The Alarmists
3.6
5
13
13
A Sci-Fi thriller that is very timely...
This âÂÂend of the worldâ sci-fi thriller was a good read. It took me awhile to get into it, but about half way through it captured my interest. Of course, itâÂÂs very timely, with many thinking the world will end in December of 2012 which is the premise of this novel.
I got a bit lost in the science terminology as IâÂÂm not really a sci-fi reader, but it was a good story line with interesting characters and I enjoyed the change of pace overall. One thing that disappointed me though is that though it was clean and had Christian references, it didnâÂÂt clearly present the Gospel. There are definitely points in the story line where it could have been presented, but the author kept it rather vague. Overall, I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys science fiction without the secular mindset.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review. I was not told that I must give a positive review.
July 7, 2011
gripping tale
IâÂÂll admit that it took me a while to find the groove in âÂÂThe Alarmists.â But once I dug in, this book was great!
âÂÂThe Alarmistsâ is my first read by Don Hoesel, and IâÂÂm really impressed by his assembly of this story. What could have been an incredibly tangled web of too much information was instead a well-planned, drop-into-the-action, international suspense narrative.
Set in 2012, the plot centers on greedy Arthur Van Camp, who is will move at any cost to fulfill a lifelong dream. Through Van Camp we meet a host of other characters, all able to shirk morality to achieve personal gain.
In the opposing camp, we find Colonel Richards and his research team, charged with investigating unusual events around the globe. TheyâÂÂve contracted Brent Michaels, a sociologist, to help solve their most mysterious case yet -- determining why the world is hurtling toward its end and finding a way to stop it.
In short, this is a classic tale of good versus evil, although Hoesel takes the opportunity to explore the juxtaposition of faith and science as well.
I appreciated the succinct dialogue and narration; this is in keeping with the military-style under toe felt throughout the book. The reader isnâÂÂt given any fluffy information, and what you are given feels like exactly enough to draw you into the next chapter.
I would recommend this book to any adult reader -- but in the world of fiction where "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" reign -- men will find this book a breath of fresh air.
I received this book for free from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.
July 7, 2011
Interesting, but not great
Normally one to shy away from fiction and stick to healthy debates on theological issues this was an interesting book for me to review. When I do delve into fiction it must be something that grabs my attention right away with a subject that may have some real world parallels to it. Don Hoesel's new book can loosely have some of those parallels so the summary intrigued me. Someone may possibly be orchestrating some events to coincide with the thought that the world will end on 12/21/12. Bring in sociologist Brent Michaels and team him with Colonel Jameson Richards in order to try to identify who might be trying to bring the world into a state of fear and you have the makings for a page turner. Add to this mix a woman assigned to help Michaels and you now have more intrigue. With all that as the backdrop for the story it sounds like it could be great...but I would have to say the book was only good. Often I will judge a fiction account by how often I desire to pick it back up and how often I stay with it. To say I labored through this is not quite the case, but I did not lay awake thinking of how it would end. The character development was decent and the narrative was fairly easy to get through, it just did not leave me hanging by a thread desiring to start the next chapter.
I did receive this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review and was not compensated in any other way.
June 5, 2011
Great theme!
I recently read the book, The Alarmists, by Don Hoesel. The scenario of this book is about a very wealthy man with media monopolization who manipulates the ending of the world--or at least a panicked world. And you know what? I could totally see something like this really happening.
The book takes you from one corner of the world to the other. Brent Michaels is a college professor who is called in by the Pentagon to consult as a sociologist--trying to put world events together to see if there was once source creating chaos around the world. Colonel Richards of the NIIU is the person in charge of tracking the breakdown of civilization. And Colonel Richards has a team working for him which now includes Dr. Brent Michaels.
Brent Michaels begins to believe that someone is manipulating small events towards one large polarizing event to piggyback on the ending of the Mayan calendar, December 21, 2012 which would create total chaos and the complete breakdown of civilization. As he reaches this conclusion, he only has 9 days to discover who is behind it...and exactly what is that polarizing event.
This book was fun to read after I finally got into it. The first part of the book had me confused with the characters. Later, you understand that one man has an assumed name. And since the book tracks all over the world with the different characters, it was a bit hard to follow at times. But the theme of the book clearly had me intrigued.
I'd give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
Thank you to Bethany House for providing this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade CommissionâÂÂs 16 CFR, Part 255.
June 1, 2011