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The Hornbrook Prophecy [book]
[9781591463429] |
$18.95 |
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| Displaying 1 to 6 (of 10 reviews) |
Result Pages: 1 |
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| by Morgan Chilson |
Date Added: Tuesday 17 August, 2010 |
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Sen. Henley Hornbrook fights the good fight in Washington, finally throwing up his hands in disgust as a tax reform bill passes that he thinks will jeopardize the economic security of the country. When he's proven right and the nation teeters into bankruptcy, Hornbrook and his team retreat to his home state of Washington, preparing with others in their rural communities to defend their homes. The country disintegrates and an unscrupulous president fights for control, leaving Hornbrook frustrated with the devastation of America.
This political thriller was an interesting read. No matter what your politics, you'll find fascination and fear in this "could be" book. In these days of economic challenges, it wouldn't be totally surprising to find THE HORNBROOK PROPHECY sitting on a non-fiction shelf. I highly recommend this book in the hopes of creating some stimulating thoughts and concerns about the choices our government is making.
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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| by Bonnye Good |
Date Added: Tuesday 17 August, 2010 |
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More than 50 years after Ayn Rand published Atlas Shrugged while appealing to both philosophically similar fans and to literature readers fond of her intense characters, Robert Wickes melds a libertarian philosophy with his story about an unpopular senator and a group of ordinary citizens who turn their anger at the government’s policies into a call for action.
Senator Hensley Hornbrook rails against the spending policies passed by the greedy president with a king-making wife whose day job includes serving as a junior Senator from New York. He also blames the inaction of Congress to achieve fiscal responsibility and angers at the pork-ridden deals which keep the system going, grousing about both political parties but especially the Democrats.
As an independent, Hornbrook’s gruff nature and blunt assertions ensure that his popularity stays focused in his home state and keeps him a permanent outsider in the Washington, D. C., subculture while other Congressmen and -women play the establishment game.
Hornbrook repeatedly lectures to both his colleagues and to the president, giving the reader a chance to learn that Hornbrook’s libertarian credentials citing gun rights, civil liberties and fiscal responsibility are intact.
Hornbrook hails from Washington state, which is also where his trusted advisor Eagle McCall calls home. The contrast between the west coast self-sufficient rural dwellers and the east coast Washington, D. C. crowded with citizens looking for handouts stands out clearly in both the narration and in the conversations.
The barely tenable situation finally comes to a head over the economic state of the country, especially after President Winston Dillard prioritzes programs over a balanced budget.
Because the first section of the book centers on laying out the philosophy of the Hornbrook and his supporters, little action occurs until about the middle of the story while the narration increasingly divides the fictional world into absolutes, leaving little room for compromise.
Once Tom and Laurel Warner and their brood enter the picture, the action speeds up as they face real dangers during their trek from Los Angeles to McCall’s place in Washington while the economy and fragile civilization collapses in a libertarian's worst nightmare.
The story may have been strengthened by using the average middle-class family to frame out what was going on nationally since the Warners are the most well-developed and easily relatable characters and their familial relationship to Eagle McCall keeps them linked to Hornbrook and McCall.
Although the author promises that his fictional version of the Tea Party predates the current loosely organized group, many real Tea Party enthusiasts will welcome The Hornbrook Prophecy as an encapsulation of their beliefs in the twenty-first century while casual readers may struggle with the unquestioned vigorous statements supporting those beliefs including blanket anti-environmentalist statements seemingly thrown in just for shock value.
Other issues remain with unrealistic dialogue between young urban, criminal minorities and a lack of Latinos, causing instead an emphasis on whites versus blacks in the racial discussion. Wickes does include several black characters he deems heroic as he describes their own response to the crisis.
As a thriller, The Hornbrook Prophecy works for sympathetically-minded readers because of the immediacy faced by the Warners once the plotting shifts away from Washington, D. C.'s environment of political posturing.
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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| by Mary Lignor |
Date Added: Tuesday 17 August, 2010 |
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This book is a first class example of the chaos that governments can cause. Sometimes people (on either side of the fence, government and the comman man) lose sight of the principles that were named in the Constitution and go a little crazy. Hornbrook comes up with a really different Prophecy and it makes one stop and think. All this and a very surprise ending kept me reading until the end. I don't usually gravitate towards political stories because, to be perfectly blunt, they bore me but, this one did not. To be perfectly honest, this is a little too close to home and I really paid attention. It reads very much like non-fiction and it's a bit scary in places. Good Luck to Mr. Wickes.
Rating:  [4 of 5 Stars!] |
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| by Richard R. Blake (Reader Views) |
Date Added: Tuesday 17 August, 2010 |
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The fast-paced action leading to the conclusion and surprise ending, kept me turning pages late into the night.
