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Future History of America #1
Alea Jacta Est: A Novel of the Fall of America
Terrorists abroad and enemies at home act to cripple America's infrastructure and bring the once all-mighty nation to it's knees. When global leaders attempt to take advantage of America's weakened stake, the world is plunged into a conflict the likes of which no one could have predicted. Alea Jacta Est is set in the near future and weaves a story of crisis and conflict from Arizona, Florida and Washington, D.C., to Europe, the Middle East and China. It is a story of survival, courage, and terror that tells of just one way America may fall from power, and offers a glimmer of hope that she may yet rise again. As America goes, so goes the world...
- GenresPost ApocalypticAmazon
664 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 15, 2013
386 people are currently reading
281 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 19, 2017
The first in a series bundle on the Kindle that recounts the potential down fall of the US as Ilamic terrorists knock out the main electrical distribution sites and shut down the power nation wide. They have conspired with a black nationalist leader to begin taking over the major cities when the power goes out. The government is in turmoil, and it's every one for themselves and one small group in a walled apartment complex in Florida band together for self protection. The us is besieged on all sides by the Chinese, the EU nations who band together and push through a resolution to send UN peacekeepers to "help" the citizens of the us. A cabinet member has an ulterior motive with plans to set himself up as the leader of the country, but all is not going his way. A good what if scenario, I hope he bad guys don't read it and get ideas! Working on the second book now.
August 29, 2017
Interesting premise and taut storyline but it suffers from a number of mistakes related to military organization and hardware. Also suffers from time and distance inconsistencies. Finally there are some editing issues as well that take away from the story. On the plus side it was less than a buck.
June 5, 2019
Slow starter, but worth trudging on...
Slow starter, but there was much to build up! About 1/2 way through couldn’t put it down. Unexpected turn at the end leaving me anxious to jump into book 2.
Slow starter, but there was much to build up! About 1/2 way through couldn’t put it down. Unexpected turn at the end leaving me anxious to jump into book 2.
April 26, 2020
Phenomenally Good Book
The author called upon an incredibly broad range of knowledge to create this book which inspires tension. Don't plan to get much sleep until you finish reading it and then no sleep from the worry it evokes. That really takes writing talent.
The author called upon an incredibly broad range of knowledge to create this book which inspires tension. Don't plan to get much sleep until you finish reading it and then no sleep from the worry it evokes. That really takes writing talent.
December 31, 2019
Terrorist Propaganda
I chose this ratings as this could never be classified as a book of interest to any American or member of the western world as it is no more than a rhetorical biased naive propaganda typewritten by a so called believer of the world domination of the believers of the indoctrination of Islam by propaganda and terrorist actions mirroring the Nazi policies when the attempted a similar futile exercise of the world. It is a fallacy that could only be accepted by the brainwashed terrorists we have encountered today who have no concern for religion or the populations of the world only a dominance through vile terrorist actions.While these members of the Arab world support this ideology not all. Arabic nationals support or condone the barbaric actions r policies . The author is consumed by promoting an ideology and it is surprising that this feeble story could reach acceptance for publishing. In the present time of high alerts from this section of humanity
I chose this ratings as this could never be classified as a book of interest to any American or member of the western world as it is no more than a rhetorical biased naive propaganda typewritten by a so called believer of the world domination of the believers of the indoctrination of Islam by propaganda and terrorist actions mirroring the Nazi policies when the attempted a similar futile exercise of the world. It is a fallacy that could only be accepted by the brainwashed terrorists we have encountered today who have no concern for religion or the populations of the world only a dominance through vile terrorist actions.While these members of the Arab world support this ideology not all. Arabic nationals support or condone the barbaric actions r policies . The author is consumed by promoting an ideology and it is surprising that this feeble story could reach acceptance for publishing. In the present time of high alerts from this section of humanity
August 28, 2020
I almost never rate a book 5 stars. I agree with several reviewers about the book starting slow. I have come to expect less than commercial quality proof and editing of Kindle Books. Consequently, only blatant excessive errors earn my comments (whadda ya 'pect fer free?) With that having been said, I do not consider this book to be in the science fiction genre. Speculative fictional history, possibly
With the shortage of food stuffs, vast numbers of unemployed, wildfires currently in the Western states, pseudo protesters of injustice and inequality engaging in acts of injustice and inequality (criminal acts of destruction, looting, arson, lynching, and murder) taking place in our major cities, character assassination and blatant undermining by both political parties, a pandemic - all the while pandemic information is constantly changing and being distorted and weather events assault our country and citizens, the authors general premise is not far fetched.
