A Frank review of American Midnight, by Brandon Barr & Mike Lynch

George Orwell said, “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” It is in such a political climate that we live, and that Barr & Lynch have set their political thriller, American Midnight. The message of truth could not be clearer.

We follow Tania, a typical teen trying to grow up in the sometimes cruel world. Her search for answers occurs at a time of deceit such as Orwell spoke, and therefore leads her to far more dire circumstances than your average teen discovers.

It would take only a nudge to make the United States exactly as Barr and Lynch portray, and therein lays the impetus to page-turn. It’s like watching an automobile accident. As Tania goes from the frying pan to the fire, the reader is unable to pull themselves away from this story. It is so believable to be frightening.

In our post 9/11 world as the war-on-terror lurches into a peace at any price mentality, the warnings in American Midnight are indeed Orwellian. This is a very important novel for modern culture as the United States flirts with the fascism of early twentieth century Europe.