Review by MsH2k -- The Broadcast by Liam Fialkov
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Review by MsH2k -- The Broadcast by Liam Fialkov
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Broadcast" by Liam Fialkov.]
4 out of 4 stars
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TXB headquarters in New York is the home of a popular television series in which a story is presented each week accompanied by video footage of the event that was not available at the time the incident occurred. What makes this program unique is its ability to show accurate film presentation of incidents that happened before video recording technology was even invented. As expected, there are more than a few skeptics who believe the footage is a hoax, but when experts closely inspect the black and white grainy video shot from above each scene, they are confident that the portrayal is accurate. The Broadcast is the name of the television series. It is also the title of this engaging character-based mystery thriller by Liam Fialkov.
When the series first began, it featured unsolved crimes that were finally cracked with the help of the newly released footage. Both highly publicized and relatively unknown cases were finally put to rest with the aide of the videos obtained by Walter, the producer of the show, who has sworn to keep the source of the recordings confidential. As the series becomes more popular, Walter decides to stretch the limits of the program by showing videos of events as far back as A.D. 1. Who is Walter’s source? Are these videos legitimate? What other mysteries will be solved? Will we get to see what Jesus looked like? Actually, the last question was mine, but I was not the only one wondering about that. Interestingly, when the show announced that they would go back to the first century A.D., they received intense pushback from Christian groups who didn’t want to “show Jesus in a different light than in the Bible” (whatever that means) and Islamic groups who didn’t want to show the Jewish temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Those two objections spoke volumes.
Walter has recently been reunited with his younger brother, Jonathan. They were separated at a young age after their parents were killed in a car accident. Jonathan is married to Sarah, who was forced to give her son up for adoption when she was sixteen. Jonathan and Sarah recently bought a plot of land in a remote area in central California. They stumbled upon this great deal because the owner was in an uneasy rush to unload it. This land, right on the San Andreas Fault, became the perfect home for Jonathan, Sarah, and their many pets.
What I liked most about this book was that the characters were flawed, but lovable. Even the bad guys were good guys that just never recovered from the bad things that happened to them. This book submits the topic of spirituality - not necessarily a religion, but finding a connection to something in one’s spirit that makes life bearable, even enjoyable. The characters’ struggles were real, and their attempts to overcome their struggles were realistic.
The author packed a lot into this 325-page read. The pace of the story became uneven when the characters took their many cross-country trips. This could have been because these trips were often loaded with emotional reunions or confrontations. The logistics of traveling and switching modes of travel interrupted the flow, but it was a minor distraction. There was one abrupt character introduction halfway through the book. Sarah’s father became gravely ill, and she decided to go back to see her parents with her sister, who was supposedly her best friend. This was the first time her sister had ever been mentioned. Sarah had a best friend with whom she confided when she was in high school, but no siblings were ever mentioned before this point.
Although this book had the character miss and one loose thread remaining at the end, these were minor issues. I proudly rate The Broadcast 4 out of 4 stars. The author skillfully intertwines the personal stories of the characters with the intriguing television series and the tension of an ongoing investigation surrounding the source of the videos. I appreciated that the author allowed for an extended denouement so that the reader could savor the answer to each question without being bombarded with answers all at once. This book is clean in many ways. There were very few grammatical errors, there was surprisingly no profanity, the erotic scenes were mild, and the characters were basically good people. There was a bit of dialogue about historical events as part of the broadcast of the television series, so people who care little about history may not enjoy that aspect, but it doesn’t dominate the plot. I highly recommend this book to those who would enjoy a well-executed mystery thriller.
“Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God calls back the past.” (Ecclesiastes 3:15 New International Version)
******
The Broadcast
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
4 out of 4 stars
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TXB headquarters in New York is the home of a popular television series in which a story is presented each week accompanied by video footage of the event that was not available at the time the incident occurred. What makes this program unique is its ability to show accurate film presentation of incidents that happened before video recording technology was even invented. As expected, there are more than a few skeptics who believe the footage is a hoax, but when experts closely inspect the black and white grainy video shot from above each scene, they are confident that the portrayal is accurate. The Broadcast is the name of the television series. It is also the title of this engaging character-based mystery thriller by Liam Fialkov.
When the series first began, it featured unsolved crimes that were finally cracked with the help of the newly released footage. Both highly publicized and relatively unknown cases were finally put to rest with the aide of the videos obtained by Walter, the producer of the show, who has sworn to keep the source of the recordings confidential. As the series becomes more popular, Walter decides to stretch the limits of the program by showing videos of events as far back as A.D. 1. Who is Walter’s source? Are these videos legitimate? What other mysteries will be solved? Will we get to see what Jesus looked like? Actually, the last question was mine, but I was not the only one wondering about that. Interestingly, when the show announced that they would go back to the first century A.D., they received intense pushback from Christian groups who didn’t want to “show Jesus in a different light than in the Bible” (whatever that means) and Islamic groups who didn’t want to show the Jewish temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Those two objections spoke volumes.
Walter has recently been reunited with his younger brother, Jonathan. They were separated at a young age after their parents were killed in a car accident. Jonathan is married to Sarah, who was forced to give her son up for adoption when she was sixteen. Jonathan and Sarah recently bought a plot of land in a remote area in central California. They stumbled upon this great deal because the owner was in an uneasy rush to unload it. This land, right on the San Andreas Fault, became the perfect home for Jonathan, Sarah, and their many pets.
What I liked most about this book was that the characters were flawed, but lovable. Even the bad guys were good guys that just never recovered from the bad things that happened to them. This book submits the topic of spirituality - not necessarily a religion, but finding a connection to something in one’s spirit that makes life bearable, even enjoyable. The characters’ struggles were real, and their attempts to overcome their struggles were realistic.
The author packed a lot into this 325-page read. The pace of the story became uneven when the characters took their many cross-country trips. This could have been because these trips were often loaded with emotional reunions or confrontations. The logistics of traveling and switching modes of travel interrupted the flow, but it was a minor distraction. There was one abrupt character introduction halfway through the book. Sarah’s father became gravely ill, and she decided to go back to see her parents with her sister, who was supposedly her best friend. This was the first time her sister had ever been mentioned. Sarah had a best friend with whom she confided when she was in high school, but no siblings were ever mentioned before this point.
Although this book had the character miss and one loose thread remaining at the end, these were minor issues. I proudly rate The Broadcast 4 out of 4 stars. The author skillfully intertwines the personal stories of the characters with the intriguing television series and the tension of an ongoing investigation surrounding the source of the videos. I appreciated that the author allowed for an extended denouement so that the reader could savor the answer to each question without being bombarded with answers all at once. This book is clean in many ways. There were very few grammatical errors, there was surprisingly no profanity, the erotic scenes were mild, and the characters were basically good people. There was a bit of dialogue about historical events as part of the broadcast of the television series, so people who care little about history may not enjoy that aspect, but it doesn’t dominate the plot. I highly recommend this book to those who would enjoy a well-executed mystery thriller.
“Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God calls back the past.” (Ecclesiastes 3:15 New International Version)
******
The Broadcast
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
"Knowing what must be done does away with fear."
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
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