Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista

The Enemies Trilogy #2

by Matthew Bracken

DOMESTIC ENEMIES: THE RECONQUISTA is a novel set in the near future in the American Southwest, during a period of low-intensity civil war. The action takes place between Texas and California, but the story is mainly centered around New Mexico. Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista is a sequel to Enemies Foreign And Domestic, but it may be enjoyed on its own.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Action, Dystopia, Amazon, Science Fiction, Politics

544 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 7, 2006

About the author

Matt 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.

Reviews

[Jewell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the ending better than the ending of Enemies: Foreign and Domestic. It is still hard to read a book which COULD BE HAPPENING!

[Cooperglocker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 2nd book in the "Enemies: Foreign and Domestic" series. This one is a little slower paced than the first book, and it took me quite a while to get through it. I don't feel this detracts from the book too much, but given the intense nature and action of the first book, this one is a little more calmer. This book starts off following a major character from the previous book, 5 years later. Instead of a constant up and down roller coaster of the previous book, this book is much like the initial lift on a huge roller coaster. There is a very slow and even progression to the final chapters' "Oh $!@#" intense moments. I'd say the drag through the book is very worth reading. It fills in a lot of background information in what happened since the end of the last book, and further paints the dystopian collapse of a once great nation. The 3rd book in this set is coming out this year, and I am looking forward to reading the conclusion. Based on the events of this book, the 3rd book will read much like the 1st one, lots of disturbing events mixed up with the lives of the main characters and their personal developments.

[J. Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista" carries you further along the road set out in the first book of the trilogy (Enemies Foreign and Domestic) into the American South West as it disintegrates into the "Aztlan" which has been largely reclaimed by Central and South American para military groups. Once again Ranya Bardiwell has, against the advice of Phil Carson, returned to her home country and finds herself embroiled in the morass of America's downfall. Imprisoned then on the run, she must recover her son who has been taken by the government and adopted out to federal officials. Like its predecessor, it is bound to become an instant classic.

J. Keith Jones
Reviewer
Author of In Due Time

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first book in the series. Unfortunately, this one was SO long winded and slow I couldn't stand it. I did push through it and finish the book, but it could have been 1/4 of the length and you wouldn't have missed out on anything. In the book, someone would ask a question and there would be near an entire page of description before the other character replied. Needed a lot more action. Im hoping the third book goes back to the formula that worked in the first book of the series.

[Alex Larner · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a prescient book! The race riots and race baiting detailed in this likely scenario are being played out in America today, with communist agitators and "useful idiots" like La Raza, Antifa, and Black Lives Matter.

[Brad Theado · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but could have been 200 pages shorter and been a lot Better.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some Pretty Tough Parts to Get Through But a Page Turner

This book was definitely not for family reading, but it was hard to put down once you got going, especially at the end.

Disturbing but possible plot. The author seems to have a pretty good knowledge of covert government tactics.

Some descriptions of events are disturbing in detail and jar the senses a bit. Not a quick read simply because of its length, but does cover topics that need to taken more seriously such as the rampant illegal immigration taking place today.

This is a possible outcome that could result. Only dropped off a star because of some of the disturbing content, but otherwise feel the author did a good job with an unpleasantly possible scenario.

If you have concerns about the decline of our nation due to uncontrolled illegals read this book. 2nd in a trilogy btw. Already read book 1 and will move on to 3 now.

[Latisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as great as the first if not better. Can't wait to start the final book in the trilogy!

[Carin Camen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast Paced Action Thriller You Can't Put Down

Matthew Bracken outdoes himself in his second book in The Enemies Trilogy. This fast faced action thriller dives deep into the political, civil war, and militia underground life which gives a realistic glimpse of the strategic game of power where there is only one rule to live by.... "In war you either kill or be killed."

Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista, continues America's struggle of survival as a nation, as it plummets into a civil war as cities crumble under their economic weight.

At the heart of this series, is the strength of a woman and her love for her young son.

[Dave]

Read this series a couple years ago; this is second reading of series. It was harder for me to read this go-round only because of where events of the Real World seem to be heading if the wrong people regain control of our Government. I know they'd like to gut our Constitution, they aren't shy about it. For this (these) reasons, this reading was somewhat difficult. Had to put it aside and read other books from time to time just to step away.
I'd still recommend reading this series. The books will getcha if you have a heart.
Cheers!

[Charles Uptegraff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as great as the first time I read it. Looking back at the last year this story makes you think the author could write the future.

The story has plague, villains and a hopefully happy ending. How did Matt Bracken know about shutdowns,plague and massive unrest and inflation.

[Eric M · Rating 3 out of 5]

The transition from book #1 to book #2 was quite interesting. The background storyline presents an interesting concept, however I felt like the story of the main character became a little too fanciful and luck based. Perhaps you will find more here but I didn't get enough interest in the character arc to move onto book #3.

[Jordan Naylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this so fascinating.

Ranya is a fucking weapon, that was fierce how she fully set up Ramos and stole all his shit, ruined his life.

