Militia Men

Three very different point of view characters weave together a plot that contains many of the elements we see on the news today: gun violence, the politics surrounding what to do about it, and the threats many of those trying to actually do something receive. The action and suspense made it easy to turn the next page. And despite a few technical issues, Militia Men should be on any reading list for a fan of thrillers with a dose of political intrigue.

A senator, Alexandra Austin, serves as both a figurehead for a landmark gun control bill and a symbol of all that is wrong with America for a far right militia group, the True Patriots. Viper, the leader of that group and Robb, the reluctant recruit, round out the trio of point of view characters. Rotating the action between the three was an excellent decision by the author, and really helps drive the story along.

However, Alex's portion did a little too much of the heavy-lifting. Because we live in the villain's head so much, I would have liked to see a more three-dimensional character built up. Instead, Viper feels more flat as the novel progresses. Robb is a fantastic character with fantastic motivations, but I would have wished for a little more agency from him earlier on.

From a technical standpoint, the writing is largely solid. At times, a character might know or say something that seems almost clairvoyant, but it's not enough to detract from the story. However, there is a fully duplicated scene toward the middle. That and my personal issue with flash-forward prologues are largely why I rated this a “worth reading” instead of a “loved it!” The opening scene, the prologue, catches back up to what's happening in the main portion of the novel near the very end. Doing that takes away a lot of the stakes and tension for the reader because 90% of the novel operates almost like a flashback.

Militia Men is a solid and fast-paced political thriller that is well worth reading. The author promises a character-driven story and delivers! A few of the cast resonated with me more than others, but I did enjoy my time with all of them. I do caution that there are some graphic depictions of violence, nothing gratuitous though. But because of Alex's backstory, some of it involves children.