READERS ARE SAYING:

“As a seasoned journalist and award-winning editorial writer, Nick Monsarrat spent a lifetime delivering critical news to the American public. He brings that same storytelling acumen to his fiction, and its realism is palpable. Monsarrat addresses the civil liberties Americans have always taken for granted, and how they might be lost by the unchecked hubris of those in authority. He revels in weaving a tapestry of irony, and keeps us turning pages to find once-perceived enemies as allies. united states is both entertainment and morality tale, offered up by a master of the written word.”
—Telly Halkias, national award-winning columnist for the Portland Sun (Maine), and adjunct professor of English and Humanities for the Vermont State Colleges

“A powerful dystopian story, a warning of how the last days of the American experiment in democracy might happen; the fight against greed, ignorance, and malicious power is powerfully told.” —Jeff Danziger, a Herblock Prize winner and author of The Conscience of a Cartoonist, an in-depth look at the art of political cartooning, as well as the Vietnam-era novel, Rising Like the Tucson.

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THE STORY:

An epic, sweeping narrative of a future “united states” and a country headed down the wrong path. In Nick Monsarrat’s cautionary tale/political thriller, it will become clear that “You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything,” in the words of the John Mellencamp anthem.

An indifferent populace, easily manipulated. Greedy, powerful interests, poised for a corporate takeover of the United States …

It’s the year 2038: Do you know where your country went?

That’s the question Jack Flyte, Ben and Cecil Quayle must answer. In the world of New York City 25 years hence, their future—and the country’s—depends on it.

In “future united states,” powerful corporate interests have almost free reign in a de-facto oligarchy. Both the justice system and civil rights, for longtime citizens and new arrivals alike, are now almost obsolete. In an increasingly closed, paranoid climate, outsiders, especially Muslims, are to be feared and kept segregated. “Terrorist” bombings are now nearly a daily occurrence, and Emergency Decrees have been enacted, giving the city government and other shadow agencies special powers to round up the alleged perpetrators. Secret tribunals pass judgment on those considered security threats and anyone who sympathizes with them. The Brigades, a para-military mounted cavalry, have the power to round up and execute citizens without trials, all at the behest of the mysterious Directorate, part big-brother and part corporate consortium. The media have been marginalized, now mere propagandists. Worst of all, an apathetic public tolerates this new status quo.

In the center of the maelstrom is the charismatic Jack Flyte, head of The Enterprise. His once youthful idealism long since tempered by the thirst for power, he is about to side against the forces he once symbolized.

Ben Quayle, co-founder of The Enterprise and second in command will also be unwittingly caught up in the chaotic events of May, 2038. Along with his wife, Cecil Collander-Quayle, a portrait artist with a social conscience, he will gradually experience a change of heart about what is important to them and their country.

As the story unfolds, Jack, Ben and Cecil will be harassed, imprisoned, and pursued, their every move shadowed and their lives threatened. By story’s end, it will be clear just who are the real patriots, and who the real terrorists.