I received a free copy of this book from a giveaway on ŷ and I'm so glad I did! I tend not to read new books that often anymore, so having thiI received a free copy of this book from a giveaway on ŷ and I'm so glad I did! I tend not to read new books that often anymore, so having this arrive in the mail was a great incentive to start reading.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but this book was a delight to read! The story moved at a good pace and I was curious to find out what would happen to the characters. While reading, I found myself thinking about how I would feel about living in a society similar to that of the book - both with the effects of the borders and of the science.
If you enjoy sci-fi or mystery, this is a particularly great read! The fact that it's by a Canadian author made me even happier to read it!...more
This book added a lot of information and context to what I had read about the resistance to SWN fracking in New Brunswick and coverage of the (terrifyThis book added a lot of information and context to what I had read about the resistance to SWN fracking in New Brunswick and coverage of the (terrifying) raid on one of the camps. (I had read Howe's pieces for the Halifax Media Co-op while this was happening, as well as the mainstream media coverage.) He did a lot of research into different aspects of the story and I was impressed and shocked by some of the information. There is a lot of fascinating history about the treaties and problems because of them that I think all Canadians, especially Maritimers, need to know and understand.
I was bothered by how subjective some of the writing was and it pulled me out of the story sometimes; I think it would have been stronger if the author had not speculated on (always nefarious) motives for (what seemed like) everyone except for those involved in the blockade and active protest. It felt like it built the reality into a fight between good (certain protestors) and evil (Government of NB, Government of Canada, Canadian military, RCMP, SWN, AFN, AFNCNB, consultants), which is far more simplistic than real life and even the facts provided. It would have been good if there was more evidence of Howe having tried to come up with other reasons for things and why he discounted them; this would have made his arguments stronger. There is enough information included in the book to come to your own conclusions about how legislation and a number of actions were sketchy, including some actions that the author seems to consider understandable when it's was done by a protestor.
I would have liked a bit more information about how Howe, as an independent journalist, participated in camp life and interacted with protestors because he was involved so long. While he sometimes mentions his involvement, I wasn't sure what it was like for him on the day-to-day scale....more
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