 |
Even by the middle of the twenty-first century, the small town of Council Ford, Middlestate, USA is living by a simpler, old-fashioned way of doing things. The police force is equipped with the latest technologies to protect citizens, but most people work the land, gather in communal places, and resist change. But technological progress is finally knocking at their door: a data center known as the HUB is planned for construction, offering full satellite internet access and monitoring for the small community. A conflict is developing between the more liberal members of the city council and the conservative ranchers and workers over this, and a gun control law was passed and gently overlooked by the local sheriff's office. A group of frustrated Council Ford citizens decides that a statement needs to be made, and it's only a matter of time before the situation boils over into tragedy.
Though set in a relatively near future, the attitudes, politics, and ideas of the opposing groups in this story will feel very natural and real to any American reader. Though it may be fiction, it would be a mistake to write this story off as speculation when so much of the conversation surrounding gun control is framed in similarly hypothetical scenarios. The characters are strong, the tension is palpable, and the author does a great job of selling the area's history and the events that unfold throughout the book, making Council Ford feel like virtually any other small-town community. Approaching a hot, sensitive issue for many with a degree of common sense and analytical thinking, this story is not only entertaining and addictive but topical and thought-provoking.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review