Book Review: We Have a Plan|Honestlyspeakingonbooks

 Book Review: We Have a Plan

                          by Gregory Ulseth

 

Although I’m definitely not a fan of Dystopian Sci-fi, I let myself put that fact aside and decided to try We Have a Plan. The author, Gregory Ulseth, had reached out to me with a review request which I obviously accepted. I was happy to review this book especially since it came from an indie author with religious background. Without any knowledge of what to expect, I started to read. It took me a little while to “get into” it but I did eventually become interested later in the story.

This is my review on We Have a Plan by Gregory Ulseth.

 

On The Back:

The mission was to salvage the society we once held dear and eliminate religious and underclass oppression. The plan was to build strength through the subterranean network of outlawed religious institutions and high-tech paramilitary powers to infiltrate and to gather assets along the way. Charlie was one such asset groomed from birth to help these Revolutionaries.


Charlie Prescott, a teenager born into an influential family in early 22nd-century America, is forced to grow up fast when he is thrust into a chaotic war. His life of luxury is turned upside down when he learns about the events of the Great Nuclear War and the regional governments. The underground culture he grew up with becomes his strength as he fights for liberty and freedom on the front lines of the war on the southern border. Along the way, he meets a team of unique individuals who become his new family. One thing is certain, though: Charlie must not give up on any part of his family or his faith.

 

My Review:

The novel begins in the early 22^nd century set in America. Society is divided into three different classes and religion is illegal.

Charlie Prescott is a teenager with a family of the first class that attends outlawed religious gatherings.

 Creating new codes and sending secret messages have always been a normal part of his daily life. Since he was an infant, he’s been subjected to the tension of being a Catholic and depression and anxiety constantly haunt him.

When tragedy strikes, it seems as though everything begins to change. As a first class citizen, he finally learns about the Great Nuclear War (GNW) but he barely realizes how much the State is truly hiding.

 When he is suddenly drafted into the military, he must make the choice to serve the State or the underground. To fight for freedom or to continue on with his privileges until they, too, are taken away.

We Have a Plan was your average dystopian novel. The dark and dreary future with the elite looming over the masses.

Although the book starts out with the focus on the religious oppression, the actual storyline doesn’t have quite as much of it as you would suppose. The characters were interesting and the tragedy that I previously mentioned did surprise me but I felt like the writing was a bit rushed.

Charlie was a satisfactory main character, his actions were relatively realistic and so were the actions of the secondary characters. There were a few mysteries throughout the novel that were quite intriguing and (thank goodness) they were finally solved.

The novel’s dystopia had, as mentioned earlier, the usual gloominess that most Sci-fi novels have and it did mention that the majority of the population were depressed. You could say that it wasn’t very bright and cheerful which, I suppose, is to be expected. Most of the story was focused on the military and the tyrannical state of the elite.

There were also quite a few mentions of the 21^st century which I would guess was inspiration for the author.

This book was not a chore to read, I truly enjoyed many parts of the story despite it being a genre I don’t particularly care for. I do wish that there was more personality to the characters that would connect them to the reader. I felt unable to relate to them and I think that that was primarily due to the third person narration.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad read. I would give it 3.8/5 although I’m sure that if you like Dystopia or Science Fiction this book might be for you! 

 

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author. This does not change my opinion on the book. 

 

                                                   Sarah E