Enemies Foreign and Domestic (Trilogy)

By Matthew Bracken
Steelcutter Publishing
Reviewed by Keith Jones

This trilogy – beginning with “Enemies Foreign and Domestic” followed by “Domestic Enemies” and concluded with “Foreign Enemies and Traitors” – begins in the not too distant future. A mass shooting opens the door to unprecedented new gun restrictions, but all is not as it seems. The event had been staged by federal agents seeking greater control over the population and exponential increases in funding. They will get everything they seek. As civil unrest sets in a small band if patriots led by Brad Fallon, Phil Carson and Ranya Bardiwell set out to discover the truth. The web of deception grows thicker as they go.

The second book, “Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista” carries you further along into the American South West as it disintegrates into the “Aztlan” which has been largely reclaimed by Central and South American para military groups. Once again Ranya Bardiwell has, against the advice of Phil Carson, returned to her home country and finds herself embroiled in the morass of America’s downfall. Imprisoned then on the run, she must recover her son who has been taken by the government and adopted out to federal officials.

The third book, “Foreign Enemies and Traitors” paints an even bleaker picture of our future as Phil Carson can no longer hide from the realities of the lost freedom of his homeland. On a smuggling run, Carson is shipwrecked along the Southern Gulf coast with no means of retreating back to the relative safety and anonymity of the Caribbean where he had been hiding. He joins up with a group of freedom fighters led by a former Special Forces soldier who could not carry out the illegal orders he was given by his government so he deserts and establishes himself in the woods of his native Tennessee. A chance discovery offers proof of unbelievable war crimes against civilians and threatens to blow the fragile government apart.

This trilogy of books takes you into a frightening future that you will very much hope stays fictional. On the whole, Bracken has created a series of books that are bound to go down as classics in this thought provoking genre.