Special Means by Andrew Ceroni

Author Andrew Ceroni pens a disturbingly relevant and poignant novel with Special Means, centering on a near-future dystopia with a conspiracy that feels ripped from today’s headlines. Intergovernmental deception, police brutality, unhinged greed, and hierarchical cruelty take center stage in this chilling story. The premise feels more journalistic than hypothetical, while the writing itself displays a strong and confident voice from start to finish. A morally conflicted protagonist creates a number of secondary conflicts that force readers to think about their own ideologies. Some editing errors pop up throughout, and there are some sections that drag due to unnecessary procedural descriptions, but as a whole this is a visceral, thought-provoking and timely book that blurs the boundary between fiction and prediction.