Nevertheless, I am looking forward to reading Mr. Richardson's other two books in this series.
With the shortage of food stuffs, vast numbers of unemployed, wildfires currently in the Western states, pseudo protesters of injustice and inequality engaging in acts of injustice and inequality (criminal acts of destruction, looting, arson, lynching, and murder) taking place in our major cities, character assassination and blatant undermining by both political parties, a pandemic - all the while pandemic information is constantly changing and being distorted and weather events assault our country and citizens, the authors general premise is not far fetched.
Nevertheless, I am looking forward to reading Mr. Richardson's other two books in this series.
May 14, 2019
Lock and Load
What happens if America is faced with darkness.? Not for a few days but months maybe years. What happens when riots erupt and everything starts to burn? How will you and your family survive? Food, water, medicine, sanitation? What happens if all countries America has helped turn against us and attack from land, sea, air even space? We are already being invaded. Americans have forgotten 9/11 and did not reach their children what happened and what can happen again . This book give you a look at what can and most likely will happen if all the above things come to pass. All I can say is, Lock and Load
What happens if America is faced with darkness.? Not for a few days but months maybe years. What happens when riots erupt and everything starts to burn? How will you and your family survive? Food, water, medicine, sanitation? What happens if all countries America has helped turn against us and attack from land, sea, air even space? We are already being invaded. Americans have forgotten 9/11 and did not reach their children what happened and what can happen again . This book give you a look at what can and most likely will happen if all the above things come to pass. All I can say is, Lock and Load
April 29, 2021
A well written end of America book.
Author freebie. Suitable for teens and adults. This is a long book and I didn't spot any misspelled words or grammatical errors. I appreciate a writer who doesn't make obvious screw ups. The writer is to the right of center but not rabid about it. I get the feeling the characters are saying what they think, not exactly what the author feels. The story is that numerous enemies team up on America.
Author freebie. Suitable for teens and adults. This is a long book and I didn't spot any misspelled words or grammatical errors. I appreciate a writer who doesn't make obvious screw ups. The writer is to the right of center but not rabid about it. I get the feeling the characters are saying what they think, not exactly what the author feels. The story is that numerous enemies team up on America.
October 28, 2019
Don’t Bothet
Sorry I really really tried buy the lack of any real storyline was just too awful. Too many irons in the fire at once, too much going on and most of it nonrelated except in the most tenuous way. And the editing or lack thereof was the proverbial straw. Names spelled differently in two adjacent sentences. Words missing. Arghh I couldn’t take it any more. Sorry!
Sorry I really really tried buy the lack of any real storyline was just too awful. Too many irons in the fire at once, too much going on and most of it nonrelated except in the most tenuous way. And the editing or lack thereof was the proverbial straw. Names spelled differently in two adjacent sentences. Words missing. Arghh I couldn’t take it any more. Sorry!
August 23, 2017
The American Battle
This is a great story! The storyline is filled with excitement, adventure, excitement oh I said excitement, but that's ok because it's worth saying twice. On top of all of that it is filled with unity, fight and hope. Can't wait to read more.
This is a great story! The storyline is filled with excitement, adventure, excitement oh I said excitement, but that's ok because it's worth saying twice. On top of all of that it is filled with unity, fight and hope. Can't wait to read more.
November 12, 2019
This story was gripping. It was well written, even the battle scenes kept me glued to the pages.
Unfortunately it was the first of a series. I hope to get lucky and find the o ther two books! All the characters were believable.
Unfortunately it was the first of a series. I hope to get lucky and find the o ther two books! All the characters were believable.
March 17, 2017
Good
Hard to get lost in, but well worth the time to read. Glad I took the time to get to the end.
