A Right to Bear Arms by Richard Savin is a book of historical fictional. So fictional in fact, that you can forget anything you have learned about the early years prior to WWII. The author takes the liberty of changing history and creates a new version. The book is an enormous read. There were parts where I felt I was crawling through a dry sandy desert. While the story in itself is interesting it drags terribly in parts. The book could have easily been reduced to something more manageable than the 723 pages the author delivers.

There were very interesting events as it follows the path of a young man from upstate New York. The book follows him through a number of years. I enjoyed the descriptive aspects of upstate New York as I spent many summers there. Mr. Savin’s of Dobbs Ferry, Croton on the Hudson, Peekskill and other small towns are wonderful. The characters from this portion of the story were well done and relatable. I found myself skimming through dreary portions just to get back to this particular story line. I didn’t skip too often as I wanted to be fair to the author and the publisher.

Mr. Savin’s character development is artful. He has a gifted imagination. While I would like to think that reading this book would change the mind of some liberals about the right to bear arms, I feel the book will not achieve the intended result. They will mock his story as not relatable and not possible. I think that A Right to Bear Arms was a good novel. Despite it’s slow portions it is worth the read.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Mr. Savin and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.