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Maggie Costello #3
The Plot Against the President
If a president is out of control, who will take the ultimate step?
The unthinkable has happened. The United States has elected a volatile demagogue as president, backed by his ruthless chief strategist, Crawford McNamara.
When a war of words with the North Korean regime spirals out of control and the president comes perilously close to launching a nuclear attack, it’s clear that someone has to act or the world will be reduced to ashes.
Soon Maggie Costello, a seasoned Washington operator and an avowed liberal, discovers an inside plot to kill the president and faces the ultimate moral dilemma. Should she save the president and leave the free world at the mercy of an increasingly crazed would-be tyrant or commit treason against her commander in chief and risk plunging the country into a civil war?
The unthinkable has happened. The United States has elected a volatile demagogue as president, backed by his ruthless chief strategist, Crawford McNamara.
When a war of words with the North Korean regime spirals out of control and the president comes perilously close to launching a nuclear attack, it’s clear that someone has to act or the world will be reduced to ashes.
Soon Maggie Costello, a seasoned Washington operator and an avowed liberal, discovers an inside plot to kill the president and faces the ultimate moral dilemma. Should she save the president and leave the free world at the mercy of an increasingly crazed would-be tyrant or commit treason against her commander in chief and risk plunging the country into a civil war?
356 pages, Paperback
First published June 4, 2017
About the author
Sam Bourne
44 books333 followersSam Bourne is the literary pseudonym of Jonathan Freedland, an award-winning British journalist and broadcaster. He has written a weekly column for The Guardian since 1997, having previously served as the paper's Washington correspondent. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, The New Republic, and The Jewish Chronicle, and he presents BBC Radio 4's contemporary-history series The Long View.
For nearly two decades he has covered the Middle East conflict, and in 2002 he chaired a three-day dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, which was sponsored by The Guardian. The participants in that meeting went on to broker the 2003 Geneva Accord.
Freedland is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Righteous Men, also a number-one bestseller in the UK, which has been translated into thirty-one languages, and the nonfiction works Jacob's Gift and Bring Home the Revolution. He lives in London with his wife and two children.
For nearly two decades he has covered the Middle East conflict, and in 2002 he chaired a three-day dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, which was sponsored by The Guardian. The participants in that meeting went on to broker the 2003 Geneva Accord.
Freedland is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Righteous Men, also a number-one bestseller in the UK, which has been translated into thirty-one languages, and the nonfiction works Jacob's Gift and Bring Home the Revolution. He lives in London with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 420 reviews
November 1, 2017
As Sam Bourne returns with another explosive thriller, he stirs the political pot and is sure to cause an uproar on both sides of the aisle. When the current President of the United States (POTUS) goes on a rampage in the middle of the night, he starts a chain of events that brings the world to within seconds of nuclear annihilation. This proves to be a major red flag for his Chief of Staff, Bob Kassian, who can see that his boss is flirting with absolute disaster. Added to that, POTUS’s Chief Strategist is a diehard supporter and is willing to spin anything in favour of the Leader of the Free World. Crawford ‘Mac’ McNamara is a take-no-prisoners and candy-coat nothing type of guy, whose brash comments in the West Wing have women diving for cover and others picking their jaws up off the floor. One of the few hold-outs from the previous Administration is Maggie Costello, ardent enemy of POTUS’s politics, but hoping to prove the balancing opinion from her perch in the White House Counsel’s Office. When the President’s personal physician is found dead in a Washington park, early signs point to suicide. However, Maggie’s sleuthing skills force her not to stand by waiting for answers, especially with all the inconsistencies. Further poking around leads her to uncover a plot to assassinate the sitting president, news that could change the course of the country. The more she learns, the further Maggie’s conviction that Bob Kassian is at the heart of things. As she tries to transmit the news to the authorities, someone is trying to silence her, which could spell disaster for all involved. With a trained assassin leaving digital breadcrumbs and preparing for the mission of a lifetime, Maggie finds herself persona non grata on the grounds of the White House. When all is said and done, it is not the act that proves most dangerous, but the spin taken by the likes of Mac that serves as the larger weapon. Bourne has done a wonderful job ruffling feathers in this poignant and timely piece, sure to cause much chatter amongst readers. Perfect for those who like controversial topics and fans of political thrillers.
It is likely the similarities to the actual situation in the United States that has everyone up in arms about this book. I have seen some folks scrambling to toss this book and Bourne under the bus, labelling him as a ‘crackpot’ and having ‘churned out this garbage in short order to prove a point’. However, it is this panic that has me wondering if Bourne hit a truthful nerve amongst this segment, worried they finally see the person they chose to back as the man he might well be. Removing the name and exact happenings, Bourne is able to play the Devil’s Advocate and permit fiction to spin the story in numerous directions. Some seem happy to toss out the epithets, but when things get a little too hot, it is time to vilify anyone who differs and paint them as a traitor or idiot. Bourne’s use of strong characters in this novel is surely one of the reasons it has rung true with many folks, from a POTUS who is off the rails through to a Chief of Staff unable to use political and sensible means to calm his boss. Maggie Costello makes her return in wonderful fashion, trying to crack the code and communicate her findings. However, Crawford McNamara provides the most insight into the entire situation here, forcing the reader to digest some of the ideas they may not wish to hear. Bourne uses Mac’s verbal tirades to posit that as much as Americans do not want to admit it, there may be a shard of themselves in this bombastic leader. Racist, pig-headed, refusing to accept other views... and yet, when push comes to shove, it was all through democratic means that this man made it to the White House. Spin or not, there were few legal ways to end the madness people rally against, but it is by no means easy, as Mac makes clear. The story itself is well-paced and keeps the reader wanting to learn more, though the horror of it all might be scarier than anyone wishes to admit. The themes are definitely not hidden, nor are the paths laid out before the reader. I can only hope that some will read this and see for themselves just what a mess things have become, without trying to toss the other side under the bus and point fingers. Bourne may be trying to say (from his British perch), “you got yourselves into this mess... now deal with it.” I would tend to agree, but is killing the man the only way to silence the incessant chirping (or, shall I say, ‘Tweeting’)?
Kudos, Mr. Bourne, for a riveting reading experience. I can only hope that you’ll keep your finger on the pulse and pen some more wonderfully written pieces like this for readers to enjoy down the road.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
It is likely the similarities to the actual situation in the United States that has everyone up in arms about this book. I have seen some folks scrambling to toss this book and Bourne under the bus, labelling him as a ‘crackpot’ and having ‘churned out this garbage in short order to prove a point’. However, it is this panic that has me wondering if Bourne hit a truthful nerve amongst this segment, worried they finally see the person they chose to back as the man he might well be. Removing the name and exact happenings, Bourne is able to play the Devil’s Advocate and permit fiction to spin the story in numerous directions. Some seem happy to toss out the epithets, but when things get a little too hot, it is time to vilify anyone who differs and paint them as a traitor or idiot. Bourne’s use of strong characters in this novel is surely one of the reasons it has rung true with many folks, from a POTUS who is off the rails through to a Chief of Staff unable to use political and sensible means to calm his boss. Maggie Costello makes her return in wonderful fashion, trying to crack the code and communicate her findings. However, Crawford McNamara provides the most insight into the entire situation here, forcing the reader to digest some of the ideas they may not wish to hear. Bourne uses Mac’s verbal tirades to posit that as much as Americans do not want to admit it, there may be a shard of themselves in this bombastic leader. Racist, pig-headed, refusing to accept other views... and yet, when push comes to shove, it was all through democratic means that this man made it to the White House. Spin or not, there were few legal ways to end the madness people rally against, but it is by no means easy, as Mac makes clear. The story itself is well-paced and keeps the reader wanting to learn more, though the horror of it all might be scarier than anyone wishes to admit. The themes are definitely not hidden, nor are the paths laid out before the reader. I can only hope that some will read this and see for themselves just what a mess things have become, without trying to toss the other side under the bus and point fingers. Bourne may be trying to say (from his British perch), “you got yourselves into this mess... now deal with it.” I would tend to agree, but is killing the man the only way to silence the incessant chirping (or, shall I say, ‘Tweeting’)?
Kudos, Mr. Bourne, for a riveting reading experience. I can only hope that you’ll keep your finger on the pulse and pen some more wonderfully written pieces like this for readers to enjoy down the road.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
July 6, 2017
Brilliantly current and really quite scary To Kill The President asks some very important questions and is a real genuine thrill of a thriller.
Utterly absorbing from the very first page, where the world is almost tipped over into all out war, you are completely gripped by the narrative here, not least because it is all so scarily possible given the current political climate and the absolute madness that seems to be overtaking the world lately. You kind of want to clap your hands over your eyes and not look but you just can’t help it. In life as with reading this novel…
I’ve met Maggie Costello before in previous thrillers from Mr Freedland’s alter ego – in this story she truly is on the edge of reason – can she possibly let a plot against the President go ahead, could she even tacitly help it along? It would go against everything she has ever believed – with that moral dilemma lies the soul of the story, whilst the rest of it is often heart stopping edge of the seat moments, all entirely character driven, digging deep into an all too likely and very dangerous scenario.
I’m not going to give anything away at all – you just have to read this one and absorb it – it is a madly addictive page turner and a hugely thought provoking drama, written with perfectly poised prose and telling a fascinating, frightening, yet completely entertaining tale, startlingly authentic and completely mind blowing.
Highly Recommended.
Utterly absorbing from the very first page, where the world is almost tipped over into all out war, you are completely gripped by the narrative here, not least because it is all so scarily possible given the current political climate and the absolute madness that seems to be overtaking the world lately. You kind of want to clap your hands over your eyes and not look but you just can’t help it. In life as with reading this novel…
I’ve met Maggie Costello before in previous thrillers from Mr Freedland’s alter ego – in this story she truly is on the edge of reason – can she possibly let a plot against the President go ahead, could she even tacitly help it along? It would go against everything she has ever believed – with that moral dilemma lies the soul of the story, whilst the rest of it is often heart stopping edge of the seat moments, all entirely character driven, digging deep into an all too likely and very dangerous scenario.
I’m not going to give anything away at all – you just have to read this one and absorb it – it is a madly addictive page turner and a hugely thought provoking drama, written with perfectly poised prose and telling a fascinating, frightening, yet completely entertaining tale, startlingly authentic and completely mind blowing.
Highly Recommended.
