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South
Luis Ojeda owes his life to the Pacifico Norte cartel. Literally. Now it’s time to pay.
Luis led escaping American Muslims out of the U.S. during the ten years following a 2019 terrorist attack on Chicago. He retired after nearly being killed by a border guard. But now in 2032, the Nortes give Luis a choice: pay back the fortune they spent saving his life, or take on a special job.
The job: Nora Khaled – FBI agent, wife, mother of two, and Muslim. She claims her husband will be exiled to one of the nation’s remote prison camps to rot with over 400,000 other Muslim Americans. Faced with her family’s destruction, she’s forced to turn to Luis – the kind of man she’s spent her career bringing to justice.
But when the FBI publicly accuses Nora of terrorism, Luis learns Nora’s real motive for heading south: she has proof that the nation’s recent history is based on a lie – a lie that reaches to the government’s highest levels.
Torn between self-preservation and the last shreds of his idealism, Luis guides Nora and her family toward refuge in civil war-wracked Mexico. The FBI, a dogged ICE agent, killer drones, bandits, and the fearsome Zeta cartel all plan to stop him. Success might just free Luis from the Nortes…but failure means disappearing into a black-site prison, or a gruesome death for them all.
In a day-after-tomorrow America where government has been downsized and outsourced into irrelevance, and none but the very wealthy few can afford hopes or dreams, Luis and Nora must learn to trust each other to ensure the survival of the truth, and of the people they love.
Luis led escaping American Muslims out of the U.S. during the ten years following a 2019 terrorist attack on Chicago. He retired after nearly being killed by a border guard. But now in 2032, the Nortes give Luis a choice: pay back the fortune they spent saving his life, or take on a special job.
The job: Nora Khaled – FBI agent, wife, mother of two, and Muslim. She claims her husband will be exiled to one of the nation’s remote prison camps to rot with over 400,000 other Muslim Americans. Faced with her family’s destruction, she’s forced to turn to Luis – the kind of man she’s spent her career bringing to justice.
But when the FBI publicly accuses Nora of terrorism, Luis learns Nora’s real motive for heading south: she has proof that the nation’s recent history is based on a lie – a lie that reaches to the government’s highest levels.
Torn between self-preservation and the last shreds of his idealism, Luis guides Nora and her family toward refuge in civil war-wracked Mexico. The FBI, a dogged ICE agent, killer drones, bandits, and the fearsome Zeta cartel all plan to stop him. Success might just free Luis from the Nortes…but failure means disappearing into a black-site prison, or a gruesome death for them all.
In a day-after-tomorrow America where government has been downsized and outsourced into irrelevance, and none but the very wealthy few can afford hopes or dreams, Luis and Nora must learn to trust each other to ensure the survival of the truth, and of the people they love.
- GenresMystery ThrillerThriller
385 pages, ebook
First published October 27, 2013
9 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Lance Charnes
7 books97 followersI’ve been an Air Force intelligence officer, information technology manager, computer-game artist, set designer, Jeopardy! contestant, and now an emergency management specialist. I've had training in architectural rendering, terrorist incident response, and maritime archaeology, although not all at the same time. My Facebook author page (https://www.facebook.com/Lance.Charne...) features spies, archaeology, and art crime.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 30, 2015
Not really SF, just near future US, 20 years from now. Charnes projects a lot of what's going wrong now into a really bad America. Health care is almost nonexistent for anyone except the rich. Privatization of public works & utilities has resulted in monopolies that make most services too expensive. A lot has gone bad & it's all too possible. That's why this took me so long to read. The world is just too real, horrible, & plausible. It's plain depressing. I often couldn't work up the courage to read it before going to bed, so read it only by the light of day with all its distractions.
The writing, story, & characters are just wonderful, though. The characters tell the story through their actions & hard decisions. People aren't good or bad, they're just people trying to get by. Some do really bad things for what they consider good reasons & good things when they know they shouldn't. It's about survival, though.