Hard to get lost in, but well worth the time to read. Glad I took the time to get to the end.
July 31, 2017
big scale, good characters, poor proofreading but I can get past that. Going for book II right now!
November 17, 2019
Race war?
Got 10% of the way into the book and gave it up. Implausible storyline. Text mentioned race at least five times.
Got 10% of the way into the book and gave it up. Implausible storyline. Text mentioned race at least five times.
January 21, 2020
The fall
I’m not into these kinds of books . I thought I’d give it a try but I gotta say it’s not up my alley! So I will pass on saying anything further.
I’m not into these kinds of books . I thought I’d give it a try but I gotta say it’s not up my alley! So I will pass on saying anything further.
February 2, 2020
Apocalypse
I started reading this thinking it was something else and got hooked. Fast paced and believable, too believable. Scary and realistic.
I started reading this thinking it was something else and got hooked. Fast paced and believable, too believable. Scary and realistic.
June 20, 2020
I am totally hook!
Action packed, well written. This series you just cannot put it down. I cannot wait to read the next installment.
Action packed, well written. This series you just cannot put it down. I cannot wait to read the next installment.
August 18, 2020
Excellent story
5 stars but worthy of 10 ! Excellent reading well written characters that are very believable ! I could see this happening in the world today !
5 stars but worthy of 10 ! Excellent reading well written characters that are very believable ! I could see this happening in the world today !
November 5, 2020
Started off good, but seemed to get "old" after a while. Decent read.
December 10, 2020
Good post lights out Novel, believable and thankfully no damn Zombies A good length book and I'm looking forward to reading the second in the series
March 29, 2021
Writing fiction is not a very good excuse for being a racist xenophobe. Donald Trump and his Capitol rioters would love this book if only they could read.
February 2, 2017
There's a very interesting concept behind this book, in that how would the world's only superpower manage if a series of events occurred that left it, literally powerless and alone in the world.
However, in order to create this situation, the author does tend to stretch credibility a touch in places especially once things move onto the world's stage. Initially though, when terrorists take out the national power grid and start wild fires, the book it as it's best.
Characters, although often similar, are nicely drawn out, without pages explaining their back stories, allowing you to get to know them through their actions, rather than their history. Although, somewhat oddly it is the initial terrorists who get a more rounded personality straight off, while the heroes seem to have to earn theirs. Still that does work exceptionally well, especially with regards to the president if not for some of the military.
Once over the initial attacks the book tends to split into two separate parts which are intertwined but don't actually connect all that well.
The first, and for me, the better one, is the continued political fall out, and manoeuvring that occurs as nations try to adjust to the world's leading power being at best put on hold, if not removed completely.
The other side would be, in a lot of book the tale of ordinary people surviving, however this author doesn't do this and instead opts to tell more of military style survivalists rather than everyday survivors which is an interesting turn. This does mean that the two main - and completely separate - heroes do come across quite cold in places, making it difficult to actual like them, let alone root for them or agree with a lot of their actions, most of which are violent.
Speaking of action, there is perhaps too much of that in the book. I don't mean too much happens - which it does - but that some of the fighting, of which there is a lot, is often too long drawn out, for little reason other than to have a prolonged fight scene. That said, those fight scenes are very nicely written. They just break up the plot progression for the most part.
There are some rather obvious negatives in the book not withstanding the few minor technical errors, with misplaced words and such like. The most obvious of these is the somewhat stereotypical depictions of different nations, and the nagging feeling that all the focus on the colour of those causing problems within the US itself who always seem to be either black, or Hispanic and the terminology used to describe the Mexicans. Some of this being seen through the eyes of various characters is understandable, but that it is also used in the main narrative is a touch disappointing.
Also disappointing is the total lack of female characters. Sure one of the heroes has a wife, who is somewhat crucial to his back story - such as it is given - but she, like the other wives, is reduced to being someone who needs to be rescued from time to time, rather than a person in their own right. Meanwhile the other hero never seems to actual go home at all, which given what was going in, is just strange.