August 2, 2018
Implausible construction, but all-too-plausible core
Literary fiction this ain't—but you don't buy it for that, do you? It is a fast-moving political thriller, incredibly up-to-the-minute; once you have accepted its many, many implausibilities, it delivers, and then some. The subject is not a new one: a plot to assassinate the President of the United States. But not just any President. Although this incumbent is never named, it is all too clearly Donald Trump, in detail after detail. For instance, the same commercial empire, the same surprise election, the same xenophobia, the same misogyny, the same addiction to tweets. Here are two of them:
Black caucus attacking me over Forty Acres. Too much white guilt over 'slavery'! Nobody really knows what happened.And when a white suprematist tweets back "Kudos to you for saying it, Mr. President," he responds:
Americans want to have this debate. The lying press want to shut it down. Too late!"Sam Bourne" (this is the pen name of Jonathan Freedland, Washington correspondent for the Guardian) clearly has the style down pat. He catches the "post-truth presidency" in every detail. He must have a lightning pen to have captured so much, not just from campaign rhetoric, but from how it has actually turned out in the first months of 2017, and still to have published his novel in Britain by midsummer. I don't know if it will—or can—be published here in the US. While it certainly is no recipe book for presidential assassination (although some of the technical stuff is as fascinating as Day of the Jackal ), it is nonetheless a divisive subject that would stir the ire of the Trump base.
For this reason, Bourne has to make the assassination about something more than political disagreement or personal dislike. So he opens with a nightmare 3:20 AM scenario in which the President, infuriated by something he has seen on a recorded TV program, storms into the Situation Room and gives the order for a nuclear attack on North Korea (another piece of prescience on Bourne's part), and while he is at it, China as well. The action is averted by some quick-thinking at the Pentagon, but all involved know that this could happen again. And we are only on page 8!
I am writing this review at the three-quarter mark, because I fear that once I know how it turns out, it will be impossible to avoid spoilers. But I am fascinated by Bourne's dilemma. Clearly (I think), he cannot publish a book ending in the successful killing of Donald Trump. But equally clearly, his fictional avatar has demonstrated impulsive behavior that could unleash global annihilation unless he is stopped. I don't yet know how Bourne will resolve this. But one of his strategies is to build the story in layers. There are the conscientious officials who believe that assassination is necessary for the good of the country. There is the novel's heroine, a White House trouble-shooter implausibly held over from the previous administration (and an Irish national yet!), who stumbles on the plot and is conscience-torn about whether to stop it. There is a radical faction within the White House, headed by a Steve Bannon lookalike, which seems to have its own agenda. And there are a series of mysterious murders around the world which suggest the presence of a different set of evildoers entirely, acting on motives yet to be revealed.
I don't know how it will turn out. But I do know that a book that I had fully expected to pan as opportunistic exploitation has become almost impossible to put down. Despite its many implausibilities, this is because of Bourne's fascinating attention to detail, the uncanny accuracy of his portrayal of the quasi-Trump regime, and his skill in taking an almost impossible assignment and still keeping this reader on the edge of his seat.
+ + + + + +
POSTSCRIPT. Uh-oh, I spoke too soon. By around page 300, I had been prepared to give this four stars. But in the last hundred pages, Bourne changes style completely. Gone is the tense build-up, gone the nail-biting action sequences, gone the meticulous detail of plans and preparation. In their place, talking and more talking, threats and counter-threats. And a lot more politics. However true to its unacknowledged subject, when the depiction of demagoguery becomes too excessive, it loses its effect and becomes almost nauseous. Still, Bourne does find a neat way out of his dilemma, and there is a minor but nice twist at the very end that I found rather fun. So 2.5 stars, upgraded to three.
February 8, 2018
In 2016 my review of this thriller would read like this:
● a paranoid and inconceivable plot
● a premise beyond reason
● unbelievable characters
● an improbable conclusion
But that was then and this is now. The book was published last June and after I read it I have to say that (almost) everything in here sounds realistic, plausible, and well-nigh too authentic.
Lordy, I hope this book will become inconceivable again soon.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
● a paranoid and inconceivable plot
● a premise beyond reason
● unbelievable characters
● an improbable conclusion
But that was then and this is now. The book was published last June and after I read it I have to say that (almost) everything in here sounds realistic, plausible, and well-nigh too authentic.
Lordy, I hope this book will become inconceivable again soon.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
July 24, 2017
One of the worst books I have read in a long time. Rushed out, I suspect, to capitalise on the recent election of Trump it is poorly thought out and badly delivered.
A new President (without mentioning his name, we are left in no doubt that it is "Trump") nearly brings the world to war and an assassination attempt is pulled together. As Whitehouse investigator Maggie Costello uncovers the plan, the dilemma is whether the plan should be stopped.
Well, sort of. But then Costello appears to be an idiot. As do all the caricature bad guys and the exaggerated excess of the President's reign and attack on democracy.
I hate right wing thrillers where brave patriots do what a weak Government won't do, and I hated this version of an over the top version of Trump and an assault on democracy. He is a disaster of a President but this is a deeply flawed and extreme version of him.
Nothing works in this, far too many situations that have you smacking your forehead or wanting to chuck the book out of the nearest window.
Lazy, lazy writing. Avoid like the plague.
A new President (without mentioning his name, we are left in no doubt that it is "Trump") nearly brings the world to war and an assassination attempt is pulled together. As Whitehouse investigator Maggie Costello uncovers the plan, the dilemma is whether the plan should be stopped.
Well, sort of. But then Costello appears to be an idiot. As do all the caricature bad guys and the exaggerated excess of the President's reign and attack on democracy.
I hate right wing thrillers where brave patriots do what a weak Government won't do, and I hated this version of an over the top version of Trump and an assault on democracy. He is a disaster of a President but this is a deeply flawed and extreme version of him.
Nothing works in this, far too many situations that have you smacking your forehead or wanting to chuck the book out of the nearest window.
Lazy, lazy writing. Avoid like the plague.
September 26, 2018
This is another book I read some time ago.
If you're a fan of Donald Trump you will probably hate this book, but I just loved it. Although he is not named, the President is clearly Trump and the Chief Strategist, Steve Bannon. Bourne has captured the President's mannerisms perfectly in a 'ripped from the headlines' story that is very contemporary.
So, in the wee small hours one night the President storms into the situation room and demands that his military nuke North Korea forthwith. His generals scramble to deflect him and come up with a cunning plan that will hold things for a few days. But then what? Oh, we'd better assassinate the President before he starts World War III. Chief Counsel Maggie Costello gets wind of the plot and has a
crisis of conscience as she decides what to do. Heads I win, tails you lose.
It was fast paced and highly entertaining. From where I sit, down under in Australia, many of us have been riveted by the Trump reality show playing out in the media daily. This book captured all that and some of the very divisive views and opinions that surround the man in a very topical way.
If you're a fan of Donald Trump you will probably hate this book, but I just loved it. Although he is not named, the President is clearly Trump and the Chief Strategist, Steve Bannon. Bourne has captured the President's mannerisms perfectly in a 'ripped from the headlines' story that is very contemporary.
So, in the wee small hours one night the President storms into the situation room and demands that his military nuke North Korea forthwith. His generals scramble to deflect him and come up with a cunning plan that will hold things for a few days. But then what? Oh, we'd better assassinate the President before he starts World War III. Chief Counsel Maggie Costello gets wind of the plot and has a
crisis of conscience as she decides what to do. Heads I win, tails you lose.
It was fast paced and highly entertaining. From where I sit, down under in Australia, many of us have been riveted by the Trump reality show playing out in the media daily. This book captured all that and some of the very divisive views and opinions that surround the man in a very topical way.
December 31, 2018
"He could tweet, 'Listen up, Latinos. Your all going to be deported on trains to labour camps in the Alaskan wilderness. Round-ups begin at 6am' - and the liberal chorus would be instant: 'It's *you're.*'"
At first, I was a bit sceptical about this book because the political message was so overt, everything was so obvious. But as the book went on, I realised: yes, subtle political commentary is all well and good, and allusions to current governments are all well and good - but sometimes you need more. Sometimes you don't need an allusion, you need to be hit, with blunt force, by a government that is very similar to the current US government but exaggerated.
But here's the terrifying thing. While TO KILL THE PRESIDENT's US government, and President, is an exaggerated version, it is believable. It is only a few steps removed from the current climate. It is scarily easy to believe that yes, the hatred and incompetence of this government could go from just simmering below the surface to exploding out in a storm of executive orders that ban abortion, that make creationism be taught in science class, or declaring nuclear war on North Korea because of an insult.
Furthermore, as shown by the quote I put at the top, Bourne jibes at the ineffectiveness of liberals (or as I would say, neoliberals) who criticise Trump but not enough, only at a surface level and making memes and all that shit that distracts from the actual stuff Trump is doing. Kind of reminds me of all that covfefe shit. Yeah it was funny, but the inordinate amount of attention the media placed on it drew attention away from actual policies.
Whereas the political commentary was blunt, the plot and narrative definitely was not. What seems like a simple plot to kill the President proves to have all sorts of twists and turns and nail-biting suspense that was what ultimately led me to give this five stars. This was not just a commentary, it was a deftly written mystery thriller.
And a final note - I also really liked how it basically ended by saying violence isn't the answer, and the baddies can only be outwitted by brains.
At first, I was a bit sceptical about this book because the political message was so overt, everything was so obvious. But as the book went on, I realised: yes, subtle political commentary is all well and good, and allusions to current governments are all well and good - but sometimes you need more. Sometimes you don't need an allusion, you need to be hit, with blunt force, by a government that is very similar to the current US government but exaggerated.
But here's the terrifying thing. While TO KILL THE PRESIDENT's US government, and President, is an exaggerated version, it is believable. It is only a few steps removed from the current climate. It is scarily easy to believe that yes, the hatred and incompetence of this government could go from just simmering below the surface to exploding out in a storm of executive orders that ban abortion, that make creationism be taught in science class, or declaring nuclear war on North Korea because of an insult.
Furthermore, as shown by the quote I put at the top, Bourne jibes at the ineffectiveness of liberals (or as I would say, neoliberals) who criticise Trump but not enough, only at a surface level and making memes and all that shit that distracts from the actual stuff Trump is doing. Kind of reminds me of all that covfefe shit. Yeah it was funny, but the inordinate amount of attention the media placed on it drew attention away from actual policies.
