Official Review: Jabberwocky: Blogging the War Business
Posted: 14 Oct 2014, 15:58
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Jabberwocky: Blogging the War Business" by Christopher Burns.]
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In his Jabberwocky: Blogging the War Business, Christopher Burns puts the universal theme of war in a unique light. This crime, thriller novel represents a successful combination of reality and fiction. The author takes crucial issues, which indeed have been neglected for too long, and with the help of his heroine, he manages to highlight them on a fictional background.
Following in the daring footsteps of Julian Assange and his Wikileaks, or the Anonymous group, comes Princess Atossa. She is a 14 years old student leading a “swarm” of enthusiastic activists and hacktivists who try to shed some light on the horrendous birth defects and the increase in cancer after a battle in Fallujah. This shows that the spirit of justice transcends age and gender. Aya Musawi, who crowned herself Princess Atossa, is far from your regular teenager. Her superior intellect and (perhaps childish) bravery takes her to dangerous uncharted territories. But, fortunately, she will find a guide in Ike Angel to lead her (safely?) out of this maze of information and conspiracy she threw herself into.
The youthful and pure spirit of Princess Atossa inspires a lot of people, including Ike Angel. He is another key player in this novel, as he works for the very company that helps produce the weaponry responsible for the Fallujah disaster. His journey is more twisted and darker than Aya’s. In fact, while he tries to protect Princess Atossa, she in turn helps him to find peace.
Several crucial issues are raised, like the presence of morality in war and the toll it has on the human psyche. The pages of this novel revolve around the use of weaponry which besides the immediate damage, leave an invisible cloud over the area of Fallujah that affects generations of innocent civilians. Also, through Angel Ike, we are shown, on a deeply personal level, the effects of PTSD, and how people who took part in a war, never really leave the battlefield.
In a way, Princess Atossa is a distorted reflection of Christopher Burns himself, because she does through the internet in her reality, what the author manages to do through literature in ours, that is to raise awareness. Christopher Burns manages to both inform and entertain his readers, and he even has an “Acknowledgements and Additional Resources” section, in which he guides the readers toward some valuable information.
Therefore, I give Jabberwocky: Blogging the War Business by Christopher Burns 3 out of 4 stars. The fourth star is hidden by the fog which occasionally fell over the action of the novel. However, it is truly amazing how Burns created such complex characters and the way he managed to balance the informational and entertainment factor. This is a book about war, but above all, it is about humanity and so, it speaks to each and every one of us.
***
Buy "Jabberwocky: Blogging the War Business" on Amazon
Share This Review
Following in the daring footsteps of Julian Assange and his Wikileaks, or the Anonymous group, comes Princess Atossa. She is a 14 years old student leading a “swarm” of enthusiastic activists and hacktivists who try to shed some light on the horrendous birth defects and the increase in cancer after a battle in Fallujah. This shows that the spirit of justice transcends age and gender. Aya Musawi, who crowned herself Princess Atossa, is far from your regular teenager. Her superior intellect and (perhaps childish) bravery takes her to dangerous uncharted territories. But, fortunately, she will find a guide in Ike Angel to lead her (safely?) out of this maze of information and conspiracy she threw herself into.
The youthful and pure spirit of Princess Atossa inspires a lot of people, including Ike Angel. He is another key player in this novel, as he works for the very company that helps produce the weaponry responsible for the Fallujah disaster. His journey is more twisted and darker than Aya’s. In fact, while he tries to protect Princess Atossa, she in turn helps him to find peace.
Several crucial issues are raised, like the presence of morality in war and the toll it has on the human psyche. The pages of this novel revolve around the use of weaponry which besides the immediate damage, leave an invisible cloud over the area of Fallujah that affects generations of innocent civilians. Also, through Angel Ike, we are shown, on a deeply personal level, the effects of PTSD, and how people who took part in a war, never really leave the battlefield.
In a way, Princess Atossa is a distorted reflection of Christopher Burns himself, because she does through the internet in her reality, what the author manages to do through literature in ours, that is to raise awareness. Christopher Burns manages to both inform and entertain his readers, and he even has an “Acknowledgements and Additional Resources” section, in which he guides the readers toward some valuable information.
Therefore, I give Jabberwocky: Blogging the War Business by Christopher Burns 3 out of 4 stars. The fourth star is hidden by the fog which occasionally fell over the action of the novel. However, it is truly amazing how Burns created such complex characters and the way he managed to balance the informational and entertainment factor. This is a book about war, but above all, it is about humanity and so, it speaks to each and every one of us.
***
Buy "Jabberwocky: Blogging the War Business" on Amazon