Free America is the first novel by Judson Phillips, a lawyer and former prosecutor.  It is firstly a political novel, primarily about what might have been if the events following September 11, 2001 had turned out a bit differently.  In the world of Free America Saddam and Bin Laden are gone but the war on terror continues in an unspecified manner.  The un-named Republican President is defeated in 2004 by a centrist Democrat who was supposed to be a sacrificial lamb to pave the way for Helen Tyler (Phillips’ Hillary Clinton clone) to run in 2008.  Tyler winds up as a dissatisfied Vice-President with an axe to grind.  Meanwhile, a few other events have occurred, including a second Patriot Act, and the appearance of the organization Free America. 

It is not clear whether the word “Free” is intended as a description, or as a call to action.  It is a coalition of essentially conservative oriented groups intent on making a difference in government.  Labeled as subversive, it becomes the target of government action designed to remove it for political reasons as well as personal ones in some quarters.  This raises the second major issue that Phillips brings to our attention; one that this writer has discussed in the past under the name of “self legitimization.” 

Consider that to the English government of 1775 the people responsible for political agitation in the American colonies were considered subversive.  After the Revolution they had created a new government that not too much later declared the actions of the Confederate States subversive.  With the vast increases in power since then it is not too difficult to understand how any organization, no matter how patriotic or loyal to the principles of American Heritage could likewise be considered subversive and subjected to government repression. 

Phillips paints us a picture that is entirely plausible.  People with the ambition for unlimited power and the lackeys who act as their hired hands.  Others who are loyal to America, but don’t know who is on the right side of the law, or even whether the law should properly be enforced in some cases.  Double dealing, double agents and traps within traps regularly make their appearances.  Some individuals you know are supposed to be the good guys.  Others are obviously bad.  Then there are the ones you can’t tell about.  It all creates an atmosphere of tension and expectancy.  It is difficult to know what will happen next. 

It should be quite obvious that while Phillips tells a good story, there is more to it than just fiction.  Like many modern thrillers there is a thread of reality, and sometimes several such running through the story.  In this case it is the specter of the overbearing government structure, out of constitutional control and operating at the behest of individuals whose only interests are power and self-aggrandizement.  The volume ends in a frightening cliffhanger.  There are people dead, injured, missing, and on the run.  There is no conclusion as yet.  According to the release notes, this is the first volume of a series of three, so we might expect things to get worse before they get better.  

The story moves well, and is entertaining.  It contains enough reality to make it plausible, and the characters ring true as real people with real lives, real problems and real dilemmas.  It is a good read and becomes a page-turner on several occasions.  It does slow down at times, as all books must, but it never drags.  Most importantly, it is about something that could happen, and may have already happened on a smaller scale.  The public may never know. 

There really is only one down side to Free America.  The review copy provided to this writer contained a number of grammatical and spelling errors that should have been caught by a proofreader.  I expect that it is the result of bad copy editing, transcription, or typesetting.  It does not detract from the book overall, but it sometimes becomes annoying.  On the other hand, it does not prevent me from recommending this work, and I will be looking forward to the sequels.  

Free America is available on Amazon.com.

Steven Laib is a practicing attorney.

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