PDActions

Description

Barney Harrigan, a successful computer entrepreneur, discovers that his young and impressionable wife has been lured by her fanatical sister into the Glory Cult, a ruthless and powerful group in Oregon run by a charismatic "guru." Determined to free her from the cult's grasp and return her to him and their four year old son, he prevails upon an old lover in Washington D.C., Naomi Forman -- a human rights activist -- to use her political connections to help him. After initial reluctance, Naomi eventually enlists in his cause, despite her conviction that brainwashing is a myth. She will soon come to realize how wrong she is.

Barney and Naomi travel to Oregon and team up with a pair of tough, cunning deprogrammers. They plan to kidnap Barney's wife from the cult. However, they soon find themselves in a deadly cat and mouse game with Jeremiah, the David Koresh-like leader of the Glories. Their rescue attempt triggers a surprising and horrific climax.

Readers will be on edge throughout this page-turner of a novel, and will learn how the power of sinister forces using mind control techniques can turn innocent people into weapons of destruction. Cult deals directly with issues of brainwashing and suicide and has implicit references to the recent World Trade Center tragedy. Mr. Adler has had long experience in studying cults and their dangers.

If The War of the Roses, Warren Adler's masterpiece, inspired one of the most famous movies on divorce, Cult will evoke in you a fear, a dread that reiterates itself every moment, a lack of poise that turns deadly with each breath you take and forces you to take a step back and analyze the little aquarium in which you have let your concepts regarding society and life swim freely, feeding it, unbothered because there is always a lid on the top. It is a wake up call for all of us, who casually watch the 8'o clock news, who browse bloody pages of newspapers with ease, who think all's well with our near and dear ones. This cocoon of self-assurance is torn apart by Cult. Truly a masterpiece, it relates to the life of an average citizen and appeals to the most avid reader because the subject matter is most relevant to our time. The threat that looms large before us in the form of organizations promoting hatred, racial discrimination and religious violence has long been disregarded. But in the face of the painful September 11 memories Americans and the world as a whole has been forced to come under one shelter and deal with the menace of terrorism and cults, which promote violence.

Barney Harrigan, a successful computer entrepreneur, discovers that his young wife has been lured by her fanatical sister into the Glory Cult, a ruthless and powerful group in Oregon run by a charismatic "guru." Determined to free her from the cult's grasp and return her to him and their four-year-old son, he teams up with his old lover, a human rights activist from Washington and two cunning deprogrammers. What ensues is truly incredible as this foursome, who is very much aware of the hazards, hatch a plan to kidnap the young wife from the cult. The heart-stopping climax is worth every buck you pay and one of the most well written end sequences I have read in a while. The enemy is tough and so is the determination of the rescuers, a treat you wouldn't want to miss in the traditional 'Good vs. Big Baddy "I have nine lives"' style.

This is a well researched book with visions and dimensions which will frighten as the book takes us to a safari, a real jungle full of vile human beings who exist to question establishments and peace. The psychological perspective, the intricacies of brainwashing are all set with an authentic tune, chillingly real. The author has rightly pointed out a few quirks in our society, thought process and political establishments, which contributes to the rise of such evil. What impressed me most about the book was the author's determination to produce an absolutely neat and engaging work. I had expected an over-indulgence in 'gore,' which would have harmed the book in a big way. But nowhere has the author slipped in treatment and has succeeded in keeping the plot glitch free.

There are letdowns, but all of that is forgivable simply because this man moulds a tough subject with a scintillating story line to deliver a punch, which will not just leave a bruise on your skin, but an imprint on your heart. With a really good cover and an absolutely terrific tale in between, Cult goes down as one of the best fiction works of all time, which has taken up the responsibility of holding a mirror to our mottled society. Hats off to the master.

eBooks - Cult by Warren Adler - eReader.com 

Technorati Tags: PDA, ebooks, etext, eReader, Free, Download, Darrell+Bain