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Deep State by Chris Hauty (view source)
Revision as of 16:39, 11 August 2020
, 16:39, 11 August 2020no edit summary
There is a thing that new writers are taught about needing to know their characters back-story. Where they have come from, where they're headed, what might happen to them after they walk off the stage, everything that explains why they act the way they do. It is important that the author knows these things. It is equally important that he doesn't share them all with the reader. In other respects too, this is a book that wears its research and its product placement too heavily. I found myself skim-reading within 20 pages, thinking 'shut up, let's get back to the action'.
And that's a shame because the action part of the book is good. The story of politics and intrigue and double-dealing in the highest reaches of American politics is well-plotted, with a completely unexpected twist at the end. Only it's not at the end…it should have been – but we're then taken back to fill in the blanks. I think that not only would it have been a better book for leaving us guessing on that score – but also, that part of the back story could have provided the opening for the no-doubt planned next outing.
Sadly, this isn't the thriller it should have been. The tension just isn't there.
For more dubious doings in Washington, check out [[Power Play by Gavin Esler]]
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