Whereas the political commentary was blunt, the plot and narrative definitely was not. What seems like a simple plot to kill the President proves to have all sorts of twists and turns and nail-biting suspense that was what ultimately led me to give this five stars. This was not just a commentary, it was a deftly written mystery thriller.
And a final note - I also really liked how it basically ended by saying violence isn't the answer, and the baddies can only be outwitted by brains.
September 22, 2017
When I think of Donald Trump in terms of fiction I try to imagine a redemptive arc, Sam Bourne/Jonathan Freedland instead sees plots to assassinate him.
His is the view that probably strikes the biggest chord with the public, particularly The Guardian reading part of it.
Okay, to be fair, the President is never actually named here. But it’s so obviously the current Commander in Chief. Capricious, prone to terrifying rages and capable of eight terrible acts before breakfast. He is the bogeyman to good liberals and then some.
It’s an efficient thriller, with smart twists and turns and a conclusion that might be a little too neat, but which works effectively enough. Strangely though, for a book which comes from a good liberal pedigree (Freedland writes smart, entertaining columns for The Guardian) is how dull those characters on the heroic, good, decent side of the debate are. Maggie Costello, our heroine, is a punchy figure, but beyond her there’s blandness on top of blandness. That’s thrown into particular contrast by the book’s Steve Bannon figure, who Freedland clearly adores writing for. Having the chance to pile up insults from the other side of the debate, with sexist, racist and goading rants about ‘libtards’, you can feel Freedland just letting loose and really enjoying himself with this wildly over the top, demonic figure.
The result is s strangely unbalanced book where the bad guys are far more interesting than the good, and you can feel the author’s interest being truly, truly engaged when he has to write dialogue for them.
Obviously this Presidency is bad, but – in this version as least – until the good guys start finding better tunes, they are always going to be second best.
His is the view that probably strikes the biggest chord with the public, particularly The Guardian reading part of it.
Okay, to be fair, the President is never actually named here. But it’s so obviously the current Commander in Chief. Capricious, prone to terrifying rages and capable of eight terrible acts before breakfast. He is the bogeyman to good liberals and then some.
It’s an efficient thriller, with smart twists and turns and a conclusion that might be a little too neat, but which works effectively enough. Strangely though, for a book which comes from a good liberal pedigree (Freedland writes smart, entertaining columns for The Guardian) is how dull those characters on the heroic, good, decent side of the debate are. Maggie Costello, our heroine, is a punchy figure, but beyond her there’s blandness on top of blandness. That’s thrown into particular contrast by the book’s Steve Bannon figure, who Freedland clearly adores writing for. Having the chance to pile up insults from the other side of the debate, with sexist, racist and goading rants about ‘libtards’, you can feel Freedland just letting loose and really enjoying himself with this wildly over the top, demonic figure.
The result is s strangely unbalanced book where the bad guys are far more interesting than the good, and you can feel the author’s interest being truly, truly engaged when he has to write dialogue for them.
Obviously this Presidency is bad, but – in this version as least – until the good guys start finding better tunes, they are always going to be second best.
August 4, 2019
DNF at 40%. Life’s too short.
I sometimes think there’s a disconnect between my middle finger and my brain especially when it comes to buy now or add to cart and I know my husband would agree.
The president in this book is totally based on the current incumbent of the WH and that made me angry. Where is the creativity? Where is the imagination? Just read the news. Add to that the fact that some sections would cure insomnia and you get the picture. Chuck in red headed Irishwoman (stereotype and such a cliche) who will save the day and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
I might write a British version. How about mine is based on a chubby chappy with a permanent bad hair day who ......... yes, it’s about as clever as that.
I sometimes think there’s a disconnect between my middle finger and my brain especially when it comes to buy now or add to cart and I know my husband would agree.
The president in this book is totally based on the current incumbent of the WH and that made me angry. Where is the creativity? Where is the imagination? Just read the news. Add to that the fact that some sections would cure insomnia and you get the picture. Chuck in red headed Irishwoman (stereotype and such a cliche) who will save the day and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
I might write a British version. How about mine is based on a chubby chappy with a permanent bad hair day who ......... yes, it’s about as clever as that.
July 7, 2017
This book was a great story and I can't help but wonder if he had a particular President in mind. Because I do and I'm not American. I have good reason to dislike him and all through the book I was hoping. Hey I can hope.
Maggie Costello is the main character of the book who worked for the previous President and she felt he was great. She stayed on to serve the present President reluctantly. She has been tasked to look into the supposed suicide of the Presidential doctor. She unravels a web of deceit. She uncovers racists, white supremacist and homophobic people who work for and agree with the President for a dominant America of white adult males.
It's kind of scary if I'm honest. The thought of taking out one of the most influential people in the modern world with one shot. But then the question is, is the world better off with him dead or alive. We live in a democracy to ensure stupid people do not get in to power. Or am I wrong? I guess they can slip through the net.
The book grabs you from the beginning and doesn't release you until the end. There is a little twist at the end which I didn't see coming. But it did make me smile. As I said before it makes me wonder who Bourne was thinking about whilst writing it. It is definately a very good read.
Would I recommend this? Yes most definitely
*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*
Maggie Costello is the main character of the book who worked for the previous President and she felt he was great. She stayed on to serve the present President reluctantly. She has been tasked to look into the supposed suicide of the Presidential doctor. She unravels a web of deceit. She uncovers racists, white supremacist and homophobic people who work for and agree with the President for a dominant America of white adult males.
It's kind of scary if I'm honest. The thought of taking out one of the most influential people in the modern world with one shot. But then the question is, is the world better off with him dead or alive. We live in a democracy to ensure stupid people do not get in to power. Or am I wrong? I guess they can slip through the net.
The book grabs you from the beginning and doesn't release you until the end. There is a little twist at the end which I didn't see coming. But it did make me smile. As I said before it makes me wonder who Bourne was thinking about whilst writing it. It is definately a very good read.
Would I recommend this? Yes most definitely
*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*
July 12, 2018
This was a very easy holiday read. At first I enjoyed the fact that this is a very thinly veiled representation of current figures in US politics. In the end though, there were a few too many “references” for me, and the plot became a bit hysterical. Good for a laugh but missed the mark for me.
October 30, 2020
Well, now, this one was timely. Imagine what might happen if Donald Trump gets reelected, and goes all out extreme, even more than now. He can do pretty much whatever he wants to do, and does. White males rule, he owns the Supreme Court, he can kill anyone who annoys him, and he almost destroys the world over some imagined insult from North Korea.
You might wish someone would just assassinate him and end the craziness, and in this book, we can see where that might lead. The book has a few things to think about, but with the election coming up, I mostly thought about Trump. I believe the author is not a Trump supporter, to say the least.
Like the previous books, there's a lot of killing and violence, but if you made it this far, it won't be any worse.
You might wish someone would just assassinate him and end the craziness, and in this book, we can see where that might lead. The book has a few things to think about, but with the election coming up, I mostly thought about Trump. I believe the author is not a Trump supporter, to say the least.
Like the previous books, there's a lot of killing and violence, but if you made it this far, it won't be any worse.
September 14, 2017
It was OK. Not as explosive and fast paced as I hoped it would be. Not bad either. But as a political thriller it was kind of meh a lot of times. Also desperately talking about existing people and hardcore not trying to ever name their names was annoying. Instead of "the daughter" or "the son in law" just call them Mary and Peter for gods sake if you don't want to say Ivanka and Jared. Unfortunately very believable on the corruption side of things. Trump is and will always be evil and I do believe he is as corrupt as this book makes him look. He has to go. Soon! Not get killed. But get impeached or step down. It's time.
March 11, 2018
Matar o Presidente é um livro de ficção. Foi a isto que me agarrei durante as suas 350 páginas. É um livro de ficção e os Estados Unidos não têm um presidente louco, tirano, instável e, no mínimo, demente. A guerra nuclear - que pode aniquilar toda a vida no nosso planeta - não está ao alcance de uma pessoa assim. Só que, quando pousava o livro e olhava para os jornais ou ouvia as noticias, a realidade surgia. Donald Trump, um louco, tirano, instável e demente é presidente dos Estados Unidos e tem, ao seu dispor, o arsenal nuclear americano.
Será que este livro de ficção - Matar o Presidente - está assim tão próximo da realidade?
A resposta a esta questão é só uma: sim! todo o livro retrata, na perfeição (e sem nunca mencionar Donald Trump) o actual presidente dos Estados Unidos e o risco que todos - americanos e não só - corremos por um demente estar à frente da maior potência nuclear.
Sam Bourne retrata, com um realismo assustador, o actual residente na Casa Branca. E deixa-nos a pensar se a morte dele não seria a solução. Deixa-nos a pensar o que faríamos se, como Maggie, descobríssemos uma conspiração para matar um louco. Será justo e correcto trocar uma vida - a do Presidente - pela sobrevivência do Mundo como o conhecemos?
Se para mim, que vivo noutro continente, esta questão se coloca (assim como a esperança que, um dia, consigam correr com ele da Presidência antes que ele corra connosco do planeta) imagino para quem vive, no dia a dia, nesta realidade.
Matar o Presidente agarra-nos da primeira à última página. Tem - como merece um bom livro - algumas reviravoltas e surpresas, o que o tornam ainda mais interessante. Ainda que desejemos que não fosse tão real...
Será que este livro de ficção - Matar o Presidente - está assim tão próximo da realidade?
A resposta a esta questão é só uma: sim! todo o livro retrata, na perfeição (e sem nunca mencionar Donald Trump) o actual presidente dos Estados Unidos e o risco que todos - americanos e não só - corremos por um demente estar à frente da maior potência nuclear.
Sam Bourne retrata, com um realismo assustador, o actual residente na Casa Branca. E deixa-nos a pensar se a morte dele não seria a solução. Deixa-nos a pensar o que faríamos se, como Maggie, descobríssemos uma conspiração para matar um louco. Será justo e correcto trocar uma vida - a do Presidente - pela sobrevivência do Mundo como o conhecemos?
Se para mim, que vivo noutro continente, esta questão se coloca (assim como a esperança que, um dia, consigam correr com ele da Presidência antes que ele corra connosco do planeta) imagino para quem vive, no dia a dia, nesta realidade.
Matar o Presidente agarra-nos da primeira à última página. Tem - como merece um bom livro - algumas reviravoltas e surpresas, o que o tornam ainda mais interessante. Ainda que desejemos que não fosse tão real...
