Chanticleer Book Reviews

Category: Reviews

LUNA: Rhone and Stone Book 2 by Strider S.R. Klusman – YA, Action/Adventure, Steampunk
Luna, the second book in Strider S.R. Klusman’s YA Rhone and Stone Series, follows Rhone and his alien partner Stone as they develop a ship that can sail through the air.

The two train to become agents for the Office of Public Recrimination, urged to join by their friend – and now boss – Aundrea. Rhone struggles through training with the help of his trusty partner, but a much more difficult test remains before them – their first assignment.

Aundrea sends them to Corgy, a port town, without explaining their mission. But it doesn’t take long for Rhone to encounter troubles from shore and sea alike.

He and Stone meet Mayor Dugan, who takes an instant dislike for Rhone, posing as a wealthy merchant’s son. But it’s his front, designed so by the ladies of the OPR, and commands a great deal of respect and authority from the locals, if not Bella. Sometimes it’s difficult not to forget his actual purpose for being at Corgy. As an agent of the OPR, he must solve the town’s greatest problem, a rash of pirate attacks on Corgy’s vital ocean-borne trade; if they continue, Corgy won’t survive.

But to fix anything in Corgy, Rhone will need help.

The roguish Captain Black tests Rhone’s sea legs on the Backwater Mistress. Rhone passes the test of rough waters – barely – and garners the good captain’s respect.

He also meets the beautiful Bella, a waitress at The Common House in Corgy. Though he’s smitten with her, Rhone is on a mission, and ends up frustrating her with mixed messages.

Bella responds to him with a fiery personality, but Rhone finds her passion to be as enthralling as it is unpredictable. As he gets to know her, he helps Bella find her place in a society that tries to smother her drive for independence.

She wants to prove that she is as good as any man. And, when Rhone comes up with the idea to hunt Corgy’s pirates from the air, Bella has her chance to do so.

Rhone takes Bella’s opinions and advice as they design a unique kind of ship. Aviation is unknown to this world, but the trio – Rhone, Stone, and Bella – design and pilot their first prototype, named Bo, a hot-air balloon made from a whale’s bladder. While a proof-of-concept, Bo doesn’t last long, and they’ll need a much greater ship to take down the dangerous pirates.

Stone provides immense scientific knowledge, Rhone the training in sailing he received from Captain Black, and Bella a knowledge of materials and the resources of Corgy. Between them, they turn an awkward and dangerous balloon into a vessel worthy of the sky.

Joining with Captain Black, the three plan to stop the pirates in their tracks – despite the great danger.

Tense and descriptively rich action scenes will keep readers turning page after page to find out if Rhone and Bella will survive their flight in an experimental craft – relying on the work of their own minds and hands.

Klusman’s masterful storytelling takes this second book in the Rhone and Stone series to the next level. Readers who have not read the first book will have no problem following this story, but will eagerly go back to join Rhone’s first adventure. Rhone and Stone make a fabulous team, sharing thoughts and trust as they claw their way out of danger time after time.

This book is a five-star read and a great adventure. Readers will be chomping at the bit for book three!
September 18, 2023
THE CANDLE GLASS by Diane Fedt Topolski – Picture Books, Children’s Moral Fables, Children’s Friendship & Family Books

Diane Fedt Topolski’s The Candle Glass breathes vibrant new life into traditional children’s morals, inspiring both young and old to strengthen the light inside them through intentional reflection and connection with a supportive community.

Stunning yet simplistic scratchboard drawings lift the story off the page, capturing readers’ attention and bringing the text to life. This simultaneously comforting and thrilling adventure will stick with readers and shed new light on the capacity for goodness within each person.

Topolski narrates the heartwarming tale of a young boy named Cappy, as he tries to invent a method of uncovering the hidden truth within each person.

When Cappy overhears his parents and grandmother discussing a “bad egg” they know, he concocts a machine to spot “the good, the bad, and the rotten” hidden within humankind. Constructed with two circus mirrors and a brightly lit candle, his remarkable invention shows him the inner lights of his loved ones.

However, the essence of each person is more nuanced than Cappy first assumes. Rather than revealing the ugliness within Cappy’s friends and family, the candle glass displays their inherent good, and the capacity of that good to expand. In fact, there isn’t “one rotten egg in the bunch.” Along the way, Cappy learns to trust his intuition and nurture the light within himself.

