Lincoln Reed is a sophomore at Hillsdale College. He’s the catcher for the baseball team. He’s trying to settle on a major — speech or history. Oh yeah, and his 270-page, 75,000 word book came out on Amazon in June.
When he was in third grade, Reed began writing short stories. He wrote often and would bring his stories into class and read them to his classmates.
Lincoln Reed’s mother, Rebecca Reed, said that his third-grade teacher encouraged him in his writing.
“She’d say to Lincoln, ‘If God has called you to be an author, then go be an author,’” Rebecca said.
Lincoln Reed followed her advice and continued writing. He joined a creative writing group in high school and would bring his work to them for feedback. When he was 17, just a junior in high school, Reed decided to write his first novel.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so I started it the first semester of my junior year and finished it the day before I came to Hillsdale,” Reed said.
Reed titled his novel “Judgment.” Reed tells the story of a future, dystopian America on the decline. The country faces an impending food shortage. The powers that be pass the Omega Act, a law that sends people convicted of crimes to labor camps with the purpose of producing food to feed the nation.
The protagonist is Nate Stephens, a high school senior at a Catholic school. He is accused of heinous crimes. Believing that he has been framed, Stephens is given an opportunity to clear his name and bring his oppressors to justice. If he fails in his mission, however, he faces a grim future as an inmate in a labor camp.
As he begins to unravel the mystery surrounding his situation, he discovers a great evil and a conspiracy to undermine the social structure of America. The further Stephens journeys into darkness, his vigilante tactics leave him asking one question: Will he become what he set out to destroy?
Sophomore Alexis Haley is a friend of Reed’s who has read the book. She describes it as “thought-provoking and intense.” She added that “it’s pretty gory and very graphic but not in a gross sense.”
Haley was originally persuaded by a mutual friend to read the book. And even though the violence did not appeal to her, she still gleaned from the story.
“I really liked that it made me think about what my beliefs are and how true I would be to them if I was put in a similar, less extreme situation,” Haley said. Haley said the book touches on themes of loyalty to friends and living honorably when faced with evil.
Reed said that some of what sparked the ideas behind “Judgment” was his high school experience, but the rest of it had to do with some of life’s biggest questions.
“Much of it was just my experiences and emotions reacting to the evil that we see in society and in the political climate,” Reed said, “dealing with sin as a Christian, dealing with the concepts of grace. Is there redemption? Are we all equally sinful? Is evil something all of us deal with? How does a teenager deal with these things?”
Those who know Reed describe him as trustworthy and loyal, always helpful, dedicated, and passionate.
“I think he has two passions,” Rebecca said. “Well, three: Following God, first. Then baseball and writing are neck and neck.”
Rebecca also said that Lincoln Reed has a sequel in mind, but the demands of his schedule while in school don’t allow him to pursue it.
“We know it’s just the beginning,” Rebecca Reed said.