However, as a Brit, it was the incorrect use of England and English, where British and Britain should have been used. After all, you would have expected the head of the U.N. to know there isn't an English Government but a British one. Still at least the Brits alone stayed loyal to the US!
Oh and don't get me started on the Scottish accent one of the characters is given! The English ones were bad enough, especially the BBC news reader - who weirdly sometimes signed off as from Sky News - who must have come from a 1940s newsreel given the way he spoke.
Speaking of the U.N. Probably the biggest glossed over plot hole in this book is the way that particular organization behaves, and especially that, in the real world, the US could have vetoed any, and all, of it, just by staying on the Security Council, or which it is a permanent member.
There is also some confusion about just how much of a conspiracy, or conspiracies, the events in the book are. We are told that some of them are directly connected, and that some of the others would have to be, in order to be enacted in the time scale given, but others appear to be mere coincidence, and does give rise to some rather unlikely bedfellows.
Now, all that aside, the book did keep me reading through all 666pages, up to where it stopped - being part of a three part series, and given what was going on, there couldn't really be a real end to this book - it just could do with both a technical editor and perhaps a story-liner to balance things out.
Basically if you are expecting to read about ordinary people coming together to survive, or how nations pull together in a crisis, then probably skip this one. However, if you like unpicking conspiracies, and don't mind reality getting a little bent in the process, then you should lap this, and the two sequels up.
However, in order to create this situation, the author does tend to stretch credibility a touch in places especially once things move onto the world's stage. Initially though, when terrorists take out the national power grid and start wild fires, the book it as it's best.
Characters, although often similar, are nicely drawn out, without pages explaining their back stories, allowing you to get to know them through their actions, rather than their history. Although, somewhat oddly it is the initial terrorists who get a more rounded personality straight off, while the heroes seem to have to earn theirs. Still that does work exceptionally well, especially with regards to the president if not for some of the military.
Once over the initial attacks the book tends to split into two separate parts which are intertwined but don't actually connect all that well.
The first, and for me, the better one, is the continued political fall out, and manoeuvring that occurs as nations try to adjust to the world's leading power being at best put on hold, if not removed completely.
The other side would be, in a lot of book the tale of ordinary people surviving, however this author doesn't do this and instead opts to tell more of military style survivalists rather than everyday survivors which is an interesting turn. This does mean that the two main - and completely separate - heroes do come across quite cold in places, making it difficult to actual like them, let alone root for them or agree with a lot of their actions, most of which are violent.
Speaking of action, there is perhaps too much of that in the book. I don't mean too much happens - which it does - but that some of the fighting, of which there is a lot, is often too long drawn out, for little reason other than to have a prolonged fight scene. That said, those fight scenes are very nicely written. They just break up the plot progression for the most part.
There are some rather obvious negatives in the book not withstanding the few minor technical errors, with misplaced words and such like. The most obvious of these is the somewhat stereotypical depictions of different nations, and the nagging feeling that all the focus on the colour of those causing problems within the US itself who always seem to be either black, or Hispanic and the terminology used to describe the Mexicans. Some of this being seen through the eyes of various characters is understandable, but that it is also used in the main narrative is a touch disappointing.
Also disappointing is the total lack of female characters. Sure one of the heroes has a wife, who is somewhat crucial to his back story - such as it is given - but she, like the other wives, is reduced to being someone who needs to be rescued from time to time, rather than a person in their own right. Meanwhile the other hero never seems to actual go home at all, which given what was going in, is just strange.
However, as a Brit, it was the incorrect use of England and English, where British and Britain should have been used. After all, you would have expected the head of the U.N. to know there isn't an English Government but a British one. Still at least the Brits alone stayed loyal to the US!
Oh and don't get me started on the Scottish accent one of the characters is given! The English ones were bad enough, especially the BBC news reader - who weirdly sometimes signed off as from Sky News - who must have come from a 1940s newsreel given the way he spoke.
Speaking of the U.N. Probably the biggest glossed over plot hole in this book is the way that particular organization behaves, and especially that, in the real world, the US could have vetoed any, and all, of it, just by staying on the Security Council, or which it is a permanent member.
