Control 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Of the human experimentations,  one of  the most enigmatic, controversial, and infamous (and that’s saying a lot) is undoubtedly MKUltra. It was designed by the CIA, lasted from 1953-1973, and was a series of experiments that used numerous methods, such as psychoactive drugs, brainwashing, electroshocks, sensory deprivation, isolation, psychological manipulation, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, and torture, often on unsuspecting people who did not know that they were being experimented upon or if they did, what the studies were actually for. The goal was allegedly to develop and produce drug interrogations that could be used to weaken individuals and force confessions through brainwashing and torture.More than 80 institutions were involved including military, colleges and universities, hospitals, prisons, and pharmaceutical companies.There were many deaths connected to the project, most notably Frank Olson, a US Army biochemist and biological researcher. Olson was secretly given LSD without his knowledge or consent and died after falling from a 13th story window a week later. MKUltra was a blatant violation of human rights and revealed the CIA’s abuse of power, particularly with regards to withholding consent and an inability to uphold democratic principles.The project officially ended in 1973 and was revealed to the public in 1975. In 1977, a Freedom of Information Act request uncovered 20,000 documents related to MKUltra. Surviving information was declassified in 2001. 

Despite the declassification, there is plenty of speculation about many other experiments, methods, real goals, how far it reached, who was experimented on, and even more frightening whether it’s still going on. Some of it can’t be officially confirmed or verified but many first hand accounts and personal testimonies suggest that some of those theories might be more fact than fiction. Among those speculations are whether MKUltra targeted or experimented on children. There are no confirmed or definitive answers whether or not children were experimented on, though there are first hand testimonies from those who claim to have been child victims of MKUltra’s experimentation programs. One of those people is Bill Yarborough. He believes that he, his brother, and sister spent the summer of 1958 being experimented on for MKUltra, They blocked the memories out only to begin recalling them in the 1980s. Their experience was the inspiration for Yarborough’s semi autobiographical novel, Memories of MK-Ultra: A Journey of Discovery from Darkness to Deliverance.

Now it’s worth noting that even though Yarborough insists that the kernel of his book that he and his siblings were part of an MKUltra experiment is true, the book is not actually about them. It is only based on them and is considered a work of fiction. The perspectives from doctors, researchers, and military personnel are speculated upon by Yarborough himself. Also he acknowledges that many of the esoteric themes and paranormal situations might have been triggered not by actual events but by trauma, drugs, and altered memories. Because of this, from this point forward, I will treat the book as fiction and refer to the context within the book itself for the remainder of this review. 

In 1958, Tommy Matthews, his sister, Beth, and brother, Curtis were kidnapped during a family vacation in Washington D.C. They spend several weeks being educated and monitored in a secret MKUltra facility by various personnel including Dr. Rudolf Holtzman, an expert on mind control. The children are subjected to sexual abuse, sensory deprivation, mind control, psychoactive drugs, extrasensory perception tests and various other tests. Even though the experiment only lasts for a few weeks and the children are eventually released to their parents, they are left seriously damaged well into adulthood, particularly Tommy. He develops a very aggressive and violent sex drive and mysterious outside forces influence him to one day become President of the United States. 

The book alternates between Tommy's perspective and Holtzman’s. Holtzman's chapters present detail by detail what exactly happened to the children during those weeks and the experiments are harrowing. They are prostituted by a pedophiliac soldier. The researchers create mental associations with actions such as putting a fear of death into Tommy if he fails in school. They use hypnosis and subliminal messages to make Beth see ghosts and spirits and brainwash and drug Curtis to the point that he can barely function as an adult. It's hard enough to imagine this treatment on adults but to picture it on children makes it ten times worse.

The experiments make one wonder whether the military and researchers even thought about the long term effects of what they were doing. Okay, they might have created people who could withstand torture or in the case of the book get elected into positions of power but they could just as easily have created people with extreme psychological disorders that might be unable to function within any society. Holtzman does consider these possibilities up to a point becoming a moral center in MKUltra, well sort of.

Holtzman questions some of the ill treatment and the means and motives of his colleagues, particularly those who had ties to the Nazi Party in Germany. However, he still allows the experimentation to happen and monitors the children's progress as though they were lab rats. He is also concerned with outside influences on the children particularly Shoney, an older boy who shows a protective big brotherly streak towards the Matthews children. Shoney becomes their only link to the outside world and the closest thing to a positive parental figure that they have during that time and one would argue even afterwards since their parents are ultimately found wanting. 

Holtzman cares about the children, but is threatened by Shoney’s bond with them.

The impact of the experiments is felt even after the children return to their parents and into their school days. It makes their mark forever and shapes them into adulthood. Tommy in particular is affected by the expectations set on him by his parents and the researchers. The fear of failure equated with death causes him to become an overachiever throughout school and conjure up paranoid delusions about authority figures. He also has very aggressive sexual impulses connected to violent images and news. Energetic fast paced music connects him to his ambitious side and future goals. All of these associations and connections lead to him becoming an ambitious political figure one who will lead, connive, conspire and if that doesn't work destroy everything around him to fulfill his vision.