July 23, 2017
To Kill the President – A Brilliant Revival of the Political Thriller
The thriller writer Sam Bourne, the nom de plume of the journalist Jonathan Freedland has revived the political thriller with this brilliant outing To Kill the President. Especially when the President in this book could so easily be the current resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, thin skinned not known for paying his taxes, fake news oh and a presidential daughter.
Maggie Costello works in the White House, and is a remnant of the previous incumbent of the office of President. The current team know she is not ‘one of them’ but she is respected for being a stubbornly honest and principled operator, in a White House that is somewhat chaotic, very misogynistic and good at ignoring the facts.
A call to the Bob Kassan, the President’s Chief of Staff, in the early hours to tell him the President is screaming in the White House Situation Room, demanding the access codes to the nuclear war heads. He has decided to attack North Korea for insulting him, and now that country must be levelled. Kassan is trying to get in touch with Secretary of Defence Jim Bruton, to see what they can do to stop him blowing up the world, one thing they do know he is nobody can actually stop him in his decision.
Somehow the President has been talked round and no nuclear weapons are launched, but both Bruton and Kassan are concerned about the commander in chief. They both visit the President’s doctor to try and enforce him to say he is not mentally fit for the job. He listens but does not respond to their request.
The following day the President’s doctor is found in a Washington DC park, dead, was it suicide or was it murder? The President’s right-hand man Crawford ‘Mac’ McNamara decides that it is best that Maggie Costello the independent counsel investigate the matter to make sure nothing hurts the President.
In the course of her investigation, unexplained things happen to Costello, especially when she discovers that there is a plot to assassinate the President. She has a dilemma, should she save the President she hates, or allow the murder to continue and let the unknown Vice-President take over.
At the same time, various murders are taking place, some in countries that are seen as friendly towards the United States. They all seem to have a connection and will Maggie be able to see it in time, she is not sure. The more she investigates the more the threats towards those she loves, but will she be able to save them and the President?
To Kill the President really channels the current anxieties, especially concerning the current incumbent in the White House. This is a brilliant revival of the political thriller, with plenty of murder mystery thrown in too, To Kill the President is a book for our time.
The thriller writer Sam Bourne, the nom de plume of the journalist Jonathan Freedland has revived the political thriller with this brilliant outing To Kill the President. Especially when the President in this book could so easily be the current resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, thin skinned not known for paying his taxes, fake news oh and a presidential daughter.
Maggie Costello works in the White House, and is a remnant of the previous incumbent of the office of President. The current team know she is not ‘one of them’ but she is respected for being a stubbornly honest and principled operator, in a White House that is somewhat chaotic, very misogynistic and good at ignoring the facts.
A call to the Bob Kassan, the President’s Chief of Staff, in the early hours to tell him the President is screaming in the White House Situation Room, demanding the access codes to the nuclear war heads. He has decided to attack North Korea for insulting him, and now that country must be levelled. Kassan is trying to get in touch with Secretary of Defence Jim Bruton, to see what they can do to stop him blowing up the world, one thing they do know he is nobody can actually stop him in his decision.
Somehow the President has been talked round and no nuclear weapons are launched, but both Bruton and Kassan are concerned about the commander in chief. They both visit the President’s doctor to try and enforce him to say he is not mentally fit for the job. He listens but does not respond to their request.
The following day the President’s doctor is found in a Washington DC park, dead, was it suicide or was it murder? The President’s right-hand man Crawford ‘Mac’ McNamara decides that it is best that Maggie Costello the independent counsel investigate the matter to make sure nothing hurts the President.
In the course of her investigation, unexplained things happen to Costello, especially when she discovers that there is a plot to assassinate the President. She has a dilemma, should she save the President she hates, or allow the murder to continue and let the unknown Vice-President take over.
At the same time, various murders are taking place, some in countries that are seen as friendly towards the United States. They all seem to have a connection and will Maggie be able to see it in time, she is not sure. The more she investigates the more the threats towards those she loves, but will she be able to save them and the President?
To Kill the President really channels the current anxieties, especially concerning the current incumbent in the White House. This is a brilliant revival of the political thriller, with plenty of murder mystery thrown in too, To Kill the President is a book for our time.
June 16, 2018
#Beendet
🐭 🐭
Sam Bourne
"Der Präsident"
-Thriller -
Erst kommt es nicht in die Gänge und dann wird es völlig überzogen und konstruiert.
Wirklich sehr schade, denn ich hatte hohe Erwartungen.
🐭 🐭
Sam Bourne
"Der Präsident"
-Thriller -
Erst kommt es nicht in die Gänge und dann wird es völlig überzogen und konstruiert.
Wirklich sehr schade, denn ich hatte hohe Erwartungen.
July 14, 2017
2.5 stars
As much as I hate to write it, To Kill the President was a letdown. Maybe it was because of unreasonably high expectations that it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, but I was left thinking that this book could have been so much more.
Let me start with the good parts, which--make no mistake--are very good. The author's expertise of the current political climate shines through at every turn, which makes sense given Jonathan Freedland's background in journalism as The Guardian's Washington correspondent. His D.C. is rather too close to House of Cards's nest of vipers for me to feel comfortable reading it, but that's exactly the thing--To Kill the President isn't meant to be a comfortable read. I had to put it down every few chapters and look at something lighter thanks to how disoriented the "fiction" made me. When I got through the last ~100 pages in one sitting yesterday evening, I felt positively sick. An overreaction to fiction, maybe, but this novel hits you a lot harder than a Fahrenheit 451 or even a Handmaid's Tale because of how close it runs to our world. Most of the time I can't even call it a satire, seeing as we're in an age where real life could put The Onion out of business.
The novel's commentary on the times rings true enough to elicit a wince. Case in point:
This repeated response from the President's critics--the wry, world-weary, humorous take--was beginning to grate. Like that woman had said on the radio the other day, We're laughing all the way to a totalitarian state. And if all the meme-makers and cast of Saturday Night Live only knew what she knew, they'd understand that this was no joke. The man was prepared to blow up the planet, for Christ's sake. Go ahead, make a GIF of that.
Freedland's decision not to name said President (he's referred to by his title or a whole range of less complimentary epithets the whole time) means that the above could pass off in an editorial without too much trouble. There are a multitude of other quotes in the same vein, mocking/exposing Trump, Bannon, and the alt-right. And yes, Trump is exactly who To Kill the President is about. It has all the subtlety of a jackhammer drilling away a couple feet from your ear; it could not be laid out more clearly.
At some point, the heavy-handedness becomes a crutch. Take away the references to Twitter and the tax returns and the infamous eeeeeemails (in this case, an unsecured phone line) and the novel becomes, at best, a clichéd thriller derivative of the many that came before it. Minor spoiler: I found the particularly grating. Especially as there were quite a few of them, and they served little apparent purpose until the end.
Speaking of the ending, I wasn't a fan of it at all. Up to literally the 50th chapter out of 52, less than ten pages away from the end of the book, there is no resolution in sight--the mystery has mostly been solved, and Costello confronts the Big Bad...and they just talk. She leaves the meeting seemingly defeated, as if nothing has happened, leaving me wondering if that's it and this is going to be one of those dark endings. But wait! In the last two chapters, the biggest Deus ex Machina of all time materialises, allowing for a halfway proper conclusion. Halfway proper is infinitely better than the non-conclusion that would have arisen without the introduction of this new, contrived plot element, but it still feels seriously weak, as if the author couldn't think of any other way to get out of this mess and just brought in the god out of the machine. That's my biggest complaint about the ending, but there are in general a few things that I don't feel are properly justified:
None of those, however, led to the moment when I realised that I was no longer enjoying the book, at least not as much as I wished to. That moment came with the awareness that for all her admirable traits, I didn't find Maggie Costello a compelling lead. For much of the first half of the book, I was looking forward to the Kassian chapters, dreading the Costello ones. Then, when the Kassian chapters ended, it was chapters that I anticipated. Yes, Costello is a little boring, but by the end of the book what makes her worse than just a vanilla investigator is the *facepalm* feeling that she's messed everything up. And she has, in a way--despite being a competent, highly skilled White House operative, she's soooort of responsible for the world nearly ending. I won't go into details because of spoilers, but if you've read the book, you'd understand what I mean. Characterisation of other characters isn't much stronger, although given that Sean Spicer is very much alive and walking around today, I can't slam them for being unrealistic.
If you're going to read To Kill the President, don't do it expecting much satisfaction from watching an assassination plot against Trump unfold. The result isn't particularly satisfying on any front, because hint: there are no winners. (None that you'd want to root for, anyway.) That much the book has gotten right.
As much as I hate to write it, To Kill the President was a letdown. Maybe it was because of unreasonably high expectations that it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, but I was left thinking that this book could have been so much more.
Let me start with the good parts, which--make no mistake--are very good. The author's expertise of the current political climate shines through at every turn, which makes sense given Jonathan Freedland's background in journalism as The Guardian's Washington correspondent. His D.C. is rather too close to House of Cards's nest of vipers for me to feel comfortable reading it, but that's exactly the thing--To Kill the President isn't meant to be a comfortable read. I had to put it down every few chapters and look at something lighter thanks to how disoriented the "fiction" made me. When I got through the last ~100 pages in one sitting yesterday evening, I felt positively sick. An overreaction to fiction, maybe, but this novel hits you a lot harder than a Fahrenheit 451 or even a Handmaid's Tale because of how close it runs to our world. Most of the time I can't even call it a satire, seeing as we're in an age where real life could put The Onion out of business.
The novel's commentary on the times rings true enough to elicit a wince. Case in point:
This repeated response from the President's critics--the wry, world-weary, humorous take--was beginning to grate. Like that woman had said on the radio the other day, We're laughing all the way to a totalitarian state. And if all the meme-makers and cast of Saturday Night Live only knew what she knew, they'd understand that this was no joke. The man was prepared to blow up the planet, for Christ's sake. Go ahead, make a GIF of that.
Freedland's decision not to name said President (he's referred to by his title or a whole range of less complimentary epithets the whole time) means that the above could pass off in an editorial without too much trouble. There are a multitude of other quotes in the same vein, mocking/exposing Trump, Bannon, and the alt-right. And yes, Trump is exactly who To Kill the President is about. It has all the subtlety of a jackhammer drilling away a couple feet from your ear; it could not be laid out more clearly.
