American Omens by Travis Thrasher

This past weekend, I finished reading an interesting book that I got for review. I've never read this author, Travis Thrasher, before, so I wasn't sure what I was in for. Turned out to be a well-paced thriller revolving around technology and the future of our country and Christianity. Here's my review of American Omens, as posted on Goodreads.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Multnomah. A positive review was not required. These are my honest thoughts.

The prologue hooked me in with its tension, suspense, and Jason Bourne-style assassin. I knew I was in for an intriguing read, and I wasn't disappointed on that front. I liked that the computer-speak was worded in ways that non-computer-savvy folks can understand the majority of it. I never felt completely lost or confused on the high-tech end of things in this story, though I did have to reread a few sentences here and there to make sure I was catching on to the technology specific to this book's plot.
There were a few instances of violence but nothing outside the norm for a thriller. One particular scene was a bit too bloody for my taste, but it was a short scene and over fairly quickly.

The things that bothered me the most, and why my rating is only three stars instead of four, were the handful of expletives (some by "Christian" characters), drug usage, and the heavy drinking Dowland became known for. His personality could have used a lot more defining, but instead he came off as a generic James Bond sort who loved drowning his sorrows in booze and women.

The other characters were well developed and interesting, with current-day problems and battles to face and hopefully overcome as the journey of the plot moved forward. The tension throughout was great, and I really liked how the action/tech stuff ebbed and flowed in a nice rhythm that felt much like the coming and going of an ocean tide: sometimes rough and bumpy with turbulence and other times so subtle that the transition was completely disguised and the next turn of events surprised me.

One thing I especially enjoyed was the reason why Jazz got his nickname. Watch for that when you're reading! It's a beautiful moment.

This story isn't how I envision the end of time happening, but I appreciate the imagination that went into creating this unique look at future social events and catastrophes. This author definitely has some great points that he brought out about today's social media and huge corporations and government that I found interesting. (Sometimes fiction is a lot closer to the truth than we think!)

I'm glad I read this book, and I'll be passing it on for another reader to enjoy as well.

Do you think technology is good or bad, and why?

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