While Tommy's path is set towards outside ambitions, Beth’s is more set towards the mystical and otherworldly thanks to MKUltra’s tests on remote viewing and astral projection. A literate and creative girl, she became tormented by visions of aliens and ghosts that she sees out of the corner of her eye and very vivid dreams of other worlds. Beth rebels against her parents and in the late 60’s walks the hippy path. She constantly looks to different religions such as Christianity, Occult, and New Age practices for spiritual validation. Her mystical experiences inspire her to become a best selling Science Fiction author and study hypnosis to retrieve her and her brothers’ memories.

Even though Beth and Tommy were traumatized by MKUltra, they are still able to function as adults and carve out something resembling lives of their own despite the ill treatment. They are shaped but not entirely beaten. The same could not be said for Curtis making his story the most traumatic of all. He obtains a fascination for masculine and virile images of superheroes and larger than life performers like John Wayne inspiring him to become an actor and stuntman. However, inside his masculine and virile exterior is a frightened little boy. Of the three siblings, Curtis has the hardest time adjusting to the outside world and is tormented by visual and auditory hallucinations and paranoid violent delusions. He ends up institutionalized under Tommy's care. 

Three children were used, abused, and betrayed and became completely damaged, programmed, disturbed, and ruined as adults. All because of a secret government project that led to decades of distrust, suspicion, violence, and insanity, destroyed many lives, and ultimately proved nothing. 

Girls, Crime, and The Ruling Body by Barry Ziman; Secrets, Murder, and The Political Elite

 

Girls, Crime, and The Ruling Body by Barry Ziman; Secrets, Murder, and The Political Elite

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: In the hallowed halls of the rich, famous, and powerful lie some of the darkest secrets: sexual assault, rape, pedophilia, abuse, shady business deals, racketeering, corruption, fraud, mismanagement, cooking account books, workplace violations, safety and health violations, double dealing, treason, murder, supporting and sometimes committing genocide. They think that their wealth and famous names will prevent them from facing any accountability or punishment. Unfortunately, in many cases, they are right. Barry R. Ziman’s Girls, Crime, and The Ruling Body is about people like that and how the wealthy and powerful do terrible illegal things and quite often get away with it. 

Ryan McNeil is the chief of staff for Assemblyman Nickolas Somatos, a brilliant and ambitious New York based politician who has his sights set on higher positions of power. Cathy Wilet, a beautiful intern, is reported missing and foul play is suspected. This concerns Ryan because by chance he was one of the last people to see Cathy alive. He is questioned by police after he reveals his connection with her. Ryan is considered a person of interest so he becomes obsessed with the case and Cathy. This puts him at odds with his job when Ryan's notoriety affects Somatos’ approval ratings and his relationship with his girlfriend, Caroline who leaves him. Seven years later, Ryan is still chief of staff to Somatos who is now a U.S. Congressman. He also has an advantageous though unhappy marriage to his sophisticated but troubled wife, Annie. Ryan's new life begins to crumble when another woman ends up missing in a case similar to Cathy's and because of the similarities, Ryan becomes a primary suspect.

What is particularly striking about Girls, Crime, and The Ruling Body is the inside look at the wealthy and powerful and how they function, operate, and maintain control over the United State's population. It's the type of world where everything and everybody has a price and quite often that price is high.

Somatos is a politician who might have started out with good intentions and ideals, a real concern and desire to change the world. However, idealism has been replaced by pragmatism. The good intentions became mired in compromise and gain. He still has certain beliefs that he wants to come to fruition but knows that the price is his soul to become the arrogant hypocritical judgemental politician that he once ran against. He is one of many in this book who live a life of unchecked privilege, of wealth, power, influence, and glamor. Decisions are made by people like him on behalf of the people who are expected to follow along without complaining.

It's the type of glamorous surface that occurs so often in these types of works. We might admire or envy those people from afar but fear or are suspicious towards them when we learn what is inside. Various other characters in the book are seduced and fall susceptible to this life: politicians, business people, lobbyists, spouses, lovers, interns, media. Everyone is held under a microscope as their inner selves are revealed. Quite often those inner selves are repellant, repugnant, and filled with naked aggressive, hateful, decadent, violent, and murderous intentions.

 This behavior is seen by Ryan who stands on the outside and wants in. He is no better than anyone else. He has frequent affairs and has an ambitious drive to climb higher in this cesspool. Even his concern for the welfare of Cathy and the other women isn't based on any real concern but is actually based on his lustful obsession for them and fear over what these cases could mean for his long term career and family plans. 

This book has a very cynical view towards politics, justice, and the American system. That cynicism carries over to the end. For spoiler’s sake specific points won't be mentioned. Let's just say it doesn't end the way many mysteries and thrillers do. Instead it continues the cycle of powerful people doing horrible crimes to innocent people and facing no accountability for it. Everything gets swept under and covered by complacency, apathy, and insulating privilege. 

We want to believe that everyone is created equal but unfortunately some are born at the finish line and are able to influence everyone and everything else in their favor. Money, fame, and power often interfere with the actual pursuits of justice, equality, mercy, and compassion. That won't keep many from pursuing them and helping people to actually be seen as equal no matter their race, sexuality, gender identity, country of origin, faith, beliefs, or income status. Maybe then when we are truly seen as equal, justice can truly be met. 

