The Army of the Republic: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ Stuart Archer Cohen (Author)
Key Phrases: real vote, civil groups, patriotic guard, John Polling, James Sands, Water Solutions (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Politically liberal readers will probably best appreciate Cohen's near-future thriller, in which corporate oligarchs run America and the middle classes acquiesce through fear of the displaced underclass, composed of those generally left behind by globalization. A coalition of trade unionists, environmentalists, religious groups and civil libertarians opposes the oligarchs. When the administration hacks electronic voting to rig elections, a general strike is called that's put down with Blackwater-style mercenaries. This leads a small group of activists to launch a campaign of assassinations and sabotage to force the government into allowing elections, but this triggers even more repression. While Cohen (Invisible World) vividly describes the dynamics of a demonstration as it evolves into a riot, even those in sympathy with the author's message may find this paranoid fantasy too heavy-handed and strident for their taste. (Sept.)
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From Booklist

It’s the near future, and across the U.S., bands of citizens have begun guerrilla wars to take the government back from corporate oligarchs who have hijacked elections, shattered the economy, and raped the environment. One guerrilla is Joshua Sands, aka Lando, who is a founder of the Army of the Republic; one oligarch is James Sands, Lando’s father and a man who has made billions by controlling water sources needed by millions of Americans. Army of the Republic uses the Sands family to highlight the polarization. Lando fully expects to be hunted down and killed or disappeared by Whitehall, a Blackwater look-alike; his father believes himself to be an honorable man, and in some respects, he is. James Sands represents Cohen’s brief nod to nuance, but the bulk of the book is Cohen’s extrapolation of trends and events in the very recent history of the country: wars of choice, the politics of fear, deregulation, oil shock, torture, and on and on. A few people will call his polemical page-turner treasonous, but it should find plenty of supporters among those who think the country is moving in the wrong direction. --Thomas Gaughan

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (September 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312383770
• ISBN-13: 978-0312383770
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #413,330 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wake up, America, and read!, September 20, 2008

By	Ashley Megan "amazonfox" (Vernon, CT United States) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

I love blurbs sometimes. When they're not ridiculously banal, they're absurdly nonsensical. Take this one from David Maine's review of Army of the Republic: "Thomas Paine meets Rage Against the Machine." Ooooookay. Set aside for the moment that this description is, actually, fairly accurate. I immediately started making my own comparisons:

John Locke meets The Apprentice! Oedipus meets Ani DiFranco! DNC '68 meets Seattle WTO!

See how much fun that is? "Army of the Republic" presents us with America through the looking glass. It's a terrifying world, but it differs from ours only in degree, not in kind. (I hesitate to say that it's set in the future - a few things are left unmentioned that really should have been if this was still our own world.) Against this backdrop of corruption and resistance, we're presented with a small set of characters who represent a variety of groups, from corporate shills to peaceful protesters to armed revolutionaries. And what keeps "AOTR" from devolving into 300 pages of anti-corporate ranting and anarchist propaganda is that this is foremost a story about people. These people have ideals, yes, and that's what makes them do the things they do, and that's important. But just when Cohen is on the verge of descending into outraged shrieking about the complacency of the American public or the criminal tendencies of CEOs, he reminds us that these are real (OK, fictional) people we're talking about. Lando, Emily, James, and Anne are incredibly complex characters on their own, and when you start exploring their various relationships you get a web of conflict, conscience, and conviction that will make it impossible for you to not sympathize with them all. They're all at different points on the social/political spectrum - with Lando and James at opposite ends - and yet sometimes it seems like these guys all have more in common than they disagree on. It's fascinating and troubling, all at the same time, and it's what makes "AOTR" an enjoyable and thought-provoking book rather than just another screed.

Cohen hits the mark on a lot of stuff, like the fact that the revolution will be brought to you by our coffee-loving compatriots in Seattle (and seriously, my fellow East Coasters: can we work on this? Those flannel-wearing sequoia-huggers are making us look bad. They even have Charlize Theron, for crying out loud). Other things aren't quite so convincing, like the Resistance's faith in the power of mass demonstrations. Um, if I recall correctly, there have been several anti-war demonstrations in the last 5 years that attracted tens of thousands at a time. Remind me how well that worked out?

Regardless, this book will make you both think and feel - think about what it means to be an American, and what we want our country to be, and feel sympathy for a variety of viewpoints and understand the difficulties posed by people with such different motivations. Don't be scared off by the book's hyper-aggressive marketing tone. This is, at heart, a book about people in love - with their country, with each other, with their own ideals. It's simply not to be missed.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How anti-terrorism plays out., September 14, 2008

By	Rita Sydney (Walnut Creek, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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Other reviewers do a good job summarizing this book regarding its plotting, characterization, etc. Some of the opinions, however, are too concerned that the work is not an artistic masterpiece.

I agree that it is not, but, So What? I don't think Sinclair Lewis' It Can't Happen Here is one of his best writings yet it's still valuable as an exercise in showing how what is happening now might play out in the future.

That's what I take away from this book. Mr. Cohen shows what some of the anti-terrorism measures the USA has put in place since 9/11 would look like in operation.

The rational behind the fact that groups like Blackwater want to get into domestic intelligence work becomes clear.

Our collective NOW is one of fears and calls to patriotism and hate mongering and idealism and political ambitions and corporate supremacy and greed and violence as solution, etc. etc.

This book puts it all into a coherent picture. It is therefore well worth reading whether a reader agrees or disagrees with the scenario.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decaying Democracy, November 25, 2008

By	W. Easley "Opa" (Colorado Rocky Mountains) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

Imagine that corporate America gains control of the United States. The government conducts elections on the Internet and manipulates the results. Unemployment is beyond depression levels. Agencies of the corporate government control television networks. Private companies own most of the water. A revolution begins and you are asked to take sides. Which side do you trust? That question faces readers of Army of the Republic.

The scene of Stuart Cohen's new novel is set in an America of the near future. The patriot act has expanded and the government has outsourced a large share of its responsibilities. We are still at war in the middle east, our military forces have grown, gas is not affordable, and most media and entertainment outlets are carefully manipulated. Civil disobedience festers and corporations fight back.

The novel has four narrators. First is Lando, an active member of the Army of the Republic (AOR). The AOR is a "radical" opposition group that uses violence as a primary tool. The second narrator is James Sands, CEO of Water Solutions, a corporation that controls much of the water in the country. The third narrator is James Sands' wife Anne. Anne is a teacher who disapproves of her husband's political activities. The fourth narrator is Emily Cartwright, a leading member of Democracy Northwest Network (DNN), a political action group that organizes against what they deem as offensive corporate or governmental activity.

Although Cohen's novel is heavy in social and political intrigue, the characters are sympathetic and appealing. Lando is the lovable boy genius, well read in the lives of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and in the Constitution of the United States. Lando's intentions are always admirable and necessary. Apart from his involvement in violence, he is the boy you want to marry your daughter.

Emily is the sweet girl next door. She is an attorney with high ideals who wants to defend the oppressed and peaceably correct the faults of the government. Slowly she falls in love with Lando.

James Sands is a nice guy whose search for success blinds him from the consequences of his actions. His narrow minded focus and paranoia develops into rifts with his wife and son. James is the picture of the "successful" business man whose ambition destroys his family relationships.

Anne Sands is James pretty and intelligent wife. A devoted wife and mother for many years, she fights with her husband to save him and her family.

Although the story is slow in the beginning, it soon rockets into gear and becomes an action thriller. The characters are well drawn and the political intrigue compelling. Once I passed the first chapter, I was hooked.

Army of the Republic is an excellent story of political manipulation, personal and family struggles. The social problems seem real and threatening. It is tough to not draw parallels with current American society. Thankfully this is only fiction.