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The Enemies Trilogy #3
Foreign Enemies And Traitors
Foreign Enemies And Traitors" is set in the near future in an America that is creeping steadily toward socialist tyranny, in the midst of the second Great Depression. A year after earthquakes have devastated the Tennessee Valley, survivors are resisting demands by the federal government to relocate to FEMA refugee centers. United States National Guard units have proven ineffective at forcing these survivors out of the earthquake-damaged regions, due to their reluctance to employ deadly force against fellow Americans. As a result, the president has invited so-called foreign peacekeeping battalions to do the work of forcibly relocating the holdouts. The novel follows a small group of determined survivors in their resistance to the foreign enemies, and the American traitors who are their allies.
417 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 17, 2011
153 people are currently reading
435 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Bracken
11 books101 followersMatt Bracken was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1957 and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1979 with a degree in Russian Studies. He was commissioned in the US Navy through the NROTC program at UVA, and then graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training class 105 in Coronado California. He served on east coast UDT and SEAL teams, taking a Naval Special Warfare detachment to Beirut in 1983. Mr. Bracken left active duty after Lebanon, upon completion of his obligated military service, but he remained in an active reserve status through the remainder of the 1980s. Since then he has lived in Florida, Virginia, South Carolina, Guam and California. In 1993 Mr. Bracken finished building a 48-foot steel sailing cutter of his own design, on which he has done extensive ocean cruising, including a solo voyage 9,000 miles from Panama to Guam and two Panama Canal transits.
Matt is a self-described freedomista who loves ocean sailing for the pure freedom it often permits. He is a constitutionalist who believes in the original intent of the founding fathers of our country. He lives with his family in North Florida and longs for the wide blue ocean.
Matt is a self-described freedomista who loves ocean sailing for the pure freedom it often permits. He is a constitutionalist who believes in the original intent of the founding fathers of our country. He lives with his family in North Florida and longs for the wide blue ocean.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 58 reviews
March 26, 2014
I found the book to be a satisfying conclusion of the Enemies Trilogy. The storyline is tightly constructed and, other than Mr. Bracken's tendency to put too many words into his descriptions (resulting in my tendency to skip to the next "quote" of dialogue), the action was easy to visualize.
As to the subject matter….I would suggest the less direct use of obamanation might keep the story more current. The series topic is more universal, but the Obama and Bill Ayers connection has a limited shelf life.
Overall, this novel is the best of the series.
As to the subject matter….I would suggest the less direct use of obamanation might keep the story more current. The series topic is more universal, but the Obama and Bill Ayers connection has a limited shelf life.
Overall, this novel is the best of the series.
July 14, 2009
This trilogy is great! It is an easy to believe depiction of a future America that COULD be.
April 21, 2012
"Foreign Enemies and Traitors" paints an even bleaker picture of our future as Phil Carson can no longer hide from the realities of the lost freedom of his homeland. On a smuggling run, Carson is shipwrecked along the Southern Gulf coast with no means of retreating back to the relative safety and anonymity of the Caribbean where he had been hiding. He joins up with a group of freedom fighters led by a former Special Forces soldier who could not carry out the illegal orders he was given by his government so he deserts and establishes himself in the woods of his native Tennessee. A chance discovery offers proof of unbelievable war crimes against civilians and threatens to blow the fragile government apart.
J. Keith Jones
Reviewer
Author: In Due Time
J. Keith Jones
Reviewer
Author: In Due Time
July 5, 2012
Outstanding read - easily building on the first two in the series and eclipsing them with ease.
Numerous parallels to the world around us and that public cast of characters makes for a real "thinker."
Good fun adventure, a bit of the best sorts of human drama (can't explain lest it be spoiled) and virtue as a guiding value.
Numerous parallels to the world around us and that public cast of characters makes for a real "thinker."
Good fun adventure, a bit of the best sorts of human drama (can't explain lest it be spoiled) and virtue as a guiding value.
June 3, 2012
Great trilogy! I haven't read a trilogy this exciting and relevant in a while. If you like a good political thriller than I highly recommend this series. It will leave you feeling like wow what if? you find some of what is happening in this book can easily be happening today.
October 18, 2014
The thought that this can actually happen is absolutely terrifying.
April 15, 2014
Great plot lines, great characters. The book is very readable. I hope he has a forth book in this series.
Its fiction that gives you something to think about.
Its fiction that gives you something to think about.