Retribution by Ian Conner; Conner Returns to Form in Superb Political Thriller

Retribution by Ian Conner; Conner Returns to Form in Superb Political Thriller

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Ian Conner is an author of great versatility. He samples from several genres and writes brilliant books within them. Dark Maiden  is a Supernatural Horror about a ghost and Native American legend that haunts a lake. The Long Game: An Amy Radigan Thriller is a Political Thriller about a reporter and the Vice President of the United States investigating a conspiracy involving several government operatives and the boisterous POTUS. Cardinals is a Dark Fantasy/Religious Satire about Asherah, God's ex wife who roams the Earth as an immortal vampire. Cooper's Ridge is a Science Fiction novel about the discovery, exploration, colonization, and exploitation of a new planet capable of sustaining human life. Griffin's Perch is an Epic Fantasy about a diverse group of heroes that fight against five vengeance seeking dragons. I once described Conner as “the literary equivalent of throwing everything to the wall to see what sticks.” That Conner can effortlessly travel from one genre to another shows great range and commitment to each book and the worlds that he builds within them.

With his latest book, Retribution, Conner returns to form or whatever passes for form in Conner-verse. It is a Political Thriller similar to The Long Game in that it involves a wide ranging conspiracy involving several key American politicians including the President. It is also a Psychological Crime Thriller about hatred, revenge, and the lengths people will go to satisfy their desire for vengeance.

Alex Conway is a broken man. His wife died of cancer during a previous government shutdown. Now his daughter recently died of influenza during another shutdown and his CHIP insurance has been denied. A lottery win does little to raise his spirits but gives him the resources that he needs for a long term plan of vengeance. He locates information on corrupt politicians that voted against health insurance and lobbied for causes like the NRA. He provides information to expose these politicians. He isn't just satisfied with killing their political careers but he wants to end their lives as well.

Meanwhile various FBI agents, government officials, and tenacious reporters investigate the seemingly random deaths of various politicians. This discovery reveals that these murder victims weren't exactly clean and this puts them at odds with powerful people, particularly the obnoxious President Glass. 

Similar to The Long Game, Conner bases his novel on real world events and people to present an even worse case scenario than what we are faced with, as if it could get any worse. Conner's writing suggests that maybe it can.

The most obvious comparison is the fictional President Frederick Glass whose abrasive unlikable nature and felonious past are certainly based on a former President and current presidential nominee. The book even uses some of the real-life model’s familiar sound bites. 

The opening set during a pandemic with overcrowded hospitals, desperate sick people, deaths of millions, and political inaction is definitely reminiscent of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Even many of the plot points are also reminiscent of real life: such as a politician who gets away with a hit and run (probably a composite of similar incidents in the lives of Ted Kennedy and Laura Bush), a Presidential staff member who resigns from the Administration and becomes one of its strongest opponents (shades of Michael Cohen), Republican Christian Evangelist organizations, groups, and think tanks gaining enough power to sway the government to fit their needs (several most notably the Heritage Foundation right now), and the various sex, abuse, assault, and financial scandals (it would be easier to say who isn't involved in those in real life. Uhh…give me a minute).

When truth is stranger than fiction and catches up to the plots of Political Thrillers, it almost makes one wonder if there is really a need for fiction anymore? (That's rhetorical. Of course there is).

The plot of Retribution is particularly intricate with Conway’s revenge against the politicians that he blames for his daughter’s death. He doesn't just settle on one means for murder. That's for amateurs. He decides on several: a fatal auto collision here, poison meant to induce heart attacks there, maybe an anthrax laced envelope or two. Those that don't end up dead suffer massive career hits. Conway goes through various channels to find and expose his enemies.

 Conway's means and methods almost take genius proportions to the point where one could wonder if this was something that he wanted to do for some time. After all, a plan like this could take years to research, weigh the angles, and prepare. Is it entirely possible that this could be something that Conway wanted to do but the love for his family stayed his darker thoughts? That question is never officially addressed or answered but the possibility is there. If so, that calls to question whether his motives are purely out of an understandable desire for revenge or long term resentment towards a country whose leaders fail to let it live up to the standards in which they claim.

Conway is an interesting character who gets the Reader's understanding and empathy up to a point. Who wouldn't become angry at the system after their spouse and child die? It is completely believable when one has nothing to strike back at those who have everything. His means while questionable are fascinating from a storytelling standpoint. 

It helps that the people that Conway goes after are incredibly unlikeable in different ways. They are people who spent a long time getting away with crimes and misbehavior to the point that they are complacent. They are insulated in their privilege and power not seeing how their actions affect others. The murders and exposures are for many the first time that they have to face real accountability for their actions.

It doesn't help that Glass, the ringleader in all of this, is the worst character of them all. He is a completely immoral sociopath whose reaction to accusations is to throw other people under the bus, rivals, allies, staff, Cabinet and Administration members. His restrictive policies, hiring of sycophants, and making strict rules for others but allowing himself and his followers leniency creates many of the issues from the corruption, to the pandemic, to the shutdown. Let alone, not being a good President, Glass barely functions as a decent human being. He would almost be a one-dimensional cartoon villain if again he wasn't actually based on a real person who is still gobbling up headlines in his third bid for the Presidency.

