Estimated Reading Time 2 Minutes
Publisher: Independently published (March 29, 2017)
Paperback : 401 pages
ISBN: 978-1520951591
Thoughts: With all of the real-life political drama that we are dealing with these days, this book is extremely relevant. But it also provides the fun and intellectual escape you expect from a psychological thriller. The characters are engaging. The adventure sweeps you into the story and the exploration of how propaganda and misinformation are weaponized hits close to home. This is book is both thought-provoking and entertaining.
First sentence: The lights flickered and went dark, that’s when it started.
Favorite Quote From the Book: I know of no adult that believes in Santa Claus, even though many of them met him as children, sat on his lap, and received presents from him. They then teach their children he is real. Clearly, belief has nothing to do with evidence, and our intent to share those ideas has nothing to do with truth. I recognize that in each case a reasonable explanation can be presented; people want their children to be happy and many other similar things. What concerns me is that it’s a part of human nature, to persuade those around us to believe in something we know not to be true. And it’s always done under the claim that it’s for their own good.
Summary from Amazon.com:
What makes a nation believe a lie?
That’s the question Stephenson has been trying to answer ever since the 1938 Orson Welles scare convinced millions of Americans that the world was ending.
Strangely when the scientific community released its study on the phenomenon they said it would never happen again.
But they were wrong.
After the third incident of a media broadcast led to the panic of millions they gave it a name; a Sky Fall Event.
As Stephenson works to stop these events from ever happening again, another group has realized their potential for wealth and power.
If they can cause mass hysteria they know where the local stock market will crash. If they can evacuate cities with widespread panic, they can sell the weapon to the highest bidding government.
In 1988 one of the worst Events in history occurred on the Portuguese coast. In the mass evacuation people were trampled and stores looted. But this time it was no accident.
Members of the CIA were testing the weapon. Now, Stephenson must unravel the secrets of the Sky Fall before they use it again.
“The best debut novel I’ve ever read” SuperSusanStrayer
“What an eye-opener to fake news and the weaponization of it.” Brady Mitchell
“A Game Changer.” Amazon Reviewer
“Unique, clever work – for thinking people.” Amazon Reviewer
When the Sky Falls is a fact and history-based work of fiction, each chapter heading details an event in history or a scientific study that shows just how easy it is to alter human belief, and how it’s been done before on a grand scale.
