From Publishers Weekly
Politically liberal readers will probably best appreciate Cohen's near-future thriller, in which corporate oligarchs run America and the middle classes acquiesce through fear of the displaced underclass, composed of those generally left behind by globalization. A coalition of trade unionists, environmentalists, religious groups and civil libertarians opposes the oligarchs. When the administration hacks electronic voting to rig elections, a general strike is called that's put down with Blackwater-style mercenaries. This leads a small group of activists to launch a campaign of assassinations and sabotage to force the government into allowing elections, but this triggers even more repression. While Cohen (
Invisible World) vividly describes the dynamics of a demonstration as it evolves into a riot, even those in sympathy with the author's message may find this paranoid fantasy too heavy-handed and strident for their taste.
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Review
"Chilling vision of a not-too-distant future...Mr. Cohen writes with conviction."--New York Times
“[An] extrapolation of trends and events in the very recent history of the country: wars of choice, the politics of fear, deregulation, oil shock, torture, and on and on. A few people will call [Stuart Archer Cohen’s] polemical page-turner treasonous, but it should find plenty of supporters among those who think the country is moving in the wrong direction.” —Booklist
"Provocative... this timely, well-written, and very dark novel is a winner. Enthusiastically recommended."--
Library Journal, starred review
"A radical dream world? Sure, but just try resisting the thrilling sequences where tech-savvy insurgents plot audacious attacks with a sophistication that Robert Redford would have envied in Three Days of the Condor." --USA Today
"Cohen has captured an America...that is awakening, an America that is a long time coming, and an America that defies the old ways of thinking about change and politics."--Lew Rockwell
“One of the first works of art with the courage to live up to our historical moment. The Army of the Republic is brilliant, terrifying and much too close for comfort.” –Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine and No Logo
"A white-knuckle thrill ride that goes from zero to 99 in the first paragraph and never slows down: Thomas Paine meets Rage Against the Machine." –David Maine, author of The Preservationist and Monster 1959