I received and early reviewers copy of this book from Library Thing. I found the premise to be interesting as I enjoy dystopian novels. There were a lot of similar themes between this book and Handmaid's Tale as there was a religious sect in this post-now American society. I found some of the characters had to relate to, but I found them very well described. The beginning of the novel was incredibly difficult to get through. It was very rapidly paced and moved around quite a bit. You're thrown right in the middle of the story, understanding there are people at war, but not necessarily knowing why. Finding out why takes quite a bit of time, and made it difficult to relate to either side. While this novel was fast paced, it didn't keep my interest. The author wrote well and created a nice story, but it just wasn't for me. ( )

This was a violent book full of action, deception, and survival. I truly enjoyed the lack of quotation marks but it is a style I have always enjoyed; the author did a great job with his use of this formatting type and it really added value to the story. The story was insanely action packed and fast paced from the start! A different but great read!

Very intense. What would happen if all our technology was lost at once? If it was caused by someone who wanted to go back to the proverbial simpler times? If they then set themselves up as the spiritual leader of the Crusade? Would it stay pure, keep the vision he set forth, or become corrupted? Could anything based on such loss of life lead to good? I would have rated it higher but had a problem with the writing style but it is a very strong story and I look forward to the sequel. ( )

This review is conducted as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer.

I have been reading extensively for over 70 years and 'Lord of Order' is the first novel I have ever encountered where the author failed to identify dialogue between characters through the standard use of quotation marks.

This peculiarity was very unsettling at first, to the point that I debated not continuing to try to read further. Deciding on giving the author the benefit of the doubt I continued, but I can't say I enjoyed the experience. it was too confusing, especially initially trying to determine if the character was actually speaking to someone or was simply musing internally. The convention of dialogue being distinguished by quotation marks has worked wonderfully well since its inception. It is a mystery as to why Brett Riley decided to abandon this established practice. In any case, if he was experimenting he should be aware that the experiment failed miserably.

The story itself was interesting... up to a point. Once the battle began the storyline was an interminable description of carnage, gore, horrific and gruesome battlefield deaths. If Mr. Riley was attempting to portray that "war is Hell" he succeeded.... but then he went into overkill and the descriptions of the fighting were repetitive and uninteresting, making for a very unsatisfactory read.

I had the impression that the close was making room for a sequel. My advice is - DON'T! The second half of the book was a slog, difficult to read and tiresome to get through. I had high hopes for the Lord of Order, but they were never realized. ** stars ( )

Brett Riley's dystopian novel Law of Order is mighty unsettling in the beginning. Not because of the subject matter, but rather because he uses no quotation marks throughout the novel. The reader who gives it a chance will find themselves adapting within pages of the start and be left with a thrilling tale of the future.

In this future, America's technology has been destroyed by a religous based organization that has taken control. Citizens are swear the fidelity to the order and live much like they did in the 18th century. Some refuse to submit and instead reside outside of the city states, doing their best to fight the guilder order. The two forces unite in New Orleans when word leaks out of a planned second purge.

In response new alliances are drawn, and questions of the past arise. Leaving moral people to question what it means to be loyal and who they swear their fidelity to.

This is an intriguing novel, populated with fascinating characters. Readers won't be disappointed. ( )