Title: Alpha and Omega
Author: Robert W. Gallant
Publisher: Robert Gallant Books
ASIN: 978-1732297777
Pages: 154
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Dan MacIntosh
Hollywood Book Review
Robert W. Gallant’s book, Alpha and Omega, mixes together many intriguing plot elements. It is, at its heart, a crime story involving bad guys that will stop at nothing to get what they want. However, it’s more than just that. Some of its collateral elements include innocent mountain lions that are medicated to be smarter and more compliant than your typical nature beasts. This medication represents a change agent that is worth a lot of money to a few. However, much like many scientific breakthroughs, it can be used for good (helping the mentally handicapped get up to speed) or evil (to better control military personnel). What ensues is a fight to get this wonder drug into the right hands.
Chesney Barrett is the central character in this dark world. She’s described as beautiful, talented and smart. One can easily picture Barrett’s character in a big Hollywood movie. She’s not a law enforcer, by training or by trade. Rather, she’s an Olympic-level swimmer and an environmentalist. Her love of nature, plus her above-average physical abilities make her uniquely skilled to rat out drug manufacturers and dealers in Louisiana’s swampland. While doing her environmental work, she stumbles upon a most un-recreational drug case.
Gallant’s book is heartening because he presents a clear distinction between what’s wrong and right. Although some its law enforcers may bend the rules a bit in places, they all have their hearts in the right place. Such is particularly true for Barrett, who is always motivated by making sure the guilty ones are punished, but the good guys are saved. For example, there are two men involved in creating this miracle medicine. One loves animals and wants to see this medicine improve lives. The other only wants to make a lot of money. Barrett sides with the good guy but stands against the bad guy. She goes to great lengths to make sure the right thing is done.
Barrett’s altruism is expressed by how little she thinks about herself. Although she works collecting samples for environmental studies, which she protects with her life, she rarely seems to think about the arc of her career. It’s as though she sincerely believes she was placed on Earth to use her knowledge and skills to help others, rather than advance her own career. She’s presented as one who is both good on the inside and outside.
It’s also worth noting how clean the language is in this book. In retrospect, it does seem odd that – with all these bad guys and their gunplay – none of these characters curse by dropping f-bombs. If this book was made into a movie, without any changes in its dialogue, it would be a PG film. It would also seem strange to watch consistently ‘good guy’ law enforcement characters. These days, it seems so much more popular to show even heroes as flawed characters. It is still possible, though, for moral consistency.
Gallant is a good storyteller. He doesn’t go into great detail, for instance, about nature and the lives of mountain lions; he tells us just enough, so we appreciate their place in the story. Nearly universally, people love Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. That is, of course, as long as you’re good with knowing more than you’ll ever need to know about whales. Some of us just want a good story, without all the mountain of extra information. Gallant is to be praised for giving us everything we need to know to appreciate his tale, without all the unnecessary stuff.
Alpha and Omega is recommended to everyone that enjoys a good story. And that population includes, well, pretty much everyone.