Rule of Capture

A Novel

By: Christopher Brown

Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

“This one is fresh, intelligent, and emotional with a plot that envisions an alternate reality hard to dismiss as unreal. It’s a legal thriller, with a big twist, stirring and imaginative, brimming with skullduggery, that will have you asking: is this possible?" (Steve Berry, New York Times best-selling author)

Better Call Saul meets 1984 in this first volume in an explosive legal thriller series set in the world of Tropic of Kansas - a finalist for the 2018 Campbell Award for best science-fiction novel of the year.

Defeated in a devastating war with China and ravaged by climate change, America is on the brink of a bloody civil war. Seizing power after a controversial election, the ruling regime has begun cracking down on dissidents fighting the nation’s slide toward dictatorship. 

For Donny Kimoe, chaos is good for business. He’s a lawyer who makes his living defending enemies of the state. His newest client, young filmmaker Xelina Rocafuerte, witnessed the murder of an opposition leader and is now accused of terrorism. To save her from the only sentence worse than death, Donny has to extract justice from a system that has abandoned the rule of law. That means breaking the rules - and risking the same fate as his clients. 

When Donny bungles Xelina’s initial hearing, he has only days to save the young woman from being transferred to a detention camp from which no one returns. His only chance of winning is to find the truth - a search that begins with the opposition leader’s death and leads to a dark conspiracy reaching the highest echelons of power. 

Now, Donny isn’t just fighting for his client’s life - he’s battling for his own. But as the trial in the top secret court begins, Xelina’s friends set into motion a revolutionary response that could destroy the case. And when another case unexpectedly collides with Xelina’s, Donny uncovers even more devastating secrets, knowledge that will force him to choose between saving one client...or the future of the entire country. 

©2019 Christopher Brown (P)2019 HarperAudio

Dystopian Law - Trial by History

A well crafted legal thriller, taking place in future Texas, with an oppressed wiseass lawyer, a tough talking freelance journalist with a big secret, and a cast of Machiavellian autocrats out to protect the state.

Brown never wavers in his commitment to the story. As the plot descends into a labyrinthine, Chinatown-seque territory, we are shown a great deal of detail on the legal process. It's a fascinating documentarian approach that caters to a reader who likes to think. Initially, I was thinking of comparing this to Grisham. While I chard those novels up in my early twenties, they now feel like a simpler precursor to this tale. The thrills are matched by the foundations of a devastatingly real glimpse of what could be. Without revealing too much, my favourite invention was the passport app.

The narrator does a fine job, preforming each character with verve and bringing the Browns wit to life. For heavy subject matter, the combination of the writer's and the narrator's skill really make it easy to digest. A sharp right turn of a plot twist at the end completely solidifies the realism of the tale and helps underpin how corrupt the system is.

All up, I greatly enjoyed this further foray into Brown's world, which started in companion piece, Tropic of Kansas. I would recommend starting there if you haven't already read it as it greatly enhances this novel.

Wow!

An awesome novel that is part science fiction and part political thriller. I live in Texas where the story takes place and I shudder after listening to the audiobook. I keep wondering when the tanks will appear and our government will fall. Just kidding. This story gets your attention. I give it five stars overall especially the narration. MacLeod Andrews gives this story life.

Great First Book

Enjoyed this book greatly, looking forward to the follow up book later in the year.

A marriage of fiction to nonfiction

Great premise that’s rooted in a completely plausible extrapolation of where our country may be headed. Great characterization: the many flaws of the protagonist contrast and enhance his essential strengths of legal imagination, courage and humor; conversely, a major antagonist is depicted as having an admirable vein of moral character.

Suspenseful. Marries dystopian fiction with nonfictional observations of the present in a way that is completely believable, and who knows, possibly eerily predictive. Thanks

Captivating.

Best book I've read this year. Strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants a real good read.