Review: Interesting premise
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 7, 2013
Danielle Uidam's novel, The Malthus Conspiracy, is a fascinating premise. Based on the work the economist Thomas Malthus, she develops the idea that people begin to almost worship the man and his theories. This group is so wedded to his principles that they begin to manipulate world events in order to force his theories into reality. A few years ago this might have seemed a silly concept for a book but considering the number of American politicians basing their theories on a work of fiction, it seems quite plausible in the current climate.Uidam does a great job in creating a tense, yet plausible conspiracy theory. Many novels in this thriller vein fall short in the development of the conspiracy itself. Why is this something people should be concerned with? Taking a very real historical theory gave the novel a strong foundation for the construction of the modern segment to the plot. Uidam's background on Malthus is thorough. Using time shifts, she presents him as a character in the novel and keeps the pace of the narrative moving well.While the narrative is interesting, I struggled with the editing and formatting. This is a growing issue in the indie market. I love that I can get books mainstream publishers ignore, but many indie authors do not take the extra step for professional editing. The characters were American, but there were far too many non-American style references. It felt as if the author had only a cursory knowledge of the culture of the United States. The novel had odd spacing and grammar inconsistencies as well.The Malthus Conspiracy has a lot of potential here. Uidam creates an interesting, well-paced story. With professional editing, the book could have been sculpted and honed into a well-crafted tale on par with Dan Brown. I will keep an eye on future novels.