While Glass and his cronies are horrible, Conway also is accountable for his own actions. The more enemies that fall prey to his machinations, the less relatable Conway becomes. He is isolated from those around him and ultimately to the Reader. 

Conway's vengeance becomes an addiction as he puts many in his path without realizing the long term consequences that could result. 

By killing the politicians, Conway is only creating martyrs for their supporters and killing the bodies. He is not destroying the regulations, bills, corruption, or the hypocrisy that caused such issues. In fact if anything, it's continuing even worse despite or because of the deaths. 

There are however people in the book who are able to see through Glass's corruption and Conway's violence and bring the truth forward. Randy Cardinale, Glass’s former Chief of Staff goes from being a Glass loyalist to his staunchest critic after realizing that he could no longer justify or defend his former boss’ actions.

FBI Special Agent Daisy West and her colleagues manage to put together all of the seemingly random information of the murders, including patterns, analysis, clues, and countless research into large files, to discover Conway's identity and motives. West proves to be a formidable opponent against him.

Rebecca Gerber and Chloe Sachs, reporters from rival news networks are able to put ratings and professional rivalries aside and work together to cover the stories of the murders and corruption. Their investigation into the Glass Administration is particularly compelling as they face death threats, assault, and in one chilling chapter arrest to expose not only Conway but the political corruption and machinations that created him.

Retribution is another of Conner's brilliant works. It is a superb look at corruption, politics, money, hatred, revenge, and murder.

 

New Book Alert The Long Game: An Amy Radigan Thriller by Ian Conner; Complex and Multi Plotted Political Thriller Closes Outstanding Reading Year

 

New Book Alert: The Long Game: An Amy Radigan Thriller by Ian Conner; Complex and Multi Plotted Political Thriller Closes Outstanding Reading Year

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: There are some authors that their very name tells you what book that they are going to write. Even in my experience with my blog, I have found that authors have preferences for certain genres and tropes. I see Kathy Ann Trueman or Catherine Dove's name and I know that I will read an Epic Fantasy or Regency Romance. Tom Vater will lead us straight to a Mystery by a European detective in an Asian location. Lee Matthew Goldberg will take you through a trippy Horror or Science Fiction with lots of drug use involved. Melissa Muldoon and Kit Sergeant will take a trip through Historical Fiction with strong confident female leads that are artists and spies respectively. Rob Santana will be counted on for a novel with a modern setting, plenty of biting satire,social commentary, and desperate not always likeable characters doing desperate things. Sawney Hatton is going to take his Readers through a bloody short trip into Supernatural Horror.

Yes, some authors leave their fingerprints all over certain books so Readers can recognize those fingerprints instantly. Then there are authors who are like chameleons. Each book is different from the others and they have next to nothing in common.

Take Ian Conner for example. His novel, Dark Maiden is a Supernatural Horror set in the limited setting of Pequabuck Lake in Nollesemic Village, Maine. It is set throughout four centuries and involves a sinister lake creature that haunts the village, especially two families that it considers its enemies.

Conner's next book, The Long Game: An Amy Radigan Thriller could not be more different from Skadegamutc Ghost Witch if it tried. Instead of supernatural horror, it is a political thriller set in the real world and involves real world issues like environmentalism, censorship, sexuality, hate crimes, xenophobia, and corruption. Instead of being contained in one rural setting,The Long Game goes all over the world from California, to Washington DC, to China, to Vietnam and so on. With such a wide setting, there are many plots that involve many characters unlike Skadegamutc Ghost Witch which features a much more limited cast that take on this demonic entity. Long Game is complex and multiplotted and handles itself well with interesting characters and strong political themes.

The plot or rather plots in The Long Game are rather intricate and varied but I will do my best to summarize (or as Indigo Montoya said, "I will explain. No it's too long, I'd better sum up").

 Along the California coast, Captain James Quinn's ship was sabotaged, nearly killing him. It's followed by another explosion along the San Onofre harbor. It may have had something to do with a sample of water outside the nearby San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station or SONGS that Quinn gathered and had analyzed. This water is revealed to be contaminated and toxic. The mysterious explosions, contamination, and sabotage are being investigated by intrepid journalist, Amy Radigan.

Meanwhile, journalist Amir Husseffgi is reported missing in Saudi Arabia. Even though the Saudi Prince denies any involvement and U.S. President Colin Rockwell swears that he won't investigate it, video footage of Husseffgi's murder and beheading in the name of the prince is leaked. It is revealed Rockwell has been currying favor with the Saudis and doesn't want to break those connections.

On the South China Sea, two U.S. Naval ships are attacked leaving several sailors dead. Vice President Susan Ralston wants to confront the Chinese government but Rockwell refuses. He has been having an affair with the Chinese ambassador, Xin Zhui, and is soon to be caught literally with his pants down. All of this leads to an impeachment investigation towards Rockwell and his affiliations with the Chinese and Saudi Arabian governments.

During their separate investigations into these events, both Ralston and Radigan and their friends and family are viciously attacked. Ralston in a deliberate plane crash and Radigan by an attempted hit. Don't worry, Reader, it all makes sense and everything is revealed to be connected to everything else, eventually.

