NEXT BEST HOPE (The Revelation Trilogy Book 2) Kindle Edition

The first thing that caught my eye in this novel was the panoply of character names: Ert Roberts, Leadoff Pickens, Quanah Parker Brown, etc. I found myself giggling knowingly. (Quanah Parker's mother was first buried right up the road.) As a resident of East Texas and frequenter of town squares, fiddlin' contests, and Walmart, I would have guessed from where this author hailed even without a byline. I don't know what possesses mothers in this area to name their babies as such; one guesses it is to separate them from the garden variety Bubba Jays. Texas has no dearth of colorful characters, and East Texas has them in spades. No need to make this stuff up. No sirreee. I say this with all due respect (NO, I am not writing this to "Dueling Banjoes"); my own roots go all the way to the backwoods of Tennessee, and there's no way of knowing if the family tree even forked, let alone branched.

On a "seriouser" note, Stephen Woodfin has delivered a BOMB of a novel here. Why would this surprise me? He claims to be an attorney. Nah. Number one, any lawyer joke I ever heard doesn't come near fitting his depth of character. Number two, no practice would hire someone who could out-write most masters of the literary canon, for fear of being overshadowed. That said, however, no one would believe I was once the general manager for an English Rose company, either. Good writers should give up the eating habit. If he is indeed an attorney, he needs to quit and devote more time to cranking out these profound novels. Woodfin, your country needs you.

Always a fan of apocalyptic anything, I was taken with the immediacy of a breathless, first-page plunge into the action of this story, thanks to character Ithurial Finis. See what I mean about names?Read more ›

As an Anglo-Franco the first thing that engaged me in this book was just how American it is. The characters' names, the distances they drive, the names of places and the cultural references all work together to hold the reader authentically in the action. It's one of those books where you know the make of the gun and the type of car that a character is using. Perhaps these are technical points but to me it makes it real. More important really is the broad philosophical theme that directs the course of the story. The enemy is not religion per se, but fundamentalism. When tracts or texts allow for violence to enforce any concept, civilisation has to take note and stand up. The scenario is disturbingly plausible. Fundamentalists seek to seize power by armed rebellion against the state. I will not say any more than that because you will want to read it for yourself. The writer adopts an all seeing viewpoint, allowing many characters and threads to intersect, tangle, unravel and conflict. The result is a powerful story which you always feel could be happening outside your window. Characters are drawn from the well of life, politics and ambition. Everyone knows characters like these or has seen them in history. This is the second book in the author's "Revelation Trilogy". I'm looking forward to the third book "The Revelation Effect" which is out now - and keeping my eye on CNN - just in case.

This is the 2nd on the trilogy and was a little slower paced than the 1st, but still packed with action and twists to keep the reader involved and interested in turning the pages. Looking forward to reading the last one to finish out the full story!

What a chilling and realistic portrait of our country this is. As the book opens, the President and the next seven people in the line of succession are assassinated. The country is thrown into turmoil as the ninth in line, a Texan named Bass Whitfield, who happens to be the Secretary of Agriculture, is sworn in to be President.

A political party called CM for Christian Militants is on the ascendant, and the chaos at the top gives the CM leaders the catalyst they need to seek support from the people. An unholy cabal of a megachurch pastor, a dirty Senator and a religious Secret Service agent seize the moment and convince several U.S. states to secede from the Union and form a new country called New Israel.

What I liked about Next Best Hope is that there is far more to the book than its plot, gripping as it is. The characters are living, breathing human beings with strong feelings and the occasional philosophical brainwave. They are leaders of one kind or another, and the advisors of leaders, and they compare their own crisis with the Civil War. One important scene takes place on the battlefield at Shiloh. This gives the story gravitas.

The courts set up by the new government of New Israel, and the punishments carried out against thieves, drunk drivers and others make you think of Sharia Law and punishments we do not normally associate with the American Midwest. Yet there it is in Next Best Hope, summary executions and chopping off people's hands for stealing. I found this totally believable in the context of the story, and the story made me imagine these things really happening in our country, and how it could come to pass.

Next Best Hope is a first class thriller with all the elements of a great read -- good writing, a fantastic plot, and a very cool ending that completely surprised me. I'd definitely recommend this book if you like thrillers.