Customer Reviews

The Fall of the Republic (Chronoplane Wars Trilogy)

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Really, this was a satisfying read. It is much better than Kilian's Empire of Time, I think. The characterization is solid, dialogue natural and believable, and the plot was compelling.

This novel is set in the mid-1990's and the world is on the verge of collapse. Several nations have already descended into chaos and the US is now only months away from anarchy. The old nationalism no longer works. But the discovery of "Trainables" - a select portion of the teenager population who can be trained to read, comprehend, and remember vast amounts of data like a computer - staves off disaster for a little longer. The Trainables are placed in vital government jobs - security, analysis, etc. With these "human computers" in place, the government has a finger in the dyke.

The characters are interesting and believable. Jerry Pierce as the quiet, eminently resourceful CIA paramilitary field man. And his boss, Eric Wigner, is a treat to watch develop on the pages. I've never read a book about the CIA, but this character Wigner is precisely how I would imagine such a man to be. Wigner is ambitious, brilliant, and amoral. Wigner is out to save the world from itself - he believes the only way to do that is to let Trainables take over and abolish nationalism in favor of a one-world government. It turns out he's right too. And he uses every trick to accomplish his goal. People who get in his way he either goes around, blackmails, befriends and rewards, or even murders, using Pierce as his enforcer. I could forgive Wigner his sins because he is trying to save mankind from itself. And because he was right.

I would recommend this book to any sci-fi fan, and even those who are not. Kilian gets it done in this one.

I have recommended "Empire of Time" to my sci-fi friends. It has a few inconsistencies (When exactly did Ishigawa die - different parts of the book mention he died at different events). However, overall "Empire of Time" is bursting with energy, great ideas, and leaves you wanting more.

"Fall of the Republic" is basically a poor book. It was published in 1998 and clearly suffers from the lack of an editor. The pace of the book is plodding and the quality of writing is substandard.

If Crawford finds a good editor who is willing to be critical, this book could be great in a revision. Right now it feels like a first draft and an embarrassment to "Empire of Time."