Official Review: The Book Liberators
Posted: 08 Aug 2018, 21:48
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Book Liberators" by Marilyn L. Donnellan.]
2 out of 4 stars
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The Book Liberators: The White Warrior, written by Marilyn L. Donnellan, is the first installment in The Book Liberators series. The novel is set in the year 2118 after World War III. As a result of the war, the United States of America has reformed as the American Empire. A new policy set forth by the prime minister has called for the banning of books to prevent the spread of subversive materials. In response to this legislation, a protest group called The Book Liberators was formed. The founding members of the group include Brogan, Bryan, Juan, Janice, Marco, and Allison. Brogan is the leading force behind the movement. Together, and with the help of their recruited members, The Book Liberators hope to save books from being confiscated and put an end to the harmful legislation. However, the situation becomes more perilous over time. Will the group be able to accomplish their mission?
The premise of the novel is one that is personally distressing to me. I couldn’t imagine a world where books were banned. I think that fellow book lovers would have similar opinions and resonate with the message behind the story. I could picture censorship issues occurring in the near future, especially with the rise of data monitoring. Additionally, I enjoyed the snippets of futuristic technology scattered throughout the novel. For example, various chips are utilized to both improve the lives of citizens and allow for governmental control. The B-chip, for instance, was used to modify the behaviors of prisoners to instill obedience. I also appreciated the realistic escalation of the conflict. As the government committed further atrocities, The Book Liberators had to become more aggressive in their approach. This was reminiscent of real life protest movements, making The Book Liberators’ struggle more believable.
While the premise of the book was promising, its execution fell flat in my opinion. I found all the characters to be one-dimensional and not very distinctive. If not for the different professions of The Book Liberators’ founders, I would have not been able to distinguish them. This make it difficult for me to sympathize with their plights and struggles. In addition, the romantic aspects included in the novel seemed lackluster and rushed to me. Within the first few pages, Brogan and Bryan declared their romantic feelings for each other. As I had little background on the characters, I did not feel particularly moved by their new relationship. I continued to feel indifferent toward them as their relationship seemed to progress in predictable steps. It also didn’t help that the two characters had essentially the same personality. In continuation, the writing style focused too much on telling rather than showing. I never felt immersed in the story due to the emotions and actions of the characters being spelled out to me. Lastly, Donnellan employed frequent time jumps and flashbacks. Their use was jarring at times and caused the plot to seem rushed.
The Book Liberators: The White Warrior contained errors. While they were not significant enough to detract from my enjoyment of the novel, they indicated that the book has not yet been professionally edited. Examples included missing words and incorrect apostrophe usage.
I rate The Book Liberators: The White Warrior 2 out of 4 stars. While I found the premise to be intriguing, the lack of dynamic characters and the explicit writing style impacted my opinion of the book. Additionally, the need for professional editing prevents me from giving it a higher rating. I would recommend the novel to fans of dystopian novels as well as readers who have a strong love for books. Readers looking for an action-packed book may not enjoy the novel.
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The Book Liberators
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2 out of 4 stars
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The Book Liberators: The White Warrior, written by Marilyn L. Donnellan, is the first installment in The Book Liberators series. The novel is set in the year 2118 after World War III. As a result of the war, the United States of America has reformed as the American Empire. A new policy set forth by the prime minister has called for the banning of books to prevent the spread of subversive materials. In response to this legislation, a protest group called The Book Liberators was formed. The founding members of the group include Brogan, Bryan, Juan, Janice, Marco, and Allison. Brogan is the leading force behind the movement. Together, and with the help of their recruited members, The Book Liberators hope to save books from being confiscated and put an end to the harmful legislation. However, the situation becomes more perilous over time. Will the group be able to accomplish their mission?
The premise of the novel is one that is personally distressing to me. I couldn’t imagine a world where books were banned. I think that fellow book lovers would have similar opinions and resonate with the message behind the story. I could picture censorship issues occurring in the near future, especially with the rise of data monitoring. Additionally, I enjoyed the snippets of futuristic technology scattered throughout the novel. For example, various chips are utilized to both improve the lives of citizens and allow for governmental control. The B-chip, for instance, was used to modify the behaviors of prisoners to instill obedience. I also appreciated the realistic escalation of the conflict. As the government committed further atrocities, The Book Liberators had to become more aggressive in their approach. This was reminiscent of real life protest movements, making The Book Liberators’ struggle more believable.
While the premise of the book was promising, its execution fell flat in my opinion. I found all the characters to be one-dimensional and not very distinctive. If not for the different professions of The Book Liberators’ founders, I would have not been able to distinguish them. This make it difficult for me to sympathize with their plights and struggles. In addition, the romantic aspects included in the novel seemed lackluster and rushed to me. Within the first few pages, Brogan and Bryan declared their romantic feelings for each other. As I had little background on the characters, I did not feel particularly moved by their new relationship. I continued to feel indifferent toward them as their relationship seemed to progress in predictable steps. It also didn’t help that the two characters had essentially the same personality. In continuation, the writing style focused too much on telling rather than showing. I never felt immersed in the story due to the emotions and actions of the characters being spelled out to me. Lastly, Donnellan employed frequent time jumps and flashbacks. Their use was jarring at times and caused the plot to seem rushed.
The Book Liberators: The White Warrior contained errors. While they were not significant enough to detract from my enjoyment of the novel, they indicated that the book has not yet been professionally edited. Examples included missing words and incorrect apostrophe usage.
I rate The Book Liberators: The White Warrior 2 out of 4 stars. While I found the premise to be intriguing, the lack of dynamic characters and the explicit writing style impacted my opinion of the book. Additionally, the need for professional editing prevents me from giving it a higher rating. I would recommend the novel to fans of dystopian novels as well as readers who have a strong love for books. Readers looking for an action-packed book may not enjoy the novel.
******
The Book Liberators
View: on Bookshelves
Like lavellan's review? Post a comment saying so!