Kathy Reviews: Whispers Among the Ruins of Yesterday by A. Peter Perdian

ASIN #: B005HF9CE8

File Size: 139 KB

Format: Kindle Edition

Book Summary:

(Taken from Goodreads)

Welcome to the Night of the Grayshirts, George Orwell's America.

• Imagine an America that has lost its way
• Imagine America as a police state
• Imagine being labeled a terrorist

Can't happen? History disagrees.

• Now imagine a small group of patriots refusing to accept the New America.

Whispers is a fast-paced, action-packed, political/techno-thriller set in the VERY near future, a time when secret police run rampant and assassinations are common.

Synopsis:

America has fallen victim to the dark voices within its soul. In a few short years, it has undergone a radical political change, a drastic upheaval that people failed to see coming.

With government forces and propaganda arrayed against them, people accept the new order, some reluctantly, some willingly, but both groups grasp at the scraps of democracy the authorities toss to them.

Among the population, however, there are individuals unwilling to cede their liberties so easily. Resistance groups spring up around the country, waging a war in the shadows, among the ruins of yesterday's liberties.

The leader of one such group stumbles upon a new software product that may hold the key to their survival, a way to level the playing field, but the authorities are also aware of the product. In the race that follows, he makes use of an insider, a young woman, and in doing so puts her life in jeopardy.

Kathy's Review:

Whispers Among the Ruins of Yesterday is a bit longer, but still relatively short story involving an American society in the year 2043 where freedom no longer exists. Anyone who speaks against the government is pursued and detained by the grayshirts, a Homeland Security task force. The story starts off with an assassination of a government official by a member of the Americans for the Restoration of Democracy (the "good guys"). One of the "good guys," Colin, who heads his local chapter of the organization, obtains the trust of a single mom, Jena, who works at a data mining organization hired by the government. Convincing her and her boss that he is an investor, he gains control of their company and is able to monitor its assets. The two develop romantic feelings for each other despite the ruse which is eventually revealed to Jena.

There's lots of action in this story, some explosions, etc., and again, I think it's just way too short to really develop what is going on. I did get a sense for who these characters were, but I would have liked to see the story progress further and get more into the continued efforts to bring down the government.

Both interesting premises, I would like to see these as full-length novels or novellas.