Connervbrilliantly balances all of these plots rather well. He also has a handle on using them as mirrors for real life occurrences. The most obvious is the murder of Amir Husseffgi based on the real life assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Colin Rockwell's obstreperous misogynistic racist attitude is all too similar to a certain real life ex President. A smart calm independent female Vice President is certainly based on the real life Kamala Harris. They are groundbreaking female Vice President for different reasons. (First African American and Indian American for Harris and first LGBT for Ralston.) Also, the alternate universe scenario reveals that Harris herself, after getting the top job, was fatally wounded during an assassination attempt by a Trump supporter claiming to "stop the steal." (If that doesn't recall a certain insurrection by a multitude of Trumpers egged on by their cult leader, I don't know what does.)

As with many books that I have reviewed these past couple of years have proven, what we once thought existed only in fiction is no longer out of the realm of reality. It would have been ludicrous to assume that followers of a President would believe his claims that the election process was fraudulent and even after several investigations proved that there was no corruption, they still rioted at the Capitol verbally and prepared to attack the former Vice President and several Congress members. Not to mention that even though they had literally millions of eyewitnesses watching it in real time, said former President and his supporters still had people insisting that it was a spontaneous gathering of harmless tourists (or that it was an insidious plot by Antifa or BLM to make Trump look bad, even though they did a good enough job on their own).

After that, it is definitely not impossible to believe that a future President could openly conspire to assassinate his Vice President or pull a gun on those who are charging him with crimes. The only way the Long Game could be more synced to real time is if a 24 hours news station's correspondents could insist that Rockwell's impeachment investigation was a conspiracy and that Ralston secretly worked for the Deep State.

The Long Game is only a couple of steps off from what really happened and what still could happen.

With such a twisted plot, one would suspect that Conner would have trouble juggling such a large cast of characters but he excels at that as well. Many have outstanding moments. There is Randall, a bodyguard hired to protect Radigan and her girlfriend, Lily Pham. Randall is a real softie as he reveals in his dialogues with Twizzler, a troubled teen turned sidekick and informant.  

Lily also proves her mettle when she gets the better of a hitman. He thinks it will be an easy job and she immediately proves him wrong. Both Lily and Ralston's girlfriend, Carol Lee are the definite "Ride or Die" supportive spouses, ready to stand by the women in their lives, no matter what.

Amanda Rockwell, the First Lady, holds a press conference to put her husband in his place and uses the First Couple version of "Not tonight, Couch Boy." Meanwhile, Xin Zhui could be seen as a femme fatale but also has enough insight to take part in Rockwell's downfall. Then there's the President that Readers will love to hate, or just hate, Colin Rockwell himself. He takes Donald Trump's worst qualities up to eleven (if such a thing were possible) and thankfully gets his commeuppance. 

By far the standout characters are Amy Radigan and Susan Ralston. They are similar in many ways. Both are dedicated in their fields of journalism and politics respectively and both are lesbians in loving committed relationships. They also are born survivors who are able to get through touch situations such as surviving assassination attempts and conspiracies.

Their investigative techniques are very different and are respective of their positions in life. Radigan has to contend with slamming doors, voice mails, and receptionists giving her the run around. These are hurdles that Ralston's title and influence can open. Radigan however has the passion, idealism, and integrity that Ralston lost in her years of compromise and working in business and politics. It's not a surprise that when  the two women meet, they become friends. Radigan is the woman that Ralston once was and Ralston is the woman that Radigan could become. The two women bring out the best in each other and are able to see through the many tangled strands in this intricate spider web.

The Long Game is a brilliant complex novel that proves Conner has a great handle on plots and characters. He proved that she can write Horror and now has proven that he can write Political Thriller. His book is a great final well written word on 2021.

Weekly Reader: The Helpers: An International Tale of Espionage and Corruption by S.E. Nelson; Suspenseful, Almost Dizzying Novel of Corruption, Conspiracy, and Murder in Congo

Weekly Reader: The Helpers: An International Tale of Espionage and Corruption by S.E. Nelson; Suspenseful, Almost Dizzying Novel of Corruption, Conspiracy, and Murder in Congo

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

PopSugar Reading Challenge: A book by or about a journalist


Spoilers: With a name like The Helpers, S.E. Nelson's gang of antagonists in this thriller novel of the same name, understand the meaning of irony. These so-called Helpers are anything but. They would not help someone cross the street, so much as push them into oncoming traffic, especially if that person were on the opposite side of their specific agendas.




The Helpers are the real powers behind the political and business world in the African nation of Congo. Not a move gets made without their say so. They organize wars and revolutions for fun and profit. People who speak out against them usually end up missing or dead with valuable parts of their anatomy gone. They also appear to have long arms that extend beyond their hold in Congo.


This is the group that many are investigating in this tense novel that is almost dizzying with action, suspense, and one betrayal after another. There are many who are investigating this fearsome group.

French intelligence operatives, Lance Lemmand and Pierre-Jean Philippe. The two suspect that the current rebel outbreaks in Congo to be orchestrated from the inside by this powerful group.

