A trucker, a blogger, and a congressman determine the fate of the most powerful empire the world has ever known.Americans are angry and divided along party lines. They’re tired of the endless wars, high gas prices, and high unemployment. They’re tired of the graft in DC and on Wall Street. They’re tired of being spied on and herded like cattle into the prison industrial complex. Like in years … Like in years before, they’re certain that, this time, their guy will change everything. The Republican and Democratic saviors make their promises, and the true believers swoon, but domestic terrorists aren’t buying what these politicians are selling.
Truck driver George Chapman is in the right place at the right time to foil an assassination attempt on one of the most influential men in politics. Some might say the reluctant hero was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some might say it was a false flag. Nonetheless, his fifteen minutes of fame grows because of his extraordinary gift. Will he use his gift and newfound fame to unite the country or to tear it apart?
A revolution is coming. Which side are you on?
Adult language, content, and sexual violence.
What readers are saying.
As with all of the editing of your previous novels, you are an absolute gift to edit and the amount of times I find myself reading instead of editing (fear not, I double back!) is ridiculous. You have something to say and the craft to say it – super impressive writing. Well done. -Caroline Smailes, Editor
“This book was absolutely amazing! I didn’t realize when I bought it, that it was 600+ pages! I figured I would take a month to read it. It hooked me from the first 3 pages. I ended up reading the book just about nonstop for 2 days. Anyone wanting a great thought provoking book, grab this one now!” – Koditten ★★★★★
“Williams hits this one out of the park.” – Jerry G. ★★★★★
“I’ve been studying American “democracy” for almost 40 years, step by laborious and painful step figuring out its Machiavellian nature–one genocide after another, endless wars of conquest based on propaganda and lies, erosion of liberties, growing inequalities, and, worse of all, dismantling the biosphere and threatening humanity’s very existence. Phil Williams not only captures these horrors, but does so through a captivating, touching, well-crafted, novel. If you care about the golden rule, truth, justice, freedom, peace, and the future of humanity, you owe it to yourself to read this novel. And unlike the articles and books that dissidents like myself write, this is a beautiful work of fiction, a real page-turner.
A few minor philosophical points occurred to me. First, the answer in my view is not anarchism but real (miscalled direct) democracy (see: 7.4 Million Cheers for Real Democracy). Second, I entirely agree that we must give our rulers a bit of their own violent medicine, but there is a better way, in my view, than Williams’ solution. Why isn’t his solution going to work? In part because once you brainwash people, they find it excruciatingly difficult to change their minds (for more details, see the Wikipedia entry “Belief Perseverance” and especially the cited Festinger and Nissani experiments). And speaking of Wikipedia: It’s a Deep State project, and should be treated with skepticism on anything that involves history, political assassinations, billionaires, Mafiosos, judges, congressmen, and presidents. Lastly, barely mentioned in this wonderful book is our rulers’ gravest crime: if humanity continues on the present course, its chances of survival are close to zero (see online: The Human Experiment is Probably Coming to an End).
All in all, I’ve read two other novels by Williams, and in my view he is one of the best contemporary novelists in the English-speaking world.” – Donna Nissani, Author, LIVES IN THE BALANCE: The Cold War and American Politics, 1945-1991 ★★★★★
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Sedition by Phil M. Williams is a political horror thriller. Any writer who attempts to write a political thriller in the turbulent times we are expressing probably must work hard to keep up. What could be more chaotic, unpredictable and absurd than things we see on the daily news? Williams presents us with a novel that is a thinly disguised parody of “real” life. Representative John Bradley, a main character has one chapter devoted to him titled “John and the Art of the Deal.” John is, of course, an ambitious politician with visions of the White House in mind. He just wants to stay in Washington D. C. and help “drain the swamp.” Are any memory bells ringing yet?
This is a very scary novel that presents horrible possibilities for a future of the USA with such convincing certainty that readers will not be creating remote bunkers as Main Character George does but might be applying for (Swiss) citizenship as does the family of Kate, a wildly successful YouTube entrepreneur. Three central themes guide the novel. The first is that the economic system of the USA is inherently doomed to failure. An economic system based on increasing debt that is paid by printed money of decreasing value creates a bubble that will inevitably burst. Secondly, there is a ruling elite that encourages increasing debt and who profit from it by ever increasing corrupt means that eventually lead to curtailing civil liberties. This leads to a dictatorship ruled by a total use of state power to include the military. Finally, through social media, the “masses” are manipulated to the point they contribute to their own demise. Readers will inevitably be led to a comparison made to the manipulation of the German “masses” in the past.
This could have been written as a straightforward political rant, but Williams decided to use fiction supported by a lot of non-fiction to produce a very scary warning of a possible future. It is a future centered on the USA, but chaos is, expectedly, worldwide. It is just that the USA comes out as the biggest loser and is forced to accept the responsibility for its own loss. The non-fiction support is presented by Main Character George. He just wants to get through the day by delivering motorcycles, his self-created cottage industry. Everything he does is self-created. He built his own house in a remote area. He grows his own food. With no friends (by choice) he is an autodidact who reads a lot and fills “blank” time by listening to podcasts and NPR. (This is getting too close to home already). He might have lived his life as an avowed Anarchist, affecting no one in society, except for the accident by which he saved Congressman Bradley’s life. During a motorcycle delivery, George saw a man with a concealed weapon preparing to assassinate John and, acting on instinct, tackled the assassin. The Congressman survived, the assassin didn’t, and George got shot by responding police. This propelled George into public interest through the efforts of Kate, an entrepreneur who looked for opportunities to make money through her YouTube channel. Getting an interview with George would be a coup for Kate and spike her channel’s ratings through the ceiling.
George resists all efforts at publicity but is dragged bit by bit into the public eye as he explains his belief in Anarchy as the only way to restore true civil liberties. George is a total pacifistic anarchist; he rejects violence. This is not true of other factions believing in anarchy; the movement is not monolithic. This is where the bulk of the non-fiction comes in. Podcasts will present the basis of his beliefs. As George listens, readers will find lengthy tracts on economic theories of the past. What worked, what didn’t, and why didn’t they? George has an almost superpower he doesn’t want, the inability to forget anything he has ever heard or read. He would be a winner at any Trivial Pursuit game. Not only does he remember content, he remembers sources, dates, and even times. This will be handy as Julie, Kate, and Max drag George into making public appearances. It is not a shy nature that drives George’s reluctance to appear in public; he suffers from stage fright that causes him to vomit at every attempt to speak publicly.
As George presents his well-supported views in both private and, eventually, public venues, many readers will be tempted to further check George’s sources. Author Williams tries to keep these sections interesting (they are) and not clunky (sometimes they are) as some of these parts remind me of the writings of Ayn Rand. Although I am an Ayn Rand fan, she (and Williams) sometimes beat the reader over the head repeatedly with the same point. This is the only weakness I found in the book. We know the themes, they are well supported, but we don’t need several repetitions of the same support anecdotes.
Very serious non-fiction material is embedded in a fictional setting that involves romantic relationships, betrayals, redemptions (or not), a rigged election, and very scary portrayals of what happens when government power is highjacked by unscrupulous, self-centered, individuals focused on immediate gratification, to include sex. (Interlude while we make comparisons to present day situations). Sexual language is kept to the minimum necessary but feel free to skip over a prison scene; one that is brutal.
Don’t fail to read the very well written Author’s Note. That is followed by approximately thirty Kindle pages listing resources the author used in support of the non-fiction facts embedded in this fictional political horror show. If you look at the Bibliography you might be tempted to read the articles and books mentioned. If you begin to think everything is hopeless, look at the Author’s note again about his comparison of present times to those of the American Revolution.
Despite Ayn Rand(esque) occasional clunkiness, I give this novel five Amazon stars and highly recommend it as a modern-day political horror novel. Is there a genre for this? Somehow, I managed to purchase this book for free on Amazon, so it was not a giveaway or an author request. It is now on sale for USD 8.99 or available as a free read through Kindle Unlimited.
I don’t say this about many novels: I would have paid the full purchase price of USD 8.99.
Once again Mr. Williams has me enamored with his characters. This book was very educational as well.
Sedition is the second Phil M Williams book I have read. I loved Against the Grain. To me there were no likable characters in Sedition. George, the main character, lectures everyone about how they don’t inform themselves and only listen to and read what reinforces what they already believe. Thing is, George is a hypocrit. He does the same thing. He only listens to Alt Right podcasts, which reinforce his beliefs. So he is no better than the rest of us.
George is an anarchist. He doesn’t believe in taxation or in governing. He thinks people should be self ruled. He doesn’t believe in violence and thinks if no one paid taxes there would be no wars.
I see his point and can relate to part of what he says. Mr. Williams made everything in this book over the top. Everything is just a little too much to be believable. I could have liked it more is it hadn’t been so surreal.
The way this book is written, even when George gets screwed over, I don’t feel all that bad about it. May read another by Mr. Williams, to see which way he goes with it.