While there is plenty of action & some gore, none of it is gratuitous. There is a bit of sex, but it's off screen between a married couple. There are the results of rape, drug addiction, & torture, but only a little is center action.
As depressing as the world was, once I got half way through, I had trouble putting the book down. My lunch hour (I usually only take 30 minutes.) went over an hour today. I got home & HAD to finish. Glad I did. There is some hope, but all is not rosy. The ending is as well done as the rest.
This is a standalone, so you can read it before or after Charnes' other book. I highly suggest you read both if you like spy thrillers. You can't do better. I rarely give this genre 5 stars, but this one deserves it. I'll keep an eye out for another book by Charnes. We're not friends here on GR, but we do belong to a group or two together, so I'm sure I'll see an announcement. Can't wait!
The writing, story, & characters are just wonderful, though. The characters tell the story through their actions & hard decisions. People aren't good or bad, they're just people trying to get by. Some do really bad things for what they consider good reasons & good things when they know they shouldn't. It's about survival, though.
While there is plenty of action & some gore, none of it is gratuitous. There is a bit of sex, but it's off screen between a married couple. There are the results of rape, drug addiction, & torture, but only a little is center action.
As depressing as the world was, once I got half way through, I had trouble putting the book down. My lunch hour (I usually only take 30 minutes.) went over an hour today. I got home & HAD to finish. Glad I did. There is some hope, but all is not rosy. The ending is as well done as the rest.
This is a standalone, so you can read it before or after Charnes' other book. I highly suggest you read both if you like spy thrillers. You can't do better. I rarely give this genre 5 stars, but this one deserves it. I'll keep an eye out for another book by Charnes. We're not friends here on GR, but we do belong to a group or two together, so I'm sure I'll see an announcement. Can't wait!
December 1, 2013
Author Lance Charnes has considered current trends, read the tea leaves, and created one possible future that will chill you to the bone. It is twenty years in the future. The American economy has collapsed. The gap between rich and poor is a chasm as vast as the Grand Canyon. Local governments have gone bankrupt. The federal government and its agencies are corrupt from the top down. Two vast drug cartels are economic and political powers on both sides of the Mexican border. The greatest accomplishment for an average American is to simply survive.
A false flag incident—whose facts have been distorted by elements of the federal government—has made targets of Arabs and Muslims. All considered suspected terrorists, they are persecuted like German Jews in World War II. The fortunate flee the country. The rest are rounded up and sent to ‘camps’, never to be heard from again.
Nora Khaled is an FBI agent, her husband a diplomat. They are patriotic, America-born Muslims. But Nora carries a secret that could bring down the current administration and its entire ‘counter-terrorism’ infrastructure. Consequently, she’s been declared a terrorist and must get her family South, across the border. A counter-terrorism specialist herself, Nora is forced to go against all her instincts and negotiate with one of the drug cartels to smuggle herself and her family to safety in Mexico. The cartel taps retired border smuggler Luis Ojedo to get Nora and her family across the heavily guarded, lethal border. Luis nearly died in his last crossing effort and swore to his wife to never do it again. But the cartel threatens Luis and his family, forcing him to take the mission.
Luis and Nora, two characters from opposite sides of the law, must learn to trust each other with their lives. Their adventure, dodging fugitive death squads and intrusive electronic surveillance, facing treachery at every turn, form the plot of South.
As in his first thriller, Doha 12, Charnes creates characters you can understand and care for. The action scenes in South make you feel as though you are a participant. These well-crafted elements combine to wrap you up in the story until the very end. This is a book you will remember for a long, long time, and a cautionary tale about where America might be heading.
South is a brilliantly conceived and executed thriller. As good—or maybe better— than anything coming out of main stream publishing, South is truly worthy of a 5 Star rating. I can’t wait to see where Mr. Charnes takes us with his next novel.
A false flag incident—whose facts have been distorted by elements of the federal government—has made targets of Arabs and Muslims. All considered suspected terrorists, they are persecuted like German Jews in World War II. The fortunate flee the country. The rest are rounded up and sent to ‘camps’, never to be heard from again.
