Review by Bookreviwer2020 -- Terror In Manila

[Bookreviwer2020]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Terror In Manila" by Frank Q. Aurillo Jr.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Have you ever wished you could go back in time? What would you try to change from history?

Nick and Francis have succeeded to make a time machine and go back into the past. They are two friends. Nick is a Filipino in origin, although his mother was Spanish. He lives outside the Philippines and so has different ideas to them. Was what happened to the Philippines in 1946 a good thing? Was it better for them to have not gained their independence?

Nick manages to travel back to 1946, but is he able to change the events that will lead to the present independence of the Philippines? How will he do that? Although he has been able to visit and enter in the past, is he able to change it?

Terror in Manila is a short historical fiction novel centred around the history of the Philippines and it's independence. Time travel is another theme of the book. If we are able to visit other time zones around the world, is it not possible we could visit another period of time?

Frank Q.Aurillo jr uses his novel to ask and answer many philosophical questions concerning time, what is it and how do we experience it? Can we influence the time? Is it possible to change the past? How will changing the past influence the present?

The book also enters into other philosophical themes, such as the perceptions of terrorists, is killing for political reasons murder or an exception? Do we really need doctors to cure us or can the human body cure itself? What is karma in society?

The book is 111 pages, it is written in the third person.

What impressed me about the book was that it was clearly written, without spelling or grammar errors except one. This led me to believe that it was professionally edited. The chapters were short and to the point, and the book itself was not long, yet every chapter and event seemed relevant to the plot. The book contains no profanity or adult scenes. There were some themes in the book that made the reader think, such as philosophical concepts, what is time, and can we enter different time zones, and how can time be influenced. Another theme was social karma in society, which may influence time. Some scientific questions were considered such as what is the matter, and the miraculous nature of the human body and how it can heal itself using time. Relevant philosophers and scientists related to such themes were quoted and mentioned, such as Nostradamus, Einstein and various others. This made the book appear to have been thoroughly researched and thought out. In fact, I began to think about the concept of time myself that yes, if we can travel to different time zones around the world, is it really not possible to travel to another time period?

The only negative things that I would say about the book were that there were a few scenes that were quite violent, and had descriptions of someone's brain being blown out and going all over someone's clothes. Such scenes perhaps made the book less suitable to younger audiences and those sensitive to such scenes. Although the writer did attempt to help us understand the logic of terrorists, that killing for political reasons is not murder, I felt that he presented the concept of terrorism and killing for a cause in a way that is far too acceptable and that I found a bit disturbing. Although we were reading the thoughts and understanding of Nick, he seemed to separate assassination as a crime, and made it seem justifiable for political reasons, and even understandable. It would be a worry if some politically minded people took this as their motto.

After considering the book, I decided to rate it four out of four stars because the negative issues may not be considered negative by all readers, yet I felt the book was an interesting read, with some very deep concepts and provides some good information about the history of the Philippines. It was then an informative and useful book to read.

It would be of interest to those who enjoy historical fiction, those who enjoy time travel books, and those who like deep thinking and to challenge current perceptions of ordinary things and life.

On the other hand, it would not interest those who do not enjoy those sorts of books, and those not interested in philosophy or challenging ideas. Also, those sensitive to bloodshed and killing may be upset from several scenes in the book.

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Terror In Manila
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[Rubbi]

Time travel sounds like my cup of tea. I also enjoyed reading your review; It's very engaging.

[Bookreviwer2020]

Thanks so much for your comment. Yes, it's nice to imagine visiting another time and different possibilities. I hope you enjoy the book.

[Elvis Best]

The concept of time travel sounds very interesting. It seems the author also other interesting topics in this book. Thanks for the honest review.

[Bookreviwer2020]

The concept of time travel sounds very interesting. It seems the author also other interesting topics in this book. Thanks for the honest review.

Yes indeed...
You are welcome
Thank you for your comments.