Challenge
Generally speaking, I spend so much time reading newspapers online and off, news magazines and blogs, when I want to read fiction, I shy away from anything remotely resembling the current version of reality. At the urging of some friends at Eschaton, however, I made an exception and read Bob Hoffman's Challenge. I'm glad I did.
It's a crackling good story that starts with a bang (literally) as a college professor shoots himself at the end of a rambling lecture at a small Midwestern college. As his friends and colleagues try to figure out why this normally solid man would do such a thing, they discover a super-secret agency which has taken over control of the government, all forms of communication, even religion as it attempts to re-form America in its own image. The characters driving the plot are all 'regular folks,' the kind who populate our colleges, our businesses, our neighborhoods, good and decent people, and in the end they triumph out sheer doggedness and the belief that they have to do what they are doing.
What I found particularly fascinating was the way the agency manipulated all facets of news and how it was presented to the public. Not only were the news deliverers hand picked and trained in the delivery techniques, they were constantly monitored and replaced at the slightest deviation from the script, dismissed into disgrace and worse. I had a hard time watching even the local newscasts for more than a week after finishing the book, wondering just how close Mr. Hoffman came to discovering why the pablum we are fed each night is the way it is.
The book is not suitable for those quiet minutes spent with the latest best seller before bed time. It's too angry-making and appalling. It is, however, a great story and well worth carving out some time for reading and pondering.
Challenge can be ordered directly from Acorn Publishing at its web site.
It's a crackling good story that starts with a bang (literally) as a college professor shoots himself at the end of a rambling lecture at a small Midwestern college. As his friends and colleagues try to figure out why this normally solid man would do such a thing, they discover a super-secret agency which has taken over control of the government, all forms of communication, even religion as it attempts to re-form America in its own image. The characters driving the plot are all 'regular folks,' the kind who populate our colleges, our businesses, our neighborhoods, good and decent people, and in the end they triumph out sheer doggedness and the belief that they have to do what they are doing.
What I found particularly fascinating was the way the agency manipulated all facets of news and how it was presented to the public. Not only were the news deliverers hand picked and trained in the delivery techniques, they were constantly monitored and replaced at the slightest deviation from the script, dismissed into disgrace and worse. I had a hard time watching even the local newscasts for more than a week after finishing the book, wondering just how close Mr. Hoffman came to discovering why the pablum we are fed each night is the way it is.
The book is not suitable for those quiet minutes spent with the latest best seller before bed time. It's too angry-making and appalling. It is, however, a great story and well worth carving out some time for reading and pondering.
Challenge can be ordered directly from Acorn Publishing at its web site.
posted by Diane at 11:47 AM
1 Comments:
Great review. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, especially since it took our current reality and carried it through to my worst nightmare.
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