At some point, the heavy-handedness becomes a crutch. Take away the references to Twitter and the tax returns and the infamous eeeeeemails (in this case, an unsecured phone line) and the novel becomes, at best, a clichéd thriller derivative of the many that came before it. Minor spoiler: I found the particularly grating. Especially as there were quite a few of them, and they served little apparent purpose until the end.
Speaking of the ending, I wasn't a fan of it at all. Up to literally the 50th chapter out of 52, less than ten pages away from the end of the book, there is no resolution in sight--the mystery has mostly been solved, and Costello confronts the Big Bad...and they just talk. She leaves the meeting seemingly defeated, as if nothing has happened, leaving me wondering if that's it and this is going to be one of those dark endings. But wait! In the last two chapters, the biggest Deus ex Machina of all time materialises, allowing for a halfway proper conclusion. Halfway proper is infinitely better than the non-conclusion that would have arisen without the introduction of this new, contrived plot element, but it still feels seriously weak, as if the author couldn't think of any other way to get out of this mess and just brought in the god out of the machine. That's my biggest complaint about the ending, but there are in general a few things that I don't feel are properly justified:
None of those, however, led to the moment when I realised that I was no longer enjoying the book, at least not as much as I wished to. That moment came with the awareness that for all her admirable traits, I didn't find Maggie Costello a compelling lead. For much of the first half of the book, I was looking forward to the Kassian chapters, dreading the Costello ones. Then, when the Kassian chapters ended, it was chapters that I anticipated. Yes, Costello is a little boring, but by the end of the book what makes her worse than just a vanilla investigator is the *facepalm* feeling that she's messed everything up. And she has, in a way--despite being a competent, highly skilled White House operative, she's soooort of responsible for the world nearly ending. I won't go into details because of spoilers, but if you've read the book, you'd understand what I mean. Characterisation of other characters isn't much stronger, although given that Sean Spicer is very much alive and walking around today, I can't slam them for being unrealistic.
If you're going to read To Kill the President, don't do it expecting much satisfaction from watching an assassination plot against Trump unfold. The result isn't particularly satisfying on any front, because hint: there are no winners. (None that you'd want to root for, anyway.) That much the book has gotten right.
April 27, 2018
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[...] Ganz gleich, wie sehr man den amtierenden Präsidenten hasste - und bei Gott, dazu gab es allen Grund -, ihn zu ermorden war nicht der beste Weg, um ihn loszuwerden. Wenn man sich ihm entgegenstellte, weil er die Demokratie ruinierte, wie sollte man dann rechtfertigen, auf die undemokratischste aller Lösungen zurückzugreifen: ein Attentat? Auf diese Weise trat man die Demokratie mit Füßen, um sie zu retten. [...] - S. 203
Maggie Costello ist eine der wenigen Mitarbeiterinnen des Weißen Hauses, die nach dem Amtseintritt des neuen Präsidenten geblieben ist. Schließlich kann sie dort immer noch mehr ausrichten, als zuhause über seine Inkompetenz und populistischen Aussagen zu jammern. Doch eines Nachts verlangt der Präsident, die Atomwaffen auf Nordkorea abzuschießen und kann gerade rechtzeitig vom Stabschef und Verteidigungsminister aufgehalten werden. Die beiden wissen: Die Welt schwebt in höchster Gefahr. Klammheimlich planen sie einen Anschlag gegen den mächtigsten Mann der Welt, und als Maggie dies herausfindet, muss sie sich entscheiden: Ist es wichtiger, den Planeten und die Demokratie vor diesem Egomanen zu beschützen oder sein Leben zu retten?
,,Sie haben es geschafft, Lincoln und Kennedy umzubringen. Und die beiden waren nicht mal schlechte Präsidenten. Warum schafft das niemand bei diesem Idioten?'' Sicherlich bin ich nicht die Einzige, der ein solcher oder ähnlicher Gedanke im Kopf rumschwirrt, sobald jeden Tag aufs Neue über einen anderen Skandal oder Fauxpas des mächtigsten Mannes der Welt berichtet wird. Daher könnte die Prämisse dieses Buches sowie seine Idee wohl nicht aktueller sein. Muss das automatisch heißen, dass Sam Bourne daraus einen ,,hochintelligente[n] Thriller'' machen kann, wie es im deutschen Klappentext angepriesen wird?
Geht man mit diesen Erwartungen heran, wird man eher enttäuscht werden; folgt man dem Klappentext des amerikanischen Originals kann man sich aber auf den Blockbuster einstellen, der einen in Der Präsident erwartet.
Spannend und rasant steigt der Autor in seine Geschichte ein, mitten in der Nacht, in der ein ganzes Land kurz vor der Auslöschung steht, ohne es zu wissen. Ebenso wie die Figuren des Stabschefs Kassian und Verteidigungsministers Bruton ist augenblicklich unter Strom und hofft, dass die Impulsivität des Präsidenten keine negativen Konsequenzen haben wird. Aus diesem Grund kann man ihre Motive, ihn ermorden zu lassen, auch nachvollziehen, insbesondere durch die nachfolgenden Taten, Aussagen und Skandale, die immer wieder im Laufe der Handlung auftauchen. Die Art und Weise, wie der neue Präsident das Land spaltet, welche Kontroversen er von sich gibt und wahre Tatsachen verleugnet, die Diskussion in sozialen und berichterstattenden Medien, kommen einem erschreckend bekannt vor und lassen einen in die Story eintauchen. Es werden sowohl bereits existierende Schlagzeilen thematisiert wie auch neue erfunden, die man eventuell für überspitzt halten könnte, andererseits hätte auch davor niemand für möglich gehalten, dass Trump zum Beispiel Obamas Staatsangehörigkeit infrage stellt. Daher ist es fast schon befremdlich, das Buch zu lesen. Allgemein gibt sich der Autor viel Mühe, etwas Großes zu konstruieren, unter anderem durch verschiedene Sichtweisen. Es gibt einige Zwischenkapitel ausschließlich über Nachrichten, aber auch einige aus dem Kapitel Unbekannter, die kurz darauf ums Leben kommen. All das hängt mit dem neuen Präsidenten zusammen, der Maggies Arbeitsplatz in einen lebenden Albtraum verwandelt hat und hinter dem sie mit ihrer Arbeit dennoch stehen muss - und auch vor dem anstehenden Attentat beschützen muss. Dennoch hat sie Momente des Zweifels, in denen sie abwägt, ob es nicht sogar besser für die Welt wäre, wenn diesem Mann etwas zustoßen würde. Dieser ab und an auftauchende Konflikt ist es auch, der Maggie und ihre Ermittlungen halbwegs interessant macht. Innerhalb dieser Ermittlungen erlangt der Leser auch Informationen über die Mitarbeiter des Weißen Hauses und deren politische Dynamik, und das in einfachen Worten verpackt, sodass man sich die Hintergründe während des Lesens merken kann. Es wird nicht unbedingt ,,runtergedummt'', aber dennoch ist dieser Input genau richtig dosiert, was sich ebenfalls über die Hintergrundinformationen zu den Figuren sagen lässt. Denn viele Autoren neigen in Büchern, in denen die Hauptfiguren fast nur bei der Arbeit gezeigt werden, dazu, sie entweder abseits davon gar nicht zu charakterisieren oder einem eine ganze Biografie an die Hand zu legen. Sam Bourne entscheidet sich für einen Mittelweg und kann den Figuren ein klein wenig Leben einhauchen, auch wenn sie nach Beenden des Buches nicht lange im Gedächtnis bleiben.
Davon abgesehen jedoch bietet der Politthriller nicht allzu viel, was ihn von anderen Vertretern seines Genres abgrenzt. Durch die erweiterte Perspektive des Lesers kommt man wesentlich schneller als Costello darauf, was sich hinter den Kapiteln aus der Sicht der Unbekannten verbirgt, ebenso wie man bereits weiß, dass sie zu Beginn in eine falsche Richtung ermittelt. Es ergibt angesichts ihres Wissens Sinn, ebenso wie die Kapitel aus der Sicht der toten Männer sein müssen, da dieser Handlungsstrang ansonsten wie aus dem Nichts käme, spannungshemmend ist die erweiterte Sicht dennoch. Auch wenn man Bourne dafür loben muss, dass er den Leser schnell durch die Geschichte führt, sie trotz vielen Knobels abwechslungsreich gestaltet und auf unnötige Gewalt verzichtet. So ist es immerhin ein blockbusterähnliches Buch ohne generische Schießereien.
Generisch sind dafür die Politiker der Story, die von realen Vorbildern abgekupfert sind, was es einem zunehmend schwerer macht, Sam Bournes Geschichte ernst zu nehmen. Selbstverständlich überrascht einen Trump in der Realität jede Woche aufs Neue mit einer blöden Bemerkung oder unangebrachtem Verhalten. Allerdings ist Bournes Zeichnung von ihm so extrem, dass man ihn fast schon als Comicfigur wahrnimmt. Noch schlimmer als den Präsidenten in To Kill the President trifft es jedoch die von ihm auserwählten Mitarbeiter seines Stabes, vor allem ,,Mac'' McNamara, der ganz klare Anleihen an Breitbart-Chef Steve Bannon hat. Man mag von diesen Persönlichkeiten halten, was man will, und man weiß nicht, was hinter verschlossenen Türen passiert, wenn sich diese Menschen schon in der Öffentlichkeit immer wieder selbst in die Bredouille bringen. Dass sie das weiße Haus mit Kalendern mit nackten Frauen zupflastern, barfüßig in ihren Büros sitzen und weit und breit ihre Pläne in einer möchtegern-bösen Attitüde erklären, ist jedoch sehr einfach und hätte auch aus einer Kinderserie stammen können. Einiges von dem, was sie von sich geben, ist durchaus wahr und kann einen zum Nachdenken bringen, überwiegend fragt man sich jedoch, wer diese Leute mit solchen Gedankengängen ernstnehmen soll. Der Clue an guten Antagonisten ist doch, dass sie sich selbst nicht als solche wahrnehmen, sondern für ihre Werte einstehen, was in diesem Buch niemand der ,,Bösen'' tut. Im Gegenteil, sie scheinen sich manchmal noch zusätzlich unhöflich oder provokant zu verhalten, als wüssten sie genau, was für ein schlechtes Bild man von ihnen hat. Daher ist diese Darstellung von Trumps engsten Leuten und ihm selbst viel zu plakativ und übertrieben, alleine dadurch, dass nicht nur jeder einzelne von ihnen rassistisch ist, sondern zusätzlich noch frauenverachtend und anti-semitisch und nicht mit einer einzigen positiven Charaktereigenschaft versehen. Das enttäuscht, insbesondere deswegen, da der Autor immer wieder davor warnt, Trump nicht als Witzfigur, sondern ernste Bedrohung wahrzunehmen - wie soll man das, wenn er und sein Gefolge hier nach dem Schema eines Cartoon-Bösewichts gezeichnet sind?