Nora Khaled is an FBI agent, her husband a diplomat. They are patriotic, America-born Muslims. But Nora carries a secret that could bring down the current administration and its entire ‘counter-terrorism’ infrastructure. Consequently, she’s been declared a terrorist and must get her family South, across the border. A counter-terrorism specialist herself, Nora is forced to go against all her instincts and negotiate with one of the drug cartels to smuggle herself and her family to safety in Mexico. The cartel taps retired border smuggler Luis Ojedo to get Nora and her family across the heavily guarded, lethal border. Luis nearly died in his last crossing effort and swore to his wife to never do it again. But the cartel threatens Luis and his family, forcing him to take the mission.
Luis and Nora, two characters from opposite sides of the law, must learn to trust each other with their lives. Their adventure, dodging fugitive death squads and intrusive electronic surveillance, facing treachery at every turn, form the plot of South.
As in his first thriller, Doha 12, Charnes creates characters you can understand and care for. The action scenes in South make you feel as though you are a participant. These well-crafted elements combine to wrap you up in the story until the very end. This is a book you will remember for a long, long time, and a cautionary tale about where America might be heading.
South is a brilliantly conceived and executed thriller. As good—or maybe better— than anything coming out of main stream publishing, South is truly worthy of a 5 Star rating. I can’t wait to see where Mr. Charnes takes us with his next novel.
November 6, 2013
The first time I saw NoH8 on a license plate, I thought, maybe there is hope for our future. But as soon as prejudice disappears, it comes roaring back from the slightest excuse. This book is like Ebenezer's Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Imagine an American politician who uses a disaster to fan the flames of racial hatred and solidifies his power base. The resulting corruption would be catastrophic. This is the cautionary tale of that possibility.
The story is fast paced and full of tense moments that keep you awake. There is a heartbreaking scene at a border crossing and another deadly encounter in the desert that stand out among the many really great scenes.
The characters feel like your neighbors. They're real and react the same way you would in the situation. The bad guys are terrible people who need to be stopped. And there are other characters who have to choose which side they're on.
The story will keep you guessing all the way through. I highly recommend this book!
The story is fast paced and full of tense moments that keep you awake. There is a heartbreaking scene at a border crossing and another deadly encounter in the desert that stand out among the many really great scenes.
The characters feel like your neighbors. They're real and react the same way you would in the situation. The bad guys are terrible people who need to be stopped. And there are other characters who have to choose which side they're on.
The story will keep you guessing all the way through. I highly recommend this book!
January 23, 2014
You will find no better dystopian thriller than SOUTH by Lance Charnes for a host of reasons. If you’re a reader, you’ll love the literary thrill ride. If you’re a sci-fi fan, you’ll find the near-future unique and realistic. If you’re a writer, you can learn from this masterpiece. If you love flesh and blood characters, this story packs them in. If you love plot twists, try to figure out the alliances in this one.
I break that down in detail on my site, Thriller of the Week - SOUTH
Peace, Seeley
I break that down in detail on my site, Thriller of the Week - SOUTH
Peace, Seeley
November 6, 2013
4.5 stars. Wasn't available to review on Goodreads when I originally read it, but I've recorded the impressions here: http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/...
November 5, 2013
Wow, what a great book. From the opening chapters, everything was different from what you expect. It's a bleak future but as you read, not too far off from our current direction. This one has new characters from his first book, but they're just as fully developed and sympathetic. The action is stunning. The chase scenes will have you turning pages with white knuckles and the tension never stops. Everyone should read this book.
November 10, 2013
Oh wow. Really. The book is set in southern California and Mexico in the year 2032. The situation is what you'd expect if believers of Ayn Rand smoked a lot of crack and managed to take over the USA. People are leaving as fast as they used to try to come here and one family's in need of someone to escort them. That's all the plot I'm giving away. Lots of suspense and the characters will really get to you, make you care about them big time.
