Indivisible: Come and Take It

Troy Grice emailed me recently saying that he had just finished writing Indivisible: Come and Take It (Amazon Link). Additionally he wanted to know if I was interested in reading it and reviewing it. Well of course! The first one Indivisible: And Justice For Some was a great read. If only I wasn’t such a slow reader.

Synopsis

The nation boils in a cauldron of economic collapse and civil war. Isolated and under siege, the president withdraws into the security of his flying bunker while attempting to implement his Amero Plan to save the union and restore order. Assistant Treasury Secretary Maiden Lane, her loyalty strained by serving two masters, finds herself in peril beyond the government’s zone of control. Jimmy Marzan is separated from his company during a firefight and rescues an orphaned boy on the desolate road leading back to his unit. And Jess Clayton defends her home and young daughter from repossession and armed looters.

The Good

I always struggle with book reviews and spoilers. I hate spoilers. Also, I hate being too vague and not actually telling you anything. The struggle is real.

The action in Indivisible: Come and Take It, is realistic. It’s not the main theme of the book though so don’t expect firefight after firefight. Troy does a great job of making the violence gritty, realistic and horrific. He does not romanticize violence and war. You almost want to turn away. You feel sorry for some of the characters killed on both sides of the struggle. Just like any war the Government and those that want to be Powerful throw away lives to support their cause. In at least one case I felt the violence was completely justified. I would be surprised if anyone disagreed with me. When you come to a black van you’ll know why.

Indivisible: Come and Take It has characters with personalities. My biggest gripe in fiction is unrealistic, boring or fake characters. Nothing throws me out of a story faster than bad characters. Like an army soldier that breaks his leg and drops not a single F-Bomb. Troy’s characters are all

Troy’s characters are all unique. Not cookie cutter plot devices to move the story along. You have an emotional response to the characters in Indivisible: Come and Take It. Like Mae Lane, she’s a cunt. I hate her. Marzan is cool. He is not your typical action hero. He has flaws, he gets scared and makes mistakes. Basically, he’s human.

The Bad

Indivisible: Come and Take It had me a little confused. I thought this might have been the third book in the series not the second. Troy wrote a book that was not in this series, Oath Keeper, in between Indivisible: Come and Take It and the first one. In my review copy at least there was no recap in the beginning. Which to be honest I usually skip. With Indivisible: Come and Take It, the story jumps ahead some time after the first one. Which further lead me to think It was the third book in the series.

Early in the book, some soldiers find a body. It is a big deal to them case this guy was important. I have no idea who he is. Maybe I forgot from the first book. Also It just seems like there are some major plot points that happened in between books. While I enjoyed the hell out of the book but I was confused often.

Conclusion

In conclusion Indivisible: Come and Take It is not your typical collapse novel. Much like real life the government does not just shut down in collapse. When a government is dying it will become more and more totalitarian. Your rights will diminish. While In it’s death throws the ruling regime will make every attempt to stay in power. Ultimately At the cost of lives and freedoms.

Troy shows in a realistic way what a collapse could look like. Full of government corruption. With the bankers and politicians still in bed with each other as the country implodes. The bankers will still show up to collect the mortgage even though the grid is down. Definitely worth picking up and reading. I even finished it and I’m the slowest reader ever.