When Stars Go Out

By: Ransom Grey

Narrated by: John H. Fehskens

The dawning of a new order casts a shadow across a whole nation. GRO, the government's Great Reorganization Operation, is turning American society upside down as it seizes teenagers and throws them into compounds across the country. Behind the speeches and programs, a darkness stirs. Reed can feel it. Taken from his home and dropped into the compound of “The Hill” in central Virginia, he can't escape the feeling that evil hangs over him night and day, watching his every move. Something is preying upon the teenagers of the Hill. An entire city lies paralyzed under the iron fist of a shadowy government agency and its cruel police force. Spies lurk among the crowds of frightened teens, ready to pounce at the first sign of dissidence. Fear keeps a choking hold on every soul--almost.

When he makes a new friend, Reed begins asking questions and stumbles upon a different side of this dark reality-a world of secrets where the light still lingers and hope burns in the hearts of a few. It's a strange world where everyday teens are fugitives playing a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse with the secret police. But it's fascinating, thrilling, and it all seems to revolve around a single figure-one man-who ties Reed's parallel lives together. Though dangerous to be around, this man seems to hold the answers Reed needs to make sense of the insanity around him. But he is being hunted, and the secrets in his past may be darker than anything else that haunts the Hill.

Caught in a crossfire of warring ideals, Reed faces an agonizing choice and a single path of escape-but is it worth what it will cost him?

©10 Ransom Grey c/o Defiance Press & Publishing (P)2018 Ransom Grey c/o Defiance Press & Publishing

Exciting Plot & Thought-Provoking Message

I found this book to be very engaging, written with descriptive detail and realistic dialogue. I'm not a huge bookworm, but the story never felt dull or tedious - the plot kept my attention, and it is thought-provoking too. Basically, it takes the unique approach of portraying "underground" Christianity in the not-too-distant future from the perspective of a non-believer who's looking for answers and purpose in a godless/humanistic culture. It's a pretty fast read - you can get through it in less than a week if you do an hour or two each day. The message is especially powerful for today's youth, but I would consider it a good addition to the summer playlist/reading list for teens and adults alike. All in all, I give it two thumbs up, and I look forward to Ransom Grey's future works (hopefully a sequel?).

Dystopian Christian novel

By the title, I was expecting the story to be about a world with no electricity, but it wasn’t about that. It reminded me of the Agenda 21 novel by Glenn Beck, but I liked that one better because it was more applicable to real life, more likely to really happen.

Characters in this book were flat. Elijah was predictably a Jesus-like character. Perfect even in his appearance, despite the Bible saying Jesus was nothing special in that department. The Christian characters were all pure good and free of judgment, and the non-believers were all shallow hedonists. Take one look at the Internet and you’ll see that the reality is most Christians are full of judgment and just hypocrites, the very people Jesus preached against. Only in fiction are Christians so good!

There is an obvious message of “The world is in decline because of the decline of Christianity. This would’ve never happened if Christians were in charge. Christians are being persecuted by evil people being controlled by Satan.”