September 21, 2014
The last time I read a novel by Lance Charnes, I was VERY UPSET by the ending, trying to reconcile my hurt feelings with what was a really good book. Obviously I wanted to experience severe dissonance again; enter ‘SOUTH’ his second published novel.
So it is the year 2032 and everything sucks. I hate the term ‘dystopian’ but the book is set in dystopian future California, the USA, 2030s. And EVERYTHING SUCKS.
Society has imploded and EVERYTHING SUCKS. Shit you guys. I was reading this cringing because everything has gone wrong. Nora is an American Muslim lady and she works for the FBI. An event in 2019 involving a terror attack and misinformation of epic proportions turns everything to shit and she uncovers a very huge secret surrounding it. She and her family, harbouring this secret are in danger and have to get out of the United States. They need to go South. Enter Luis Ojeda, the man who is going to take them there.
Now, I am not an American person, neither am I a Mexican person, but I do know that there is some contention over immigration from one of those countries to the other, and you know from which country to which. I felt that with the struggle that Luis, Nora and her family had trying to go the other way over, leave alone the political and legal stuff Nora has going on, there was sort of a side-eye glance at the current day struggles of immigration between those two places.
The story is very fast. There are many things happening at once with many characters. I got the impression that I walked into an already very established landscape and I had to jog along to keep up.
This novel has some very heavy themes. Heavy like terrorism,patriotism, Islamophobia; they aren't in any way shoved down your throat but they are present and horribly jarring. The book is fiction, and set in the somewhat, sort of distant future but looking at the state of things now, you can see the situation in the book becoming our reality with enough social and political missteps.
I really liked this book. I got to the end and felt, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m back’; back in my room, in Nairobi, and getting late for class. It was very immersive you guys. THIS ENDING WAS VERY UPSETTING AS WELL, no spoilers but what can you do. Sensitive readers should beware of violence and colourful language.
Four stars out of Five.
Visit the author, Lance Charnes at his website: http://www.wombatgroup.com/
And read his tweets right here: https://twitter.com/lcharnes
So it is the year 2032 and everything sucks. I hate the term ‘dystopian’ but the book is set in dystopian future California, the USA, 2030s. And EVERYTHING SUCKS.
Society has imploded and EVERYTHING SUCKS. Shit you guys. I was reading this cringing because everything has gone wrong. Nora is an American Muslim lady and she works for the FBI. An event in 2019 involving a terror attack and misinformation of epic proportions turns everything to shit and she uncovers a very huge secret surrounding it. She and her family, harbouring this secret are in danger and have to get out of the United States. They need to go South. Enter Luis Ojeda, the man who is going to take them there.
Now, I am not an American person, neither am I a Mexican person, but I do know that there is some contention over immigration from one of those countries to the other, and you know from which country to which. I felt that with the struggle that Luis, Nora and her family had trying to go the other way over, leave alone the political and legal stuff Nora has going on, there was sort of a side-eye glance at the current day struggles of immigration between those two places.
The story is very fast. There are many things happening at once with many characters. I got the impression that I walked into an already very established landscape and I had to jog along to keep up.
This novel has some very heavy themes. Heavy like terrorism,patriotism, Islamophobia; they aren't in any way shoved down your throat but they are present and horribly jarring. The book is fiction, and set in the somewhat, sort of distant future but looking at the state of things now, you can see the situation in the book becoming our reality with enough social and political missteps.
I really liked this book. I got to the end and felt, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m back’; back in my room, in Nairobi, and getting late for class. It was very immersive you guys. THIS ENDING WAS VERY UPSETTING AS WELL, no spoilers but what can you do. Sensitive readers should beware of violence and colourful language.
Four stars out of Five.
Visit the author, Lance Charnes at his website: http://www.wombatgroup.com/
And read his tweets right here: https://twitter.com/lcharnes
May 25, 2014
It's 1984 all over again.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews