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Loading... Saving Raineby Frederick Lee Brooke
No current Talk conversations about this book. 1   Claire.Warner | Feb 8, 2015 |  no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesThe Drone Wars (1)
"Matt, Raine went to California because her parents thought it was safe. It's not. You've got to get her out as soon as possible. She could die, Matt."When 19-year-old Matt Carney gets a cryptic message from his father telling him to go to California and save his girlfriend, Raine, he doesn't hesitate-he grabs his AK-47, revs up his blue pickup, and gets ready to make the 2,300-mile roadtrip.But cross-country travel in 2021 isn't easy-or, sometimes, even possible. The U.S. has become a near-military state: 17,000 checkpoints severely restrict interstate movement, Predator drones _target innocent civilians without cause, and explosions rock cities daily. Matt and his stepbrother, Benjy, face deadly attacks from a corrupt government, ruthless local law enforcement, and bloodthirsty terrorist groups as they embark on their trek. They're about to find out that their trip is much more than a private journey, and their success could change the face of the country-forever.Can Matt and Benjy outrun the drone missiles raining down on their heads? Can they avoid assassination by government officials hell-bent on taking over what little is left of the country? Can they outsmart the deadly schemes set in motion against them?Break the rules.Save the girl.He only gets one chance before she's gone forever. No library descriptions found. |
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This book had an intriguing premise, probably cultivated by the news that Amazon were using drones to deliver parcels. We're in the US in the year 2021, so seven years in the future. Apparently this March, a huge terrorist action causes the US to implode, shut its borders, institute martial law (kinda) and food shortages run rampant. Into this hot mess comes our hero, his dad gets arrested and he runs away from home. He then runs across the country, running into rebels, kind hearted skinheads and pastors. In the meantime, there's a coordinated assassination of the presidential hierarchy. Lots of prisoners break out. The new first lady is having an affair and there's a bunch of hog farmers running around.
Lest you think I'm selling this short, this is precisely how confusing this book is. It started interestingly enough with the main character's father being arrested, but unfortunately it didn't manage to hold this momentum. The world building is at fault. Now I can get behind dysotopia, I can understand how certain situations can come about, but this situation I cannot see happening. Particularly as soon as next year. The writer has not thought about how the US operates within the world at large. For me to buy a US burdened with food shortages (when it produces enough for 10 billion people alone) something really massive must have happened to make it so. A nuclear war, a massive tidal wave taking out the Eastern Seaboard, meteor strike or aliens etc. This world is believable but not with the background or timeframe that's been given. That's the major stumbling block to me enjoying this story. It's like watching Space 1999 and realising that we've passed that date and we don't live on the moon.
Another issue lies with the characters. Matt could be a good character, he really could, but he's crippled by a lousy romance, a tragic backstory and no actual sense of place. I don't care about his family, because I know nothing about it. The other characters are not memorable and I rapidly became bored with the 'look ma - a critter' stereotypes.
All of this is unfortunate because the writing is rather good and it's for the potential alone that I give this two stars.
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