I genuinely learnt so much from this book, looking up different things like Ruby Ridge and Waco, and understanding ATF and the American-Mexican war and the land that was taken.

[Brent Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Conrad Samayoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking

Terrifying, the unthinkable could happen with few determined politicians that will take advantage of the silent majority. We must remain vigilant against those that want supreme power and conformity. Conrad Samayoa

[Jamie Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

2nd book in the series and in my opinion the best of the 3. Don't get me wrong the other 2 are good but this one makes the other 2 some references are outdated but the story is solid this is my second time reading them so there is that

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally well written, but I can't recommend it unless you're OK with some very adult content.

[dustin farmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a read

This was good, old fashioned patriot fiction. Patriots, traitors and action.

Nothing else really to say. It ties in well with the first book.

[Bernie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista review

Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista is the second excellent dystopian book in The Enemies Trilogy series written by author Matthew Bracken.

[Cary Cartter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Bracken Action

Very good story, well developed characters, and the different first person narratives really showed off the writing abilities of the author.

[Don Kesterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ending with a lot of twists and turns. Took a little long to set the stage. But definitely left me ready for the next book.

[Rand Cardwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book by Bracken. The man has his finger on the pulse. Highly recommend this series.

[Benjamin D. Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read

It has been a while since I read fiction. Kept me interested The whole time. A good book to end the day with.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kept me interested until the end so I can say an interesting novel. I almost never real novels and I liked the change.

[Herb Stenzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome aboard
This is what I feel we are looking at for our future.
The country we live in (USA)headed in the toilet

[Paul Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read

The saga continues with many twists and turns. I kept me up late at night. If you enjoyed the first book you will love the 2nd.

[Frank Roberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

The trilogy gets better!

Since the book begins six years after the first book ended it explains in detail what happened to some of the main characters. It also brings a glimpse into how much worse things have become and how “United” we really are or aren’t. It also getaways more personal. I can’t wait to see how the trilogy ends.

[Edward Wolfe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the first book in this series. It pulled me in right away with the opening action scene, then the conspiracy that followed, and everything after. It was also riddled with punctuation errors but this was a rare occasion where I was so interested in the story that I was willing to overlook the fact that it had never seen a proofreader or an editor.

But then this, the sequel. Take those same errors from the first book and throw in a heaping dose of over-wordiness, and it was just too much. There's a scene where a character goes out to a car to get a laptop. That went on for three pages when it could have been a single sentence, or maybe a paragraph if you wanted to throw in some thoughts along with the task.

Another scene involves asking a guy to do an illegal flight in his small plane. This went on for so many pages I didn't even count them. I just kept turning and turning until I was past the point where he agreed to do it and was given money. This book is an excellent example of one of the reasons why an editor can be vital to the health of a story. The author has lost perspective and apparently doesn't see that he's utterly killed the pace.

On the plus side, all of the dialogue is very real and believable. It's just not all necessary. Adding to the frustration is that there's an unresolved situation from the first book that I guess I'm not supposed to know about. I'm still waiting for the reappearance of the main character from the first book who was presumably killed.

As annoying as the errors were, and the slow pacing, it was eventually the wordiness that killed it for me. In fact, it was a single sentence that caused me to just close my Kindle and go do something else. It was something like, "He reached for his computer mouse and clicked an icon on his computer desktop." Really? I'm glad it was made clear that it wasn't some other moused that he grabbed and used to click on some other icon that wasn't on his desktop. I'm surprised the sentence didn't continue... "and caused a program to start up on his computer."

With some heavy editing, this story could be made into a worthy sequel to the really good first book in the series. I hope the author will go over the trilogy again, removing all of the filler and excess pages and pages that don't add to the story and turn it into the lean tiger that it could be rather than the fat lion that it currently is.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the end of the last book, we thought all was well. We thought Ronya could come home under amnesty and have her son born on American soil. We were wrong. Five years have passed. Five long hard years in a Federal prison. It's not your usual Federal prison, she's been "Disappeared." Her son is being raised by an FBI agent in New Mexico, the Mexican Invasion is in full swing, and there are rumors that New Mexico will attempt to secede from the Union and form its' own country. Amidst all this, Ronya must escape her prison and find her son.

I enjoyed this book. I'm still disappointed that Bracken killed off Brian's father, but I ended up liking the new character. It is scary that elements of Bracken's story could be ripped from the headlines. He plays out a scary "what could be" scenario. His writing style is a little rough, he reminds of Lee Child in the early Jack Reacher books. A little rough, but definite potential. Bracken could be the next Johnstone. His writing reminds me of the Out of the Ashes series. Particularly early on when the books were more realistic and less zombie hordish.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

You definitely have to have a certain political ideologue to read this book. I liked it overall as a novel, but some of the writing is sub-par. At times characters all sound the same because they are spouting the same sort of ultra-conservative politics. I agree with some of the politics, and obviously the way it's framed in the book makes things sound scary or absurd, though at the same time, some of the things have actually come to pass.
I'll just leave it that this book is definitely for a certain reader.