Stuart Archer Cohen s new novel is, to say the least, polarizing His world view and philosophical outlook inform both the message and the tone of the book So, needless to say, some readers are not going to be pleased with what they find between the covers But, if you can put your firm and unwavering convictions aside and allow this tale of dictatorship and dissent to speak to you, you might actually enjoy the ride.One way in which the book will not change some minds is through the hyper realisti [...]

For the past two years I ve been seriously thinking about what American working people might do if the government allows employers to destroy labor unions and cancel pension obligations I ve been entertaining fantasies of assassination teams, composed of unemployed and retired auto workers, picking off high profile CEOs and high government officials The world of The Army of the Republic features unrestrained capitalism and a Bush like corporate government busily going after the few freedoms rema [...]

Project Mayhem on SteroidsI don t know where to start I was completely blown away by this book Army of the Republic is similar to Fight Club, only bigger, grander, and organized Everything in Fight Club is in this book, with the biggest difference being the other viewpoints in a revolution.While reading, we follow along from the first person viewpoints of a militant, a civil protest organizer, and a CEO I am normally not a big fan of first person, but Cohen does it with such style and appreciat [...]

This was an interesting read One part Sinclair Lewis classic dystopic novel, It Can t Happen Here and one part Rage Against the Machine Maybe with a bit of Dan Brown apocolyptic tension minus the religious conspiracy groups thrown in It was definitely a quick read Lots of high tension and suspense The author writes from the perspective of three characters all in the first person tense Unique and makes it personal, but not believable It also became tedious to try and guess whose perspective I rea [...]

This is not your run of the mill conspiracy espionage suspense thriller No matter what your viewpoint patriot, environmentalist, political activist, etc , you re a part of this incredibly realistic, believable, horrifying picture of the US in the not too distant future Mr Cohen has captured every aspect of turmoil and unrest festering in this country and has managed to weave it all together to produce a masterpiece that leaves you shaking in your boots because it s so darn hit the nail on the he [...]

This book struck me as a 21st Century update of Edward Abbey s The Monkey Wrench Gang, set in the Pacific Northwest rather than the deserts of the southwest It combines good storytelling with a chilling eye for current political trends It s a disturbing story that could be set in the year 2013 after four years of Bush My greatest regret is that it hasn t been required reading for anyone casting a vote in October or November of 2008.

I abandoned this book because I can t stand reading books featuring blatant author self insertion The plot of this book is interesting, and Cohen occasionally writes some clever action scenes, but the protagonist is a frustratingly bland one dimensional mouthpiece for his political beliefs.

Its not going to win any awards but it made me smile and feel paranoid at the same time

I ve noticed that if you want to throw a book across the room, I either despise the book, or know it was well written because it made me get emotionally involved Cohen wrote a book that I felt connected to.

Daaaaang That was my first response upon finishing The Army of the Republic This story here is angering, creepy, scary, and thought provoking at the same time One might go so far as to suggest that if, at the end of the book, you re not mad, then you might want to revisit.I admit, it took me a long time to get through this book I d pick it up, read it, put it down, take it to work, read it on lunch, read it in the waiting room, cart it around, and finally finished it This isn t a negative reflec [...]

There was a lot to like about this book There was excitement, a albeit a bit contrived love story, Oedipal troubles, assassination, and even the occasional good giggle The story is essentially about a young revolutionary trying to stop the world from ending thanks to corporate greed his love interest, another young revolutionary who is the Martin Luther King to his Malcolm X and a corporate Big Wig, who is determined to see the privatization of all water throughout the country As things unravel [...]

Full Disclosure I really, really wanted to not like this book Given that I d started clumsily stabbing out my own dystopian near future novel when I came across this, drawing on very similar themes, I was really hoping that it would be bad Like, jaw dropping, balls to the wall rubbish, so that I could at least continue with my own, safe in the knowledge that, whilst it might not be completely original, or even that good, it was still slightly better than this.So, anyways, imagine my disappointme [...]

The Army of the Republic is definitely an important novel to read As it says on the cover, read it while it s still fiction In this work of fiction, America s economy has collapsed and big companies are buying up even city water supplies to make a sizable profit The USA is ripe for revolution as the people get poorer and large companies get richer Some groups are hoping for revolution through non violent protest However, the Army of the Republic feels the need for a show of force murdering corru [...]

Not what I expected and that s a good thing What did I expect An anti government, pro patriot 2nd revolution or civil war story and I was looking for that While I started out with my political beliefs leaning pretty far right I used to joke I was so right wing I couldn t make a left turn , the neo cons came along and destroyed what I and I believe and most people thought of when you said conservative I also began to see so much of what is wrong with the concept since that is all that exists the [...]

I don t think I ve ever reviewed a book that I didn t finish before Yet, as the saying goes, there s a first time for everything Back in 2008 I received an advance reader copy ARC of this book as the very first item I received through Vine I read about 70 or so pages of it before giving up on it, planning on returning to it at a later date A little than eight years later, I pulled it off the shelf and gave it another go The result was sadly just the same Why On the surface, this is a novel that [...]

