Agenda 21

By: Glenn Beck

Narrated by: January LaVoy

A new postapocalyptic thriller from #1 bestselling author Glenn Beck.

HOW MUCH WOULD YOU RISK TO BE FREE?

Emmeline and her family live in a place that just a generation ago was called America. Now, it’s simply known as “the Republic.” There is no president. No Congress. No Supreme Court. No freedom.

There are only the Authorities.

This bleak and barren existence is all that eighteen-year-old Emmeline has ever known. She dutifully walks her energy board daily and accepts all male pairings assigned to her by the Authorities. Like most citizens, she keeps her head down and her eyes closed.

Until the day they come for the one she loves most.

OK Thriller with an Important Message

I've heard this book marketed as the "1984" of the new millennium. Given the subject matter and the important message it seeks to communicate - it well *could* have been, but inexperienced writing and a story that ends far too abruptly will keep it from capturing that title. And I make that statement as someone who regards "1984" as one of my all time favorite books.

While Beck's skill at novel writing has definitely improved since "Overton Window", this story just doesn't quite "make it." There are many repetitive dialog devices used over-and-over again, often times within the same couple of sentences and to my great annoyance. It was to the point of becoming predictable - and that is not a good thing. The main character, which we understand to be a young woman, is rendered to be a bit too immature given her harsh living conditions to be believable. Imagine you took a 17 year old spoiled American mall rat and dumped her in the middle of a dystopian nightmare which, she supposedly grew-up in. Doesn't really work, does it?

The atmospherics of the "compound" and the eco-Nazi lifestyle of the citizens was developed much better than most of the characters, and one can almost see and feel what life would be like living under such conditions. Moreover, because this story is essentially an extrapolated trajectory of the hopes and aspirations of the more extreme elements of the "Green" movement, it provides an additional source of realism and does a decent job of communicating its primary warnings.

The story is very short, which doesn't have to be a bad thing, but in this case I don't feel that it works. Did the authors run out of plot ideas, or are we simply being setup for a serialized story? Whatever the reason, I came away feeling a bit "jipped" - not so much because I needed a neatly packaged closure to the story, but because I felt it failed somehow to deliver that essential existential "kick" that the "1984 of the new millennium" should.

I'd say Agenda 21 is a decent read with a very important and timely message. If you are curious to understand what the real Agenda 21 is and how it could potentially play out into the future, this isn't a half bad introduction and it is at least, entertaining and not dry.

Story behind the story

Not the best writing or story, but it's the message that needs to be heard by every American.

Chilling Tale of the Future

This is a chilling if somewhat paranoid tale of the future. This is billed as a worst case future of what would happen if the UN gets to rule the USA. As a fictional story it was a very good listen. The ending was somewhat disappointing, and left me wanting more. Maybe there is a sequel. While I don't see the worst happening (and I don't think the author does either), as a child of the early fifties the current erosion of freedoms does parallel what the book portends. It was so good we also got the Kindle version. First time getting both versions of a book.

It could have been better.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It moved very slowly. I did not get a real feel for the world that Beck was trying to create.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The book plodded along toward the ending so I was happy when it came. As far as what actually happened at the end, I was not suprised based on the tempo if the book.

Was Agenda 21 worth the listening time?

For me, it was worth the time but it was not a very long book. It was very easy to stop listening and I found that, at times, I really did not want to turn it back on again.

Any additional comments?

Over all I did like the book but I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. My take on this book is that it was a re-telling of Anthem by Ayn Rand (which I read many years ago and loved). That may be the reason for my two star score for the story told here. Rand told this type of story well. Beck's book may be more important due to the actual Agenda 21 document. But I feel he could have told a better story. The afterword was interesting. I downloaded the Agenda 21 document, I may even read it one day.

Must read!

Excellent way to get the truth out!!
Couldn't stop listening.
Best part was the explanation at the end. Pass on.