Review of "Enemies Foreign and Domestic"

Enemies Foreign and Domestic | 5 September, 2003 | Marktwain

[marktwain]

Enemies Foreign and Domestic by Matthew Bracken, Steelcutter Publishing, San Diego CA.

www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com

I recieved my copy of Enemies Foreign And Domestic on Tuesday evening this week. By Thursday morning, I had devoured the 568 pages. This book was eagerly awaited, as it belongs to that small but growing genre, the distopic future brought about by civil war over the Constitution of the United States, triggered by ruthless suppression of the 2nd amendment.

Only three books of this genre have recieved prominence. They are: The Turner Diaries, a racist, hate filled account where the "heros" are willing to kill off 75% of the people on earth in order to gain political power; Unintended Consequences, a well written, racy, techno-thriller in the Tom Clancy style that I heartily recommend; and Enemies Foreign and Domestic, or EFAD, as I will refer to it in the rest of this review.

EFAD refers to part of the oath that all U.S. government officials and military personel take upon the assumption of their duties to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. A basic premise of the book is that there still are men and women who actually have honor and integrity, who beleive these words when they speak them, and who actively work to follow their oath. Members of freerepublic will recognize themselves in this work.

EFAD is very well written, well plotted, and has good character development. I felt as if I could name friends and enemies who could have been the characters in the book. This book grabs you. The major premises are easily believable. Matthew Bracken knows his subject, and he uses credible human faults and errors to keep the plot plausible. A major strength is that there are no supermen or superwomen in this book. Matthew teaches us subtly by the things that are not mentioned. An astute reader will realize early on that we are at a crucial cross roads. We can move backward, keep the Assault Weapons ban, enlarge it, outlaw private sales of weapons via the "gun show loophole" and continue the march toward the chilling distopia that the author so clearly sees. Or we can move forward, sunset the Assault Weapon ban in September of 2004, and continue to move forward to a renewed era of Constitutional freedom in America.

Read this book. Pass it on to friends. Distribute it at gun shows. Buy lots of copies. I will.

[Travis McGee]

I went through a bunch of near misses in SC and FL. With a big boat to look after, it's a real nail-biter. One thing I like about San Diego: No hurricanes!

[patton]

Heh. Capitolist.

[Travis McGee]

That's a capitol cryme.

[KC_for_Freedom]

Just finished the book, have to sit a spell and calm down. Great job, definitely belongs on the shelf next to John D. MacDonald and Tom Clancy.

Great message regarding love for the constitution.

Hope you next book does not scare me as much as this one.

PS, Thanks for getting an Airstream trailer in the story. Its not an ocean going craft, but allows much of the same freedom here at home. Thanks again, and good luck in your new profession.

[Travis McGee]

High praise indeed! Thanks!

I agree totally about the Airstream. And there is the 5th wheel trailer in the story, about the STU pursuing the man into NC.

The key, on land or sea, is mobility. A "fortress" or bunker is just too vulnerable. To be able to disappear, get off radar, is the best defense IMO.

[Noumenon]

Just got mine today. Riveting so far. Won't be getting much sleep tonight.

Great job, Matt!

[Travis McGee]

I hope it lives up to the hype!

[Noumenon]

I just finished reading Travis McGee's "Enemies Foreign and Domestic" over the weekend and I still feel unsettled after finishing it in the wee hours of Saturday. I feel unsettled because this book pulls no punches. It is realistic in terms of its portrayal the cold-blooded murderousness of some of the thugs that the government employs. It's dead bang on in terms of its assessment of the politicians who would cheerfully dance in the blood of innocents in order to advance their agenda. It's a clear-eyed picture of the unholy alliance between those who live to kill and those who seek to rule the living.

And the book is absolutely chilling because of its unflinching take on the price that many of us will pay when civil disobedience turns to armed resistance. Freedom isn't cheap. In fact, it's going to get damned expensive.

Damned expensive. I have no illusions about surviving the coming maelstrom. That's liberating, in a way.

