I’ve recently finished reading “Fiat” by author Jeffrey D. Schlaman, and I’m happy to report that it was a good book. In all honesty, even though I had perused the “about” blurb, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Especially with a title like: “Fiat.” However, let me explain the premise of this tale.
“Fiat” is set in the not too distant year of 2016; when the United States is on the brink of an unprecedented financial collapse. The government is trying to hide this fact from its citizens, but more importantly, they are attempting to hide the massive insolvency from the many countries who own their debts. Of course, you cannot hide something as earth shattering as a major world power going financially belly up for long, and needless to say the terrible secret emerges. To make matters even worse, some of the US’s debt holders dump their debts; in what can only be viewed as an outright act of aggression.
The libertarian President who has been elected, is attempting to hold the government, and the country, together. The questions that beg to be answered are: how far will he go to implement his vision, does his vision match what our country stands for, and if not, will his extreme policies and actions need to be stopped?
In Nevada there is a group of people who were summoned together by someone who saw, and prepared for, this economic collapse. These people, from all walks of life, have joined together in an attempt to survive the country’s demise. And, to make this novel just a tad more ominous, let’s throw in a new world-wide religion that verbally promotes freedom and fairness, yet whose actions instill, and embrace, anarchy wherever they appear.
So, I’ve given you the main highlights; now you will need to read “Fiat” for yourself, to see how it all plays out…
Moving on to the writing… Schlaman has truly done a fantastic job. He has taken a very credible scenario and turned into a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat read. The various situations, characters and interactions are both plausible and believable. Schlaman writes with the fervor of someone who can visualize this apocalyptic doom happening, and yet he doesn’t overpower the reader by filling “Fiat” with gloom and cynicism. Schlaman even manages to throw readers a curve ball toward the book’s conclusion. Although, I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised since it is common knowledge that: “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” I’m uncertain if this is Schlaman’s first novel, but I do know I’m looking forward to reading future works by him. Five stars…