Alles in allem ein politischer Thriller, der durch seine Aktualität heraussticht, in jeder anderen Hinsicht jedoch absolut gewöhnlich ist. Zwar versteht man durch Bournes leichten Schreibstil die politischen Gegebenheiten recht schnell und gruselt sich davor, wie realitätsnah manche Situationen und News sind und dass es gar nicht mal so unrealistisch sein könnte, dass man Trump vielleicht in Zukunft wird von einem Knopfdruck, der die Welt zerstören würde, wird abhalten müssen. Doch davon abgesehen durchschaut man die Story recht schnell, auch die Protagonistin ist eher durchschnittlich und die Antagonisten viel zu übertrieben, als dass man sie wirklich als solche wahrnehmen könnte. Ab und an zwar durchaus provokant und spannend, jedoch eher für Liebhaber der Popcorn-Literatur statt intelligentem Verwirrspiel.
Gesamtwertung: 3.35/5.00 Sternen
[...] Ganz gleich, wie sehr man den amtierenden Präsidenten hasste - und bei Gott, dazu gab es allen Grund -, ihn zu ermorden war nicht der beste Weg, um ihn loszuwerden. Wenn man sich ihm entgegenstellte, weil er die Demokratie ruinierte, wie sollte man dann rechtfertigen, auf die undemokratischste aller Lösungen zurückzugreifen: ein Attentat? Auf diese Weise trat man die Demokratie mit Füßen, um sie zu retten. [...] - S. 203
Maggie Costello ist eine der wenigen Mitarbeiterinnen des Weißen Hauses, die nach dem Amtseintritt des neuen Präsidenten geblieben ist. Schließlich kann sie dort immer noch mehr ausrichten, als zuhause über seine Inkompetenz und populistischen Aussagen zu jammern. Doch eines Nachts verlangt der Präsident, die Atomwaffen auf Nordkorea abzuschießen und kann gerade rechtzeitig vom Stabschef und Verteidigungsminister aufgehalten werden. Die beiden wissen: Die Welt schwebt in höchster Gefahr. Klammheimlich planen sie einen Anschlag gegen den mächtigsten Mann der Welt, und als Maggie dies herausfindet, muss sie sich entscheiden: Ist es wichtiger, den Planeten und die Demokratie vor diesem Egomanen zu beschützen oder sein Leben zu retten?
,,Sie haben es geschafft, Lincoln und Kennedy umzubringen. Und die beiden waren nicht mal schlechte Präsidenten. Warum schafft das niemand bei diesem Idioten?'' Sicherlich bin ich nicht die Einzige, der ein solcher oder ähnlicher Gedanke im Kopf rumschwirrt, sobald jeden Tag aufs Neue über einen anderen Skandal oder Fauxpas des mächtigsten Mannes der Welt berichtet wird. Daher könnte die Prämisse dieses Buches sowie seine Idee wohl nicht aktueller sein. Muss das automatisch heißen, dass Sam Bourne daraus einen ,,hochintelligente[n] Thriller'' machen kann, wie es im deutschen Klappentext angepriesen wird?
Geht man mit diesen Erwartungen heran, wird man eher enttäuscht werden; folgt man dem Klappentext des amerikanischen Originals kann man sich aber auf den Blockbuster einstellen, der einen in Der Präsident erwartet.
Spannend und rasant steigt der Autor in seine Geschichte ein, mitten in der Nacht, in der ein ganzes Land kurz vor der Auslöschung steht, ohne es zu wissen. Ebenso wie die Figuren des Stabschefs Kassian und Verteidigungsministers Bruton ist augenblicklich unter Strom und hofft, dass die Impulsivität des Präsidenten keine negativen Konsequenzen haben wird. Aus diesem Grund kann man ihre Motive, ihn ermorden zu lassen, auch nachvollziehen, insbesondere durch die nachfolgenden Taten, Aussagen und Skandale, die immer wieder im Laufe der Handlung auftauchen. Die Art und Weise, wie der neue Präsident das Land spaltet, welche Kontroversen er von sich gibt und wahre Tatsachen verleugnet, die Diskussion in sozialen und berichterstattenden Medien, kommen einem erschreckend bekannt vor und lassen einen in die Story eintauchen. Es werden sowohl bereits existierende Schlagzeilen thematisiert wie auch neue erfunden, die man eventuell für überspitzt halten könnte, andererseits hätte auch davor niemand für möglich gehalten, dass Trump zum Beispiel Obamas Staatsangehörigkeit infrage stellt. Daher ist es fast schon befremdlich, das Buch zu lesen. Allgemein gibt sich der Autor viel Mühe, etwas Großes zu konstruieren, unter anderem durch verschiedene Sichtweisen. Es gibt einige Zwischenkapitel ausschließlich über Nachrichten, aber auch einige aus dem Kapitel Unbekannter, die kurz darauf ums Leben kommen. All das hängt mit dem neuen Präsidenten zusammen, der Maggies Arbeitsplatz in einen lebenden Albtraum verwandelt hat und hinter dem sie mit ihrer Arbeit dennoch stehen muss - und auch vor dem anstehenden Attentat beschützen muss. Dennoch hat sie Momente des Zweifels, in denen sie abwägt, ob es nicht sogar besser für die Welt wäre, wenn diesem Mann etwas zustoßen würde. Dieser ab und an auftauchende Konflikt ist es auch, der Maggie und ihre Ermittlungen halbwegs interessant macht. Innerhalb dieser Ermittlungen erlangt der Leser auch Informationen über die Mitarbeiter des Weißen Hauses und deren politische Dynamik, und das in einfachen Worten verpackt, sodass man sich die Hintergründe während des Lesens merken kann. Es wird nicht unbedingt ,,runtergedummt'', aber dennoch ist dieser Input genau richtig dosiert, was sich ebenfalls über die Hintergrundinformationen zu den Figuren sagen lässt. Denn viele Autoren neigen in Büchern, in denen die Hauptfiguren fast nur bei der Arbeit gezeigt werden, dazu, sie entweder abseits davon gar nicht zu charakterisieren oder einem eine ganze Biografie an die Hand zu legen. Sam Bourne entscheidet sich für einen Mittelweg und kann den Figuren ein klein wenig Leben einhauchen, auch wenn sie nach Beenden des Buches nicht lange im Gedächtnis bleiben.
Davon abgesehen jedoch bietet der Politthriller nicht allzu viel, was ihn von anderen Vertretern seines Genres abgrenzt. Durch die erweiterte Perspektive des Lesers kommt man wesentlich schneller als Costello darauf, was sich hinter den Kapiteln aus der Sicht der Unbekannten verbirgt, ebenso wie man bereits weiß, dass sie zu Beginn in eine falsche Richtung ermittelt. Es ergibt angesichts ihres Wissens Sinn, ebenso wie die Kapitel aus der Sicht der toten Männer sein müssen, da dieser Handlungsstrang ansonsten wie aus dem Nichts käme, spannungshemmend ist die erweiterte Sicht dennoch. Auch wenn man Bourne dafür loben muss, dass er den Leser schnell durch die Geschichte führt, sie trotz vielen Knobels abwechslungsreich gestaltet und auf unnötige Gewalt verzichtet. So ist es immerhin ein blockbusterähnliches Buch ohne generische Schießereien.
Generisch sind dafür die Politiker der Story, die von realen Vorbildern abgekupfert sind, was es einem zunehmend schwerer macht, Sam Bournes Geschichte ernst zu nehmen. Selbstverständlich überrascht einen Trump in der Realität jede Woche aufs Neue mit einer blöden Bemerkung oder unangebrachtem Verhalten. Allerdings ist Bournes Zeichnung von ihm so extrem, dass man ihn fast schon als Comicfigur wahrnimmt. Noch schlimmer als den Präsidenten in To Kill the President trifft es jedoch die von ihm auserwählten Mitarbeiter seines Stabes, vor allem ,,Mac'' McNamara, der ganz klare Anleihen an Breitbart-Chef Steve Bannon hat. Man mag von diesen Persönlichkeiten halten, was man will, und man weiß nicht, was hinter verschlossenen Türen passiert, wenn sich diese Menschen schon in der Öffentlichkeit immer wieder selbst in die Bredouille bringen. Dass sie das weiße Haus mit Kalendern mit nackten Frauen zupflastern, barfüßig in ihren Büros sitzen und weit und breit ihre Pläne in einer möchtegern-bösen Attitüde erklären, ist jedoch sehr einfach und hätte auch aus einer Kinderserie stammen können. Einiges von dem, was sie von sich geben, ist durchaus wahr und kann einen zum Nachdenken bringen, überwiegend fragt man sich jedoch, wer diese Leute mit solchen Gedankengängen ernstnehmen soll. Der Clue an guten Antagonisten ist doch, dass sie sich selbst nicht als solche wahrnehmen, sondern für ihre Werte einstehen, was in diesem Buch niemand der ,,Bösen'' tut. Im Gegenteil, sie scheinen sich manchmal noch zusätzlich unhöflich oder provokant zu verhalten, als wüssten sie genau, was für ein schlechtes Bild man von ihnen hat. Daher ist diese Darstellung von Trumps engsten Leuten und ihm selbst viel zu plakativ und übertrieben, alleine dadurch, dass nicht nur jeder einzelne von ihnen rassistisch ist, sondern zusätzlich noch frauenverachtend und anti-semitisch und nicht mit einer einzigen positiven Charaktereigenschaft versehen. Das enttäuscht, insbesondere deswegen, da der Autor immer wieder davor warnt, Trump nicht als Witzfigur, sondern ernste Bedrohung wahrzunehmen - wie soll man das, wenn er und sein Gefolge hier nach dem Schema eines Cartoon-Bösewichts gezeichnet sind?
