Silent Empire Bard Constantine 9781490539638 Books
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Franklin Gamble is a man haunted by visions of a family he can’t remember and the growing awareness that his world is a fabrication by oppressors who control every aspect of his existence.
After being contacted by the mysterious Coalition, Frank is reluctantly persuaded to find the answers that elude him. His pursuit of truth puts him in a duel of wills against the Sovereign, the oppressive empire that uses the machine of propaganda combined with the brutal terror of their Dogmen to smother any spark of rebellion.
The Coalition reveals the Sovereign’s technological prowess that has trapped its inhabitants in a lethargic state to prevent rebellion of any sort. With time running out and his life at risk, Frank must choose between defiance or submission; a decision that will either further imprison him… or shatter an Empire forever.
In the vein of 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, Bard Constantine presents a dystopian preview of a world that is not, but very well could be our own.
Silent Empire Bard Constantine 9781490539638 Books
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Tags : Silent Empire [Bard Constantine] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Franklin Gamble is a man haunted by visions of a family he can’t remember and the growing awareness that his world is a fabrication by oppressors who control every aspect of his existence. After being contacted by the mysterious Coalition,Bard Constantine,Silent Empire,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1490539638,Dystopian,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Dystopian,Science fiction
Silent Empire Bard Constantine 9781490539638 Books Reviews
In a world reminiscent of Orwell's 1984, an underground rebellion takes shape against the oppressive Sovereign Empire. But this isn't your flavor-of-the-month YA dystopia, folks...this is the real deal and one for the grownups. Put your Big Boy pants on and tackle Constantine's powerful and evocative novella.
And watch out for the Dogmen...
This book is George Orwell’s 1984, meets The Matrix, and meets the wonderful mind of Bard Constantine. When I first picked up the book it was so thin I wasn’t sure how much of a story could be held between the cover. I was blown away. Constantine’s descriptions and writing style is so refreshing and so different I found myself rereading whole pages just to truly appreciate the words all over again. I have become an instant fan of Mr. Constantine and I look forward to reading more of his wonderful stock of stories!
I received the book, Silent Empire, for free through Goodreads First Reads.
A wonderful exploration into a frightening future. Enough twists and turns to keep the plot interesting, with believable characters in a world gone "mad".
I was interested in this novella because of the way the author, Bard Constantine, writes on Facebook - snippets of vivid dark poetry and I am captured by the power of even just a few lines. So, I thought his novella, SILENT EMPIRE, might be worth a look. I wasn't wrong. Immediately it evoked a dark, monochromatic, dystopian world and filled with dieselpunk imagery a la Watchmen or Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (minus the nostalgia). The writing is a strong, unique blend of poetic minimalism and I found myself making comparisons to Hugh Howey (WOOL) or even Suzanne Collins (THE HUNGER GAMES). I admit I'm not used to the novella format, as I would have like the story to be drawn out more (as it's a big story) and I would like to get to know his characters better, but for the format, I thought it worked well. I also liked how Constantine wasn't afraid to ask his protagonist to make sacrifices and, like WOOL, it comes to a fitting end. But there is room for many more stories in this universe. I am looking forward to more.
Silent Empire is author Bard Constantine's latest work of Dieselpunk fiction and he is fast proving to be the master of this genre. Silent Empire combines the moody industrial imagery of a fascist totalitarian world with the psychological tension of a protagonist rebelling against Orwellian mind control. In Silent Empire, the brutal reign of terror wrought upon dissenters by the Sovereign's jack-booted thugs, the 'Dogmen', makes the Gestapo look like liberal social workers.
Constantine's characters are well-crafted and he doesn't let setting get in the way of telling a good story. It's not necessary to know 'how' the world of the Silent Empire was created. It is enough to understand 'why'. And the mechanisms that enslave the populace to the wishes of the Sovereign are subservient to the story of how to survive, and then how to defy, such slavery. All of this is as it should be in an engrossing novella that engages the reader from page one to its dramatic conclusion.
It is the goal of every author of dystopian fiction to write something as important to their own generation as George Orwell's '1984' was to his. Silent Empire expertly recreates the socio-political dynamic of a fascist pseudo-1930's era. The similarities to '1984' leap off the first page with the ubiquitous broadcasts by the 'Smiling Man', Constantine's version of 'Big Brother' and by the slave-like mental state of the protagonist, Citizen 4891, Franklin Gamble who discovers a secret buried in his oppressed consciousness that defines his destiny.
But it would be unfair to Bard Constantine to compare this short work of fiction (99 print pages) to Orwell's seminal masterpiece. Silent Empire is a work of retro-futurism which attempts (very successfully) to throw us back to the 1930's aesthetic as if the author was a member of Orwell's writing circle, like Renoir was a colleague with Monet in the Impressionist movement. But to truly emulate what Orwell had achieved for the readers of his time would mean an author would need to take the issues of today and project them into a 'what-if' future that was grimly accurate in its foreshadowing. This is not entirely what 'Silent Empire' does, although the messages about the threat of totalitarianism are still applicable to the present. My point is, I just feel it would be unfair for readers to assign their 'Star-Rating' for 'Silent Empire' using '1984' as the yardstick, however similar its context might be. 'Silent Empire' sends a similarly chilling message but is wrapped in a more compact piece of thought provoking entertainment; a novella that cements Bard Constantine as a lead author in the Dieselpunk retro-futuristic movement.
My biggest disappointment is that Silent Empire is not a full length novel because Bard Constantine's prose is yet again an intoxicating liquor of precise eloquence chased down with a shot of distilled guts. And I can drink his work all day long! Try his 'Troubleshooter' noir fiction to see what I mean. As an author, I envy him greatly and say... Bard, thank you, pour me another work like 'Silent Empire', but this time make it a double!
I'll preface this review the way I always do. I am a TOUGH reviewer. It is my view that a true five-star effort is incredibly rare and should be reserved only for truly great masterpieces. I also hold indie authors to the same standards as works written by conventionally published authors. That being said......
Grim. Dark. Oppressive. Bard Constantine's vision of the future is every bit as disturbing as that set forth in "1984". This relatively short novella is a literary onion. The reader peels back layer after layer of an intricate plot, finding new twists and turns with every layer. The writing is remarkably succinct. There is nothing present that doesn't need to be there, yet Constantine's prose is so efficient that he nonetheless weaves a detailed, interesting story. I was regularly complimenting the author in my head for well-turned phrases and evocative descriptions. The story poses some difficult questions about human nature and addresses them honestly.
The only real issue I had with the story had to do with some of the technology. However, for the most part the technology isn't really the "point" of this philosophical mind-twister. This is a story you will want to read more than once. My sense is that each time you read it you will take new things from it that you hadn't thought about during prior readings. This is rare in any type of prose, let alone in something from an indie author. Once I finished reading this, I kept thinking "Wow. That couldn't have been as good as I thought it was." But it is that good. If you like dystopian fiction that really makes you think, then you will love Silent Empire. It is a provocative novella that is written in a concise, lean style that leaves nothing out. Well done, indeed, Mr. Constantine.
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