Customer Reviews

Corrupts Absolutely

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The author is a former journalist who unfortunately writes this novel like a journalist. The details are abundant, but they come across as factual rather than evocative of emotion.

I never connected with any of the characters. Part of this was because their emotions/inner dialogue never came across as convincing. And another part of this was because, instead of using the opening chapters to devlop the two leads and help the reader connect with them, the authors introduces what felt like dozens of new characters and situations. This all came across as erractic and disconnected. While using press releases/news stories to build this futuristic world is an interesting and different method for opening the story, it served more to disconnect the reader from the story's "world." I may have read one, skimmed a few others, then basically skipped the rest. The press releases were boring and uninvolving. (I used to write them for a living).

In fact, I made through just about half the book, before I put it aside altogether. I just couldn't muster up enough interest in or care of the characters to find out how it ends. The male lead was a little bit more emotionally developed that the female lead, but I still just didn't care.

As mentioned by other posters, another major flaw in the book was some of the details of the futuristic world. The term "flash drive" was used constantly. The book's "flash drive" had nothing to do with computers. This error repeatedly poked at my suspension of disbelief. Another "mistake" was referring to the Queen of England as "Queen Diana." I think given that this book was published in 2005, almost 8 years after Princess Diana's death, this faux pas should have been caught and the reference changed.

All in all, Corrupts Absolutely, presented roadblock after roadblock to my connecting with the story and its characters.

Although the characters and story are good enough, Ms. Hunt set this thriller in an alternate present, but left out any plausible technology to support it: The weapons, vehicles and communications are all a bit absurd.

What ex-FBI agent would use such a ridiculous, huge, ungainly gun as a .50-caliber automatic? Why would electric vehicles ever become popular if they were limited to 40 miles per hour? What the heck is a "flash drive" supposed to be? What kind of digital camera uses a "pixel card?"

This technical silliness undermines the entire story, at least for anyone with even a passing interest in science fiction or technology.

For science fiction with a plausible edge, I would recommend such incredible works as Snow Crash (by Neil Stephenson).

If you care at all about technology, avoid books like this, where the author badly needed either to do more basic homework or to get a better editor. Ms. Hunt would have done a lot better staging her story in the real world.

What do you like? Hard boiled detectives and leggy blondes? Megalomaniacs trying to take over the world? Bombs and bullets from Maine to Mazatlan? Alexa Hunt's Corrupts Absolutely has it all.

Hunt gives us a broken hero and misguided heroine who just may be able to find the partner they've always needed to make them whole--if they live long enough. The one thing they have in common is good training. They can steal cars, track anything from an atomic bomb to an abducted child and shoot any weapon that's ever been made--and a few that haven't.

Fiery Eliott Delgado turned reporter when the FBI turned its back on him. Icy Leah Berglund works as judge, jury and executioner for BISC--the Bureau of Illegal Substance Control. BISC is the SS of a nightmarish America of the future in which the "Slaughter" of thousands by drug lords gave the President cause to assume extraordinary powers. Congress was only too happy to sign over to him the Martial Law Act--which made drug trafficking treasonous and punishable by death--immediate death. Goodbye Constitution. Goodbye Bill of Rights. Hunt pictures an America gone fear-mad controlled by power-drunk politicos.

Any similarity to actual events in recent history is purely coincidental. The author swears she tried to sell this book concept years ago--without success. No editor thought the idea held sufficient credibility--then.

Lest you think Hunt's future world is 100% slam bang bad, it's not--only 99%. She also envisions a few betterments I hope will come to pass. In her brave new world, The United States has at last joined the planet at large to become metric. What's more, we have done away with the internal combustion engine and all its nasty pollution.

If high stakes and harrowing chases aren't enough to tempt you, Hunt also serves up surprises and sizzling sex garnished with more than a few dollops of humor. So move over Cussler and Ludlum and all you folks who write futuristic, political-thriller or action-adventure yarns. Alexa Hunt is hitting the shelves and she's got drop dead gorgeous aim straight at your laurels.--Reviewed by Donna Ross

A Columbian drug cartel has terrorized the American justice system by assassinating thousands of Judges, cops, federal agents and innocent bystanders ever since the Feds cracked down on Elevator, a cocaine Viagra combo. The media goes berserk over the slaughter of the lamb. The President of the United States declares a state of emergency and Congress passes a Martial Law Act that leads to the establishment of the Bureau of Illegal Substance Control (BISC) which serves as cop, judge, and jury allegedly to battle the drug cartel.

However, having absolute power proves too heady apparently for BISC and soon the FBI wonders if several of their agents have been assassinated by BISC. Former FBI Agent turned investigative reporter Elliott Delgado looks into determining whether BISC has misused its authority by killing Federal agents who have found abuse by the bureau and whether the rumors are true that the organization is going to attack the drug cartel in Colombia regardless of collateral damage. BISC assassin Leah Berglund is sent to eliminate Delgado.

This terrific tale uses the maxim that absolute power corrupts absolutely even when caring people are involved to furbish the audience with a tense thriller. Readers will take immense delight in the story line in which the good guys (Delgado and the FBI) battles the bad guys (BISC) while the ugly (drug cartel) waits in the wings for round two. Though the romantic subplot between Elliot and Leah is distracting throw in, thriller fans will absolutely want to read Alexa Hunt's fine allegorical salute to the Patriot Act.

Harriet Klausner

This terrific tale uses the maxim that absolute power corrupts absolutely even when caring people are involved to furbish the audience with a tense thriller. Readers will take immense delight in the story line in which the good guys (Delgado and the FBI) battles the bad guys (BISC) while the ugly (drug cartel) waits in the wings for round two. Though the romantic subplot between Elliot and Leah is distracting throw in, thriller fans will absolutely want to read Alexa Hunt's fine allegorical salute to the Patriot Act.