Alles in allem ein politischer Thriller, der durch seine Aktualität heraussticht, in jeder anderen Hinsicht jedoch absolut gewöhnlich ist. Zwar versteht man durch Bournes leichten Schreibstil die politischen Gegebenheiten recht schnell und gruselt sich davor, wie realitätsnah manche Situationen und News sind und dass es gar nicht mal so unrealistisch sein könnte, dass man Trump vielleicht in Zukunft wird von einem Knopfdruck, der die Welt zerstören würde, wird abhalten müssen. Doch davon abgesehen durchschaut man die Story recht schnell, auch die Protagonistin ist eher durchschnittlich und die Antagonisten viel zu übertrieben, als dass man sie wirklich als solche wahrnehmen könnte. Ab und an zwar durchaus provokant und spannend, jedoch eher für Liebhaber der Popcorn-Literatur statt intelligentem Verwirrspiel.
Gesamtwertung: 3.35/5.00 Sternen
February 14, 2018
This is a solid, very fast paced, most entertaining thriller that I enjoyed reading and got quite excited about. Which would translate to me into a 3-star-rating, seeing as this book delivers all I expect from such a "solid thriller". The extra star is for the constant grumbling in my gut, the slight shivers and the extra shifts my brain had to take to cope with all of this because this book looks, feels and talks so real that it almost scared me.
It's no secret that this book's president is modeled after the current sitting president aka #45. Also, his chief stragetist, this book's "Mac", is an interpretation of Steve Bannon (the description of Mac's appearance didn't fool me, all I "saw" during reading was Bannon). More parallels would be the president's daughter, the president's love of tweeting, the bitchfighting with North Korea, the general atmosphere and what not - I'd say this book describes some sort of alternative reality (hah!), only, it doesn't, it actually describes the real reality. And all of this, this whole plot I might've found farfetched, exaggerated and/or delusional in a time far, far away, makes total sense these days (what a world we're living in... oh my.) So yeah, this "feeling of realism" made this book on point, on time and extra interesting for me. The lines between fact and fiction blur - another parallel to #45's regency. (I actually had to pause Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House while I was reading this because I got too confused and could't tell which one was labeled fiction and which one was non-fiction and why - super scary and weird!)
Apart from all that, this book pushed a few of the right buttons. Not only the pacing - I got hooked pretty fast, which wasn't hard since the opening chapter gets right in medias res. Another thing that happened quite early on that really got me was . Also, I found myself pondering the questions of moral and ethics: Who to cheer for? The possible conspirators? But they are the baddies, because they plan an assassination, right? Or aren't they? And what would be the consequences? Those questions and possible outcomes are discussed in this book, quite shortly only, but the discussion went on in my mind ;)
The book's last 20% or so, the conclusion, slowed all of it down a little bit, but my blood pressure was kept high thanks to some of the unlikeable characters being their unlikeable selves. GAH. Finally, Maggie - her, I liked. As well as the ending, it all worked for me.
It's no secret that this book's president is modeled after the current sitting president aka #45. Also, his chief stragetist, this book's "Mac", is an interpretation of Steve Bannon (the description of Mac's appearance didn't fool me, all I "saw" during reading was Bannon). More parallels would be the president's daughter, the president's love of tweeting, the bitchfighting with North Korea, the general atmosphere and what not - I'd say this book describes some sort of alternative reality (hah!), only, it doesn't, it actually describes the real reality. And all of this, this whole plot I might've found farfetched, exaggerated and/or delusional in a time far, far away, makes total sense these days (what a world we're living in... oh my.) So yeah, this "feeling of realism" made this book on point, on time and extra interesting for me. The lines between fact and fiction blur - another parallel to #45's regency. (I actually had to pause Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House while I was reading this because I got too confused and could't tell which one was labeled fiction and which one was non-fiction and why - super scary and weird!)
Apart from all that, this book pushed a few of the right buttons. Not only the pacing - I got hooked pretty fast, which wasn't hard since the opening chapter gets right in medias res. Another thing that happened quite early on that really got me was . Also, I found myself pondering the questions of moral and ethics: Who to cheer for? The possible conspirators? But they are the baddies, because they plan an assassination, right? Or aren't they? And what would be the consequences? Those questions and possible outcomes are discussed in this book, quite shortly only, but the discussion went on in my mind ;)
The book's last 20% or so, the conclusion, slowed all of it down a little bit, but my blood pressure was kept high thanks to some of the unlikeable characters being their unlikeable selves. GAH. Finally, Maggie - her, I liked. As well as the ending, it all worked for me.
August 14, 2017
Wer von euch hat es auch nicht glauben können, dass Amerika Trump zum Präsidenten gewählt hat? Natürlich wird in diesem Buch der Name "Trump" nicht ein einziges Mal erwähnt - allerdings sind die Ähnlichkeiten zum "echten" Präsidenten doch sehr erschreckend: Sei es, dass der Präsident im Buch eigentlich kein Politiker ist, seine Tochter ins Weiße Haus holt oder seine Informationen vor allem aus dem Fernseher bezieht.
Auch wenn es vor allem um den Präsidenten und seine Handlungen geht, steht er nicht im Mittelpunkt des Buches, sondern Maggie Castello, eine Mitarbeiterin im Weißen Haus. Sie ist die Figur, die den Thriller meiner Meinung nach ausmacht. Dadurch, dass sie nicht hinter dem Präsidenten steht, kann man sich gut mit ihr identifizieren und leidet mit, wenn sie die Launen von ihrem Vorgesetzten McNamara ertragen muss. Auch ihr Gewissenskonflikt und der Wunsch, immer das richtige zu tun, macht sie zu einer tollen Protagonistin.
Aufgebaut ist das Buch weitgehend chronologisch. Man verlässt trotzdem ab und zu den amerikanischen Kontinent zu anderen Schauplätzen. Diese Sprünge kann man anfangs nicht einordnen, sie werden aber am Ende des Buches aufgelöst.
Ohnehin wird der Spannungsbogen während des Lesens ständig hochgehalten. Es gibt viele überraschende Wendungen, Probleme tauchen auf, bei denen man sich nicht vorstellen kann, wie sie gelöst werden und trotzdem geht es auch immer wieder weiter.
Etwas Probleme hatte ich anfangs mit den vielen Personen und Namen, die im Buch auftauchen. Auch die Bezeichnungen der unterschiedlichen Ränge und Positionen war nicht ganz so leicht einzuordnen. Das Problem hat sich beim Lesen aber schnell gegeben, vor allem weil sich der Thriller wirklich schwer aus der Hand legen lässt.
Das lag bei mir vor allem daran, dass ich beim Lesen immer das Bild von Trump vor Augen hatte und mich immer gefragt habe, ob es hinter den Kulissen des Weißen Hauses wirklich so läuft. Dass er die Posten mit seinen "Freunden" besetzt, kann ich mir mehr als vorstellen. Ich hoffe aber wirklich, dass das Buch doch zum großen Teil Fiktion bleibt und einige Entwicklungen nicht eintreten werden.
Insgesamt hat mir der Thriller, vor allem aufgrund des aktuellen Bezugs, sehr gut gefallen! Deswegen gibt es von mir 5 Sterne!
Auch wenn es vor allem um den Präsidenten und seine Handlungen geht, steht er nicht im Mittelpunkt des Buches, sondern Maggie Castello, eine Mitarbeiterin im Weißen Haus. Sie ist die Figur, die den Thriller meiner Meinung nach ausmacht. Dadurch, dass sie nicht hinter dem Präsidenten steht, kann man sich gut mit ihr identifizieren und leidet mit, wenn sie die Launen von ihrem Vorgesetzten McNamara ertragen muss. Auch ihr Gewissenskonflikt und der Wunsch, immer das richtige zu tun, macht sie zu einer tollen Protagonistin.
Aufgebaut ist das Buch weitgehend chronologisch. Man verlässt trotzdem ab und zu den amerikanischen Kontinent zu anderen Schauplätzen. Diese Sprünge kann man anfangs nicht einordnen, sie werden aber am Ende des Buches aufgelöst.
Ohnehin wird der Spannungsbogen während des Lesens ständig hochgehalten. Es gibt viele überraschende Wendungen, Probleme tauchen auf, bei denen man sich nicht vorstellen kann, wie sie gelöst werden und trotzdem geht es auch immer wieder weiter.
Etwas Probleme hatte ich anfangs mit den vielen Personen und Namen, die im Buch auftauchen. Auch die Bezeichnungen der unterschiedlichen Ränge und Positionen war nicht ganz so leicht einzuordnen. Das Problem hat sich beim Lesen aber schnell gegeben, vor allem weil sich der Thriller wirklich schwer aus der Hand legen lässt.
Das lag bei mir vor allem daran, dass ich beim Lesen immer das Bild von Trump vor Augen hatte und mich immer gefragt habe, ob es hinter den Kulissen des Weißen Hauses wirklich so läuft. Dass er die Posten mit seinen "Freunden" besetzt, kann ich mir mehr als vorstellen. Ich hoffe aber wirklich, dass das Buch doch zum großen Teil Fiktion bleibt und einige Entwicklungen nicht eintreten werden.
Insgesamt hat mir der Thriller, vor allem aufgrund des aktuellen Bezugs, sehr gut gefallen! Deswegen gibt es von mir 5 Sterne!
January 11, 2021
I don't often read books with political themes, but it was given to me at Christmas and once I started to read, I got caught up into the intrigue and danger of a well-written Thriller.
Maggie is a White House aid whose job it is to investigate an apparent suicide by the president's personal physician. Something about it doesn't smell right and she digs deeper, finding reason to suspect that the doctor was killed as part of a higher level plot. When she starts getting too close, her suspicions are confirmed by what might be called near miss attempts on her life, given as warning to back off.
The one thing I found unrealistic was that she didn't. Whatever altruistic or patriotic ideology a person might have, the threats expanded beyond just herself, to loved ones, and a woman in particular, especially one who saw the benefit of just sitting back and washing her hands of it, would be very unlikely to take on the odds demonstrated against her.
Despite that, it made a good story and the twists and turns got frightening at a level that made me wonder just how much of the techno-terrorism might actually be possible. Towards the end, I found it difficult to stop between chapters because I needed to know what happened next!
The ending was worthy. No spoilers, but there was some high tension to the very last.
