The Guardians--A Novel

As the plot and the characters for “The Guardians” coalesce into being and the plot form, I find that one central question burns at its heart. I know I have blogged on this, but I will do it again—as the issue is uncommon and yet has been at the heart of many turning points in human history. Would you go to war with your friend?

Imagine that you have stood shoulder to shoulder with a friend through the roughest of times, seen the most painful moments and that friendship has survived through that flame. Then one day, you find yourself on opposites sides of an issue that you and your friend are passionate about . . . so passionate that you can not find middle ground. What would you do?

In the case of “The Guardians” the two characters are divided by their love of country and where they think it should go. Many of us living in America may respond to this situation by simply saying “vote the next time and things can change.” But, what if your country has become so embroiled in social strife? What if civil war threatens to break out at the drop of any hat? What if you think those in power or those who wish to be in power are so corrupt and will bring about the destruction of all you have served and protected over the years? What if your friend—one you served with, one who has saved your life more than once—is on the other side?

This is the ultimate situation that the characters in “The Guardians” will find themselves. It should be interesting to see what they do.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for updates to blogs, novels, and short stories that I write.

I apologize for the tardiness of this entry, but I wanted to write something of quality. My earlier attempts did not live up to my standard.

While many may believe that dictators rise from their own designs to seize power for themselves and force their will on others—I would suggest that you may have seen Star Wars one too many times. People do not often take power, but have power given to them. Life is not a space opera. The good guys and the bad guys can not be so easily discerned, and often there neither kind. As I work on the research plot for The Guardians, I am drawn to the fall of the Roman Republic. More that two thousand years ago, the great republic of ancient days has lessons and parallels even in the 21st century and beyond.

The fall of the Roman Republic was not instant and did not happen because of one man’s dream for dictatorship. It was a multi-generational degradation into the imperial age. It rose from social strife, economic bankruptcy, ineffective government, and people who thought more of themselves and their power than of the their nation. When people generally think of the fall of the Roman Republic their minds fall on to Julius Caesar, Magnus Pompey, Marus Antonius (aka Mark Anthony) and Octavius Thurinus (aka Augustus Caesar). The civil wars fought for power between them was only the final hammering of the nails in the coffin of the dying republic. The events before any of these men came to power laid the foundation for the fall—the civil war between Lucius Cornelius Sulla and Gauis Marius.

Like the civil war between Pompey and Caesar, the predecessor was fought between two generals who had once been friends. This is the story that gives the concept to The Guardians—two friends who are faced with having to break the nation they love and to war with each other in order to fix their nation.

Thank you for reading. Please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for updates on the short stories, novels and blogs I am working on.