Heretics, US - Jeff Musall's Clarion Call

In light of the events of the past few years, and most recently, with the passage of the military tribunal bill, which effectively sets the precedent for the elimination of habeus corpus, and allows a known liar and war criminal the power to decide what constitutes torture and what does not; Jeff Musall's Heretics, US seems prophetic.

Heretics, US is a story of revolution, armed revolution actually, a concept that has become unfathomable, and understandably so, for a nation like the United States, seemingly so entrenched in democratic principles that things could never devolve to the point that we would need to resort to armed revolution-or is it? This is the focus of Heretics, US, as author Jeff Musall seems to be sounding a clarion call for Americans to wake up before our liberty has eroded to the point that armed conflict within our borders is not only necessary but inevitable.

The novel reads sort of like an inverted version of the story portrayed in the film Red Dawn-the story of high school kids turned guerilla warriors in the wake of a Soviet invasion of US mainland-or at least this is how it translated in my 80's nostalgic brain. But, cold war era fear films aside, Heretics, US depicts a plausible, and in fact, a very palpable realism. In the novel, ordinary citizens, led by a proud former Navy SEAL, undertake an effort to uncover the maniacal intentions of an increasingly despotic government commanded by President Plant and a cabal of theocrats & elitist power brokers bent on world domination. Reality suggests that this scenario is playing out in real life, as Americans are being forced to accept the loss of liberties, and perpetual war, at the behest of the dynastic rule of the Bush administration and its neo-conservative ideological experiment, which capitalizes on religious fervor at its base. If things were to get much worse, is it not conceivable that principled military men who have raised warning flags in real life, such as General John Batiste, Lt. Ehren Watada and even Scott Ritter, could become leaders in some future armed revolution, side by side with , and religious thinkers such as Jim Wallis and Barry Lynn and "ordinary" concerned and angry citizens? It seems anything is possible these days.

Heretics, US is also very easy reading. In fact you may find yourself not wanting to put it down. However, if this is even possible, Heretics US may a bit too easy. Heretics, US should be a work of epic proportions, but instead is wrapped up a little too quickly. While the characters are immensely intriguing, the lack of more in depth character development could leave readers wanting more. Similarly, the shadowy plot of the Plant administration, as well as its power structure, is such that readers can't help but want more explanation, but this too is concluded a bit too quickly and neatly. Perhaps Mr. Musall plans on writing another installment to satisfy readers.

A very interesting element of the story rests in its clever portrayal of the protagonist. Rather than there being a clear protagonist, Heretics, US portrays a different dynamic. Jim Holloway, the everyman hero of the story, initially seems to play the role of the protagonist, even becoming caught up in a torrid love affair with another revolutionary. But it eventually becomes clear that no one man or woman is the hero of this story, as the role is passed around in the narrative. For example, the character of Stearns at times takes on this role, surpassing Holloway as the central figure, as well as Holloway's lover Mary, who at times also wears the hero cap. But it seems that this may be Musall's point-that we can all be heroes in wrestling back our democracy from the strangle hold of impending despotism. Whether it is done at the voting booth, volunteering, letter writing, civil disobedience, or even some future armed revolution, Americans of all sorts will need to step up and take action.

Similarly, the bad guy is not so much represented by a single man or woman either, but rather by the entrenched "Supreme" led government and its enforcement agency known as "FERM", which as a whole is portrayed effectively by author Musall.

In all, Heretics, US is a well conceived and thought provoking book. What would we do if put in the place of Jim Holloway, Mike Stearns or Mary Martin? Would we roll over and accept the demise of American democracy, or would we fight? Are we in fact rolling over right now, complacently watching as our rights are slowly eroded? This is the challenge Jeff Musall has presented his readers with. From the introduction to the book and in his own words: "ask yourself, what is your threshold? What does it take before you, as an individual, has had enough? What does it take for you to stand and say, "This is not OK"?