American Authors Association Book Review

September Snow

Author:  Robert Balmanno

Publisher:  Regent Press

Reviewer: W. H. McDonald – AAA President

September Snow – A Futuristic Novel

Northern California writer Robert Balmanno creates a future world of social and environmental havoc and destruction. In his wonderfully crafted sci-fi novel, “September Snow” we are treated to the first book of a new series called “The Blessings of Gaia.”  It opens strong and forceful and throws us into a world that projects our worst fears of what might happen to our planet if “global warming” and other social issues are not dealt with in the present. His imagination creates a whole new world order. Society has had to change and evolve drastically because of the world climatic changes and the death of billions.

They powers in control take to building city like states under huge protective domes where they can protect their society from outside influences and the weather. Inside these domes the society is controlled and the old religions are undercut and stagnant. Outside of the domes there is nothing but violence, social anarchy, death and dying. The world is divided up into groups. The largest group is composed of 4 billion people and they live in extreme poverty and have no power and no control over their fate. At the highest level there is an elite group of 2200 families who control everything and have to power of life and death; they live in extreme wealth and privilege. There are three other groups in-between.

Into this world comes a new religion that is librating but also repressive that is called Gaia. The author spends lots of time building for us all the forces at play in this new world order. He gives us great details of how things work and what is happening to people on the earth at this time in the future – which is 2051 to 2097 AD.  The book relates all the events of this time period through Tom Novak a 103 year old man who is the last surviving person to have known what it was like before the new civilization was created. The title character is the rebel leader September Snow who fights against huge odds for justice in this unjust world.

There are some very well written parts of this book and moving dialog. It is obvious that the author had a vision of where he was taking this series of books. If you like futuristic stories and sci-fi books then is one that you might enjoy.