My Week in Book Review: The Alliance and The Sherwood Ring

The Alliance by Gerald Lund

It's 18 years after the end of civilization as we know it. Slowly, ragtag villages of nuclear holocaust survivors are being relocated to a new society known as the Alliance. At first it seems like a dream come true to Eric Lloyd and his family. There is work and safety and food enough to spare. But the trappings of civilization wear thin when Eric learns that the violent human impulses that lead to crime and rebellion are controlled by pain chips surgically implanted in the brain.

Eric vows to destroy the Alliance. But can he have any hope of withstanding the wrath of the Alliance's Major and his computerized Punishment Mode? And what of Eric's growing attraction to Nicole, a Guardian in the Alliance?

This is a classic read for me. I hadn’t read it in years, then noticed it at my parents’ house and decided it was time. I used to love this book, probably at least partly for the feisty heroine/the romance/the enemies to lovers aspect. I do love a good enemies to lovers story. The issues in the book also speak to me.

First of all, is this the best written book of all time? No. It’s a dystopia back before dystopia was a hot item on the shelves via Hunger Games, Divergent, etc. I’d say it’s along the lines of George Orwell but with a religious tone and a happy ending. The religious tone makes sense as it’s authored by Gerald Lund, who wrote The Work and The Glory, a series about the start of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, you don’t need to be any particular religion, or any religion at all, really, to enjoy this book. The central concept is agency—people’s ability to choose to be good or bad—and I think we can all connect with that.

This was published back in 1983, and I feel like the style and language reflect that. It can feel a little older in how it talks about men and women, for example. Besides Nicole, the main female character, the men are the ones doing the fighting while the women and children hide. It’s, like, a big deal that Nicole goes with the men. More indicative of an older era than anything, I think, but you know, if that bothers you. I think this book addresses a lot of issues and has interesting commentary on human nature, and that comes from both men and women, so I think it’s good there.

There’s a part of this book that always makes me want to cry. In two words: Cliff Cameron. You’ll know it when you get there.

The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope

Newly orphaned Peggy Grahame is caught off-guard when she first arrives at her family’s ancestral estate. Her eccentric uncle Enos drives away her only new acquaintance, Pat, a handsome British scholar, then leaves Peggy to fend for herself. But she is not alone. The house is full of mysteries—and ghosts. Soon Peggy becomes involved with the spirits of her own Colonial ancestors and witnesses the unfolding of a centuries-old romance against a backdrop of spies and intrigue and of battles plotted and foiled. History has never been so exciting—especially because the ghosts are leading Peggy to a romance of her own!

I feel like no one has ever heard of this book, and I’m not sure how I read it. I just found out, courtesy of Google, that it was originally published in 1958 (reprinted since), which makes so much sense! Even more than The Alliance, it has an old-fashioned kind of feel. There’s a lot of telling vs. showing, and the women are definitely treated in a way that speaks of an older time. The story jumps back and forth between the ghosts telling their stories and Peggy’s life in the present, which did make it hard to tell what time period the present was supposed to be. The fact that Peggy’s uncle, Enos, tries to keep their estate just like it was in the 18th century doesn’t help. Good old Uncle Enos!

My favorite part about this story is the characters. It has to be, because most of the story is them telling you stuff. But what very interesting stuff it is! The best characters are easily Barbara and Peaceable. This story is a peek into what could have been going on in the countryside of New York in Revolutionary times. Peaceable is a British solider who’s marauding the countryside with the help of undercover Tories, and the rest of the characters are patriots trying to stop him. The thing is, Peaceable is smart. Really smart. And always very polite, no matter what situation he may be in. And he has a lazy smile. It’s all very charming, if you’re into that. I am.

So if you’re in the mood for an older sort of book, give this one a try. The genre is historical fantasy, which is a winning combo in my opinion. For a similar but more modern-feeling book, try My Lady Jane or My Plain Jane by Hand, Ashton, and Meadows.