Publication Date: December 21, 2013
In the near future, the United States has slipped from its world power position. A man named Tyler Lee Peterson is poised to achieve the dream he’s been chasing his entire life, to be of consequence on the world stage. Eddy’s Current by Reed Sprague is a tale of political corruption and intrigue. Eddy’s Current is the first in a planned quartet of novels.
The author, Reed Sprague, gifted me a copy of this novel in exchange for my review.
There are flashes of brilliance in Eddy’s Current. The reader follows a character that is rising to dangerous prominence on the political scene. Sprague brings us the best of political thrillers in corruption, greed and the apathetic cooperation of “sheeple.” In many ways, Eddy’s Current is like the best episode of American Greed (CNBC). It’s the inconsistency of writing style and that the author could have winnowed some choices made in the story that truly let this novel down.
Eddy’s Current is the first in a planned quartet of novels and in order to fill those four novels with any sort of running thread, there has to be a number of threads to flesh out and follow. Eddy’s Current was very top heavy. There are a large number of characters to keep track of as well as several plot lines that one could assume will be tied up and characters fleshed out over the course of four novels but, at the outset, are hard to keep track. This difficulty is enhanced by a perplexing metafiction aspect that cannot help but take the reader out of the experience.
Eddy’s Current is quite the cautionary tale. Sprague’s biography tells us that his faith is very important to him so it’s no surprise that there is a message of warning to people turning their back on religion in our country. While not a religious person, I can appreciate Sprague’s intent and know that if my very religious mom were to read fiction, she would enjoy the message of Eddy’s Current]
It is my opinion that Eddy’s Current is a commitment. Some series novels work as stand-alone reads, but I don’t believe that this, or Sprague’s novels that follow, will be books to be read independently. Sprague reads like an author with a plan. There are authors that feel as though, while reading, that they have a plan that has been carefully constructed and when the fullness of the series unfolds will lead to an epic five-star series.
If you are series reader, let me know if you think that my assessment is correct. Read an excerpt and buy Eddy’s Current by Reed Sprague on
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