[Doomonyou]

Got my AUTOGRAPHED copy last week and am having to battle to find time to read it! So far it's great!

Thanks!

[Dan from Michigan]

I was wondering about that myself. Plus I figured others nearby would have notices a guy with scoped eye somewhat near the scene.

I made the mistake of shooting a pellet gun w scope that kicks back. I was lucky that it was a pellet gun and I only got a minor gash. Didn't hurt, but sure bled, and I felt like an idiot.

[patton]

Travis is just markting Volume II. He harbors the illusion that I will send him a check, and wait ages for delivery.

Dumb idea.

(Same address, Matt?)

[Travis McGee]

I learned about "scope eye" at about age 14 when I was out with my uncle who taught me how to shoot. He was sighting in his Rem. 7mm magnum. Then it was my turn.

OUCH!

I figured I'd have Ian Kelby overlook this clue. I didn't want him to be a 100% effecient "super Rambo sniper." Remember, I said he wasn't wearing a ghillie suit, perfectly disguised as a patch of weeds. He was just wearing an old set of green sweats, sitting behind a tree stump, waiting for her to come home.

I wanted it to come through that he's just a regular Joe. In the getaway car driven by his buddy, his hands shook so bad he couldn't open the Gator Aid bottle.

[Travis McGee]

It's going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out, when people put paychecks and pensions against their oath to defend the Constitution.

If my book accomplishes anything, I want people to think about that oath, and what it means.

And of course, I want to send a clear warning to the polidiots. I don't want some future President, in the situation room, saying, "You mean, the real danger all along wasn't the assault rifles? It's the common, ordinary deer rifle?"

If we blunder and miscalculate our way that far, it will be very hard to get off the rapid slide to an out-of-control dirty war.

[Noumenon]

If we blunder and miscalculate our way that far, it will be very hard to get off the rapid slide to an out-of-control dirty war.

As a proponent of the tragic view of human nature, I cannot come to any other conclusion that that slide into the dark side is an all-too-likely probability. Consider the hate spewing from the Left, and the sheer murderous quality of their visceral hatred of everything this country used to stand for, and for people like you and me. Consider the likes of Hillary Clinton in the highest office in the land - and the machinery that she would put into motion.

Here in the good old USA, it's going to be the equivalent Germans and Jews, Turks and Armenians all over again, but with a ferocity that would make even the most savage machete-wielder in the darkest heart of Africa go pale. And that's because, unlike the Jews and the Armenians, we'll fight back. Whether we've been trained by Uncle Sam, or by those who used to work for Uncle Sam (as we were), there are enough of us who won't go quietly into that dark night. We've got the will, the motiviation and the training to make it very interesting indeed.

Like those in your novel, some may have trouble understanding when it's time to take to the field. Some will have no trouble at all, and will have prepared for it for years. The lessons of history are there for anyone who chooses to see them.

[Noumenon]

Perhaps it's time to acquire a nice Thompson Center in oh, say, .223 or .17 HMR.

And a nice scope to go with it.

[Travis McGee]

Long range target pistol shooting is said to be a real blast. I think a T/C set the all-time pistol accuracy record with something like a 4" five shot group at 600 yards, in 6mm. Fired from a very steady rest, of course.

[Travis McGee]

I feel more strongly every day that this nation is heading for some type of civil war. The bitterness and hatred between the sides is more palpable every day. The battle lines are being drawn.

But while the left considers that they hold the trump cards in their radical sleeper judges, they have not considered that at some point, freedom lovers and defenders of the Constitution of Jefferson and Madison will fight back.

To see just how charged with hate this pre-war atmoshpere is getting, check out this article by a Village Voice reporter. He's on the thread replying, so you can pick the brain of one of the would-be commissars of the future. "Writing is Fighting" says Perlstein."

[spodefly]

BTTT

[Travis McGee]

BTTT? That's it?

(Hey, I'll take any bumps I can get! Thanx.)

;^)

[spodefly]

How long before the next one is ready for review? I am having Rayna withdrawls ...