Official Review: Terror In Manila by Frank Q. Aurillo Jr

[Charlyn Tuzon]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Terror In Manila" by Frank Q. Aurillo Jr.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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It was on July 4, 1946, when the declaration of independence of the Philippines was announced. This meant that the country was not a colony of America anymore. Nick and Francis were two friends who had successfully built a working time machine. They have their own vision on how the Philippines could be better administered during modern times, and what they saw as the source of the problem was the declaration itself. Their solution was to go back to 1946 and kill U.S. High Commissioner Paul McNutt to prevent the independence of the Philippines.

Terror in Manila is a historical fiction novel written by Frank Q. Aurillo, Jr. It is a book that focuses on a “what if” scenario where the Philippines was never declared free from America. Nick and Francis are the only characters shown most of the time, and they share their opinion on how the modern Filipinos are better off under the American government through their intelligent conversations.

As a Filipino, I could see that the book was researched very thoroughly regarding the history of the Philippines. It was like reading a summarized history book mixed with a subjective point-of-view. However, history was not the only topic that was discussed. The subject of space-time continuum was also examined, and even the concept of karma as well. I liked that these topics were debated in a very profound way, that it seemed like the author has a lot of knowledge and belief regarding these things. The narrative was also eloquent as if the story was trying to teach the reader something. I also liked that the story was described very clearly so that even Non-Filipinos would understand the scenarios as the setting was done in the Philippines.

The only thing that I didn’t like the most about the book was that there was not a lot of time that was spent in the past when the time travel happened. The Manila during 1946 was described thoroughly, and I thought it would have been more interesting to explore it further. The book was spent mostly on the conversations of Nick and Francis that sometimes it felt dragging and opinionated. Also, I wished that the story contained more action than it had because it would have made the story more fast-paced.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The book was written skillfully and intelligently. I also didn’t find any errors in it, and it seemed professionally edited. The story is not a quick-paced action book wherein the protagonist fights a lot. Instead, it is a narrative that needs the reader’s full attention to be able to follow. I would not advise this to those who are looking for an exhilarating read, but I would recommend this book to readers who like history and the concept of time travel, whether they are Filipino or not.

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Terror In Manila
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[xoxoAnushka]

I do like time-travel stories, and this review really made me intrigued. I found your review very lovely.

[Nkoo]

From your review, this book appears slow-paced and under-developed. Time travel is one concept I'm still trying to figure out. I hope that lovers of historical fiction enjoy reading this book. Thanks for your honest impressions of this one.

[Faithmwangi]

Time travel is a concept I enjoy. People always go back in time to change history but things never quite go as planned

[Charlyn Tuzon]

I do like time-travel stories, and this review really made me intrigued. I found your review very lovely.

Thanks for your comment!

[Charlyn Tuzon]

From your review, this book appears slow-paced and under-developed. Time travel is one concept I'm still trying to figure out. I hope that lovers of historical fiction enjoy reading this book. Thanks for your honest impressions of this one.

I wouldn't say under-developed but it's more like it has its own focus. Time travel is a complicated concept but this book discusses it philosophically. Thanks for your comment!

[Charlyn Tuzon]

Time travel is a concept I enjoy. People always go back in time to change history but things never quite go as planned

This book discusses its version of the process of time travel extensively among other things. Thanks for your comment!

[Prisallen]

I love interesting books that teach us the history of a certain area. However, I also like to have lots of action or, at least, to be kept interested throughout the book. I'm on the fence on this one. Thanks for your informative and well-written review!

[Nerea]

The story sounds more like a conspiracy. The "what if" scenarios seems to spice up the story. I enjoy reading historical fiction book. I will read the book. Thanks for the detailed and insightful review.

[Sanju Lali]

Thanks for your good review on the book, which is about time travel and going backwards to avoid the independence of the Philippines because there are some problems involved with it. Hope the author makes some changes to narrative to make it more captivating to the reader.

[unamilagra]

It sounds like this book was very well-researched on a place and time I know very little about. Too bad the plot itself doesn't really deliver. Thanks for a thoughtful review!

[Charlyn Tuzon]

I love interesting books that teach us the history of a certain area. However, I also like to have lots of action or, at least, to be kept interested throughout the book. I'm on the fence on this one. Thanks for your informative and well-written review!

I understand what you mean. Thanks for your comment!

[Charlyn Tuzon]

The story sounds more like a conspiracy. The "what if" scenarios seems to spice up the story. I enjoy reading historical fiction book. I will read the book. Thanks for the detailed and insightful review.

Thanks for your comment!

[Charlyn Tuzon]

Thanks for your good review on the book, which is about time travel and going backwards to avoid the independence of the Philippines because there are some problems involved with it. Hope the author makes some changes to narrative to make it more captivating to the reader.

Thanks for your comment!

[Charlyn Tuzon]

It sounds like this book was very well-researched on a place and time I know very little about. Too bad the plot itself doesn't really deliver. Thanks for a thoughtful review!

It's more like a plot that makes the reader think for themselves rather than relying on it to tell the reader what happens. But it is true that the book is very well-researched. Thanks for your comment!