Citizen Alex: Let Freedom Ring

by Bruce Campbell, Craig Sanborn (Illustrator)

Americans love to claim that they are patriots. But, what exactly is a patriot? Someone willing to die for their country? Someone willing to criticize the country they love? Or is patriotism as simple as paying your taxes?
My version of a patriot is Alexander Madison, direct descendant of James Madison, the Father of the US Constitution. By day, Alex is a proofreader, but his hobbies are varied and eclectic - each with an eye toward history - and one of them lands him in hot water. Part of a team of re-enactors, Alex becomes mistaken for a group of ant-government separatists with an eye toward succession on, of all days, the 4th of July. Alex is only a civilian, but the depth of his historical perspective helps him join forces with the FBI and foil a massive plot designed to re-write American history - and not in a good way.
Fun, timely and a tad snarky, Citizen Alex: Let Freedom Ring might just make you a patriot!

67 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 16, 2023

About the author

Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American actor, producer, writer and director. He is best known for his starring role as Ash in the Evil Dead trilogy of horror/slapstick movies, and has since become a B-movie icon.

His acting style is an "over-the-top" machismo that lends itself well to roles such as that of Ash Williams, whom Campbell himself has dubbed "an idiot and a jerk like the rest of us". This style is parodied in the film The Majestic where Campbell appears as Roland the Intrepid Explorer in the B movie Sand Pirates of the Sahara, written by Jim Carrey's screenwriter character. Campbell also excels at "reverse acting", a frequent filming technique of Sam Raimi's where action sequences are filmed in reverse of how they will appear in the film. Campbell offers advice about getting into the film industry on his website.

Campbell is well-known for his trademark sense of humor, which he often couples with deadpan (and somewhat sarcastic) comic delivery.

Reviews

[Tom Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alex Madison, descendant of James Madison, gets caught up in the theft of an important historical document, finding his detailed knowledge of history to be key to getting out of it.

This was a short, fast-paced read. Given the author and cover, it was difficult to not hear Bruce Campbell as the voice of Alex, appropriate given that he has the same general attitude as characters such as Ash Williams and Sam Axe. Much of the entertainment came from reading his interactions with the various characters around him.

This did, in certain ways, read like a pilot for a TV series. Unfortunately, this meant that many characters weren't really fleshed out, making it difficult to really connect with them. Some humored, some action, not enough depth. It was still fun, but I felt like this might have benefitted from being longer and given time to breathe.

[Jennifer Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but sweet!

This is an action packed story, incorporating historical research in an amusing way. Wish it had been edited a bit more thoroughly, as there are stray commas and misused words like "tussled" instead of "tousled" here and there. Looking forward to a sequel!

[James R Steig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruce did a great job

Felt a little like a classed up Burn Notice, awesome job! I wish it was longer but didn't need to be.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruce Campbell writes a patriotic page turner

This action novelette has Bruce Campbell’s snarky voice adding fun to a surprisingly knowledgeable plot about national terrorists, the Constitution, and American civics. The hero is an editor and technical specialist as well as a kind of goof who goes up against appropriately bureaucratic and militaristic agents of the US government as well as really nut job scary militiamen. In the end, it’s knowledge of American history that wins. It’s a fun read.

[Rhoades · Rating 4 out of 5]

This honestly felt like a novelized pilot for a new Bruce Campbell adventure series. It’s a little Burn Notice, a little Jack of all Trades, and a whole lot of patented BC snark. It’s a fast fun read, that made me laugh out loud at least once, and I honestly wasn’t quite sure where it was going. This is essentially only for Bruce Campbell fans, but it definitely delivers exactly what they want.

[Mary Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruce does it again!!!

This could be the start of a.great series! More please Mr.Campbell. oh and if you could throw in a sentence about the james.Madison portrait being repaired
that would be nice too

[Sharon Bidwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lighthearted, short, fun read. The main character of Alexander Madison could easily be the lead in a series, and the writing shows Bruce’s sense of humour well. Maybe not as funny as I expected, but there were moments with political satire woven in.

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

First read of the year, a fun audio book. Seems like a lower budget tv movie Bruce would have been in in the 90s. Which me thinks, was the point of writing it. Not a bad read at all, definitely better than his “why can’t we all get along” political comedy novel.

[Bob Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amusing short story by Evil Dead star and author Bruce Campbell.