Maggie is a White House aid whose job it is to investigate an apparent suicide by the president's personal physician. Something about it doesn't smell right and she digs deeper, finding reason to suspect that the doctor was killed as part of a higher level plot. When she starts getting too close, her suspicions are confirmed by what might be called near miss attempts on her life, given as warning to back off.
The one thing I found unrealistic was that she didn't. Whatever altruistic or patriotic ideology a person might have, the threats expanded beyond just herself, to loved ones, and a woman in particular, especially one who saw the benefit of just sitting back and washing her hands of it, would be very unlikely to take on the odds demonstrated against her.
Despite that, it made a good story and the twists and turns got frightening at a level that made me wonder just how much of the techno-terrorism might actually be possible. Towards the end, I found it difficult to stop between chapters because I needed to know what happened next!
The ending was worthy. No spoilers, but there was some high tension to the very last.
May 11, 2018
A enjoyable but read but the plot let it down.
September 2, 2017
A few aimless hours? An average thriller certainly not worth my time in a detailed review! Sam Costello discovers a plot to assassinate the president (who sounds very like a heavy set man with wavy blonde hair and a model wife!) what should she do? (have him shot I hear you say :) The only character worthy of a mention is the presidents chief strategist Crawford "Mac" McNamara. I only read this book as it was heavily promoted/reduced on "mobi" so passed a few aimless hours acquainting myself with this nonsense.
September 26, 2017
A bullying, sociopathic misogynyst and demagogue is elected to the US Presidency where, with his finger on the nuclear trigger, he threatens Global annihilation in a conflict over a perceived insult with the equally unhinged leader of North Korea. Thank goodness none of this could possibly be imaginable in our World of today !
Actually, any resemblance to persons living or dead is very much intentional and non-conincidental as journalist Jonathan Freedland switches from covering the 2016 US Presidential election for The Guardian to turning his hand at penning a work of fiction under his pseudonym Sam Bourne, imagining the aftermath of the election and the first few months in power of the above described new President. Probably written in the period between the election and the inauguration, Bourne's novel is frighteningly all too plausible and accurately anticipational in what was and is to come. All the cast of the current White House are here in their alter egos, most obviously the despicable firebrand and purveyor of Fake News Steve Bannon, but also the First Daughter and even some of the "good guys" like Defence Secretray James Mattis or (current) Chief of Staff General John Kelly, whose fictional counterparts plot to remove the President by, lets-say, non-constitutionally prescribed means.
Is it any good ? Bourne carries off writing a work of fiction centered around the barely disguised and blatantly obvious personas of the 45th President and his entourage, delivering with panache a compelling Washington thriller for our times - this is All the Presidnet's Men meets Day of the Jackal. A frighteningly scary political thriller where the truth may turn out in time to Trump the fiction. Leaves the reader wondering whether, as you turn off the bedside reading light for the night, you'll wake up in the Morning to find the Korean Penninsula has disappeared in a mushroom cloud and the World has changed forever all because of a bad hair day. Then again, every day seems to be a bad hair day in every sense of the word for the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Be afraid, be very afraid.
Actually, any resemblance to persons living or dead is very much intentional and non-conincidental as journalist Jonathan Freedland switches from covering the 2016 US Presidential election for The Guardian to turning his hand at penning a work of fiction under his pseudonym Sam Bourne, imagining the aftermath of the election and the first few months in power of the above described new President. Probably written in the period between the election and the inauguration, Bourne's novel is frighteningly all too plausible and accurately anticipational in what was and is to come. All the cast of the current White House are here in their alter egos, most obviously the despicable firebrand and purveyor of Fake News Steve Bannon, but also the First Daughter and even some of the "good guys" like Defence Secretray James Mattis or (current) Chief of Staff General John Kelly, whose fictional counterparts plot to remove the President by, lets-say, non-constitutionally prescribed means.
Is it any good ? Bourne carries off writing a work of fiction centered around the barely disguised and blatantly obvious personas of the 45th President and his entourage, delivering with panache a compelling Washington thriller for our times - this is All the Presidnet's Men meets Day of the Jackal. A frighteningly scary political thriller where the truth may turn out in time to Trump the fiction. Leaves the reader wondering whether, as you turn off the bedside reading light for the night, you'll wake up in the Morning to find the Korean Penninsula has disappeared in a mushroom cloud and the World has changed forever all because of a bad hair day. Then again, every day seems to be a bad hair day in every sense of the word for the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Be afraid, be very afraid.
June 17, 2022
For as long as I live - I'll never read another novel by Sam Bourne. The crass writing in combination with the complete vilification of one political party within the first 50 pages is more than just an eye roll.
I don't care what political affiliations you have - it's just absurd to portray any character that one-dimensional? It made for a boring plot and cliche characters. I don't know how this author was a best seller unless the people buying his books are so hungry to not have any of their beliefs challenged and purposefully keep their minds from expanding?
Let's leave political thrillers to the professionals like James Patterson and Stella Rimington.. or maybe a 5th grader? I don't know. Brb.. heading to pick up 22 Seconds from Barnes & Nobles now. (Insert face-palm emoji.)
I don't care what political affiliations you have - it's just absurd to portray any character that one-dimensional? It made for a boring plot and cliche characters. I don't know how this author was a best seller unless the people buying his books are so hungry to not have any of their beliefs challenged and purposefully keep their minds from expanding?
Let's leave political thrillers to the professionals like James Patterson and Stella Rimington.. or maybe a 5th grader? I don't know. Brb.. heading to pick up 22 Seconds from Barnes & Nobles now. (Insert face-palm emoji.)
November 30, 2017
This book is deplorable for several reasons. A very thinly veiled screed against Trump is something which i thought i would enjoy far more than I actually did. The simplisitc paint by numbers characterization to criticize simplistic paint by numbers politics was clumsily done. See Empire Of Lies for a similarly blunt hatchet job by the right.
The plot is really stupid and the finale has you squirming in distate at the sheer laziness of it all.
I get that many including myself think Trump is absolutely awful but really this nothing more than a shoddily written claptrap trying to exploit that distaste. Try harder.
The plot is really stupid and the finale has you squirming in distate at the sheer laziness of it all.
I get that many including myself think Trump is absolutely awful but really this nothing more than a shoddily written claptrap trying to exploit that distaste. Try harder.
July 15, 2017
Blah, blah, blah - There is so much talk and very little action in this book. "Show, don't tell" is not a technique used by this author. Instead you're force fed with long descriptions of everything that happens. Combine that with a plot that is unconvincing. And then cap it off with a "Deus ex machina"-like happy ending and it all makes for a disappointing read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2018
Ich habe dieses Buch bewusst gewählt, weil es politisch kaum aktueller sein könnte. Davon abgesehen, dass ich selbst in der Außenpolitik tätig bin und mich voller Spannung auf den Thriller freute.
Die Geschichte beginnt direkt mit der Nacht, in der sich der amerikanische Präsident nach einer - seiner Meinung nach - kritischen Aussage aus Nordkorea angegriffen fühlt und einen Krieg auslösen will. Er kann aufgehalten werden. Danach wird das Buch aus zwei verschiedenen Perspektiven erzählt. Zum Einen aus der Sicht von Maggie Costello, die verschiedenen mysteriösen Geschehnissen auf den Grund geht und dabei genauso hart wie herzlich ist. Sie arbeitet im Weißen Haus und kämpft mit den damit verbundenen Verurteilungen. Zum Anderen werden die Geschehnisse aus der Sicht von Stabchef Bob Kassian und Verteidigungsminister Burton geschildert, die den Präsidenten mit aller Macht beiseite schaffen wollen.
Bereits auf den ersten 130 Seiten stellte ich fest, dass der Spannungsbogen immer wieder stieg - und wieder sinkte. Ein einziges Auf und Ab, das mir das Lesen ziemlich erschwert hat und dem Buch in der Gesamtbewertung ein paar Sternchen kostet. Zudem habe ich die Kapitel von Maggie weitaus lieber gelassen, weil... Ja, warum eigentlich? Die Kapitel erschienen mir irgendwie raffinierter und nicht so trocken.
Insgesamt hat mir das Buch wegen des politischen und aktuellen Bezugs sehr gut gefallen. Meine Leselust hat unter dem nicht konstanten Spannungsbogen jedoch sehr gelitten, weshalb ich leider nur 3 Sterne geben kann. Einige Seiten habe ich sogar nur überflogen.
Die Geschichte beginnt direkt mit der Nacht, in der sich der amerikanische Präsident nach einer - seiner Meinung nach - kritischen Aussage aus Nordkorea angegriffen fühlt und einen Krieg auslösen will. Er kann aufgehalten werden. Danach wird das Buch aus zwei verschiedenen Perspektiven erzählt. Zum Einen aus der Sicht von Maggie Costello, die verschiedenen mysteriösen Geschehnissen auf den Grund geht und dabei genauso hart wie herzlich ist. Sie arbeitet im Weißen Haus und kämpft mit den damit verbundenen Verurteilungen. Zum Anderen werden die Geschehnisse aus der Sicht von Stabchef Bob Kassian und Verteidigungsminister Burton geschildert, die den Präsidenten mit aller Macht beiseite schaffen wollen.
Bereits auf den ersten 130 Seiten stellte ich fest, dass der Spannungsbogen immer wieder stieg - und wieder sinkte. Ein einziges Auf und Ab, das mir das Lesen ziemlich erschwert hat und dem Buch in der Gesamtbewertung ein paar Sternchen kostet. Zudem habe ich die Kapitel von Maggie weitaus lieber gelassen, weil... Ja, warum eigentlich? Die Kapitel erschienen mir irgendwie raffinierter und nicht so trocken.
Insgesamt hat mir das Buch wegen des politischen und aktuellen Bezugs sehr gut gefallen. Meine Leselust hat unter dem nicht konstanten Spannungsbogen jedoch sehr gelitten, weshalb ich leider nur 3 Sterne geben kann. Einige Seiten habe ich sogar nur überflogen.
March 8, 2018
Eu sabia que não era por acaso que sempre devorei os livros de Sam Bourne (cujo nome verdadeito é Jonathan Freedland ) . Este thriller é absolutamente realístico, um desejo de muitos pelo mundo fora! Tragicamente colado a uma realidade que nos é recente e temida.
Fabuloso! Foi necessário esperar uns anos mas valeu a pena!
Fabuloso! Foi necessário esperar uns anos mas valeu a pena!
June 17, 2018
Good easy read - Oh my goodness.... if only....
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