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Brand new novel now available - Obey

So today I released my latest novel - Obey.

Thought I'd take a moment to give folks a quick look at the book.

The Story

The story takes place in the year 2245.

The City of 207 is a place where 20 million people live, trapped within by a two-thousand-foot wall and subjected to the dictums of the Authority of Central Planning (ACP). The citizenry are monitored by Seers, mysterious entities in what appear to be exosuits. In addition, agents from the Department of Order manage the population and ensure all ACP rules are being followed.

Jack Moore, however, finds himself crossing paths with a group of rebels who have managed to escape the city. The ensuing story is a tale of self-actualization as for the first time Jack, and others, discover what freedom means. They also will learn what exactly the purpose of 207 is and why no one has any knowledge of mankind's history before the year 2115.

By the end our characters (and hopefully you, the reader) experience a twist that will shock them and reveal just why things are the way they are.

Why this story?

My main interest in writing this story was to play with two central themes:

1) How much "order" is too much?

Society is built on a balance of freedom and rules that restrict that freedom. What happens when that balance swings too much one way or another? Are humans even capable of finding the right balance? Or is it forever a tug-of-war; the pendulum always swinging a little too far one way or another.

Moreover, how do different balances of freedom versus obedience effect human nature? Are you the same person within a true democracy versus within an authoritarian society? How much of who you think you are is really a function of the world you live in?

In our present society, we see this theme playing out a lot. Governments continue to slide further towards authoritarianism and propaganda as they require ever greater control in order to keep things from falling apart. The consequence is a subtle and subconscious mass sense of confusion over what and who one is in an ever changing world.

Some champion a return to greater freedom and transparency, others turn to strong men and groupthink to ease their fears, and still others simply go with the flow at any given time.

2)  The twist

I love a good twist, and I think (at least hope), that this story has one that readers will like. Buried beneath the surface of Obey is the question of what is nature's nature? Einstein is often quoted as saying - The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.

 While this question is played with a lot in my The Fall of Man trilogy, in Obey it's done so within a different context. I won't say much more as I don't want to ruin the twist, but suffice to say my hope is that by the end of the story readers will question to just what extent is freedom even possible. 

 Thanks to all my readers

So far the response on The Fall of Man has been fantastic. Obey is a standalone novel, so it's different than my trilogy, but I've got my fingers crossed that readers enjoy it nonetheless. While there's room to expand the story with further novels, that's something I'd only do if the demand was there.

Obey is meant more as a fun and cozy'ish read with some fairly dark undertones to it. I suspect whether readers simply enjoy it, versus love it, will depend a lot on their response to the twist.

So with that, for those who pick it up, enjoy! I look forward to your feedback.


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