Politically astute and topical, this presidential drama loses momentum in a convoluted plot.
In this complex political thriller, controversy surrounds a new American president’s legitimacy.
Democrat Herbert Atkinsen wins the presidential popular vote in his bid for election but falls short of the electoral votes necessary to clinch the win. As a result, a rare contingency vote is called, the first since 1825, in which the House of Representatives casts the deciding votes to determine the next president, while the Senate selects a vice president. Atkinsen prevails, as does his Republican running mate, George Granger. However, following the death of his wife, Atkinsen has suffered from serious health problems that he believes will prevent him from completely fulfilling the position’s considerable obligations. His chief of staff, Steve Wagner, comes up with a plan: Atkinsen will swear into office and quickly resign, and the order of constitutional succession will anoint Granger president. This denies Republican Sen. John Robinson, an extremist, any chance of assuming the Oval Office and neutralizes the corrupt Democrat speaker of the House, Bob Allcott. Wagner was able to secure Allcott’s cooperation by threatening a criminal probe into his connection to Cody Manville, a corrupt power broker—the two may have coerced electors to vote their way—and Manville is suspected of murder. However, Granger signs a series of aggressive executive orders, the last of which establishes sweeping fiscal reforms, inspiring the unabashed ire of his political opponents, including Allcott, who demand an impeachment trial for abuses of power. Gorman (Patriotic Gamble, 2012, etc.) displays an astonishingly fertile imagination, conjuring a swamp of political malfeasance impressive even by today’s grim standards. Also, his knowledge of American government, particularly the constitutional law that restrains the presidency, is impressively vast. The plot, however, while briskly paced, is forbiddingly labyrinthine. Also, the main characters remain frustratingly nebulous, never fully developed beyond their political personas. Finally, the writing, especially the dialogue, lacks the edge the plot delivers (“ ‘Wow!’ Cam Tucker exclaimed. ‘Now I understand why politics is called a blood sport’ ”).
Politically astute and topical, this presidential drama loses momentum in a convoluted plot.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-365-16307-4
Page Count: 262
Publisher: Lulu
Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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