Review: Powerful Story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 30, 2012
I was fascinated by this story. Eric Thomas tackles current issues and spins them in a way that I could too easily see playing out for real. While the basics are routed in a political environment, I found the story more about the sociological and psychological aspects of group behavior. Through the characters and the plot, we explore how fringe groups turn into cult movements, and how, under the right conditions, people will blindly follow a leader. We see the best in people, when they work together toward a common goal, and the worst in people, when they use their power for personal gain.The plot moves quickly and, in parts, contains gruesome detail. I'm not squeamish, but some of the scenes made me cringe. Still, they worked within the frame of the story and weren't added simply for the fear factor.There is no standout main character, which is normally a problem for me. However, the approach works here, as the story belongs to an entire community.I badly wanted to give this book 5 stars. It is truly memorable and moving. But I had some problems along the way that detracted from the experience. First, this one needs some good editing. The punctuation was often missing or placed wrong, sentence structure was sometimes off, and other minor details that, combined, interrupted the flow of the story for me. The other thing is I wanted more from Max. I needed to see how he got to where he was and what drove his behavior.Despite these minor issues, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an unforgettable story.