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.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Be glad too.

[Travis McGee]

Thanks Phil! That's a great contact for a review copy.

[BOBTHENAILER]

This will be an opportunity to show a Balkanized southwest, with Espanol the official language, open borders and open voting, and ethnic cleansing by intimidation of anglos.

Got EFAD on friday, started reading 2:00 pm saturday and finished in the wee hours sunday.

Wow, what a great job. Can't wait for the next one.

Loved the way you worked in the power of the internet into the fabric of the story.

[Travis McGee]

Any novel about current political events that ignores the power of the internet is living in the distant past! I hope I am just leading the wave in recognition of this fact. You may have noticed who I put at the top of the acknowledgements.

[BOBTHENAILER]

You may have noticed who I put at the top of the acknowledgements.

I did indeed, as well as other Freepers. Great job.

[Just another Joe]

Got my order in the mail last Friday.
Looking forward to a long weekend, a couple of brews, and a good read.

[Ancesthntr]

I've read about 200 pages so far (almost all just before bed), and fallen asleep with the book on my chest twice. I, like others, have to read it a bit at a time to avoid creating a very powerful domestic enemy :>)

Anyway, it is a phenomenal piece of work. I did catch a couple of typos, but they don't bother me in the least - I am frankly more concerned that a novel of this sort be as realistic as possible, and that technical details about weapons, investigating techniques, etc. be correct. I want something plausible about where we are going if the anti-gunners don't back off, and you have done a masterful job of it so far. I think that the plot is realistic, the characters have been developed very well, the plot flows very nicely, and the technical details (to the extent that I'm aware) are perfect.

Glad to here that we Texans are (once again) leading the nation in something related to guns. I give the novel 5 YEEEEEEE HAAAAWWWWWs on a scale of 1 to 5.

[Ancesthntr]

"...glad to here..."

should be

"...glad to hear..."

[Travis McGee]

I'd love to hear your impressions as you get through the block. Whether you "buy" the characters and plot twists, etc.

[MonroeDNA]

Wooo hooo!

Gonna buy it for sure!

Can't wait, and thanks for the ping!

[MonroeDNA]

Buying a case. Check on the way. Great job!!!

(you got to sign them, though! lol!)

Monroe

[patton]

STEAL THIS BOOK!

Better yet, send Travis a check.

I read it this weekend, and I could not put it down.

From the politics of the Government Service, to the empire-building antics of GS-ladder-climbers, Travis manages to capture the real-world consequences of government of, by, and for the government. He lucidly illustrates, in his novel, what happens when the people accept willingly what the government tells them.

And, tellingly, he demonstrates what might happen, when they don't.

"Enemies, Foreign and Domestic" is an instructional work - for those of you paying attention, it is a clear indication of things you need to do now, to be prepared for the morrow.

Buried within the book are also an accurate description of life in "wonderland" (Washington, DC), and a hint of the world that coexists in and around the government utopia - a dark world of alternative lines, run by everyday guys, completely under the radar of the Government.

When these worlds clash, the pucker factor goes up, considerably.

[note to fellow freepers - if you are busy pissing each other off on a drug-war-thread, and have not read this book, you deserve what you get.]

[patton]

Hey Cathryn - the protagonist in this book fits my image of you.

[tpaine]

It's amusing as hell that you would think our boy dane would read Trav's fine book.

I'm sure he'd love to burn it, though.

[Cathryn Crawford]

Uh-oh. What's the image?

[philetus]

I got my copy last week, but it didn't have that far to go.
I showed it to Blue Collar Christian last night and had to wipe the drool off the cover.

[patton]

Read the book.

[patton]

Quo video - De opresso liber

ete, misse est

[patton]

21-one-year-old girl, raised by a gun dealer, expert shot,...

[Travis McGee]

You've really got to read it. Just click to the website, the first 20 out of the 52 chapters are there. Ranya Bardiwell is the female protagonist, she does not come along until chapter 7.