March 16, 2018
seven eleven pee em the 16th of march 2018 early friday evening just finished good read four stars kindle owned. have read the other two in the enemies trilogy and been a while since i read #2...seemed almost fitting that there also seemed to be some time that has passed between #2 and this final. thought a few of the early scenes, people talking, setting up what is happening, tarfu, thought those a bit...something. okay, but wondered if they could have been done differently. later on, there's other scenes like that...equivalent of two sitting around a campfire telling tales...those worked no problem...not that the early scenes were a problem they only seemed like they interrupted the flow of the story. pres tarbox and his aid...maybe there was another, other leaders so forth so on. thought the cam david scenes great, the lead up. story takes a number of characters and follows through on them, there's no one travis mcgee but i guess even he had his meyer. anyway, good read, enjoyed the story. there's one...whud ya call it...continuity error? carson in the cab of the truck looking at the mirror when it is boone in the truck...carson is in the hide-out with the other. a few typos, missing letters or something, your eyes catch it is all...interrupts the flow like rocks in the river. onward and upward. 271" of snow for the winter. soon.
February 15, 2025
DNF at 32%. If a book ever needed an editor, it's this one. I like the premise of a broken no-longer-united states but this got so drawn out for no good reason. It would repeat itself within a couple paragraphs, which was maddening. Just not worth the time.
April 16, 2013
Good book. Felt that the history lessons seemed overdone.
March 29, 2014
Tremendous
to close to the happenings going on in our country and the world, so much of it is like a roadmap, showing what we should avoid
to close to the happenings going on in our country and the world, so much of it is like a roadmap, showing what we should avoid
Read
November 16, 2020Bracken manages, in the last installment of the trilogy, to include just about all of the fear-based memes of the folks who despair of the path our country has taken in the last fifty years. The action shifts back to our old acquaintance, Phil Carson, who has decided it's too hot down in South America and is returning to his native land with a cargo of real coffee beans and solar panels, both of which are in high demand in an economically strapped and energy poor United States, after one disastrous event follows another.
Phil, himself, can't seem to avoid tragedy, and instead of sailing to Texas - one of the last beacons of freedom in the country - he is blown off course by a tropical storm and shipwrecked somewhere on the coast of North Carolina. After he comes to land, we get to follow along with Phil on his journey to try to reach either Texas or the other "free" territory formed by several states in the Northwest. Martial law has descended on most of the South, as the federal government tries to get all those racist rednecks who are clinging to their guns and religion to accept pacification. In support of that effort, President Jamal Tambor has imported foreign troops from the former Soviet Union and Africa to help out, after U.S. soldiers refused to fire upon their countrymen.
Good 'ole Bob Bullard turns up once more, as a deniable liaison between the White House and the Kazaks pacifying Tennessee, where Carson runs into a few hitches in his journey, spending time in a relocation camp until he can ally with an Army doctor who is willing to help him on his way for the cargo on Phil's boat. There are still a few freedom fighters on the loose in Tennessee, and Phil joins them in their fight against the feds and their foreign allies.
A pretty good conclusion to the trilogy, but I hope Bracken gets around to writing about how things get put back together again someday.
Phil, himself, can't seem to avoid tragedy, and instead of sailing to Texas - one of the last beacons of freedom in the country - he is blown off course by a tropical storm and shipwrecked somewhere on the coast of North Carolina. After he comes to land, we get to follow along with Phil on his journey to try to reach either Texas or the other "free" territory formed by several states in the Northwest. Martial law has descended on most of the South, as the federal government tries to get all those racist rednecks who are clinging to their guns and religion to accept pacification. In support of that effort, President Jamal Tambor has imported foreign troops from the former Soviet Union and Africa to help out, after U.S. soldiers refused to fire upon their countrymen.
Good 'ole Bob Bullard turns up once more, as a deniable liaison between the White House and the Kazaks pacifying Tennessee, where Carson runs into a few hitches in his journey, spending time in a relocation camp until he can ally with an Army doctor who is willing to help him on his way for the cargo on Phil's boat. There are still a few freedom fighters on the loose in Tennessee, and Phil joins them in their fight against the feds and their foreign allies.
A pretty good conclusion to the trilogy, but I hope Bracken gets around to writing about how things get put back together again someday.
December 30, 2020
Great read.
Probably the best book in series.
I’d like little bit more information on what happened with foreign troops and NAL, and maybe a tiny bit more on direction toward future development of US as a country, but otherwise a great read.
My only comment is regarding Kazaks/Cossacks and Kazakhs.
The book keeps jumping from one to another, but those are very different people.
Kazakhs, who are people from Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic in Asia, are Muslims related to Mongols. They have their own language, although they generally can also speak Russian. They are Asians, generally smaller in height, dark haired.
Cossacks were militarized society who essentially Russians special forces, extremely loyal to Tzars with very long military traditions, who used to live in Ukraine.
Cossacks are Christians, and mix of Russian/Ukrainians, tall and blond.
After revolution Cossacks as society were essentially destroyed, but came back after the fall of Soviet Union in 1999s. They speak Ukrainian and Russian.
In Russian, Cossack is pronounced as Kazak.
Going by description in the book, the mercenaries are Kazakhs, not Kazaks.
This might be a minor issue for most readers, but for those who understand the differences this jumps at you, especially since the rest of the book is very well researched.
Still, 5 stars from me.
Probably the best book in series.
I’d like little bit more information on what happened with foreign troops and NAL, and maybe a tiny bit more on direction toward future development of US as a country, but otherwise a great read.
My only comment is regarding Kazaks/Cossacks and Kazakhs.
The book keeps jumping from one to another, but those are very different people.
Kazakhs, who are people from Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic in Asia, are Muslims related to Mongols. They have their own language, although they generally can also speak Russian. They are Asians, generally smaller in height, dark haired.
Cossacks were militarized society who essentially Russians special forces, extremely loyal to Tzars with very long military traditions, who used to live in Ukraine.
Cossacks are Christians, and mix of Russian/Ukrainians, tall and blond.
After revolution Cossacks as society were essentially destroyed, but came back after the fall of Soviet Union in 1999s. They speak Ukrainian and Russian.
In Russian, Cossack is pronounced as Kazak.
Going by description in the book, the mercenaries are Kazakhs, not Kazaks.
This might be a minor issue for most readers, but for those who understand the differences this jumps at you, especially since the rest of the book is very well researched.
Still, 5 stars from me.
March 4, 2022
Fantastic trilogy.
This trilogy is amazing. This series is inherently political, but one thing I love is how Bracken balances the politics. There are many ideological conflicts throughout this series, many times between the good guys. Like the Memphis refugee situation. You can see how being on either side of the looking glass would lead you to one conclusion. Granted, one side is mostly due to misinformation, but believing misinformation doesn't make you a bad
person. These books are very well written with compelling characters, and a convincing argument for the constitution and the necessity of the second amendment.
This trilogy is amazing. This series is inherently political, but one thing I love is how Bracken balances the politics. There are many ideological conflicts throughout this series, many times between the good guys. Like the Memphis refugee situation. You can see how being on either side of the looking glass would lead you to one conclusion. Granted, one side is mostly due to misinformation, but believing misinformation doesn't make you a bad
person. These books are very well written with compelling characters, and a convincing argument for the constitution and the necessity of the second amendment.
May 1, 2024
The Fall and Rise of America: A Dystopia Action Thriller
Bracken has concluded The Enemies trilogy magnificently as he places the final decision of American's fate in the hands of those who swore to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
In the concluding book, true colors are exposed and choices made which reveal their love or hate of America.
This fast paced action pack dystopia conclusion will have you on edge throughout the book.
Bracken has concluded The Enemies trilogy magnificently as he places the final decision of American's fate in the hands of those who swore to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
In the concluding book, true colors are exposed and choices made which reveal their love or hate of America.
This fast paced action pack dystopia conclusion will have you on edge throughout the book.
December 6, 2019
I loved the entire trilogy!
I started reading the first book in the trilogy because I like reading new authors. I liked the first book so much that I decided to read the rest. The author definitely didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed these books a lot and would highly recommend them.
I started reading the first book in the trilogy because I like reading new authors. I liked the first book so much that I decided to read the rest. The author definitely didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed these books a lot and would highly recommend them.
May 14, 2021
Matthew Bracken's trilogy is worth reading, in my opinion. He's written a lot of articles about how to fight and defeat domestic enemies. The fiction gave examples of how his tactics would work. And he would know since it was his profession before he became a writer.
January 25, 2025
Too good to put down
The author weaves a story that could be unfolding today with characters and subplots that leaves you wanting more. A real page turner that deserves more than 5 stars.
The author weaves a story that could be unfolding today with characters and subplots that leaves you wanting more. A real page turner that deserves more than 5 stars.
July 8, 2018
Anyone who is troubled by the current political climate should read this. Mr. Bracken knows of which he writes.
July 31, 2018
Foreign Enemies and Traitors review
Foreign Enemies and Traitors is the third excellent dystopian book in The Enemies Trilogy series written by author Matthew Bracken.
Foreign Enemies and Traitors is the third excellent dystopian book in The Enemies Trilogy series written by author Matthew Bracken.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 58 reviews