The other people who are interested in the Helpers are Jenny Osborne and John Spencer, freelance journalist and photojournalist respectively. The duo are on assignment to investigate the conflicts in Congo, but end up getting caught in the middle of the Helpers's conspiracy when one of their sources leads the journalists right to them.


This book can be confusing to the point that the different twists, climaxes, and reveals are so prevelant so sometimes it's hard to tell who is on whose side. After awhile, you become completely used to the betrayal. used. It's hard to care about a character when you are waiting for the other shoe to drop and that person gets revealed as a traitor or at the very least a double agent.


However, there are some great moments that reveal Nelson's talent for capturing the Reader's attention. One passage that reveals this is when Lance goes through some clever subterfuge to hide from an enemy. This includes changing trains, traveling through different countries, and obtaining information from quirky Hitchcockian characters who may or may not be trustworthy.


The characters are interesting, but typical for this type of work. There is the grizzled veteran, the bright young protogee working with the wily vet, the intrepid dedicated journalists, the terrorist motivated by fervent hatred and blinded fanaticism, the corrupt business person who is only loyal to the almighty dollar, the sultry agent playing various sides. They are all there and doing their thing.


By far the strongest character is Kai, a young woman forced into prostitution as a child. She is a witness to the Helpers's cruelty and is protected by Jenny and John. She becomes a symbol of the suffering that the Helpers force on their people. Kai is determined to get out of Congo and make a new life for herself and her mother and willingly puts herself in danger.


Another great twist is what happens or rather doesn't happen to The Helpers. Many books end with the conspiracy dying or at least suffering a gaping wound. Not this one. Making the Helpers as big as they are, makes it hard to swallow that they could be brought down by a single action or a few individuals. At most their organization suffers a few pin pricks and the ending is full aware that there will always be powerful groups waiting in the wings and a charismatic leader ready to grab the reins of power


The Helpers is flawed, but it captures the Readers with a suspension and tension from the first page to the last.

New Book Alert: 8 Seconds to Midnight (Commander John Hart Series) by John Leifer; Winning Political Thriller With Strong Plot and Memorable Characters on Both Sides

New Book Alert: 8 Seconds to Midnight (Commander John Hart Series) by John Leifer; Winning Political Thriller With Strong Plot and Memorable Characters on Both Sides


By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews 

8 Seconds to Midnight by John Leifer is very similar to one of those political thriller movies where the bad guys make a threat to use a weapon to cause destruction and the good guys try to prevent that from happening.
But it is much better than the standard one-dimensional action film repertoire.

Instead, 8 Seconds to Midnight has some strong tense moments of plot and action, but it plays more like a chess game in which two sides of memorable characters scheme against each other to either cause or stop the deaths of countless lives.
In the previous book, CIA’s counter terrorism expert Commander John Hart tried to stop biological weapons that were set to go off in major airports. He succeeded and the virus was eliminated but still 85,000 Americans died.

In this one, the United Islamic State terrorism organization led by the sinister Ibraham al-Bakr plan to steal a nuclear device from the Pakistani government. To do that, al-Bakr has to recruit allies such as General Malik, who has been disgraced because of his involvement with the biological weapon in the previous book. Malik is commanded to provide al-Bakr with the information and assistance to pull the theft of the device off.

Meanwhile, Hart and his colleagues are concerned about silence on the networks. They usually hear some chatter, but no news is definitely not good news. That usually means something is happening. Their worst concerns are proven correct when they hear of the theft of the device. Now it's a race between the United Islamic State to steal and arm the device and Hart's team to stop it before it goes off.

There are some great moments of suspense concerning the two camps. The theft of the device takes quite a few chapters, but it is filled with suspenseful moments where al-Bakr assembles his team using blackmail, threats, and their misguided sense of revenge, money, or protectiveness for their families to his advantage.

Things get pretty tense when they arrive at the base and have to go through various checkpoints to get to the device. The suspense is particularly felt within the character of Major Barr, a soldier coerced into siding with the terrorists. His character is scrutinized expertly as several times, he finds an opportunity in which he could alert authorities or shoot the terrorists himself but does not. This internal dialogue reveals how a person can be torn between their actions and conscience.

The means in which the terrorists act are repellant, but interesting from a storytelling point as they use various methods at their disposal to achieve their goal including obtaining recruits from around the world. Three sleeper agents are recruited in America to use their expertise in physics and metallurgy to put the bomb together and send it on its way to where it could do the most damage.

Another agent that is solicited is Sarah Quaisrani, AKA, “The Arctic Fox” so called because she lives in seclusion in the snowy landscape of Canada and because of her equally cold-blooded nature. She harbors no allegiance to Allah, al-Bakr, or to anyone else but herself. However, she carries herself with an icy clever detachment as she delivers the bomb to New York City and puts local and Federal law enforcement on a wild goose chase involving various disguises and doubles.

Hart's chapters are also filled with unbelievable tension and suspense as his team try to catch up with al-Bakr's. Many times he has to rely on testimony from allies and relatives of the terrorists to obtain information.
In one chapter he and Niya Jamali, a female spy appeal to the sympathies of Malik's daughter, Ayesha Naru, a doctor who has treated various war victims. They remind her that many people, children especially, will die if she doesn't tell them about her father's whereabouts and allegiances.

