Review: Pieces of a puzzle of intrigue
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 18, 2014
One of the fascinating aspects about reading a variety of fictional works, the books that are read may bring about much unpredictability.  And Reed Sprague shows a tremendous amount of moments of surprises in Eddy's Current, a novel that appears to be within a similar vein as a John Grisham, David Baldacci, or Tom Clancy mystery-suspense-thriller that centers upon an undercurrent of investigative and political-religious intrigue.  Not only can Sprague's novel and writing be categorized as a suspense-thriller, there is a bit of fantasy-science fiction shown in his writing style and the format of the novel, much like Stephen King.Eddy's Current is a thought-provoking story that appears and begins in the future January 2021 but jumps within the pages back to 1983, 1982, and concludes with July 2026.  And this is one of many traits about the novel that may entice the reader to turn to the next page, the pure perception to understand the significance and the reasoning of the particular timeline that Sprague writes of and the symbolic characters within the novel, multifaceted Tyler Lee Patterson, a 43 year old online evangelist, government lobbyist, and political advisor that works at the Free Will Independent Christian Church, Alejandro "Alex" Perez, Jr. son of Alejandro and Felicia Perez, his parents farm workers from Mexico that came to the United States in 1972, the younger Alex joins the army in July 2001, becomes injured in Afghanistan, and later attends the University of Florida and becomes a student politician that eventually leads him to the world of politics after graduation and to Washington, DC where he would serve as a congressman representing farm workers; also, another symbolic part of the book the characters River Warwick, Jr. and Jennifer Edward Warwick - the ebb and tide or Eddy in Eddy's Current and one may say the speck of hope and light in a world of turmoil that they lived and experienced in the mid 21st century.  Indeed, metaphorically clever part of the title and the storyline.The novel is one that may intrigue and perplex the reader because of the unique part of the storyline is the flashbacks and details of each of the characters that show much intensity and somewhat immense hands-on work that occurs within the professions of each of the characters that involves much dedication and sacrifice as well as faith.  Interesting story but may also have been helpful within the book, a concise listing of each of the characters mentioned in the novel possibly in the appendix.  But overall, this is a book recommended to readers that do not mind a bit of curiosity and puzzlement within the storyline and one that does not necessarily flows like a stream of thought.