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Allegiance: a novel
Allegiance is a thriller about a family --and a country-- on the brink, asking how far is too far when it comes to accepting fascism in America.
While one of Natalie Morrow's sons is MIA (he's a podcaster deep undercover at a White Nationalist compound) the other refuses to even glance at the bold-fonted warnings on the wall. Natalie urges him to pay attention; he blows her off. So she calculates the distance she'll go to stop her grandkids from growing up under a strongman. The answer is 700 miles and change.
With 'chilling' being a common adjective used to describe Allegiance, the novel's gotten incredible blurbs from Dahlia Lithwick, Tim Snyder, Melissa Block, Steve Weddle, Alice Randall and Congresswoman and Jonestown survivor, Rep. Jackie Speier (ret.).
While one of Natalie Morrow's sons is MIA (he's a podcaster deep undercover at a White Nationalist compound) the other refuses to even glance at the bold-fonted warnings on the wall. Natalie urges him to pay attention; he blows her off. So she calculates the distance she'll go to stop her grandkids from growing up under a strongman. The answer is 700 miles and change.
With 'chilling' being a common adjective used to describe Allegiance, the novel's gotten incredible blurbs from Dahlia Lithwick, Tim Snyder, Melissa Block, Steve Weddle, Alice Randall and Congresswoman and Jonestown survivor, Rep. Jackie Speier (ret.).
265 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 14, 2024
About the author
Erika Raskin
8 books71 followersEver since I first started sketching stories I’ve been merging “write what you know” with “write what you worry about". (And trust me, the older one gets, the more of the latter there is.) I've been picking up plots, punchlines, and snippets of 'overheard' conversations forever, filling in the blanks along the way. Narratives and descriptions can come from anywhere--channel surfing, scary trips down rabbit holes on the web or even earnest conversations while driving carpool. Wherever the stories originate they tend to be cautionary tales. (Actually Allegiance, which is about fascism coming to America, is more of a car alarm.) Best Intentions is about medical malpractice — of the institutional variety. Close, concerns family therapy. On TV. (What could go wrong?) I’ve done non-fiction for print and radio, and am currently working on a novel-in-stories. I grew up in Washington, D.C., the daughter of a novelist and human rights activist. We lived in an old brick row house that was a hub of the women’s, civil rights and anti-war movements. There was an endless soundtrack of Motown, typewriter music and politics. My husband has been my boyfriend since I was a teenager. We have three children, grandoffspring and many siblings, nieces and nephews. When we all get together we turn touch football, gin rummy and ping-pong into blood sports.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 20, 2024
Allegiance follows a woman who senses the lethal turmoil overtaking her country. She is so concerned for her family that she takes the well-being of her grandchildren into her own hands, defying their parents in hopes of saving their lives. At the same time her other son is embedded at a white nationalist compound, fearing more each day that his true identity will be revealed.
Allegiance is incredibly well written, moving at a fast pace that keeps you riveted from the first page to the last. The characters are well fleshed out and realistic, making the not-too-impossible plot of a future divided country, full of citizens who are blood thirsty and ready to claim the country for their own, seem that much more plausible.
I ended up reading this book in one sitting because it was so tense, and I had to find out what happened to the caring, smart, funny, scared grandmother, her intrepid reporter son, and her sweet grandchildren. Will definitely be recommending!
Allegiance is incredibly well written, moving at a fast pace that keeps you riveted from the first page to the last. The characters are well fleshed out and realistic, making the not-too-impossible plot of a future divided country, full of citizens who are blood thirsty and ready to claim the country for their own, seem that much more plausible.
I ended up reading this book in one sitting because it was so tense, and I had to find out what happened to the caring, smart, funny, scared grandmother, her intrepid reporter son, and her sweet grandchildren. Will definitely be recommending!
June 17, 2024
Erika Raskin’s new novel is not for the faint of heart. The harrowing context of the novel is what happens to U.S. democracy (and families) when citizens sleep through a fascist takeover of the country. In typical fashion, Raskin’s protagonist, a funny, driven mother/grandmother, entertains us through her earnest efforts to “save” her family from totalitarianism. This welcome humor infuses her novel with humanity and suspense. Will she succeed in her plot to kidnap her adorable grandchildren to the safety of a neighboring country? From the mouths of babes, the young children present a touching and indelible picture of trust, wisdom and innocence.