With vivid imagery, parents can use The Candle Glass to teach their young readers about seeking the good in every person.

The mesmerizing black and white illustrations complement the story’s theme of moral light clearing the way through the shadows. After all, as Topolski reminds readers, “everyone needs some work. Like the chick in the egg, we are just beginning.” Cappy’s imaginative adventures encourage children to deepen their curiosity about the world and its people, setting their minds and hearts to work.

Overall, The Candle Glass surrounds its readers with a warm, magical glow, allowing access to a world built on security, love, and trust. Readers will find themselves looking inward and realizing that when they join hands with their community in love, “the light becomes dazzling.”

September 15, 2023
THE MONEY MAP: A Spiritual Guide for Financial Success by Kasey J. Claytor – Business Motivation & Improvement, Spirituality Self-Help, Money Management

“There is something magical about money—the way it appears and disappears, grows and shrinks, and, in a similar way of taming a hesitant wild horse, with calm assuredness and confidence, not only will you learn to control it, but you will find you can joyfully master it.” -Author Kasey J. Claytor

Claytor insists that every successful endeavor starts with an individual’s thinking and beliefs. She details this concept – and how to live with it in mind – in her new book, The Money Map: A Spiritual Guide for Financial Success.

From the onset of her business-oriented career, Claytor has drawn from her beliefs as she upholds financial success as a spiritual goal. In this volume, she takes the mystery out of money to show it as an extension of the mind, body, and spirit. Claytor ensures the beginning of an endearing journey toward clearer financial decision-making, investments, and goals by asking readers to identify the worries of their own ego and to eliminate unproductive ideas and actions.

Claytor offers insight on how one can change their thinking and behavior to allow the floodgates of abundance to open up, with solid advice for achieving undivided focus, intelligent poise, and a competent thought technique.

She asserts that everyone can step outside of themselves and hold the point of view of the observer. If one is mindful and aware of their present moment, they can move toward much-needed peace and confidence, allowing the growth of new ideas and productivity.

The route to monetary independence may appear too steep to ascend, but The Money Map will guide readers to the summit, one checkpoint at a time.

This book’s eye-opening revelations about the mindsets of affluent people and its secrets to what they carry inwardly, earn it must-read status in the business resources category.

The Money Map: A Spiritual Guide for Financial Success will provide readers with invaluable advice, standing beside such works as Spiral Dynamics by Dr. Don Edward Beck Ph. D., Map of the Scale of Consciousness by Dr. David Hawkins M.D. Ph. D., and Integral Psychology by Ken Wilbur. The Money Map will aid anyone in discovering the most beneficial path to financial success, regardless of their current situation.

September 13, 2023
ROHAN And NYRA And BIG SISTER’S BET by Anthony C. Delauney – Children’s Money & Savings Books, Picture Books, Children’s Educational Books

Continuing his series of important financial lessons told through fun stories, Anthony C. Delauney teaches readers about greed and gambling in Rohan and Nyra and Big Sister’s Bet.

Rohan eagerly waits for his big sister to return home from school for the weekend. Nyra brings home a challenge for Rohan in the form of a game. For every catch of the ball, Rohan will earn one dollar, but if he drops the ball at any point, he will lose it all. Rohan has tons of fun catching the ball over and over, thinking of all the things he will be able to buy with each added dollar. Will Rohan decide to keep the game going even when he becomes tired, or will he stop while he is ahead? Read Rohan and Nyra and Big Sister’s Bet to find out!

The lesson at the heart of the story is an important one, for children and adults alike. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of taking risks.

Rohan and Nyra and Big Sister’s Bet highlights the importance of thinking through your decisions. Of course, one must sometimes take risks, but should do so thoughtfully.

With illustrator Chiara Civati’s whimsical artwork and Deluaney’s simple yet attention-grabbing rhyming, Rohan and Nyra and Big Sister’s Bet is a children’s book not to miss! Check out the other books in the series: Dash and Nikki and the Jellybean Game and Lilly and May Learn Why Mom and Dad Work.

September 8, 2023
MADDIE Q by Allan Havis – Political Fiction, Contemporary Social Issues, Psychological Literary Fiction

Maddie Q by Allan Havis illustrates one woman’s transformative journey through a web of dangerous beliefs.

The personality of conservative Maddie Crawford takes center stage as she finds an epiphany in the stormy aftermath of the January 6th Capitol riot. Existing beliefs collide, casting her into a churning sea of contradictory feelings. The author entwines her internal struggle of belief and identity with the contentious QAnon theory. Set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 Pandemic, this fusion gives rise to a storyline that harmoniously links personal introspection with societal upheaval.