Robert Wicks gives the reader an entertaining and informative glimpse into a political system's inner working. His characters are composites and caricatures that represent the radical in areas of politics and geographical regional customs. He has developed characters that reflect the extreme of idealism and those who are manipulators with a lust for more power. Much of the storyline is improbable, but definitely possible. Interwoven in the plot, Wicks uses dialog and oratory to acquaint the reader with the danger of constitutional rights being violated and taken from United States citizens. I personally enjoyed the quotations at the beginning of each chapter from well-known American leaders, both historical and contemporary.
This is a book for readers who want to see reform in government and a return to the original intent of the constitution of the founding fathers of our country. The novel lends itself to an exchange of ideas in discussion groups, or in the classroom.
In "The Hornbrook Prophecy," Wicks shows great promise of becoming a best-selling author in the area of political intrigue and adventure novels.
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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| by Midwest Book Review |
Date Added: Tuesday 17 August, 2010 |
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"The Hornbrook Prophecy" is a gripping tale of `what ifs' - `what ifs' that just might not be too far from the truth. Author Robert Wickes' story weaves in and out of an intriguing scenario of government bankruptcy, organizational failure, and civil turmoil. Amid the chaos emerges small pockets of individuals determined to protect their communities and find a solution to the madness. Their solution is one man - Henley Hornbrook - who has been telling them all along that this was a possibility; one man who saw the signs from 200 years ago; one man who still hopes with all his heart that he is wrong...
"The Hornbrook Prophecy" is an eye-opening novel of epic proportions. While the beginning section is not fast-paced, it is far from dull. Wickes sets the stage and gives his readers some background so they fully understand the action that is about to literally explode onto the scene. The middle section is a furious rollercoaster ride with almost no break. Just when I got to the point where I was thinking, `Please, no more!' Wickes works in a moment for his readers to breathe. The third section of "The Hornbrook Prophecy" slows again and feels more like an Ayn Rand-esque lecture than a work of pure fiction. Again, far from dull but serves more as a platform for Wickes to express his political and social viewpoints and his advice for governmental reform - a quick and lay education on how to fix things, if you will. I don't view this part as taking away from the novel at all; on the contrary I found "The Hornbrook Prophecy" to be the most gripping and potentially realistic novel I have read in a very long time.
While I could easily recommend, "The Hornbrook Prophecy" to just about anyone, I think suspense/thriller fans as well as those interested in political fiction would enjoy it the most. Political activists interested in the reform suggested in the novel will find it a fantastic way to get others energized about their ideals while avoiding the `dry' nature their typical literature can sometimes have on the average citizen. Further, if you consider Wickes other published works - "The Myth America Pageant: How Government and Politics REALLY Affect the Ordinary Joe" and "Saving Private America" - you have to wonder how much of "The Hornbrook Prophecy" is `made up' and how much of it is something the author really believes will one day happen.
Author Robert Wickes pens a frighteningly realistic story in "The Hornbrook Prophecy". You will never look at government and politics the same way again! An absolute MUST READ!
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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| by Vicki Landes |
Date Added: Tuesday 17 August, 2010 |
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"The Hornbrook Prophecy" is a gripping tale of `what ifs' - `what ifs' that just might not be too far from the truth. Author Robert Wickes' story weaves in and out of an intriguing scenario of government bankruptcy, organizational failure, and civil turmoil. Amid the chaos emerges small pockets of individuals determined to protect their communities and find a solution to the madness. Their solution is one man - Henley Hornbrook - who has been telling them all along that this was a possibility; one man who saw the signs from 200 years ago; one man who still hopes with all his heart that he is wrong...
"The Hornbrook Prophecy" is an eye-opening novel of epic proportions. While the beginning section is not fast-paced, it is far from dull. Wickes sets the stage and gives his readers some background so they fully understand the action that is about to literally explode onto the scene. The middle section is a furious rollercoaster ride with almost no break. Just when I got to the point where I was thinking, `Please, no more!' Wickes works in a moment for his readers to breathe. The third section of "The Hornbrook Prophecy" slows again and feels more like an Ayn Rand-esque lecture than a work of pure fiction. Again, far from dull but serves more as a platform for Wickes to express his political and social viewpoints and his advice for governmental reform - a quick and lay education on how to fix things, if you will. I don't view this part as taking away from the novel at all; on the contrary I found "The Hornbrook Prophecy" to be the most gripping and potentially realistic novel I have read in a very long time.
While I could easily recommend, "The Hornbrook Prophecy" to just about anyone, I think suspense/thriller fans as well as those interested in political fiction would enjoy it the most. Political activists interested in the reform suggested in the novel will find it a fantastic way to get others energized about their ideals while avoiding the `dry' nature their typical literature can sometimes have on the average citizen. Further, if you consider Wickes other published works - "The Myth America Pageant: How Government and Politics REALLY Affect the Ordinary Joe" and "Saving Private America" - you have to wonder how much of "The Hornbrook Prophecy" is `made up' and how much of it is something the author really believes will one day happen.
Author Robert Wickes pens a frighteningly realistic story in "The Hornbrook Prophecy". You will never look at government and politics the same way again! An absolute MUST READ!
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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| Displaying 1 to 6 (of 10 reviews) |
Result Pages: 1 |
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