Review: Blazing Action and Thoughtful Silences
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 12, 2013
Ian Daniels' second foray into this failed state of America is an eye opener and a kick to the stomach for readers unprepared for the concept.  The idea that America in a social collapse is not a new one, but the vision proposed by this book is a fresh new take, as we fail not because of some outside action but through our own greed and insecurities.  The author, through his unnamed protagonist, explores a lot of the themes first seen in "Against the Grain" but with even more jarring images as the nation staggers along like a punch drunk fighter, too far behind on points to win but without the sense to throw in the towel.  For readers who readers familar with the first book, the characters we get to meet for the first time, Clint, Blake, and Danielle in particular, are familiar in a way but the author really succeeds in defying our expectations.For all of the thunder and action in this book, the quiet times in the woods reveal the most about our hero, and the author manages to create a complex, conflicted main character who is more than he seems.  I eagerly await the next book in this series and I can only wonder what Mr. Daniels will think up next.This book is a officially a prequel to "Against the Grain" but both books stand on their own.