State of Disobedience »

In 1974, at age seventeen, Tom Kratman became a political refugee and defector from the PRM (People's Republic of Massachusetts) by virtue of joining the Regular Army. He stayed a Regular Army infantryman most of his adult life, returning to Massachusetts as an unofficial dissident while attending Boston College after his first hitch. Back in the Army, he managed to do just about everything there was to do, at one time or another. After the Gulf War, and with the bottom dropping completely out of the anti-communism market, Tom decided to become a lawyer. (Big mistake, way big. Chilluns don't do it.) Every now and again, when the frustrations of legal life and having to deal with other lawyers got to be too much, Tom would rejoin the Army (or a somewhat similar group, say) for fun and frolic in other climes. His family, muttering darkly, still puts up with this. Tom is currently an attorney practicing in southwest Virginia. A State of Disobedience is his first novel.

In the long war against terrorism, the US Government had taken on extraordinary powers. And now that the war was won, powerful forces in the government had no intention of relinquishing those powers. As in 1860, the country was on the verge of civil war. And as in 1860, a leader arose to save the country-but it was not the President this time. Instead, the Governor of Texas was the woman of destiny. . . .

Dr. Lesley Farmer - KLIATT

A Catholic mission in Texas is assaulted, and the priest and children are all murdered. Governor Juanita Sequin is outraged and wants to address the wrong, but the leftist woman President wants to squelch the program. The stakes rise as the militia is called in, and volunteer Texans try to defend their boundaries and their rights. Increasingly, federal personnel question the President's actions and defect. After massacres, New Mexico joins Texas in disobeying the President. Who is the enemy? This libertarian-inspired combat story is stacked in favor of God-fearing, caring states' rights activists and against atheistic, lesbian Democrats. There's lots of military action and righteous retaliation in this cautionary tale. Characterization is shallow since the main focus is a "message" near-future story that will appeal to libertarian SFers (a growing crowd). KLIATT Codes: SA--Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2003, Baen, 435p., Ages 15 to adult.