DNF.
Totally unreadable. I tried, lord knows, I tried.
Loved his others, couldn't get through this one.
Couldn't stop reading it fast enough. ( )

Nothing Technically Wrong, Readers May Hate It Anyway. This is one of those books by a master storyteller that is at once too cerebral *and* too cliche. It is overall a good story, but there is so much to *not* like here. From the hard core leftist politics that get pretty damn preachy (including several anti-Trump diatribes blaming him for all the ills that have been present in this country since its Founding) to ... other events of a personal nature that get too close to spoilery territory to reveal. And yet there is nothing technically wrong here. The story is well edited, it flows well within its frame, it is reasonably researched (and then flung out to left field, X-Files style - though not to a scifi level), the characters are reasonable within the boundaries described in the book (though in real life many of their actions would leave an observer scratching their heads). Ultimately there is enough here to warrant reading the story - and enough here that no matter your politics, you're probably going to want to throw it down in disgust. And yet there is no objective "this is bad" thing to hang removal of so much as a single star on. And thus, this book is recommended. ( )

In TRULY LIKE LIGHTNING, by David Duchovny, we meet Bronson Powers, a former talented stuntman who has adopted the Mormon way of life, but with his own special take on the Mormon lifestyle. He adopts many of the Joseph Smith edicts on how to live (even some since abandoned by the Mormon church) including polygamy and moves his three wives and 10 kids out to the a large plot of land in the area of Joshua Tree in California. When an outsider stumbles upon their hidden existence, she sees dollar signs and quickly hatches a plan to acquire Powers' land. In the end, that plan will change the Powers family forever in ways no one involved could have ever predicted.
Duchovny creates quite a character in Bronson Powers. Bronson is charismatic, strong-willed, and resourceful, and the reader sees in the beginning of the book that he became who he is by identifying his faults and finding a lifestyle the helps him cope with himself and the world around him and he believes makes him a better person. All the people that are important to the book are well crafted as well, from Bronson's kids, to a strange and powerful real estate developer that is attempting to take the Powers' land, to Bronson's wives, who are fascinating individuals that the reader can't help but attach to and have sympathy for as much as any other person in the book. Duchovny creates a problem for the Powers family, and how the results unfold are logical and realistic, while at the same time excitingly unpredictable.
TRULY LIKE LIGHTNING will stay with you long after you finish reading and forces the reader to consider how society perceives bigotry, acceptance, tolerance, and how tightly people hold to their own belief system.
Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux, David Duchovny, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

How did I not know David Duchovny wrote books?? Can't wait to check this out!