The Army of the Republic is a book about a near future dystopia that focuses on trends in contemporary media and domestic politics to gain much of its force There are three main characters, and their stories intertwine in surprising and satifying ways, but for many readers much of the interest will lie in the social environment, which bears eerie similarities to our own the Fox News like commentators, the corporations who control vital resources in this case, water , the privatized police forces [...]

Stuart Archer Cohen delivers a modern day update of Sinclair Lewis s It Can t Happen Here The Army of the Republic is a leftist militant group who have recently escalated their violent revolt against the corporatist, right wing government, all the way to murdering CEOs Clearly, whether or not you like this book will depend on your politics.The characters don t get developed fully, instead presenting themselves as stock oligarchs, stereotypical anarchists and conflicted family members The writing [...]

This is a very scary book While it is definitely tilted to a leftist view of America, it is undeniable that some of the scenarios it presents are very plausible The book takes place around a series of events in Seattle in a near future America where government corruption and corporate power have alienated people who now organize into either social protestors or armed guerrilla groups.While the book is an exciting thriller, it also brings up some intriguing ideas about how the unholy alliance bet [...]

It took me about 100 pages to really get into the thrust of this story, when the writing finally started exploring the ways three main POVs overlapped and why beyond the surface When I picked this up, I expected it to be entrenched in a modern American revolution, but in actually this is about a series of events that sparks one Interestingly, the characters I liked the most and wanted to know a lot about were not the three protagonists Instead, I would love, love, love to read about Anne Sand [...]

I was blown away by the accuracy of this book Knowing it was written five years ago, I was very impressed with the way the author depicted the media in the book It seemed like it could have been written today This man might have a crystal ball I enjoyed this book from start to finish and I thought the way the author moves between first person views was an interesting way to tell the story.I would give this book five stars, but I almost stopped reading the book when one of the characters said I c [...]

I really enjoyed this book, and was surprised that I did I feared before engaging that it would be pamphlet than literature, that it could go overboard and fanatical to a point that just wouldn t be intellectually stimulating Well, it isn t, and it didn t The book is fun too read, well constructed and with very rounded out characters interesting and informative on the state of the ecology discussions or confrontations in western society, and as close as we get understanding the structure, worki [...]

I was very hesitant to post a review about this book, but I ended up liking it a lot than I thought I would at the first, so I decided to go ahead and do it The feeling of foreboding I got while reading it was very similar to The Road, although the Road was a far superior book The characters are up against odds that let you know from the outset, this is not going to turn out well My one major complaint with the book was the juvenile dialogue Not that the ideas were juvenile, but the way the cha [...]

I m not sure what I thought this book would be when I picked it up I was thinking a dark cyberpunk story of the future part blade runner part dark angel What I got was all that and , not a pretty picture If I could sum it all up it would be that it is way to close to home, and by home I mean the here and now It is really a story about protesters of one kind or another, the media, the government, the corporations Good interplay of characters, not a happy ending Set mostly in Seattle so I can t ke [...]

I want to give this book a higher four star rating but because the end, or LACK of ending, disappointed me and pissed me off so much I just can t Amazing writing, had me ignoring my boyfriend for a couple days so I could get this read But I am so sick and tired of script and movie writers who think this no ending is an actual ending Did he forget the whole resolution aspect of a story that we re taught in elementary school Exhilaration read If you can deal with the cop out ala The Myst at the en [...]

One HUGE plus about this book, it gives an a fairly in depth look at nonviolent movements tactics, which I thought was very cool and enlightening But Cohen drops you into a United States basically on the brink of civil war with almost no explination Although he flushes it out a bit the country s situation comes off as a bit forced The character s and their relationships are a bit stale and predictable come on, Lando has daddy issues, seriously and end up being a bit boring A fun read but the en [...]

This book is that much relevant today than it was a few moths ago With the Trump administration, the Republican congress, the oligarchs firmly in control, we ve moved closer to the near future setting of this book Democracy is over The super rich powerful reign supreme in both political parties across the land 160 families gave than half of all the money to all candidates and super PACS Bow down before them and give them riches as tribute to their supremacy You have no choice.

The end was predictable, and the politics slanted heavily left and green, but in the end, the characters made it worth the read The feel is very dark and gritty, almost to the point of noir infused with the romanticism of a revolutionary Cohen does a good job of compelling the reader to push forward, turn the page, and hone in on the resolution He also does a good job of attempting to not make those that he disagrees with out to be complete idiots All in all, a solid, well written book.

An enjoyable read but I can t help but feel that Cohen has missed a golden opportunity here I was disappointed by what I would consider to be a traditional, if not cliched, storyline and stereotypical characters that were often than not two dimensional ideologues I m glad I read Army as it is topical and in a rare category of fiction or even science fiction I just wish it went a bit further,

A lot of the characters sound the same, and I found the father figure a not particularly convincing attempt to portray corporate America as sympathetic, misguided people, but there were a lot of interesting looks at the politics and mechanics of protest, which I quite enjoyed The ending could have been great if I believed in the father .

Good page turner, enjoyable to read even though the characters weren t too deeply developed, but I kept wondering How s he gonna solve all these problems I guess the author wondered too, because the ending was quick and unsatisfying Even so, if he writes another novel in this same political vein, I d like to read it.