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Stacey in the Hands of an Angry God
A fundamentalist preacher with a misogynous bent gains control of the Kansas legislature and begins enacting laws restricting women's travel, their careers, and their reproductive rights. Law student Stacey Davenport starts a political resistance and begins an affair with an idealistic, married legislator who is holding out against the worst of these measures.
Stacey moves in with her family in her small home town and runs for office, trying to overcome her father's reputation as a thief, her younger brother's pending terrorism charges, and her own sordid past history as a teenage addict. But as her mentor and lover's passion for her slowly morphs into an unbridled jealousy, his deep-seated urge to control her overpowers all constraints of politics or religion. Only then does she realize that the dysfunctional family she has scorned and avoided for so many years is her only hope.
Stacey moves in with her family in her small home town and runs for office, trying to overcome her father's reputation as a thief, her younger brother's pending terrorism charges, and her own sordid past history as a teenage addict. But as her mentor and lover's passion for her slowly morphs into an unbridled jealousy, his deep-seated urge to control her overpowers all constraints of politics or religion. Only then does she realize that the dysfunctional family she has scorned and avoided for so many years is her only hope.
226 pages, Hardcover
Published October 15, 2019
About the author
Thomas Keech
12 books16 followersMr. Keech has written seven well-reviewed novels based on his experiences as a juvenile counselor, a legal aid attorney, an administrative law judge, and an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Maryland as well as his time spent as a father and a former teenager himself. Besides writing, he has worked as a volunteer attorney and is a member of the ethics review panel of his local board of education.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 31, 2022
I loved this book. and with the way the world is headed THIS COULD BE OUR NEW REALITY! I am glad that Stacey turned her life around. Between rumors and law ness, plus the religious hold on everyone cringing in fear will people start turning to God?
March 1, 2020
*I received this book through a librarythings giveaway. The review is my honest thoughts and opinion.
Synopsis: Stacey lives in a near future dystopian America which is heavily divided by red states and blue states to the point that pregnant women can't travel from a red state to a blue state. Also, using a search engine for information about anything that could potentially be hazardous to fetuses is a serious offense with heavy jail time. Stacey's teen brother is being investigated for such a crime.
Stacey has recently become pregnant and the new laws would make it almost impossible for her to advance in her career. She decides to take action and run politically at the urging of her boyfriend who is separated from his wife though, under the current regime, is having difficulty getting divorced.
My rating:
3/5
My experience with this book was mixed. It isn't a very long book but so much happens in it. This lead to quite a bit of telling instead of showing in various scenes. Writing wise, I thought there were some great lines and well done scenes but I also felt that, especially in the dialogue, the style was sometimes clunky. One thing I noticed that people addressing people by name in the dialogue unnecessarily often.
I really loved the world building in this book. I felt it was relevant to our current political environment and it gave me strong Gilead from the Handmaid's tale vibes. This book is the lead up to a dystopian religious regime unlike Gilead which is established by the start of the Handmaid's tale but I personally really enjoy watching the build up to the dystopian world.
I had mixed feelings about the plot and the characters.
I really was intrigued by the plot until about halfway through the book. After that, things took some turns that were pretty strange. I think many of them worked with the world building of the book but they felt off the rails at the same time especially the books ending.
Stacey was also a sticking point for me. She is a character who has a strong back story and who we see in relation to her family quite a bit but who still didn't come off the page for me. I loved her family dynamics and the relationships she had with them. I think I liked her family more than I liked Stacey and they felt more real to me than she did. I can't pinpoint why exactly. I felt like there was something missing from her. One thing I was surprised and disappointed about is that her relationship with her fetus is very minor but the pregnancy plays such a huge part in the story. She chose to return to a red state knowing she was pregnant so clearly she wanted her baby. The baby is creating all these problems in her life and plans but she really doesn't think much about the baby other than her rights being limited because of the baby.
I loved the world this story took place in. I really truly enjoyed the first half of this book but felt let down by the second half when it came to plot. I liked the side characters but felt like there was something missing from Stacey.
As my reading experience was so mixed I am hesitant to recommend this book but if you enjoy dystopian books with a religious slant you may really enjoy this book. The world was great. It was just the plot and Stacey that ended up being misses for me.
I may however continue in the series to engage with the rest of the world. Particularly eager to see how the blue states are portrayed.
Synopsis: Stacey lives in a near future dystopian America which is heavily divided by red states and blue states to the point that pregnant women can't travel from a red state to a blue state. Also, using a search engine for information about anything that could potentially be hazardous to fetuses is a serious offense with heavy jail time. Stacey's teen brother is being investigated for such a crime.
Stacey has recently become pregnant and the new laws would make it almost impossible for her to advance in her career. She decides to take action and run politically at the urging of her boyfriend who is separated from his wife though, under the current regime, is having difficulty getting divorced.
My rating:
3/5
My experience with this book was mixed. It isn't a very long book but so much happens in it. This lead to quite a bit of telling instead of showing in various scenes. Writing wise, I thought there were some great lines and well done scenes but I also felt that, especially in the dialogue, the style was sometimes clunky. One thing I noticed that people addressing people by name in the dialogue unnecessarily often.
