After living a relatively normal life in rustic, small town Indiana-the home of Nicholas Hochstedler, the Denver-based author of War in October–Walter, the elderly protagonist, decides to discontinue taking his medication. Walter then grows suspicious that those closest to him are not the friends and family they claim to be?they’re actually conspirators in a grand scheme to control his mind.

With his usage of a fallible, unreliable narrator, Hochstedler is able to masterfully play devil’s advocate on the classic reality v. fantasy argument that has infiltrated the thought process of Walter and leaves the reader questioning who, if at all, knows the truth. In his internal war, Walter is simply hoping to find freedom of mind, something that is only an idea to this otherwise constricted man. In order to obtain it, Walter solicits his surroundings for the answers to how he can escape the conspirators and finally discover inner peace, all under the wise guidance of a talking dog with whom only Walter can communicate.  

The questions Walter seeks are the same questions Hochstedler poses and explores in his sardonic debut. Reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut’s 1973 classic Breakfast of Champions, Hochstedler humorously criticizes and considers the consequences of the culture of mass medication that the United States has fallen under in decades past, especially in regards to, in the words of the author, “how we view and the actions we take towards towards people with mental health issues.”

With wit and wry to spare, War in October explores loaded philosophical grounds in an enjoyable and easy to read narrative that lacks nothing in authenticity. Hochstedler impresses mightily with a debut that is definitely worth your read.

War in October is available online at NicholasHochstedler.com, Amazon (Kindle and paperback) and Barnes & Noble (Nook and paperback). The book is also available at the Book Rack (just a few blocks east of campus), BookBar and City Stacks Racks & Coffee. At the latter three bookstores, you should ask specifically for War in October, because it may not be on display thus far.