The backdrop of the “Stop the Steal” march and the chaotic events of January 6th propel Maddie into disillusionment. Conspiracy theories and extremist beliefs entice her away from reality, radicalizing her. Maddie becomes convinced that only drastic measures can confront what she perceives as a corrupt establishment, exemplified by her attempt to kidnap a school trustee in the name of her skewed sense of justice.

Pushed to the brink of despair, she wrestles with the solitude that her beliefs brought her and even contemplates ending her own life. The question lingers as Maddie navigates her never-ending search for meaning: will she be able to conquer the engulfing darkness of past demons and find the way to illumination?

Havis investigates the complex interplay between personal challenges and the search for larger significance.

Many of the characters must form undying resilience. Hortense, Maddie’s aunt, faces challenges that go beyond her physical ailments. She dreams vividly of existential concerns and mortality, proving her desire for enlightenment and life beyond the material world. Parallel to these two women’s struggles is Maddie’s sister Heather, a transgender woman who contributes to the story’s exploration of gender dynamics. The author aims to highlight the underlying thread that connects these characters – their defiance, reflection, and search for meaning.

Maddie Q shifts between different moments in time and points of view, enabling readers to grasp the internal and external battles that lead to each character’s beliefs.

This story delves into the complexity of political extremism and the individuals who are caught in its wake. Family dynamics, especially between Maddie and her aunt Hortense, underscore the intergenerational sharing and changing of values. Exploration into politics and conspiracy theories highlights the sheer power of extremist beliefs to control individual thought, paired with the tremendous reach of such views in the digital era. Readers are encouraged to challenge their perspectives and to look for common ground in the rich tapestry of varied ideologies.

Maddie Q navigates a plethora of beliefs and their immutable impacts on the psyche, emphasizing the human desire for understanding even under the heaviest convictions.

September 6, 2023
MERGING PATHS by Vince Bailey – Paranormal, Horror, Suspense

Having escaped unjust imprisonment at the Fort Grant facility for juveniles, Curtis Jefferson is on the run, in Merging Paths, the third installment of Vince Bailey’s gripping, paranormal, Curtis Jefferson Series.

With only a small jug of water and the clothes on his back, Curtis has to cross the Sonoran Desert and find a way back to his mother and grandmother in Jacobs Well. But his trip is plagued by more than thirst, hunger, and fear of animals. A racist sheriff’s deputy, Myron Aycock, is hellbent on finding Curtis not only for the acclaim such an arrest will give him but also for vengeance against the beating he received at the hands of the aspiring boxer.

Trapped and desperate, Curtis is rescued by a mysterious figure and taken to Isabel and Ray Cienfuegos. After hearing Curtis’s unsettling stories about Fort Grant, the two understand that they have all been fighting the same evil forces – under the control of the sadistic Ezra. In a final confrontation, Isabel faces off against the wicked spirit, but just as they believe their problems are over, a new threat arises under the guise of friendship, and Isabel makes a life-changing decision that will mark her forever.

Intuition plays a huge role throughout the series, becoming vital to the central characters in this final book.

Throughout his harrowing experiences at Fort Grant, Curtis has relied upon his innate sixth sense to warn him of impending doom. A gift passed from his mother, this awareness has guided him to carefully choose his friends. Through this sense, he trusts Isabel and Ray, even seeming to know parts of their story before they tell it. He accepts Isabel’s questionable actions because his instincts tell him they were her only choice.

Isabel shares this remarkable perception. In fact, Isabel trusts her intuition so far as to commit acts most would consider insane. While Curtis’s near-clairvoyance is a guide, Isabel’s is a force. This sense helps Isabel to understand the evil of Ezra and tells her how to rid herself of him forever. But her intuition pushes her to one final act of destruction as well – the murder of a former confidante – a choice that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

Isabel and Curtis aren’t the only characters with an advanced awareness of evil. Father Frank Cullen, a priest to whom Isabel goes for confession, shares the gift. He has always doubted Curtis’s guilt, and when his not-so-chance meeting with Isabel brings him back into Curtis’s life, he uses his sense to help bring Curtis home.

But he could never have accomplished the deed without the intervention of Natchez Mendoza, a former judge and the son of the man Ezra was in life.