I really loved the world building in this book. I felt it was relevant to our current political environment and it gave me strong Gilead from the Handmaid's tale vibes. This book is the lead up to a dystopian religious regime unlike Gilead which is established by the start of the Handmaid's tale but I personally really enjoy watching the build up to the dystopian world.
I had mixed feelings about the plot and the characters.
I really was intrigued by the plot until about halfway through the book. After that, things took some turns that were pretty strange. I think many of them worked with the world building of the book but they felt off the rails at the same time especially the books ending.
Stacey was also a sticking point for me. She is a character who has a strong back story and who we see in relation to her family quite a bit but who still didn't come off the page for me. I loved her family dynamics and the relationships she had with them. I think I liked her family more than I liked Stacey and they felt more real to me than she did. I can't pinpoint why exactly. I felt like there was something missing from her. One thing I was surprised and disappointed about is that her relationship with her fetus is very minor but the pregnancy plays such a huge part in the story. She chose to return to a red state knowing she was pregnant so clearly she wanted her baby. The baby is creating all these problems in her life and plans but she really doesn't think much about the baby other than her rights being limited because of the baby.
I loved the world this story took place in. I really truly enjoyed the first half of this book but felt let down by the second half when it came to plot. I liked the side characters but felt like there was something missing from Stacey.
As my reading experience was so mixed I am hesitant to recommend this book but if you enjoy dystopian books with a religious slant you may really enjoy this book. The world was great. It was just the plot and Stacey that ended up being misses for me.
I may however continue in the series to engage with the rest of the world. Particularly eager to see how the blue states are portrayed.
February 18, 2020
In the dystopian country imagined in this story, the US has become much like two different countries, the red states and the blue states, each set of states passing laws at the state level that make sense from their partisan point of view. As might be expected, with many of the reddest among us caring most about one specific issue, the red states have implemented lots of laws and regulations to prevent a potential mother from ending her pregnancy early. This goes so far as requiring a female to have documentation showing she isn’t pregnant to leave the state. If she forgets, a quick ultrasound at the airport and, if all goes well, she’ll be on her way.
Our protagonist, a law student in Kansas, takes exception to these laws. Worse, a religious zealot doesn’t think the laws go far enough and is aiming to make them even more stringent. Stacey decides to fight back on behalf of herself and her sisters.
Like all dystopian novels, this takes a current direction some people are trying to pull the world or, in this case, country in. It then imagines a slippery slope and what the world would be like if we slid all the way down that slope. Part of me had a hard time believing the premise. Slippery slope arguments are, most of the time, fallacious arguments. I wondered whether we’d ever go this far, even in those states most likely to be willing. But then I pondered how much more credible 1984 feels to me today than it did just a couple years ago, and I was suspending my disbelief, at least for purposes of reading the book. If nothing else, it should get you thinking, which ultimately is the point.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
Our protagonist, a law student in Kansas, takes exception to these laws. Worse, a religious zealot doesn’t think the laws go far enough and is aiming to make them even more stringent. Stacey decides to fight back on behalf of herself and her sisters.
Like all dystopian novels, this takes a current direction some people are trying to pull the world or, in this case, country in. It then imagines a slippery slope and what the world would be like if we slid all the way down that slope. Part of me had a hard time believing the premise. Slippery slope arguments are, most of the time, fallacious arguments. I wondered whether we’d ever go this far, even in those states most likely to be willing. But then I pondered how much more credible 1984 feels to me today than it did just a couple years ago, and I was suspending my disbelief, at least for purposes of reading the book. If nothing else, it should get you thinking, which ultimately is the point.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
December 5, 2019
I received this book as an Early Reviewer through LibraryThing.
On first glance, the cover of this book instantly turned me off wanting to read it. It looked cheap, pulpy and like someone was trying too hard to be artistic. Fortunately, the writing was better than the book's appearance. The story of Stacey, a law student whose home state of Kansas is putting into law all kinds of restrictions on females and their reproductive rights, is clearly the first step in a series, and a little lacking on character development. The relationship dynamics in Stacey's family and romantic partnerships fell flat, and everyone felt, at times, like caricatures of people, rather than complicated, emotional characters in their own right. The subject matter is timely and extrapolates the current political climate to the extreme. However, I don't think I'll be picking up any of the next books in the series.
On first glance, the cover of this book instantly turned me off wanting to read it. It looked cheap, pulpy and like someone was trying too hard to be artistic. Fortunately, the writing was better than the book's appearance. The story of Stacey, a law student whose home state of Kansas is putting into law all kinds of restrictions on females and their reproductive rights, is clearly the first step in a series, and a little lacking on character development. The relationship dynamics in Stacey's family and romantic partnerships fell flat, and everyone felt, at times, like caricatures of people, rather than complicated, emotional characters in their own right. The subject matter is timely and extrapolates the current political climate to the extreme. However, I don't think I'll be picking up any of the next books in the series.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews