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Empire of Lies by Andrew Klavan (view source)
Revision as of 11:26, 29 August 2020
, 11:26, 29 August 2020no edit summary
While in many ways a very conventional thriller the conceit of telling the story through the eyes of a Christian conservative is an interesting one. The action moves with pace and there are plenty of twists as you'd expect from the man behind ''Don't Say A Word'' and ''True Crime''. The set pieces are handled nicely and the dialogue is largely snappy.
So far so interesting then. What lets the book down though is the relentless preaching. Jason Harrow is a thoroughly unlikeable central character, never missing a chance to whine about some politically correct dogma which is damaging the good white, Christian folk of America. It's as if there is a list of PC sacred cows which must be destroyed by the end of the book. Muslims check, working mothers check, Hollywood do -gooders check, liberal university professors check.
All of these things are politically fair game of course. It's just the incessantness of the sermonising which grates. When a bit of subtlety is called for the sledgehammer comes out rather than the fine chisel.
''Empire Of Lies'' is nearly a good yarn. Indeed it could have been very good if Klavan had spent more time on the story and less time trying to shoehorn in every political gripe he could think of. If your view of the world comes from the Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and the like then ''Empire Of Lies'' will only deepen your beliefs, for the general reader , it is a missed opportunity.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
If this type of story appeals to you then we think that you might enjoy [[Palace Council by Stephen L Carter]]. For a non-fiction approach we can recommend [[The Second Plane by Martin Amis]]. You might also enjoy [[From Blood by Edward Wright]].
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