Review: A thought-provoking and original thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 18, 2014
A.J Aaron introduces us to a frightening autocratic world ruled by the domination of technology and a privileged few. Business ethics, real science and science fiction, metaphysics, and a rich character study all combine to produce a thought-provoking and original thriller.Roland Vandergrift can be described as a genius psychopath hell-bent on world domination and in possession of the intelligence and power to potentially achieve it. Sedric Jace is his underling, who also happens to be a gifted empath, and is torn between helping his boss toward a nefarious goal, and listening to his conscience. The moral conundrum of Sedric is the launching pad for the exploration of a deeper meaning in this multi-themed novel.This new and disturbing world becomes even more troubling as we are introduced to a brand of subservient Stepford-like wives that are little more than clones of Betty Crocker. This transformation is accomplished through the use and manipulation of pharmaceuticals by the controlling elite. This part of the story could probably have been used a bit more as a springboard for social commentary but, since this is an area that has already been explored, debated, and commented upon numerous times, Aaron correctly moves on to other concerns.Lurking not too deep beneath the surface of this thriller is an exploration of the larger question of morality and the fundamental nature of humanity and the state of the world in general. Not unlike the late Michael Crichton in his autobiographical "Travels", A.J. Aaron tackles the bigger questions in unconventional ways, but the intelligence and passion with which he presents his assertions lend them immediate plausibility or, at the very least, make them worthy of consideration. No matter what conclusions you may draw from this aspect of the novel, it certainly contributes to my personal classification of this book as a "thinking person’s thriller".Overall, this book defies classification into a single genre as it is a bit like "Gattica" meets "The Stepford Wives" on the way to Stephen King’s house in Michael Crichton’s car with Deepak Chopra as a passenger. Even that description fails to capture all of the elements present in this rich and intricate novel. A.J. Aaron has certainly used his "Power" and "Control" of masterful storytelling to facilitate my "Conformance" into a new fan. Bravo!