Natchez is, perhaps, the most “knowing” of the quartet. Natchez first appeared in book one, where he recognized the evil in twelve-year-old Harvey Huish. He also first met Curtis in book one, under extremely unusual circumstances, so when they meet again some eighty years later, Natchez knows Curtis’s story intimately and helps to release him from Fort Grant’s grasp.

Justice becomes central to the final struggles of these characters.

Will Farnsworth is a silent, but important example of this need for justice. Having died via decapitation in a car wreck during book one, Will has served as a knight errant since, responsible for the rescue of both Ray and Curtis. As a lawyer for the corrupt Huish family, he hated his job and his clients and longed to be free of both, but it was only in death that he could become the very thing he tried to be in life, the good guy riding in to save the day.

However, Isabel’s pursuit of justice is more complicated.

Her quest to rid the world of Ezra’s evil is commendable and noble, but her later conflict with Freddie Hightower approaches the slippery slope of vengeance. Freddie’s betrayal angers Isabel to the point of no return. She deems him unforgivable and takes matters into her own hands, perverting justice. Other characters like Sergeant Joe Garcia, Constable Frankie Quintana, Deputy Myron Aycock, and Sheriff Pete Alvarado represent the legal side of justice, both good and bad. Natchez Mendoza, white cane and all, straddles the line between legal and supernatural, determined to keep Curtis safe for his own contribution to justice for his massacred tribe.

The Curtis Jefferson Series won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Series Awards for Fiction Series.

August 23, 2023
COURSES Of The CURSED: A Curtis Jefferson Novel by Vince Bailey – Paranormal, Dark Fantasy, Action & Adventure

Imprisoned in a boys’ institution for a crime he did not commit, Curtis Jefferson must again face his nemesis, Harvey Huish. In Courses of the Cursed, the second installment of Vince Bailey’s paranormal Curtis Jefferson series, the fight comes with much higher stakes.

Estranged from his constant companion, Randy, Curtis continues his training alone, bewildered as to why Randy believes Harvey to be more than a vicious bully. But as Curtis’s strange visions and dreams increase, he needs Randy more than ever. He begins to question whether Randy has been preparing him for an encounter beyond the violence between boys.

Unbeknownst to Curtis, he isn’t the only one being tortured by the evil of Fort Grant. A local artist, Ray Cienfuegos, has his own date with destiny. As the last male descendant of his family, Ray’s fate is tied to the massacre that occurred near the fort almost one hundred years ago.

Two young men, one a savior and one a sacrifice, will be tested by the wicked power of the sacred land. But who will survive the encounter?

This complex work twists its way through a maze of interconnected storylines and characters who each, in their own way, embody the age-old battle between good and evil.

Ezra, an old Apache shaman, embodies something horrible and ancient. Whether he is Satan or some malicious pagan entity, he facilitates the cruelty done to the characters in the novel. However, upon closer examination, Ezra’s “evil” becomes much more complicated. While he tortures Ray and sometimes takes the form of an enormous would-be rapist were-coyote, he is also the voice of a long-dead, long-forgotten people, innocents slaughtered in a sick game of commerce.

Ezra does unforgivable harm, but he does so in the name of justice, begging the question of whether justice can be achieved through bloody vengeance.

The idea of justice defines many characters, including Lieutenant Roy, the cavalry commander who refused to serve out the original retribution for which Ezra fights. In opposition to Ezra’s malignancy stands Isabel Cienfuegos, Ray’s aunt. She serves as foil to all that Ezra represents and becomes an avenging angel, toting a 12-gauge instead of a fiery sword.

Numerous other characters strive to do good in the world around them.

Vince, the narrator, admits that his faith is the very reason he must tell the story. Leon and Georgy, fellow inmates of Curtis, drag him to church to pray for guidance and courage for what lay ahead, leading the reader to question if Curtis’s actions are divine justice, or if he is merely a pawn in Ezra’s plan.

The symbology of fire frames this story.

If Ezra is – or is in league with – the devil, the use of fire is a pointed reference to the retribution forced upon those who have done wrong in life. However, when Ray receives his blood money from Ezra, Isabel throws it into a fire to rid them of the thing that led to Ray’s abduction and torture. The fort’s original inhabitants were complacent in the massacre of the tribe, so when it partially burns down, the flames cleanse part of that history. Ray uses fire as a healer, to help him rehabilitate after his disfigurement at Ezra’s hands.

