The Chaos of Change

A Thriller Novel

Fiction - Thriller - General
369 Pages
Reviewed on 10/29/2017
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

I grew up in a creative household. My mother was a teacher of grades 4-6 and was always in pursuit of new, inventive ways to stimulate her students' (and own children's) minds. My father was a principal with an extensive background in special education giving him a special sense for communicating in unique ways. Growing up, we (my mother, father, brother, and sister) spent as many summers as I can remember in a quaint cabin in the northeast region of Vermont. No TV, no movies, just imagination and, literally, an old transistor radio. Story telling has been in my life for as long as I can remember, but just recently, it has become a formal passion. I love getting lost in different worlds, lost in the psyche of different characters, and slowly -- at times painfully so -- building a novel, from the first word on the page to the last.

Rest assuredly, while you read this, I have a cup of coffee in my hand, day-dreaming up another world of hopeful characters full of dark intentions, and plot lines riddled with twists and turns.

TCOC (The Chaos of Change) takes place in a not-far-from-reality parallel of the current political times. It highlights human beings' resistance to change as well as their unfortunate drive towards self-benefit. It also uncovers the hope that there are new-age American heroes out there who are fit to lead this country in wonderful and genius ways.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite

If you’ve ever wondered what the adjectives “rip-snorting” or “humdinger” mean, pick up The Chaos of Change by J.T. Riggen and you’ll know. Talk about an intense, fast-paced, often complicated, yet understandable political thriller! But be prepared to come away with a sense of chaotic dystopia and an uncertainty about whether you’d want to live in this future USA. You see, in The Chaos of Change, the US is once again brought to the brink of civil war between north and south. In fact, the two sides step over that brink, and once again blood is spilled, good men die, and wives and children are left to fend for themselves while the men of the house take up arms against their brothers…and that term “brothers” is not just used here in the metaphoric sense.

When Thaddeus Jackson, son of ex-president Richard Jackson, is physically forced by the CIA from the peaceful existence he has carved out for himself in Alaska, it is obvious that sooner or later, as the new leader of the Federal North Pole, he will be pitted against his younger brother, AJ Jackson, who with his father and uncle, head up the Southern Territory. But that family clash doesn’t take place in The Chaos of Change. It’s most likely being saved for the next book in the series, because in this book we have to first see how the Northern and Southern areas engage in the new civil war after Article V of the Constitution is invoked, and the existing Federal Government is dissolved.

J.T. Riggen hooks readers with this highly provocative and well-thought out plot. Characters, though plentiful and sometimes hard to keep track of, are realistically human. There are some very touching moments between man and wife, man and dog, and man and his environment. There are also utterly intriguing concepts about the future of our environment, the use of natural resources, and the development of social, health, scientific and military defense weaponry. Put another way: our smart phones and Fitbits are just an introduction to the world Riggen depicts in The Chaos of Change.

Grant Leishman

The Chaos of Change by J.T. Riggen is a political thriller set perhaps not so very far in the future. The citizens of the United States have had enough of the Federal Government. They no longer believe that the Federal Government is working for their best interests. The country has effectively split into four factions; the Northern Alliance, made up predominately of states on the north eastern seaboard of the US; the Southern Alliance, which tends to follow the makeup of the Civil War confederacy; the Western Alliance, mainly California; and finally a small group of Federal Government people, led by CIA Director Shane Ripley, who are determined to bring normalcy back to the United States. Ripley and his team recruit Thaddeus Jackson, the estranged son of a former President (now the leader of the Southern Alliance), to try to be the diplomat that stops all out civil war from developing.

In The Chaos of Change, J.T. Riggen has brought to life a scenario that seems frighteningly familiar to those watching current events unfold in the US. The cultural schisms we currently see occurring in US society may indeed lead to the type of scenario outlined in this story. This is a fast-moving, action-filled novel of politics and war that is easy to read and identify with. It is worth noting, for potential readers, that this novel is merely the first of what is no doubt planned to be a series on this subject. As such, the ending does leave the reader wanting more and waiting for the second book in the series. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing at all, but readers should be aware. The characters in this book are as interesting as they are diverse, as are some of the technologies the author has come up with to give the story some future aspect. I enjoyed the read and, if only for the parallels to today’s America, I would definitely recommend it to lovers of political thriller and intrigue.