Customer Reviews

The Army of the Republic: A Novel

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

The Army of the Republic by Cohen is an interesting tale of resistance to an oppressive regime in a possible near future America. In fact, this book could conceivably be set in present day America if a few minor details were altered. No doubt there have already been similar occurrences in reality since the Patriot Act and Military Commissions act have effectively suspended habeas corpus and given the vindictive and thoughtless federal government unchecked power.

Just this week US courts demanded that five secret prisoners be released from their unconstitutional incarceration in Guantanamo, and the Treasury is preparing to funnel billions more taxpayer dollars into the monolithic "big three", after already saddling future generations with trillions for banker bonuses. My point is that the content of the novel is entirely relevant, regardless of what some reviewers claim.

I won't call this book a literary masterpiece, as some of the characters are not all they could be and the storytelling is sometimes lackluster but does its job bringing important scenarios to the reader's attention.

Neocons and neolibs will probably dislike this book, although they are the ones who should be paying the most attention. Any lovers of freedom and liberty will probably enjoy this book regardless of its flaws.

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.

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.

This story takes place in a near-future based on the current administration's actions -- free speech "zones", empowered corporations and a privatized police/military faction facing off against citizens, for example. The story is told by a rotating trio of narrators, each in first person; this makes for a confusing start, and I put the book down several times before plodding through the first 50 pages and getting hooked. I was really glad I stuck with it, because by the end I couldn't put it down. The alternating narrators are: Lando, a violent militant against the proto-fascist Matthews administration; James Sands, his father and a member of the corporate enablers; Emily, his lover, a lawyer trying to battle the hostile government using the court system. These characters represent a spectrum of reactions to the extremists in power -- those who are willingly ignorant of its evils, those who fight the corruption within the system, and those who have lost patience/faith in the system and resort to violent action. I thought the author did a fine job of representing each of their voices and thinking. The dramatic climax comes when the Washington state governor cancels an election and thousands of citizens take to the streets in protest.

I found the plot and characters compelling, and look forward to other work by this author.

In post-Peronist Argentina, the right wing death squads "disappeared" over thirty thousand people. A quasi-private army would kidnap so-called radicals (known as "radishes") and they would never be seen again. Starting
with those who "fronted" for the militants, eventually the death squads disappeared anyone who questioned the authority of the government, the heads of 'non-government organizations' (NGOs) and leftist college professors.

All of the action takes place in the Northwest around Seattle, and it's meant to be a cautionary tale. Instead of OIL, the bad guys control WATER. To pay off the national debt, the "Regime" is privatizing water systems and selling off national parks and forests. "Lando" is the leader of a militant anti-government group that fashions themselves "The Army of the Republic". They are trying to force the government to give natural resources back to the "People".

Like Argentina, there is a quasi-government group, Whitehall (read Blackwater) who have become the private army for most major Corporations, especially after "Public Enemy" Polling is 'assassinated'. No one seems to care (people are happy with their beer and cable TV), except for the "Civils" who are the NGOs. "Emily" is a leader in the Real Vote! group, who are fighting to get back to paper ballots because the Regime has been scamming the Vote by manipulating the On-Line Internet Vote. Her group is all about petitioning and peaceful protest.

Can you guess what happens next. Yeah, boy meets girl, girl likes boy, they have meaningless passionate sex...etc. Think West Side Story without the music and dancing. But behind this little love story is a very plausible movement like the "Rose" and "Orange" revolutions. At the end, when everything 'hits the fan' in Seattle, it seems very plausible.

Just one minor comment about the style of the book. The author makes much of the narration in first person singular. Sometimes it's a little confusing because a character is talking to themselves and your not sure who it is. An example is when he goes from Emily to Lando in the span of a paragraph and the 'personal' conversation seems to take a 'segway' and go off on a tangent. An interesting and cautionary tale.

Zeb Kantrowitz

Army of the Republic is a novel of the "near future", and is based on an ". . . if this goes on" scenario of corporate rapaciousness, government dysfunction, and environmental neglect. In addition to being thrilling and intriguing, this is a frightening book, because Stuart Archer Cohen handles his multiple characters' points of view with clarity and allows each to make their points about the side they've chosen in the war of the Constitution versus the world. The Middle Class is disappearing from America, and it is not going gently into that good night.

The protagonist is a corporate CEO who bets his future on "privatizing" the water (including rainfall) of the Pacific northwest and selling it via pipeline to LA and Las Vegas. He is manipulated into increasingly ruthless suppression of public opposition to his program that threatens his business. In the meanwhile, he is becoming estranged from his family including a wife who originally fell in love with him in part due to his social concience, and a son who has become a secret leader in militant opposition to his corporation and others.

