A Book "Review": Rebel Heart

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of reading a book called "Rebel Heart", written by Graham Bradley. (When searching for the book I highly recommend searching for the author's name. You have been warned!)

The book is based on a simple premise: What if the British Empire had used magic to expand it's borders?  Basically, the British empire sent over mages, wielding powerful magic, to suppress and control their colonies.  Because of that, the American colonies never successfully one their war of independence.  George Washington was killed and the colonies were still under the rule of the British Empire.  Despite them British wielding a superior force, the Americans found a way to fought back.  A secret underground movement works to fight back against the British.  Armed with technology, these 'technomancers' wage war against the mages.

The book follows the story of a young man who works with his parents on a farm.  He is young, brash, yet still very brave.  On an impulse, he embarrasses the local mages and attracts the attention of the technomancers.  The story really picks up from there.

Overall, the book is really fast paced.  The dialog and the plot are both easy to follow and it is relatively light on the descriptions.  The writing style made me think about a comic book, but with explanations of what the characters were doing rather than pictures showing what they were doing.  I found the writing style to be refreshing compared to the book I was reading at the time (a Wheel of Time book).  I would have preferred to see a little bit more character development (there was a smattering here and there).

Overall, I really enjoyed the book.  I would highly recommend reading  it.