But fire takes its most questionable form when a beloved character, a “knight” in search of justice, is set ablaze by Ezra. Fire here is only a punishment, wrought on someone who has done nothing to deserve it. The role of fire, just like that of good and evil, is a complicated one with a multitude of interpretations.

Courses of the Cursed asks what sort of justice can come from vengeance, and what really will bring peace to the past. A thrilling paranormal adventure that we highly recommend!

The Curtis Jefferson Series won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Series Awards for Fiction Series.

August 21, 2023
AMERICA’S FORGOTTEN SUFFRAGISTS: Virginia and Francis Minor by Nicole Evelina – Biographies, Women’s Suffrage, Political History

Comprehensive in its own right, America’s Forgotten Suffragists by Nicole Evelina is an essential addition to the canon of women’s suffrage and first-wave feminism.

Equal parts local history of women’s right to vote in the nineteenth century and biography of Virginia and Francis Minor, America’s Forgotten Suffragists illuminates the story of a wife-and-husband feminist duo who were the first to fight for women’s suffrage at the Supreme Court level.

We learn about the lives of Virginia and Francis Minor by way of historical records, intersecting timelines with other suffragists, and news articles and letters. Virginia Minor was raised on the new and intellectually stimulating University of Virginia campus, where her father worked. Born into a colonial settler and slave-owning family, Virginia came into her own as she grew older, forming abolitionist and feminist beliefs.

In 1869, Virginia realizes that, through implication, the Constitution could grant women the right to vote by way of the Fourteenth Amendment, which acknowledged the freedom, citizenship, and human rights of Black men freed from enslavement. She shares her thoughts with Francis — a practicing lawyer and constant ally for women’s financial independence. And when Virginia is denied from registering to vote in 1872, she sues and goes to court with Francis as her attorney, to introduce her interpretation of the law.

As history reveals, the Minors lost their case. However, they ignited conversations about women’s suffrage nationwide, pushing others to take up the charge.

Virginia became good friends with Susan B. Anthony, collaborating on suffrage campaigns in the Midwest, and giving speeches in territories that were becoming states. Francis Minor continued his advocacy for the feminist cause by publishing his writing on women’s rights. To preserve their words, biographer Evelina includes many of the Minor’s speeches and articles, as well as Virginia and Francis’s petition in full calling for the Supreme Court to acknowledge women’s right to vote based on the Fourteenth Amendment.

What truly shines about this book — along with its gentle prose and historical scene-setting — is what it teaches about the origins of first-wave feminism and why the American voting system continues to disenfranchise Black citizens.

Nicole Evelina takes great care to analyze Virginia’s 1875 Supreme Court case, Minor v. Happersett, from all angles.

Minor v. Happersett has been (mis)used over seven times since the trial to reinforce voter suppression tactics. Evelina demonstrates through this extensive biography of Virginia and Francis Minor that the issues we face today — election tampering, gerrymandering, expunged registration records, and restrictions on accessible voting methods for the working class — can, in part, be traced back to this case.

This biography documents one woman’s bold path to securing women’s rights, a beacon of hope for a world where no person is lesser than another.

America’s Forgotten Suffragists: Virginia and Francis Minor won Grand Prize in the 2021 CIBA Nellie Bly Awards for Longform Journalism Non-fiction.

August 18, 2023
THE RELUCTANT VISIONARY by Datta Groover – Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Multi-Generational Fiction

Visions of the future swirl, unclear and contradictory, giving dire warnings of lives soon to be cut short, in Datta Groover’s The Reluctant Visionary.

Three women, Anna Mae, Kat, and Jess each confess to being the visionary of her era. They never asked for the ability to glimpse danger ahead, to have the opportunity to save others from a terrifying destiny. It’s a heavy burden when people refuse to believe them, and the dangerous consequences of their visions lay in wait. The best of intentions lead the ladies further into a dire struggle. Can they survive all that life throws their way, and learn how to reshape the future? Or will they lose their way in the blur of chilling prophecy?

Jess is in her mid-twenties, a resident of a rural town in contemporary Texas. She works hard with her family to hold on to the ranch that’s been with them for generations.

No matter what they try, they continue to experience misfortune and lose more money. As they slip further and further into debt, they wonder what is the root of all their bad luck. Jess juggles this financial struggle with her visions of the future, just like her mother, Kat, did. Visions of violent and heart-wrenching crimes haunt Jess and drive her to act defiantly and protect the innocent victims.