The plot is drawn from parallel events in the recent news, and is deftly painted from shadows among conspirators, rebels, and fellow travelers. You get to know these people, and the author skillfully allows them to explain why they think and act as they do. Each character -- father, mother, son, son's love interest -- and their various emotional states, rationalizations, and points of view are masterfully handled in a wonderful buildup in suspense.

If you are concerned about the "whys" and "whos" as well as the "whats" and "hows" of current events, and you orry about the future and trends in America, this book is for you. All of the book's elements -- characters, plot, and dialog are tauntly drawn, and it draws one in completely for a wild ride. There is a world of dramatic tension between characters who care about one another. While the ending is satisfactory, I liked the author leaving room for a sequel.

The only negative is that some will mistakenly argue this book appeals only to the political left but it should appeal to almost anyone who keeps up with current events and is worried about the role and fate of America in the future. Like I said, if you have friends who are conspiracy buffs, I wouldn't give this to them.

Eerily similar to some of the things we see on the news.

A collapsing economy, "Whitehall counterinsurgency program" parallels to "Black Water", corporate control, struggle for control over water for a large part of the nation, government denial, murders of key players, corporations occupying our government, increasing government control of everything imaginable (with "big brother" to tag along) and those fighting to keep America a democracy, the "insurgents", or something that resembles as much. The "test run" for dictatorship by corporate America is a bit too close to many things we see every day on the news (when/if we do watch, and if we don't, we no doubt hear it from someone we know.)

A real page-turner, not for the squeamish! I wonder if his one really belongs in the fiction section (I'm sure names have been changed, etc., but it makes one wonder!) Great conspiracy theorists book!

Enjoy!

Stuart Archer Cohen's The Army of the Republic is a fun, fast-paced read. It takes place in an America that is as plausible as it is frightening. On the side of freedom are Emily Cortright and Lando, two activists opposed to the abuses of the current administration and its corporate cohorts. They face an increasingly totalitarian government in their fight to educate and inspire the disenfranchised masses.

While the protests that play out between the activists and the corrupt government are exciting, the ethical dilemmas the characters face are the real heart of the book. Characters on both sides are portrayed honestly and realistically, as each individual must decide when--if ever--it is okay to use violence to achieve political goals. The author uses first-person perspective, but alternates between characters to create an interesting, well-balanced view of the events that transpire throughout the book.

The dialogue is snappy, the characters believable, and the tension palpable. If you are looking for a novel that is both entertaining and inspiring, I highly recommend picking up a copy.

The concept for the book is very creative and imaginative. Reminiscent of Ayn Rand, this is a manifesto within a novel (but not in the ideology of Rand nor, fortunately, with the self-indulgence of Rand, but also not with the literary quality of Rand). I waffled between 2 or 3 stars, because I did enjoy reading it, but had to put forth a lot of effort to overlook the negative points in order to do so.

I was able to put myself in the story with the characters and get caught up in what they were doing. That's always a good thing in a novel.

Ideologically, there's merit in his exposure of the fatal flaws in the military-industrial, semi-public, semi-private, semi-fascist, and ultimately unsustainable system that rules the USA.

But...

The ideological message of the embedded manifesto is confused. As nearly as I can tell, he's for Democracy that pursues the common good as he defines it (Goodness), not the common good as others define it (Evil). Cohen doesn't explore the stark dichotomy between common good and individual liberty that's at the heart of the matter. If he wants government to pursue common good, it must do so at gunpoint (or constant threat of gunpoint). So ultimately Cohen's beef is that the wrong guys (Evil Guys) are holding the guns, and he thinks it should be people who agree with him (Good Guys). [Read Lew Rockwell, Thomas Woods, Walter Block, and Hans Hoppe to understand how individual liberty is a better system than common good at gunpoint.] At any rate, if his view were clearly articulated, I could disagree and still enjoy the book more, but it was so muddled I struggled to understand what he was advocating.

Cohen needs to review the cardinal rule: Be CLEAR, not CLEVER. Cohen chose to write in alternating first person, which probably seemed to him a cool and innovative way to write. As he carried it off, though, it made the story disjointed and hard to follow.

The editing was shoddy - many typos and annoyances (like switching the spelling of McPhee to McFee and back several times in adjacent sentences). An occasional instance of this sort of thing is fine, but this book is rife with shoddiness.