Republic

This book is a great read. Good story, and yes the good guys dont always win in the end, well it depends on who you think the good guys are. Would like to see a 2nd book to follow up on this one.

While by no means being a literary classic. Republic stands as a contemporary novel outlining policy that is set forth today, and how it may run it's course, along with the brave individuals who put up a failed defense to end it. The Republic should be at the top of your must read list based on this alone. While A Stranger in a Strange Land and Catch-22 will keep for a few more years, this can serve to open your eyes on issues that normally you wouldn't have bothered with, and are important now!

Imagine a police state where you can be held strictly for being the wrong race; where your civil liberties are thoroughly disregarded, and now, visualize that place is America and you'll have a minute appreciation of what Sheehan-Miles' novel REPUBLIC is about. A plant closing in a small town in West Virginia desolates its population with lay-offs, causing orderly protesting that sets off a shocking and all too (could-be) realistic chain of events for one Ken Murphy and his family, the state of West Virginia and the Federal Government. Sheehan-Miles' writing and character development is stunning, riveting and thoroughly suspenseful and a work of fiction that feels all too factual. This is a book of the very best kind: one that is both entertaining whilst making its reader question the very situations surrounding us daily. Un-put-downable.

In Republic, Sheehan-Miles tells a thoughtful and provocative story in way that makes you turn the page and stay up late reading. Based on interesting and well developed characters and a fast paced plot, this book sends a wake up call to the American people about the costs of war not understood by incompetent political leaders who use fear to consolidate power. The result is a scary but all too realistic look into America in 2020. But instead of beating up his readers with polemics about complex issues like the erosion of civil liberties and the outsourcing of American jobs this book tells its story in a way that is accessible and relevant to people who don't have the time or patience to be involved in politics. Told from the perspective of real Americans dealing with real issues you can't help but be entertained and informed. Based on his own military experience, the author writes in a realistic and simple prose and pace that is reminiscent of Tom Clancy and Harold Coyle with a harder punch and more important message. Think "The Hunt for Red October" meets "Catch 22" with the populist political message of SiCKO, Ross Perot and John Edwards all wrapped up in one great read.

When Sheehan-Miles' book first hit my mailbox, I sat down to read "just a couple of chapters." Silly me - I ended up finishing the book at one sitting. "Republic" is a great book, and an exciting, gripping read. But it's not just literary popcorn. Sheehan-Miles raises important issues, and you will be thinking of them long after the book is finished. Chris Gerrib Author, The Mars Run