There is also some confusion about just how much of a conspiracy, or conspiracies, the events in the book are. We are told that some of them are directly connected, and that some of the others would have to be, in order to be enacted in the time scale given, but others appear to be mere coincidence, and does give rise to some rather unlikely bedfellows.
Now, all that aside, the book did keep me reading through all 666pages, up to where it stopped - being part of a three part series, and given what was going on, there couldn't really be a real end to this book - it just could do with both a technical editor and perhaps a story-liner to balance things out.
Basically if you are expecting to read about ordinary people coming together to survive, or how nations pull together in a crisis, then probably skip this one. However, if you like unpicking conspiracies, and don't mind reality getting a little bent in the process, then you should lap this, and the two sequels up.
October 17, 2016
Good read
Would have rated higher if author had been fortunate enough to have had a proof reader and an editor. Still worth reading.
Would have rated higher if author had been fortunate enough to have had a proof reader and an editor. Still worth reading.
February 23, 2017
Frighteningly believable
In the utterly ridiculous political climate of 2017, it is altogether too easy to imagine this story coming true. It is compelling and the writing style is excellent. As an English teacher, I frequently found myself reaching for my handy red pen to do some editing, but alas, it won't write on my Kindle. If you can mentally block the misspellings, capitalization errors, and usage mistakes, you will uncover a gem of a novel.
In the utterly ridiculous political climate of 2017, it is altogether too easy to imagine this story coming true. It is compelling and the writing style is excellent. As an English teacher, I frequently found myself reaching for my handy red pen to do some editing, but alas, it won't write on my Kindle. If you can mentally block the misspellings, capitalization errors, and usage mistakes, you will uncover a gem of a novel.
April 3, 2017
Great book! If you like apocalyptic fiction, don't miss this one! Just know that the editing is horrible!!!
January 16, 2015
Entertaining once you suspend disbelief
The story is quite entertaining once you forget how our world and geopolitics work and enter a parallel work where every country is out to get the US, and every colored person is either a criminal, a traitor, a sex deviant, or a drug addict (most probably, many of those at a time)
What really bothered me was the poor editing and constant misspells, I would bump this at least a star once that is fixed.
The story is quite entertaining once you forget how our world and geopolitics work and enter a parallel work where every country is out to get the US, and every colored person is either a criminal, a traitor, a sex deviant, or a drug addict (most probably, many of those at a time)
What really bothered me was the poor editing and constant misspells, I would bump this at least a star once that is fixed.
January 28, 2021
It was alright. There are several typographical errors that could be fixed by having a proofreader read through it.
Interesting premise--America is attacked and the world sees their opportunity to divide America up as spoils, the characters are engaging overall. Some (the Sarasota crew) are better than others (Regulators in Arizona) as far as character development goes. It makes it a little uneven as far as the enjoyment of the story goes.
Interesting premise--America is attacked and the world sees their opportunity to divide America up as spoils, the characters are engaging overall. Some (the Sarasota crew) are better than others (Regulators in Arizona) as far as character development goes. It makes it a little uneven as far as the enjoyment of the story goes.
September 5, 2016
Very realistic
The author thanks the reader for sticking through to the end. Well I want the author to know I couldn't stop reading till the end. A great writer in the class of A. American, Trey Percenter, and AJ Newman. I can't wait to read the rest of the series. Two thumbs, sky high
The author thanks the reader for sticking through to the end. Well I want the author to know I couldn't stop reading till the end. A great writer in the class of A. American, Trey Percenter, and AJ Newman. I can't wait to read the rest of the series. Two thumbs, sky high
October 13, 2016
Alea Jacta Est review
Alea Jacta Est is the first post apocalyptic book in the Future History of America series written by author Marcus Richardson. It's a very long story but riveting.
Alea Jacta Est is the first post apocalyptic book in the Future History of America series written by author Marcus Richardson. It's a very long story but riveting.
November 1, 2016
Great read has keep me a few nights waiting to see what came up next. Lost a little sleep . Got to get the next one
Great read wish it didn't end. Going to get the next one soon filled a lot of night hours get it
Great read wish it didn't end. Going to get the next one soon filled a lot of night hours get it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews