All Thy Sonsby K.M. Breakey
Released: February 3, 2019
Genre: Political Fiction
Description:
Life's unfolding on schedule for Tony Fierro. Raised in Vancouver by a loving Catholic family, he's blessed with good looks and self-confidence to burn. He gets the job. He woos the girl. He has the world by the tail.
But the world is acting strangely. Irrationally. Immorally. Tony questions the progressive mantras that pervade modern-day culture, but quietly. Better to ignore them, laugh at them, even as the absurdities multiply and turn dangerous.
His pal Ivan senses the evil lurking and warns of impending calamity. But Ivan's paranoid. An alarmist. He always was. Tony's got better things to do, like raise his boys, pay his mortgage, live his life.
When tragedy strikes, Tony's world crashes. He wakes from his slumber and sees a country at war with itself, a government complicit in the destruction, the pattern playing out across the Western World.
He can no longer stay silent, but will his message cross the line as a new Dystopian order rises. All Thy Sons explores a hellish future of chaos and racial violence. A future where remaining First World sanctuaries vanish with stunning rapidity.
What happens when there are no safe neighborhoods, or cities, or countries? Do we lapse into tribalism? Do we rise? Or does a new master rise?
My Thoughts:
This looked like another exciting, disturbing, and deep read by K.M. Breakey, but I had it on my to-be-read queue for a while, mainly because I wanted to be in the right frame of mind to fully enjoy and process it.
So now that I have read it, what did I think? It was what I expected, in general. A deep dive into one person's perspective of the social and political landscape, but built from their youth, through today, and then into the near future. Unlike Never, Never, and Never Again, this one doesn't stop at the present day, but takes a stab at where today's trends might take us.
Now for why it took me so long to read this. Simply put, I knew from past reads that the scenarios, opinions, outcomes, and examples would directly or indirectly conflict with my own life view. It's tough to prepare yourself to read something that's going to challenge how you perceive the world, but I keep reading Mr. Breakey's books because I think it's important to see the other side, to empathize, if not sympathize, with someone else’s deeply held beliefs.
Did this book convert me to another way of thinking? No, not exactly, but it did point out some interesting things, and I will try to pay more attention when I see them in real life. As for the writing and the story telling? They're spot on. This is a well-thought out story that stays true to its purpose and the guiding principles and influencing events of its characters.
On the other hand, I found it a bit politically preachy in places, especially when the friends in the book would engage in conversations with only one viewpoint or when one of the participants in a scene was portrayed as wrongheaded and unrealistically naive. Are there folks out there like that? Yeah, but not everyone who disagrees with someone's viewpoint is wrong or illogical or to be pitied, no matter which side we're talking about.
In any case, my biggest takeaway from this book is that it isn't necessarily one political leaning or another that can lead our society to its destruction. Instead, it is the polarization, the open hostility, and even the artificial harmony that hides the strong fears and prejudices that people really feel. As in this story's dystopian outcome, this internal strife (and by internal, I mean amongst those in a single country or community) weakens us and makes us vulnerable to outside interests who may want to exploit us or even take over.
Is that what the author wanted me to learn? I'm not sure. But it is what I took away. Does this story leave you feeling warm and fuzzy? Nope, and it doesn't mean to. In fact, if you're progressive or liberal, I feel like this story might deeply offend or even anger you, so take that into consideration. Still, I think it provides a valuable look into another perspective, whether or not that perspective is popular in the mainstream, wrong or right. That's why I read this book and will probably read more by this author.
Overall, I really liked the book, but found it personally challenging to read it with an open mind. It left me thinking and didn't leave me feeling comfortable with the way things are going in the world, not that I was particularly comfortable anyway. Recommended for folks who like political fiction and fictional memoirs.
I received the review copy of this book from the author.
About the Author:
He has also published Creator Class and The World Clicks. To learn more, visit kmbreakey.com.
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