5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended escape from everyday real-life politics, April 8, 2009
This review is from: Dark Horse: A Political Thriller (Hardcover)
In today's volatile political climate, it seems a novel about politics might be eclipsed by the real-life drama playing out in Washington and on news talk shows every day. Yet with an obvious insider's grasp of political life and surprising skill for a first-time novelist, Ralph Reed, a veteran political consultant and former executive director of the Christian Coalition, manages in Dark Horse to present a scenario that is almost as interesting and compelling, if perhaps not quite as dramatic, as the real thing.
The book opens with California governor Robert Long, a moderate Democrat, facing liberal Senator Salmon Stanley for the Democratic presidential nomination. When the Democratic National Convention gets underway with no clear frontrunner, tension rises as campaign aides for both sides work behind the scenes to try to pull out a victory. When the dust settles, Stanley is declared the winner, but Long is not ready to fade into political obscurity just yet--especially since Stanley's victory is marred by allegations of fraud.
Long's campaign chief, Jay Noble, heads to Mexico after the convention to nurse his political wounds, never suspecting that while on vacation he will meet the woman of his dreams. And when Long decides to run for president as an Independent candidate, Noble's vacation is cut short. From there, backroom deals and public grandstanding abound as Long and Stanley battle it out with the incumbent Republican vice-president and with each other.
As the scandal surrounding the Democratic nomination continues to make headlines, the careers of some of Washington's most powerful influencers are at risk. Meanwhile, Andrew Stanton, widely known as "America's pastor," wonders which candidate to support, ensuring the vote of the religious right. Rassem el Zafarshan, a dangerous terrorist with ties to al Qaeda, is on the loose in the U.S., planning an attack that will make 9/11 pale in comparison. And when a leak develops in the Long campaign, all bets are off as election day approaches.
Dark Horse is a fun, fast read plagued with only a few of the usual first-time-author errors. There is some head-hopping (in-scene character point-of-view shifts), and there are lengthy sections that seem to contain too much information and not enough imagery or drama. Probably the biggest flaw in the writing is the sheer number of characters--far too many to keep track of--which is not helped by the similarity of some of the names of characters the reader actually needs to remember. In addition, some characters--particularly females--are more stereotypical and one-dimensional than modern readers have come to expect in this genre. The plot pacing is good, however, despite several loose ends that remain untied by the end of the story. And the prose is for the most part tight and concise; Reed does not resort to the kind of over-the-top description and flowery "extra-literary" language that makes some first novels read like vocabulary primers.
An element in the book that is either interesting or annoying, depending on one's point of view, is the obvious similarity between characters and real-life players on the American political scene. People like Colin Powell, Matt Drudge, James Dobson, George Soros, and others make appearances under thin disguises. This technique works best in a parody setting, like Roland Merullo's American Savior, but the realistic interactions between characters and Reed's firsthand understanding of how politics works help keep any corniness to a reasonable low.
If the book has a morale, it might be, "Follow your heart, and you can achieve your dreams." It's not exactly the most compelling message for a political thriller, but Reed inserts enough redemptive content in the form of one main character's spiritual epiphany to mostly make up for it. Objectionable content is minimal but not entirely absent, as certain characters behave in ways one might expect overpaid and overworked politicians and aides to act under extreme pressure.
All in all, Dark Horse is a better-than-average first novel, and in the relatively under-populated genre of Christian political fiction, it can more than hold its own. It's well worth reading for anyone interested in the sometimes brilliant but often greasy and underhanded way politics is done in Washington. For anyone looking for a break from the everyday drama and intrigue of our real government, Dark Horse is a recommended escape.
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20 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Look Behind the Curtain, June 21, 2008
This review is from: Dark Horse: A Political Thriller (Hardcover)
Dark Horse is a fast paced story that could have been easily lifted from newspapers or right off of the network news programs. Although it was a little challenging at the very beginning, probably due to the reader being dropped into the middle of a political process with a large cast of characters, Once you sort out the players the payoff is worthwhile. Ralph Reed has been involved in bare knuckled politics for many years. It is obvious from the tags for this book, that he continues to be a lightening rod of vitriol from his political adversaries. I suppose success brings both adoration and vilification.
Notwithstanding all of that, Dark Horse is a fun read, in the way that Bill Buckley's Blackford Oakes series are fun to read. One gets the sense that as this story unfolds the reader is treated to a behind the scenes look at the intrigue of a national campaign. Who better to let us in on that than one who has been in the center of many political storms over the years. Though Reed portrays politicians and religious leaders reasonably realistically, every one appears to be brawlers when the gloves come off in the heat of the battle. it is easy to imagine that much of the story was drawn from Reed's experience as a consultant in the political process and a former candidate for office himself. That little touch of realism makes the story that much more interesting.
If you are looking for a fun read with a little constitutional education and political drama, Dark Horse fits the bill. For the aspiring young politico, Dark Horse captures the heat and emotion and does so in a manner that one would not mind their kids picking up the book and reading it. Hopefully Ralph will give us another book in the no so distant future that extends the story line of some of the interesting characters we have met in this book.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
For The Politically Minded Only, March 3, 2009
This review is from: Dark Horse: A Political Thriller (Hardcover)
Reed's interview on The Daily Show made this book sound more interesting than I found it. I appreciate the detail that went into the plot; and i appreciate the character development even better. But I was painfully bored with the story. And since i paid for the thing, i made myself hang in there until the end. There is a fun "thriller" scene buried in the middle of it somewhere that got my attention. Otherwise, for the non-political-junkies out there, don't do it. for the political junkies, it's probabaly a lot of fun.
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