The Silent Count by E.A. Smiroldo- the Yin and the Yang, When it Comes to Life, Government Solutions and Family

by Jeneane Vanderhoof

Recently there has been a rash release of books that talk about the environment. Whether it is fiction or non, whatever there is to say about the future of our planet- it does not look good. But, it is a call for everyone to take interest. The Silent Count is a thriller by E.A. Smiroldo, essentially, about the need for a change before it gets too late as it is in the dystopian future this author has created. In it, the author brings to life a character who takes one of the negatives (something that helped our planet get to the environmental state it is) and applies it to a solution for the planet’s environmental issues.

Dara Bouldin is a prodigy, currently working as a nuclear engineer. Even before her admittance to college she was at work on a program that would help redesign the weather- by redesigning certain places on the planet with nuclear weapons. Because Dara is able to show that by redesigning the features of our planet, this would help prevent the wildfires, floods and other natural disasters taking place in our country and others. And when an ex member of the CIA, Andrew, approaches Dara with a proposal to bring her program to the government, suddenly the dream she had to change the planet is a reality.

Dara’s home life however, is much more complicated, as always. With no mother and a father who gambles, having taken on his debt as the good daughter, has Dara living well below what she could be. And the boy next door, the man of her dreams is now a popular superstar singer who she once spent all her time with. But he is now her ex, Jericho. While his newest release is going up the charts and he is giving concerts in support of the planet, he introduces Dara to his new girlfriend at one of them, she sees he has moved on. So when a Russian counterpart in an exchange program that takes place at her work, the handsome Dmitri, shows interest in being more than a friend to her, she takes him up and goes on a date which turns into a relationship.

As Dara watches the bottles pile up in Dmitiri’s trash, no matter how nice he is, no matter how attentive when they are together (and he is sober), there is something off about the man. But, Dara doesn’t seem to think it could be a big deal, no more than a problem with drinking. However, when Dmitri begins sneaking around Dara’s office, the top secret program she is at work on may be exposed. And by the man she is dating. There is also the fact that Dara has never felt as comfortable as she did with Jericho, no matter how hard she wants to put him behind her, Jericho has been too much a part of Dara to do this.

And the relationship with Dmitiri was never supposed to last- he was always going to return to Russia. Still, Dara becomes quickly shocked at the fast decline and the change in Dmitri. Not knowing why, leaving early for Russia he pays an unexpected visit to Dara. During that visit he shares three things Dara didn’t know: 1. Why he started drinking, 2. The fact that he was there spying on Dara and 3. The fact that the United States will inevitably misuse her program.

However, since Dara had put her trust in him and obviously Dmitiri came to the United States intending to spy on her work as he did, can she trust him? As the facts pile up against Dimitri the question that should remain is: Why should a program that will help the world be held in secret, anyway? Dara never intended to only help her own country, she intended to help the world. Has Dara been lied to? What is the real intent of the government using her program? Can Dara trust any of them?

When Dara’s security clearance is revoked after she shares her concerns with Andrew, her own work is taken away from her. Left without any recourse other than to hire a lawyer and fight, without any money, Dara needs to find out what is going on and if her own program will be used for destruction rather than helping the environment, as it was intended. Inadvertently, she may have created a situation that causes more destruction. But how can she stop it? And then when the FBI shows up at her doorstep, thinking she is in trouble with the government who may bring charges she goes on the run.

While I want to go on and explain more of the suspenseful read I am in danger of sharing too much (and may have). But, The Silent Count was a book that made me think about many things- from the storyline to how it applies to my life. Because, there are things that happen that while we think we are doing good and create something to make life better, that, if we give to the wrong person or people, it may be misused. And this is not to say that it happened here but there was the danger that it could be misused, was being misused.

And how do we stop something like that when it is our own government? Stop our government from taking what they want from us? Are we even able to stop things like that? Can we say, “No,” to our government? While I was taught that I could, in reality, the answer is not so clear cut. Is our only hope, that a situation like this does not happen, that all people are good people who wouldn’t do something like this? Because, sadly, the world is full of bad people and many of them are in positions of power- with many fanatical supporters who do anything they say and anything to help them.

I will say that in the end, Dara has to worry that her program, one in which she wanted to do good, make the planet a safer, healthier place for people, may be used for evil. And, when one is in such a lowly position, like Dara, what are they to do to stop people who are above and beyond her? But, Dara must first learn if all Dmitiri shared with her was true, because if he was just a drunk, liar, a Russian spy who averted Dara as a plan for America to fail, if Dara acts with no evidence, she could end any life she wants for herself in the future. But, was her life over when she shared the program with the government anyway? Should they not have had this information in their hands at all? Will they only misuse it, in the end? Is our government one of inclusion, one that wants to help other countries or do we only want to destroy others?

E. A. Smiroldo has invented a wonderful read full of suspense, betrayal but ultimately learning what the world is really like- how, when we can do good, that is not good enough. That humans, many of them- their end objective is to destroy anyone that they don’t want to share a planet with. And, how if we aren’t looking, the wool can be pulled over our eyes and, when it is too late, are thrown by the wayside, whatever our own beliefs may be, disregarded, in the guise of the phrase, “in the matter of national security,”- nothing you think matters. Maybe not even the truth. That all people are created equal- well- that only means some and not everyone on the planet, right?

That some people, for who they were born to and what genetics they carry, their race and the way they look think they are worth more than anyone who on their own merits achieve anything- amazes me. The only worth I find of people is what they themself have created on their own in life and no other, anything based on the merits of someone else, is not their own, hence, not provable of any real personal worth they should share in.

In The Silent Count Dara is the perfect definition of that person- smart on her own merits, got to where she is with hard work, but has a father who carried his ruin onto her back so could not get any further. In this readers see how a parent can ruin a child’s future, with what they inherit from them, rather than help. Sadly, you can inherit the bad things of another person as well as the good.

However, the best I pulled from the book, really, a good and bad in life- an ultimate unselfish act, a characteristic that few can have and apply- is loving someone so much they let them go. Let’s see if readers can put together the character who is the real hero of the story, someone who actually risked their life and limb for someone they love. It was a real shocker (for the character’s too).

But the real shocker- in the end, what all readers want to know is- will Dara be able put an end to her own program or will the President and our government employ it and all the problems it may create? Because while Dara has solved a problem with her program, in the guise of doing good with it, the end results will be the mass destruction of others (outside our country). And even if Dara is able to share this, will it be enough to stop what has started?

Happy Reading!