Enemies Foreign and Domestic
by Matthew Bracken
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Book Summary Information
Author: Matthew BrackenEdition: Perfect Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2003-12-01
ISBN: 0972831010
Number of pages: 576
Publisher: Steelcutter Publishing
Book Reviews of Enemies Foreign and Domestic
Book Review: Fun read, especially if you fear an Orwellian government
Summary: 4 Stars
..and who doesn't fear that?
A great job for the author's first book, Enemies Foreign and Domestic makes one think about the insidious nature of the gradual erosion of rights. The overarching point is that rights don't just disappear overnight, they are chipped away gradually. It doesn't happen like in the movies, where a clearly evil Darth Vader-like character, surrounded by Brown Shirts, arises from nowhere and announce that he's enslaving the world. Instead, most sides of the political spectrum agree that rights are slowly and steadily diluted under the guise of safety, security, defense. This book is a must read for any Libertarian, gun owner, or one who fears losing more liberty.
-Warning! Potential spoiler below!-
That said, there are some issues with this book that I can't get around. The author should have emphasized a little earlier in the story that the context of the novel is not the present, but rather a possible future where the Patriot Act has been augmented by the Patriot Act II, the Universal Surveillance Act (allowing face recognition cameras on every street corner, tied in w/a national database of every person's face) and a few other "Acts" or "Executive Orders" that have undermined the protection of rights Americans had previously enjoyed. In short, Bracken describes an Orwellian society who arrived where it is so gradually as to be almost imperceptible. Putting that up front would have enabled me to have more empathy with the characters' plight.
Primarily, though, my biggest problem with Enemies is the seeming ease with which the protagonists -- otherwise law abiding people -- decide that their only recourse is to murder public officials. There should have been much more build up to show that every other legal avenue for redress of their grievances was useless and blocked, and that many individual Americans were being murdered or falsely imprisoned by the Federal Government. The injustices portrayed in Enemies are far cries from Hitler's Kristallnacht, Pol Pot's Killing Fields or Mao's Cultural Revolution - this is how dire things have to become before it is justified to take arms against the government. Sorry, but even the disgusting actions of a few rogue BATFE officers, or misguided laws passed by Congress, do not justify "voting from the rooftops."
Nonetheless I rated this book a 4 out of 5 because it is a good read and makes one think.
One important note for potential buyers: this is fiction, a NOVEL. It is not a "how-to manual." If you are looking for instructions on how to build a pipe bomb, look elsewhere. This is a book of ideas for thinking people.
Lastly, the author, Matt Bracken, is working on part two of this story, titled (as of now) Domestic Enemies. The first few chapters of it are available on his web site, and reading it I find the plot is, in my opinion, much more plausible and draws more empathy from me than Enemies did. I look forward to reading it when it is finished!
Summary of Enemies Foreign and Domestic
Enemies Foreign And Domestic is a domestic terrorism thriller set in the near future. The novel begins on opening day of the NFL season, when bullets begin to rain down upon the upper deck of a packed football stadium. A panic stampede ensues, leading to mass casualties. The alleged sniper is found holding a smoking assault rifle, and is killed by a police marksman.One week later, congress bans the private possession of all semi-automatic assault rifles. Gun owners are given one week to turn in their semi-automatic rifles, or face a five year mandatory sentence.
The plot revolves around the true identity of the actual sniper. The alleged sniper killed at the scene may be a patsy, and many Americans refuse to turn in their banned weapons, leading to a civil crisis in the nation.
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