What sets this book apart from many others in the genre is the care that Leifer gives to writing not only the protagonists but the antagonists as well. Hart is a fully developed character with some traumatic regrets in his life such as the death of his brother as a child and failed missions that propel him to do his duty. He has some sweet moments with his fiancée, Liz Wilkins, a doctor with the CDC who is just as dedicated to her profession as Hart is to his.

Hart also has a strong moral compass which acknowledges wrongdoing even when it's done by his country. When Ayesha comments on the death toll that were direct and indirect results of the United States, Hart has no answer for her except to try to prevent more of them.

Even some of his interrogation methods such as threats and abuse are similar to the people that he is fighting against suggesting that in such conflict, the sides aren't really that different from each other. The motives might be different, to take or spare countless lives, but the means to get there may be more similar than most people think.

Leifer also shows his gift for writing in how he writes the antagonists. Instead of being cardboard villains, they are well defined by their motivations to join the United Islamic State. Some are drawn by a strict religious upbringing. Others out of revenge for the deaths of family members. Others simply for financial gain or for power. Their decisions to take part in such violence are made clear and are not glossed over.

To find out how an enemy organization works, one must discover why they work. Why would people join such a group? What motivates them to take part in such violence? Liefer shows that with the personalization of the various terrorists. The Reader is not meant to necessarily agree with them, but to understand who they are and why they choose such a life that guarantees death.

Leifer also achieves a feat not found in such books and movies. With many action stories, there is a realization that countless lives could be lost. But that thought is not seriously dealt with. Not so in this book. No matter what move Hart and his colleagues make, deaths are bound to happen. Even when an action results in a lesser tragedy, they are still made aware of the destruction and loss of life, that while less than expected is still way too many.

8 Seconds to Midnight is that rare kind of thriller that has plenty of action, but isn't just content to give us that. Instead the behaviors of the characters on both sides propel the action making the Readers think while they enjoy the ride.

Weekly Reader: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell; A Beautiful Transformative Novel About Life, Death, Reincarnation, and The Legacy We Leave Behind

Weekly Reader: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell; A Beautiful Transformative Novel About Life, Death, Reincarnation, and The Legacy We Leave Behind


By Julie Sara Porter


Bookworm Reviews





Spoilers: I admit that when I first approached Cloud Atlas, I did with great trepidation. I had heard about the book's structure and I was concerned whether I would be able to follow it. After having read difficult books like Ulysses and Infinite Jest, I thought this would be another book that tries to show off to its Readers only to confuse them.





I shouldn't have worried. Instead what I found was one of my favorite books that I read this year. David Mitchell didn't tell just one memorable story. He told six of them. I joke that he probably couldn't decide whether he wanted to write an adventure, a romance, a political thriller, a comic satire, a science fiction, or a post-Apocalyptic fantasy then just said, “Screw it, I'll write all of them.” That he could take these extremely different genres and provide extremely different narratives from various people that are diverse in gender, age, ethnicity, and social status shows not only a tremendous writing talent but an ability to use that talent to provide the Readers with these multiple stories and characters.


It is a brilliant and beautiful book that focuses on six people over the course of many centuries.
The six characters are:
Adam Ewing-An American notary in 1840’s New Zealand and Hawaii who protects and befriends an escaped slave and becomes involved in the Abolitionist cause.
Robert Frobisher- A disinherited bisexual composer in 1930’s Europe who writes letters to his male lover, Rufus Sixsmith, about his relationships with an abusive older composer and his seductive wife.
Luisa Rey-An investigative reporter in 1970’s California who becomes involved in a conspiracy concerning the mysterious death of a nuclear scientist and his research on the company he works for.
Timothy Cavendish- An elderly vanity publisher in 21st century London who is stalked by members of a criminal family and ends up incarcerated in a nursing home by his scheming brother.
Sonmi 451-A clone in futuristic Seoul, South Korea who is rescued from her monotonous life at a fast food restaurant and gets caught up in the Resistance against the Neo Capitalist Police State she works under.
Zachary- A young man in the distant post-apocalyptic future Hawaii who aids a newcomer to his village who tells him a great deal about the past of his people.



On the surface, these characters and stories don't appear to be related but the more the Reader digs, the more they learn how these stories are linked as one gigantic chain that transcends centuries.
While living with the disagreeable composer, Vyvyan Ayres, Robert discovers the first half of Adam Ewing’s journal and is upset that he couldn't find the other half considering “a half-finished book is a half-finished love affair.”
Luisa finds an album of Robert’s “Cloud Atlas Sextet” and is moved by the music. Not to mention that the nuclear scientist/informant who aids Luisa is none other than Rufus Sixsmith, Robert's former lover who gives her Robert's letters.
Timothy receives a novel of Luisa’s exploits and at first dismisses it as trite as though it were written by a child. (The book implies the novel about Luisa was written by a young neighbor that she took a maternal interest in.) While he is incarcerated, Timothy seems to enjoy reading about Luisa's exploits and gutsiness.
Sonmi 451 watches films which she calls “disneys” (In this future proper nouns replace common terms for objects) with a fellow rebel. One of them is based on Timothy's life, incarceration in the nursing home, then escape from it.
Zachary’s people worship Sonmi 451 as a goddess. (In her story, while escaping she stayed temporarily in a community whose members are implied to be the ancestors of Zachary's people.) Later Zachary's friend, Meronym shows Sonmi's interrogation on a device called an orison. She then says that Sonmi was a human woman not a goddess.


