Audible Book Review: A State of Treason by David Thomas Roberts

This is entertaining with lots of action and suspense.

A State of Treason
By: David Thomas Roberts
Narrated by: Charles Craig
Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Unabridged
Release date: 05-13-15
Language: English
Publisher: Vibrant Technologies
Genre: Action, Alternate History, Political Thriller
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
A US president with outward contempt for the Founding Fathers and the limits of the US Constitution, who's administration is rocked by scandals....
The Governor of Texas, the self-described mortal enemy of the president, directs a legendary Texas Ranger to rescue a Tea Party organizer from the clutches of federal agents. The resulting struggle sets the stage for a cataclysmic power struggle between officials in Austin and Washington, DC, further polarizing the nation and resulting in arrest warrants for duly elected state officials.
The rest of the country and, the world, watches in awe and despair as the "Texas Crisis" unfolds, affecting world financial markets amid skyrocketing fuel prices. The Texas legislature sends the vote to the people of Texas and the president orders the vote stopped as he suspends the Second Amendment and declares martial law. Texas is now in A State of Treason.
©2014 David Thomas Roberts (P)2015 David Thomas Roberts

Review:
This is the sequel to Patriots of Treason in the Patriots Series. It picks up where book one ended and continues the political struggles, including the Federal corruption and brutality, that are the basis for Texas considering seceding from the United States.

The story moves along well and includes good action which keeps it entertaining. There are several key characters, good guys and villains, who are life-like personalities. Particularly the legendary Texas Ranger, Pops Younger, is a strong character who encompasses the “don’t mess with Texas” attitude.

The plotline made me ponder how I would feel about any state taking sides against the Union that we love. The author incorporates some timely political issues. Of course, in this book the corruption, including lies, cover-ups and murder, was truly extreme, providing a basis for the actions of the Texas leadership. The cost of rebellion is great but to capitulate might result in loss of freedoms that are intended as part of the American way. I enjoyed this entertaining story of a state at odds with a corrupt Federal government. I recommend this series to readers who like alternate history, action stories.

Audio Notes: Charles Craig does a good job with the narration. His voice took a bit to get used to but pretty soon it seemed to fit the nature of the story. I found this to be good listening!

This was an Audible selection from 2017. It qualified for my 2017 Audiobook Challenge.

Audible Book Review: Patriots of Treason by David Thomas Roberts

This is a timely thriller full of interesting political tidbits and a clear message: Don’t mess with Texas!
Patriots of Treason
Written by: David Thomas Roberts
Narrated by: Kelly Klaas

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:11-05-13
Publisher: David Thomas Roberts
Genre: Political Thriller
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
Tea anyone? After decades of erosion of the U.S. Constitution, the United States is faced with a major constitutional crisis not seen since the Civil War. A president and his administration filled with scandals and plagued by economic woes surprisingly wins re-election to a second term largely based on an "October Surprise" and the promise of redistribution of the nation's wealth. The night he is re-elected, an assassination attempt throws America into chaos, resulting in riots, food shortages and violence across the country. When it is discovered the assassin has ties to the Tea Party, the administration sees its opportunity to quash its political opposition and launch a diabolical conspiracy to hide the truth of the assassin's real motives. The President and his minions attempt to keep the lid on the conspiracy by any means necessary, including issuing unconstitutional executive orders.
Jack-booted federal agents are ordered to raid private citizens' homes to eradicate the Tea Party once and for all. After an ordinary citizen in Texas, a founder of a local Tea Party, is terrorized and held without due process, the governor of Texas dispatches iconic Texas legend Pops Younger to rescue him. The entire country becomes riveted in the suspense of the high-stakes chess game that pits the State of Texas and the Texas Rangers against the administration and the ATF that escalates to unprecedented proportions. An exciting and fast-paced political thriller, Patriots of Treason presents a very realistic 'what if' scenario that will keep you on the edge of your seat, regardless of your political persuasion.
©2012 David Thomas Roberts (P)2013 David Thomas Roberts

Review:
A liberal President, running for re-election on a platform that includes restriction of gun rights and redistribution of wealth, survives a late race assassination attempt. The investigation reveals that the assassin, of Muslim decent, was a student from Texas who was writing a thesis on the Tea Party. Washington leaders, spear-headed by the Attorney General, cover-up the Muslim connection and declare the assassination attempt was a conspiracy by Tea Party members. Federal enforcers move in to disarm Texas citizens and to capture and imprison Tea Party members without arrest warrants, phone calls or hearings. The federal authorities justify their actions claiming the Tea Party members are “terrorists” under The Patriot Act and therefore have no rights.

The Texas Governor takes issue with the violation of the rights of his state citizens. The Texas Rangers are called in to rescue a Tea Party member who was arrested in the presence of his wife and children and whose house was bulldozed to get to a gun safe he refused to open. The rescue triggers escalating hostilities between the Federal Government and Texas that result in Texas voting on secession.

The public masses are divided in their loyalties with several states sympathizing with Texas and others rallying behind the federal restrictions. One man, with inside knowledge of the facts hidden by the Justice department, strives to find a way to get the true facts out to the public to stop the unbridled corruption and chain of violence based on lies.

This story moves at a good pace with a lot of suspense and tension. Not so long ago this scenario might have seemed unlikely, but with increasing federal controls and intrusion into state rights this doesn’t look so fictional. Texas seems to be the perfect state to set in this confrontation as it maintains a state militia (the Texas State Guard) under the governor’s direct command. And, of course, the Texas Rangers are bigger than life. Some of the state resources were exaggerated but it made for exciting reading/listening.

I did question why the student’s friend didn’t speak up and why no independent journalist researched the young man’s background. However, this fit with the nature of media outlets these days that highlight biased tidbits twisted from some facts and make no effort to portray the full truth objectively.

I liked the fitting quotes at the beginning of each chapter. When I reached the end of this book, I was ready to listen to book two. I realized I hadn’t picked it up at Audible yet and would have to wait. I recommend this to readers who like constitutional discussions and political intrigue interesting, especially set in an action story.

Audio Notes: I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t impressed by the narration which I found to be rather dry. Although there is some inflection, Kelly Klaas seemed to deliver this like a documentary rather than an exciting thriller. Fortunately the storyline took precedence about midway so that the narration was not such a distraction.

I picked this up at Audible in 2016. It qualifies for 2017 TBR, 2017 Audio Challenge and “P” in Alphabet Challenge.