- Ross, John F. Unintended
Consequences. St. Louis: Accurate Press,
1996. ISBN 1-888118-04-0.
- I don't know about you, but when I hear the phrases
“first novel” and “small press” applied to the same book, I'm apt
to emit an involuntary groan, followed by a wince upon hearing said
volume is more than 860 pages in length. John Ross has created
the rarest of exceptions to this prejudice. This is a big,
sprawling, complicated novel with a multitude of characters (real
and fictional) and a plot which spans most of the 20th century, and
it works. What's even more astonishing is that it describes
an armed insurrection against the United States government which is
almost plausible. The information age has changed warfare at
the national level beyond recognition; Ross explores what civil
war might look like in the 21st century. The book is virtually
free of typographical errors and I only noted a few factual errors—few
bestsellers from the largest publishers manifest such attention to
detail. Some readers may find this novel intensely offensive—the
philosophy, morality, and tolerance for violence may be deemed “out
of the mainstream” and some of the characterisations in the last
200 pages may be taken as embodying racial stereotypes—you have
been warned.
December 2003 