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Backlash
This unique novel is perhaps best described as a study of friends and friendships, related in a setting which reminds the reader of the merits of an age when daily life was not so complicated and time could be suspended for the sole purpose of enjoying a beautiful sunset or breaking beans with your grandparents in their front yard on a warm summer night. While that time has surely left us in its dust, it still beckons for us to revisit its simple pleasures from time to time. BACKLASH takes you there.
While exposing shortcomings of the political system currently in place in the United States, BACKLASH also provides a blueprint on how to clean up politics. Have you ever been disappointed by a politician who promised to “drain the swamp” and then, when elected, proceeded to become an inhabitant of that same swamp? Meet a real swamp drainer: Brother Clayton Shiloh, a rural Kentucky preacher, recruited to politics by an underground society known as “the Wise Men.” This stealthy group, convinced that Shiloh is a truly independent political voice, provides guidance and funding to Shiloh’s political campaign. Using a legal loophole, Shiloh rises rapidly from obscurity to become a major political force. He boldly advocates a “closer walk with God” as the path to follow to lead the country back to its core values. In so doing, Shiloh, with no professional political handlers, takes advantage of his constituents’ desire to put an end to the decay in politics and politicians and gains the trust of voters by communicating what is on his mind directly to them by meeting with them in person.
This novel suggests that the United States of America can return to its glory days as the unquestioned leader of the world by engaging in a “closer walk with God.” While underlying and sometimes unsavory forces tug at the characters, the message in BACKLASH may be that life in America can improve for everyone if God is permitted to occupy His rightful place in American life.
While exposing shortcomings of the political system currently in place in the United States, BACKLASH also provides a blueprint on how to clean up politics. Have you ever been disappointed by a politician who promised to “drain the swamp” and then, when elected, proceeded to become an inhabitant of that same swamp? Meet a real swamp drainer: Brother Clayton Shiloh, a rural Kentucky preacher, recruited to politics by an underground society known as “the Wise Men.” This stealthy group, convinced that Shiloh is a truly independent political voice, provides guidance and funding to Shiloh’s political campaign. Using a legal loophole, Shiloh rises rapidly from obscurity to become a major political force. He boldly advocates a “closer walk with God” as the path to follow to lead the country back to its core values. In so doing, Shiloh, with no professional political handlers, takes advantage of his constituents’ desire to put an end to the decay in politics and politicians and gains the trust of voters by communicating what is on his mind directly to them by meeting with them in person.
This novel suggests that the United States of America can return to its glory days as the unquestioned leader of the world by engaging in a “closer walk with God.” While underlying and sometimes unsavory forces tug at the characters, the message in BACKLASH may be that life in America can improve for everyone if God is permitted to occupy His rightful place in American life.
357 pages, Paperback
Published February 11, 2017
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 23, 2018
I would first like to thank David Rigney, who provided a copy of the book for review purposes.
The premise of this novel is excellent. The current political climate in the United States is a storm that has been brewing for decades. There is a fairly well-established campaign to "drain the swamp" of corruption and career politicians. For these two reasons, the timing of Rigney's novel is perfect.
I am offering a three-star review for this novel because I feel that although the premise is excellent, there are issues that made the book a challenge for me as a reader. There is a significant amount of thick description, particularly in the first 25% of the book. This stood in the way of the plot for me and created questions in my mind that were never answered. I think the downfall of too much description can make a critical reader search for answers that don't exist. Every reader is different, this was my experience.
The plot elements I seek in a political novel were in some cases, absent. While I realize that this novel was not meant to be a novel filled with action and suspense, I think that adding some of those elements would have helped me to appreciate it a great deal more.
Would I recommend this novel to other readers? Yes, with a few caveats. Be prepared to get to know the county very well and don't get hung up on your own questions as a result of the book's beginning. It's worth reading because the message presented is something all Americans need to recognize. There is simply too much corruption, too many allegations of wrong-doing and far too many immoral activities among career politicians at every level.
The premise of this novel is excellent. The current political climate in the United States is a storm that has been brewing for decades. There is a fairly well-established campaign to "drain the swamp" of corruption and career politicians. For these two reasons, the timing of Rigney's novel is perfect.
I am offering a three-star review for this novel because I feel that although the premise is excellent, there are issues that made the book a challenge for me as a reader. There is a significant amount of thick description, particularly in the first 25% of the book. This stood in the way of the plot for me and created questions in my mind that were never answered. I think the downfall of too much description can make a critical reader search for answers that don't exist. Every reader is different, this was my experience.
The plot elements I seek in a political novel were in some cases, absent. While I realize that this novel was not meant to be a novel filled with action and suspense, I think that adding some of those elements would have helped me to appreciate it a great deal more.
Would I recommend this novel to other readers? Yes, with a few caveats. Be prepared to get to know the county very well and don't get hung up on your own questions as a result of the book's beginning. It's worth reading because the message presented is something all Americans need to recognize. There is simply too much corruption, too many allegations of wrong-doing and far too many immoral activities among career politicians at every level.
Displaying 1 of 1 review