Woven into the escape narrative is an additional story line about her second son, a patriotic radio blogger. He clandestinely embeds himself in a commune of radical racists who are preparing for insurrection to finally make permanent the fascist government it helped bring to power. Hiding in plain sight, his story illuminates the horror of hatred that fuels revolution.
The actions of both storylines propel the novel with tension to a climactic conclusion. I highly recommend this exciting novel.
Woven into the escape narrative is an additional story line about her second son, a patriotic radio blogger. He clandestinely embeds himself in a commune of radical racists who are preparing for insurrection to finally make permanent the fascist government it helped bring to power. Hiding in plain sight, his story illuminates the horror of hatred that fuels revolution.
The actions of both storylines propel the novel with tension to a climactic conclusion. I highly recommend this exciting novel.
July 14, 2024
Set in 2025, Erika Raskin’s novel, ALLEGIANCE, anticipates what would happen if a fascist wins the U.S. presidential election in November 2024. The story is told from two points of view. One is a prescient grandmother (Natalie) on the run with her two grandchildren. She’s hoping to find safe harbor for them. The other is of a young man who has infiltrated an ultra-right wing closed community whose goal it is to participate in a violent nationwide assault on both anyone they deem as “woke” and on democratic institutions. His intention is to gather information then publish an expose warning others of the group’s intentions.
Raskin’s close point of view portrayal of Natalie is visceral and riveting. I felt every bump in the road on this woman’s journey, including the extreme panic she felt when her grandchildren disappear at a road stop. Natalieis terrified by the fascist leaders who have control over the country; her interior monologue reflects both her fear and disgust. Yet, her character is not one-dimensional. Raskin rounds out Natalie by having her show compassion for the downtrodden supporters of the movement.
The other lead character, Finn, has managed to gain entry into a militaristic community lead by a brutal authoritarian named McGill. The man is coordinating with other groups to launch “payback day” when both people and institutions are destroyed. During his stay, Finn shows compassion for some community members, but the compassion is coupled with revulsion for their beliefs and actions. Finn’s story is portrayed via his surreptitious telephone communications with Hawk, a man who is compiling and editing the material for publication.
During the last third of the book, when both Natalie and Finn’s circumstances become dire, the high stakes kept me turning pages. The story reached a satisfying end.
This novel is intense and doesn’t shy away from naming both Natalie’s and Finn’s deepest fears. An added bonus to this book is the way Raskin depicts the two grandchildren as quirky, intelligent, and funny. The children bring humor and hope to the story and bring needed dramatic relief.
Just a decade ago, Raskin’s tale might be received as unbelievable, that nothing on these pages could happen in our democracy. Yet, last night’s shocking news about another terrible election-related event made me think that just about anything is possible in the months ahead. Regardless which point on the political spectrum Raskin’s readers occupy, I hope they take heed.
Raskin’s close point of view portrayal of Natalie is visceral and riveting. I felt every bump in the road on this woman’s journey, including the extreme panic she felt when her grandchildren disappear at a road stop. Natalieis terrified by the fascist leaders who have control over the country; her interior monologue reflects both her fear and disgust. Yet, her character is not one-dimensional. Raskin rounds out Natalie by having her show compassion for the downtrodden supporters of the movement.
The other lead character, Finn, has managed to gain entry into a militaristic community lead by a brutal authoritarian named McGill. The man is coordinating with other groups to launch “payback day” when both people and institutions are destroyed. During his stay, Finn shows compassion for some community members, but the compassion is coupled with revulsion for their beliefs and actions. Finn’s story is portrayed via his surreptitious telephone communications with Hawk, a man who is compiling and editing the material for publication.
During the last third of the book, when both Natalie and Finn’s circumstances become dire, the high stakes kept me turning pages. The story reached a satisfying end.
This novel is intense and doesn’t shy away from naming both Natalie’s and Finn’s deepest fears. An added bonus to this book is the way Raskin depicts the two grandchildren as quirky, intelligent, and funny. The children bring humor and hope to the story and bring needed dramatic relief.
