The List

by Larry J. Tate

Along with the rest of humanity, best friends, Mark Stimes and Bailey Jensen live below the surface of the earth. The Green Movement has thoroughly brainwashed the world into believing that the only salvation for Mother Earth was for humanity to be permanently banished below her surface. Several generations earlier, the Constitution was outlawed, and a strong government is now a cruel and insensitive overlord. Free speech, individualism and private enterprise have ceased to exist, and retirement is no longer an option. There are no courts, judges, juries or prisons. The government's computer is the sole judge of right and wrong, and the penalty for crime, whether great or small, is death! Excursions to the topside are forbidden, so no one has any idea what it looks like. Escape from the underworld is considered impossible, and any such attempt is punished by torture and death in the public square. Armed with nothing more than handed-down stories of the beauty and freedom associated with the topside, Mark hatches a dangerous scheme to escape from the underworld. Despite the odds against success, Mark and Bailey have decided that life in the underworld is worse than death, so escape is their only option. Author Larry Tate has been writing books for several years. The List is his sixth book. Previous books are: Conversations with a Stranger, The Journey, Righting Wrongs, Shadow Truth, and Promises and Pathways. Larry and his wife, Ginger, have been married for over forty-two years and enjoy time spent with their children and grandchildren.

344 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 2013

About the author

Several years ago, Author Larry Tate began writing short articles for his own enjoyment. Later, he turned to writing books. Larry's desire is for others to listen to their innermost yearnings to have a relationship with God. Larry and his wife, Ginger have been married since 1971.

Reviews

[Bryan Cacciatore · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lisa is a story of the future if we keep letting big brother watch us the way it is. Drawn in the future when humans have moved underground to save mother earth, not many question their life. This book follows one of the people that do and that have heard about how things used to be.

I really enjoyed the book, I just wish it was broken up differently. Throughout the book there are "history lessons" of the main character remembering or telling the story of what his grandfather used to tell him as a child. While I understand that they are there to set the scene, I think the book would have done well without most of it. It was used to convince another character of what life could be like and also let the reader know why things got the way they did, but a lot of it came off as very preachy or anti-government when the main plot would have been able to be driven faster without it.

The List is a good read set in a good world with good characters, but nothing more than just good. While this will have me trying out another book by this author because I like the adventure he brought me on, I would say this book is a pass to those who are very picky about pacing. If you are running low on books in your queue, I say give this one a read even though you won't be dazzled.