Book Review:
Oscar Deadwood, The Perfect Revolution

by Jerry Wright

A warning first, about this otherwise exciting and well-done novel. It is graphic, violent, and contains a lot of foul language. Frankly, if Oscar hadn't been a BwS author, I might not have finished the book, because at times the language becomes almost septic. I'm glad I did finish it, however, because it is well-written and thought-provoking.

Ben Benson is an ineffectual nebbish who just wants to be a writer. The Perfect Revolution is actually his journal, and because this novel is written in journal form it has an immediacy that a straight third party story would not have. It is also painful, rough, and violent as Ben makes his journey from a grunt on the ground in Iraq (in 2013!) to the streets of damaged USA.

Who are these "Perfect Soldiers"? Yes, they are conscienceless robotic killers under the control of one man, General Prescott of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but are they more? And why is this revolution allowed to happen in the "land of the free and the home of the brave"?

As we watch Benson's combined moral descent along with professional ascent, we might wonder what we would do given the evironment and choices given to Benson. The story at times is visceral and gut-wrenching, but we also wonder what kind of a "gutless wonder" IS Private, then Lieutenant, then Captain, then Major Benson? And what kind of depressing dispirited place is the United States?

Oscar Deadwood is one day going to be a very good author, and this is a very well done first novel. This story could NOT be published in Bewildering Stories, and frankly, it took some work to find a publishable excerpt (coming later), and even the one we have is very dark and violent.

Unlike the other reviewers on Amazon, I couldn't give this novel 5 stars, but 4? Yes, certainly.

Copyright © 2006 Jerry Wright and Bewildering Stories

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