As she delves into a criminal mystery, she has no idea the danger she’ll face along with her family, and the secrets she’ll uncover in her mission to change the future. She partners with the lone law enforcement officer who believes in her and her visions, but can she resist his charms?

In the 1960s, an entrancing story set in rural Tennessee plays out parallel to Jess’.

Anna Mae has just turned eighteen and lives at home with her abusive parents. Her visions of the future are met with anger and fear from the people she’s trying to help, and someone even reports her to the police when her attempt to save a child in danger is deliberately misinterpreted. Anna Mae seeks a tranquil and happy life but her disturbing visions make that wish impossible.

She finds herself in the middle of an investigation when the police accuse and arrest the wrong person for a crime. She’s determined to save him. In the midst of the chaos, Anna Mae falls in love with the wrong man and is faced with a drastic, life-altering decision. Will she find a wise path forward in her visions?

Author Datta Groover tells a story of three generations of strong female protagonists.

These women show how a determination to light a hopeful way forward ignites courage despite threats of desperation and peril. Their contrasting struggles, inherent to different decades and settings, leap off the page, relatable and emotionally vivid. And just as in real life, the ending of the story is filled with unexpected surprises, even for these visionaries.

Available for Pre-Order Now! Comes out 9/6/23!

August 18, 2023
THE GREEN REAL DEAL by Bill Herrington – Climate & Energy, Political Influence, Energy Systems

In the face of environmental activism’s raging tides and the ruthless blitz of external propaganda, The Green Real Deal by Bill Herrington highlights the need for a long-term comprehensive energy policy.

Many nations drive for sustainable energy, and scramble to preserve their environments. As Germany stands against Sweden’s embrace of nuclear power, it grapples with the reliance on Russian natural gases. Meanwhile, internal strife and external interference strives to sway the energy policy of the United States. The Green Real Deal proposes a clandestine mission of nuclear diplomacy. This book is a call to transcend rhetoric before it engulfs the nation.

The author’s argument is meticulously composed of three important sections.

An interaction with a protest against fossil fuels serves as an epiphany for Herrington. He reflects on his own perceptions, leading him to reevaluate. Section one focuses on the past, examining the historical relevance of pipelines and nuclear energy in America. It emphasizes the issues and complications surrounding these resources. This provides readers a strong foundation to understand the energy landscape, laying the groundwork for further research.

Section two goes into the complex world of environmental activism, unraveling the web of motivations, disruptive techniques, and potential acts of terrorism.

Herrington examines the details surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrations, including underlying discontent of American Indian tribes regarding land rights. The chapters in this book theorize on possible connections to foreign players, unreported dark money in environmental groups, and the impact of US energy policy. They conclude by emphasizing the importance of oil, gas, and pipelines in protecting Western democracy, advising against moves that could cause the US to lose competitiveness.

Alarm bells are rung against policies that could play into Russia’s favor. As this section reveals Russian tactics of propaganda and psychological warfare, it advocates balancing environmental concerns with the political usefulness of fossil fuels.

The last section offers an “autopsy” of the ambitious Green “New” Deal, presenting a comprehensive narrative of the GND’s origin, rollout, and future developments.

This section emphasized the importance of diversifying beyond renewable energy. It encapsulates the author’s thesis about a balanced plan for the future of energy infrastructure. Pointing to the use of liquefied natural gas, and the promise of nuclear energy, Herrington advises against over-reliance on a single resource. He provides real-world examples to support his claim, such as Sweden’s effective usage of various energy strategies.

The Green Real Deal mixes energy & environmental study with political observation.

This book presents historical events through articles, government documents, photographs, and descriptive language, in order to paint a vivid picture of protests and other important moments.

It should be noted, however, that there is no solid evidence for the claimed links between environmental groups and dark money, nor the undeclared influence this would have on political outcomes. Due to this lack of concrete evidence, the alleged activity of Russia must be viewed with skepticism.

Herrington documents the evidence of Russian social media propaganda targeting American energy, specifically pipelines and hydraulic fracturing, and builds a case for the connection between environmental groups and dark money, but he does not provide concrete evidence of cash exchanged. These points prompt the reader to continue their own investigation of energy systems. The Green Real Deal is a passionate wake-up call, advocating for a balanced approach to a sustainable future – a harmonious coexistence of energy, environment, and society.

August 16, 2023