{"title":"Jack McDaniel","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"agents-of-the-undertow-1","title":"Agents of the Undertow","description":"\u003cp\u003eHelen Small is journalist at the largest news organization in the Republic of Texas and a survivor. Seven years after a plague has culled humanity in half the Republic is falling into a totalitarian state. Survivors -- the few who contracted the virus and survived -- are being vilified by William Chaste the new Administrator of the Republic. An army of Chaste's zealots has taken on the ''patriotic'' call of protecting the Republic from survivors who they believe -- based upon false information from Chaste -- are still spreading the plague. When a mob of supporters murder a survivor Helen finds herself in an increasingly hostile atmosphere as she attempts to uncover the truth and expose Chaste's lies. All the while she struggles with her own guilt at having survived the plague that killed both her husband and son. Amidst all of the bleakness she meets Francisco Stiles an artist from the barrio in Denver who offers her a chance at a real life -- and love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAverage citizens and co-workers become more hostile towards her and she loses her job because she makes people uncomfortable and fearful. Having lost everything she decides to go to the barrio to be with Stiles. Tensions escalate in the Republic and Helen is attacked and then arrested while driving to Denver. She is put in jail without any rights or even a phone call. Two articles by her appear on the Republic Voice website -- written and uploaded before she was fired -- questioning Chaste and proving he is lying. She is deemed a terrorist for spreading false and misleading information. Helen realizes no one knows she is in jail. No one knows where she is. At her lowest moment she understands that she has to rely on herself to escape. With her comm dead and charging she drives to Denver. Chaste intensifies the lock-down of the Republic. The plan to round up survivors is announced and Helen is identified as the author of the articles and misinformation spread about Pan21. The hunt for her as a terrorist is officially on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJack McDaniel\u003c\/strong\u003e lives in Colorado with his daughter. Several of his short stories are in \u003cem\u003eThe Future Is Short volume 3 \u003c\/em\u003e a collection of short stories that was published in February of 2017. His writing has also been featured on the ''A Creative Mind'' fiction podcast. This is his first novel. His second book in the Pan21 universe is due out later in 2017. You can learn more at his website: agentsoftheundertow.com or on Twitter @jackmcdaniel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e''McDaniel's (\u003cem\u003eThe Future Is Short \u003c\/em\u003e 2017 etc.) wise choice to set a global-plague tale in the smaller Republic condenses his epic narrative and generates a swift pace while descriptions of characters and environment are generally subdued--akin to the 'colorless' survivors. But the muted prose is befitting of Pan21's devastation (Helen walks the shockingly empty hallways of a Dallas hospital) and makes flashes of color stand out: a morning of 'blood-red sunlight' or a photo of Helen's now-dead 5-year-old son in a blue-striped shirt. Chaste's administration poses an unmistakable threat monitoring citizens with flying quads and HealthPals (devices inserted in skin) and ultimately branding Helen a terrorist. A romance between Helen and her boyfriend Francisco Stiles meanwhile is fleeting though it's rich material for the planned sequel. This gripping sci-fi\u0026amp;ndashesque yarn ably incorporates social and political themes.''-\u003cem\u003e Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e''The novel is well-paced and almost breezy moving the story along at a good clip. McDaniel's strength is realistic dialogue that conveys a wide range of character emotions often multiple emotions in the same scene.''-\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe BookLife Prize\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e''Focusing as it does on a world in which the truth has taken a back seat to fake news and hysteria it's hard to imagine when \u003cem\u003eAgents of the Undertow\u003c\/em\u003e by Jack McDaniel could have been more timely . . . a scathing dystopian novel filled with eerie echoes of the present day.''-\u003cem\u003e IndieReader\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Undertow Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41321587933334,"sku":"9780578191171","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/products\/img_proxy_977b6e70-5cb5-4c75-b061-2401e3894d4e.jpg?v=1642157929"},{"product_id":"agents-of-hope-1","title":"Agents of Hope","description":"\u003cp\u003eBook Two in the PAN21 Series. Survivors of Pan21 - who didn't report to one of the camps - are being hunted by a ruthless group of Texas Rangers throughout the Republic. Destin a young survivor who is one of the terrorists at large has learned to cope and survive on his own traveling the Republic on freight trains and in the back of semi trucks moving from place to place to stay ahead of the law developing back up plans contingencies always contingencies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut Destin longs for more. He's searching for community and a place to belong. He's tired of being alone. The only problem is the paranoia. It won't let him trust anyone or hang around long in any one area. But then he meets Bird a quirky girl who offers him more. She allures him with answers to his questions and a way out of the constant running.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEverything goes haywire when the two become hunted by one of the Rangers Phillip Insco. It's a race to get to the barrio and avoid the Ranger. There is one question Destin has to answer: is Bird who she says she is and are the barrio and the resistance Texas Underground real?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJack McDaniel\u003c\/strong\u003e lives in Colorado with his daughter. Several of his short stories are in \u003cem\u003eThe Future Is Short volume 3 \u003c\/em\u003e a collection of short stories that was published in February of 2017. His writing has also been featured on the ''A Creative Mind'' fiction podcast. This is his first novel. His second book in the Pan21 universe is due out later in 2017. You can learn more at his website: agentsoftheundertow.com or on Twitter @jackmcdaniel\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"McDaniel has a knack for writing characters that live and breathe across the page like intimate acquaintances. Character-driven quietly powerful writing is the strength of this highly relevant tale of a dystopian America sunken further into bigotry.\" -Christopher James Dubey for \u003cem\u003eIndieReader - 4 STARS\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"This solidly plotted novel moves at a quick pace with several very intense scenes . . . fans of the genre will find a lot to like here. The novel is rich with description making it a fun read. The concept of southern states seceding from the U.S. and becoming economically unsuccessful is a fresh and fascinating concept. Separating plague survivors from the public by placing them in camps is not a unique idea but works well in this case.\" - The BookLife Prize\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Undertow Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41321601368214,"sku":"9780578194820","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/products\/img_proxy_3239c9ff-3c46-44e6-8510-62ba86a64ec7.jpg?v=1642158520"}],"url":"https:\/\/itascabooks.com\/collections\/jack-mcdaniel.oembed","provider":"Itasca Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}