Official Review: The Chaos of Change by J. T. Riggen

Delaney35 · Post by **Delaney35** » 20 Aug 2019, 15:15

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Chaos of Change" by J. T. Riggen.]

3 out of 4 stars

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The Chaos of Change by J. T. Riggen captures a divided America on the brink of collapse. The federal government is on the edge of being dissolved; thirty-three states need to vote in favor of eliminating it, and twenty-three are in favor already. Four main groups are trying to take control of the situation: the South, the North, the Independent Nation of Milam, and the current federal government. Each group is willing to do anything to take over; they all want to oversee a new America.

One of the most interesting parts of this book was the point of view. The story was not told from only one point of view. Instead, it shifted around to all the groups. This made it hard to pick a side; there was not a right group and not a wrong group. Each side had valid concerns and good ideas of how to govern. The moving point of view kept the story going. It also illustrated there are many different ways of thinking when it comes to politics; there is not only one way to govern a country.

The downfall to the variable point of view was that the characters weren’t as well-developed as I might have liked. There were exceptions, such as Thaddeus. Thaddeus, the son of a former president, had moved to the Alaskan wilderness to escape the madness of politics. However, the CIA decided that he would be the perfect pawn to try and move forward their agenda. He and Slink, an Olympic snowboarder, were taken to their headquarters where Thaddeus was groomed to take over as their leader. Both Thaddeus and Slink had distinct personalities and were well-developed. However, many of the other characters were very flat, and their personalities didn’t change at all.

Another issue with this book was the pacing. For most of the book, nothing major happened. There was some action, but the main event didn’t happen until the book was nearly over. I think that this happened because Riggen had a complex world to build, and he had to establish each side and their politics. It also set the book up perfectly for an action-packed sequel. However, it made the beginning drag. The pacing was the part I liked the least.

Grammatically, this book was almost perfect; I only notice one tiny issue. The writing style itself was also excellent. Riggen used descriptive language to bring his version of America to life.

Overall, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I am taking away a star because of the pacing issues and the lack of character development. Readers of political thrillers would like this book. It also would be interesting to those who enjoy politics and would like a fresh take on the division in a country. I would caution against younger readers because there is profanity throughout the book and one sexual scene.

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The Chaos of Change
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Post by **Ngozi Onyibor** » 23 Aug 2019, 05:50

I am not a fan of political books. However, I must commend the author on the storyline, it's really interesting.

kdstrack · Post by **kdstrack** » 23 Aug 2019, 18:08

Books written from various perspectives are interesting and make the reader consider all sides of a situation. The author did a good job of not favoring any one point of view. It would be interesting to see how the author decided to wrap up this dilemma. Great review!

OuKoyoo · Post by **OuKoyoo** » 24 Aug 2019, 09:23

The author did the most appropriate thing by writing the book from multiple perspectives. I believe that the writing style is the best fit for political books. Thank you for the great review.