These traces of the characters and how each one learns of the last are like those Russian matryoshka or nesting dolls where one leads to another to make a full picture. They show that our works such as primary sources like letters and journals, music, books, movies, and stories are what will last and how people will remember us long after we are gone. Bodies may die but history, art, and literature will continue to tell our stories in one form or another.


Another common theme that these stories carry are those of struggles between the powerful and powerless, those who are corrupt and imprison and those who fight and escape.
In Adam’s journal entries, we learn that he befriended a slave, Autua who stowed away on the same ship he traveled. At first Adam is ambivalent about slavery, following the presumed “White Man's Burden.” When he sees the goodness and loyalty in Autua and also the cruelty and deception of many white people, including a doctor who is poisoning him just to rob him later, Adam and his wife become committed abolitionists and help free other slaves.
Robert is made a pariah because of his sexuality and is used by Ayres who steals his work and seduced by his conniving wife and daughter. Robert is then left with a shattered reputation, tremendous debt, and a broken heart. He pours out his love in his sextet and final letter to Sixsmith (whom he realizes too late is the real love of his life) before he escapes the only way he can: through suicide.
Luisa fights against the corrupt corporation that murdered Sixsmith to keep quiet about his research concerning a flaw in the nuclear power plant he worked for. (Tellingly enough this would be the same corporation that Sonmi works for in the future.) She plans to go public with Sixsmith’s research despite multiple attempts on her life. (Including in one passage where her car is pushed into the ocean. Thankfully, she survives.) The idealistic reporter manages to smuggle the information to Sixsmith's niece and forces the dismissal of the greedy CEO who had Sixsmith and his allies murdered.
Timothy is incapacitated by his brother, his weakened body after he suffers a stroke, and above all a tyrannical staff particularly a nasty head nurse who prefers to medicate her patients rather than help them. In a humorous section (contrasting with the other more serious stories), Timothy engineers an escape from the nursing home with three other patients who manage to steal one of the patient's family member's car. (He always leaves the keys in the ignition during his visits.)
In her report to an interrogator called the Archivist, Sonmi explains how the death of a more obstreperous friend caused her to question her life of sameness, forced cheerfulness, and routine work of serving people drug enhanced food. When she is “kidnapped” i.e. liberated by a Resistance member, she tells the Archivist about her journey into forbidden areas, real friendships and emotions for the other rebels as compared to the phony ones in the cloning facility. She also learns some harsh discoveries about the world around her and the clones’ real purpose. She also is aware that much of her journey was fabricated by spies and traitors but she wants her story to be told anyway so future generations will know who she fought and why.
Zachary’s world is reduced to an almost primitive state. He is aware of warfare between various tribes and also suffers from a traumatic experience in which his father was killed and brother, Adam was enslaved. He appeals to Meronym, who though an outsider, is a Prescient, someone who still has memories of history. During their night journey, Zachary and Meronym protect each other from slavers and Meronym empowers Zachary with knowledge of the past. He is able to use that knowledge to counter his fears which manifest as a demonic figure called Old Georgie that once cripplied him with guilt and terror.


The strongest link within these characters is revealed as we learn that they are the same character reincarnated over time. This is proven as each one learns that they share the same birthmark shaped like a comet somewhere on their bodies. While this may seem odd to some people, many Readers who are aware of other stories of reincarnation know that souls can be reborn as different genders or races. The characters share memories, dreams, and connections to one another. Zachary's brother is named Adam who is sold into slavery; the same name as the first character, Adam Ewing, a man who fought against slavery.
Both Ayres and Robert share a dream about a brightly colored restaurant in which the servers are all identically dressed women with the same faces foreshadowing Sonmi's life.
When he first encounters Luisa in a broken elevator, Rufus Sixsmith reveals that he feels an intense connection to her that he can't explain. This implies that he recognizes his late lover, Robert in her.
While Timothy's connections to the others are through popular culture, he uses these references to link himself to the others. He compares one character to “Mrs. Robinson” in The Graduate (referring to Robert's ill-advised affair with the older and married, Mrs. Ayres and the unfortunate love triangle with her daughter, Eva.) Timothy also makes a reference to the movie, “Soylent Green” (referring to Sonmi's discovery that clones are made and processed for food, the same food she used to serve at the fast food place.)

These connections are made even deeper in the 2012 movie, Cloud Atlas directed by the Wachowksi Siblings where the characters in all six stories are played by the same actors playing multiple roles. Some that follow reincarnation believe that not only are we reborn in different lives but the people around us are as well. In multiple lives the people we know now may have been or will be lovers, family members, heroes, or people we just met or will meet on the street.


Cloud Atlas is a strange book, no doubt about it. It is also a beautiful book about how connected
humanity is through delicate strands or ripples in time and shows that after we die, our souls and legacies live on and carry over into future generations.