Just a decade ago, Raskin’s tale might be received as unbelievable, that nothing on these pages could happen in our democracy. Yet, last night’s shocking news about another terrible election-related event made me think that just about anything is possible in the months ahead. Regardless which point on the political spectrum Raskin’s readers occupy, I hope they take heed.
August 30, 2024
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Allegiance by Erika Raskin takes place in the near future, when the United States is on the brink of fascism. Ms. Raskin is a published author, writer, and activist.
President Chase, elected into office, has stopped hiding his fascist agenda. Using white supremacy terminology,
Natalie Morrow is worried. Her son, a radio blogger, is missing while going undercover in a white supremacist compound, her other son married a woman who supports the fascist ideology promoted by the government. Reading the writing on the wall, Natalie decides to make the dangerous journey from Virginia to Canada with her grandchildren, without their parents knowing about it.
Democracy is fragile and is on the ballot in every election. America, and the West, are certainly slipping towards a different form of government. I’d leave the question ”why?” to historians, but I believe the “normalize [whatever] in your face” crowd, as well as universities planting seeds of Western hate in their students, has much to do with pushing independents and centrists to the right.
The story is told from the point of view of Natalie Morrow, a grandmother attempting to go to Canada with her grandchildren, and Natalie’s son, Finn, who has gone undercover in a fascist camp. Each narrator, on his or her own, would seem melodramatic, but together they tell the story of a societal collapse.
Natalie and Finn are Jewish, and just like the grandchildren, and the mixed-race child in the white supremacist camp, they are extra sensitive to what’s happening around them. They see, in real-time, the United States embrace a form of government we’ve all been warned about.
The author bumped up the rhetoric I’ve been hearing, but not by much. The political leaders in the book no longer pretend the dog whistles they publish are a joke, or a misunderstanding, quite the opposite.
Allegiance by Erika Raskin is intense but has much humor woven in. It’s easy to read as well as a page-turner. It’s not a “ripped from the headlines” type of book, but unfortunately, it’s not far off either.
Allegiance by Erika Raskin takes place in the near future, when the United States is on the brink of fascism. Ms. Raskin is a published author, writer, and activist.
President Chase, elected into office, has stopped hiding his fascist agenda. Using white supremacy terminology,
Natalie Morrow is worried. Her son, a radio blogger, is missing while going undercover in a white supremacist compound, her other son married a woman who supports the fascist ideology promoted by the government. Reading the writing on the wall, Natalie decides to make the dangerous journey from Virginia to Canada with her grandchildren, without their parents knowing about it.
Democracy is fragile and is on the ballot in every election. America, and the West, are certainly slipping towards a different form of government. I’d leave the question ”why?” to historians, but I believe the “normalize [whatever] in your face” crowd, as well as universities planting seeds of Western hate in their students, has much to do with pushing independents and centrists to the right.
The story is told from the point of view of Natalie Morrow, a grandmother attempting to go to Canada with her grandchildren, and Natalie’s son, Finn, who has gone undercover in a fascist camp. Each narrator, on his or her own, would seem melodramatic, but together they tell the story of a societal collapse.
Natalie and Finn are Jewish, and just like the grandchildren, and the mixed-race child in the white supremacist camp, they are extra sensitive to what’s happening around them. They see, in real-time, the United States embrace a form of government we’ve all been warned about.
The author bumped up the rhetoric I’ve been hearing, but not by much. The political leaders in the book no longer pretend the dog whistles they publish are a joke, or a misunderstanding, quite the opposite.
Allegiance by Erika Raskin is intense but has much humor woven in. It’s easy to read as well as a page-turner. It’s not a “ripped from the headlines” type of book, but unfortunately, it’s not far off either.
June 20, 2024
This is a gripping, edge of your seat thriller that is timely and compelling. The characters are relatable as a grandmother races to protect her children from a dystopian future while her son puts himself in danger as a journalist attempting to inform a reluctant nation. Delight humor is sprinkled in, giving the reader a minute to catch their breath. I stayed up way too late at night because I couldn’t put it down! I highly recommend this book.
June 18, 2024
allegiance is terrifying and instructive. cannot recommend this book highly enough!
July 20, 2024
This is an excellent novel. Everyone should read it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews