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The Machiavelli Covenant [Hardcover]

Allan Folsom (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)


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Book Description

December 26, 2006
For five hundred years a despotic order of the supremely rich and powerful has kept a little known manuscript by the political thinker Niccolo Machiavelli hidden away under heavy guard: THE COVENANT, a terrifying blueprint for the gaining and keeping of true political power. Bonded by complicity in ritual murder and dedicated to a singular vision of global domination, the group, guided by Machiavelli's document, has prospered far beyond any dreams of power and avarice.
In Washington, D.C., former LAPD detective Nicholas Marten comes out of hiding when he learns his former girlfriend, her child and husband, a U.S. congressman, have been mysteriously murdered. Marten discovers her husband had just uncovered a top-secret and illegal bioweapons program, and when the feds fail to investigate, Marten resolves to go after the killers himself.
Meanwhile, on his way to a NATO summit in Warsaw, President John Henry Harris is confronted by a secret cabal inside his own White House who demand he authorize the assassinations of the Chancellor of Germany and the President of France at the NATO meeting. He angrily refuses, knowing full well that in doing so he has put his own life and the fate of the country in jeopardy.
Fleeing for his life, Harris joins forces with Marten and the beautiful but enigmatic French photo-journalist Demi Picard. Together they uncover the truth about the most devastating and powerful group the world has ever known. Swept from Washington to Paris, from Berlin to Malta, Madrid to Barcelona they flee a ruthless circle of the president's here-to-fore most trusted advisors, military leaders and transnational corporate chieftains all of whom want them dead. Out manned, outnumbered and outgunned, these three stand alone against the age-old secrets of THE COVENANT.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nicholas Marten, the ex-LAPD detective who played a major role in Folsom's The Exile (2004), pursues an international conspiracy in this frenetic page-turner long on action but short on plausibility. When an old love of Marten's, Caroline Parsons, dies of a mysterious infection shortly after her congressman husband and son perish in a plane accident, her dying words set Marten on the trail of a South African bioterrorist. The former cop soon finds himself allied with another man trying to foil a cabal bent on creating a new world order—the U.S. president himself, John Henry Harris. Harris flees his Secret Service protection after rejecting the plan of virtually his whole cabinet to assassinate the leaders of France and Germany and replace them with people willing to launch biological warfare on most of the Middle East. Unconvincing hairbreadth escapes and the failure to explore underlying political issues make for a routine thriller. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Folsom takes Nicholas Marten, the ex-cop hero of The Exile (2004), and plunks him down in this clunky thriller, which might strike some readers as a blatant attempt to capitalize on the success of The Da Vinci Code and other historical-conspiracy thrillers. The plot is convoluted: Marten's former girlfriend is murdered, and as Marten tries to find out whodunit, he hooks up with a beautiful French journalist and (of all people) the president of the U.S., who happens to be on the run from members of his own cabinet. Together the trio tries to unravel a modern plot based on the secret writings of Niccolo Machiavelli. Folsom proved he can handle a wildly improbable thriller in his first novel, The Day after Tomorrow (1994), but he sets himself a sterner task this time, throwing some clumsy dialogue on top of a plot that never quite overcomes its own inherent implausibilities. Still, Folsum excels at ratcheting up the action, and he does so here, generating more than enough excitement to please those who like high-concept plots enough not to question them. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 560 pages
  • Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (December 26, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0765313057
  • ISBN-13: 978-0765313058
  • Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #202,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

59 Reviews
5 star:
 (15)
4 star:
 (11)
3 star:
 (9)
2 star:
 (9)
1 star:
 (15)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (59 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not perfect, but still a good read, October 17, 2007
This review is from: The Machiavelli Covenant (Hardcover)
'The Machiavelli Covenant' is a loose sequel to Allan Folsom's previous book, 'The Exile', in that it features the same protagonist, Nicholas Marten. I haven't read 'The Exile', but that didn't affect my enjoyment of this book. Allan Folsom knows how to write an action-packed thriller, one that tears along at a rapid pace and keeps you turning the pages late into the night. While this book is nowhere near as good as his first, 'The Day After Tomorrow' (which bears no relation to the movie of the same name), it's still better than many in the same genre.

'The Machiavelli Covenant' opens with Marten sitting at the deathbed of his childhood sweetheart, Caroline. Before she dies she tells him that she was poisoned. Marten is determined to find out who was behind this, as well as the deaths of Caroline's husband and son. Thus begins a rollercoaster adventure that will take him from one end of Europe to the other and will have him joining forces with the President of the US in a bid to bring down a shadowy cabal of prominent business and political leaders.

It's easy to dismiss this book as a rip-off of 'The Da Vinci Code', but Folsom covered similar territory in his first book which pre-dated Da Vinci by several years. While ultimately the story does get a bit silly, this is still a fast-paced thriller that's hard to put down.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars This Book Gets Dragged Down by its own Stupid Plotline, October 17, 2008
In some ways, Allan Folsom is a pretty remarkable writer. The first one hundred pages of his debut novel, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, are some of the most exciting pages of genre prose I have ever read in my life. The beginnings of all of his novels have a crazy momentum to them that is simply irresistible. There is little doubt in my mind that Dan Brown was heavily influenced by Folsom's lightning-fast plotting style when he wrote books like THE DA VINCI CODE.

Unfortunately, Folsom is the type of author who can never measure up to his great beginnings. His novels typically fall apart after the first 100-150 pages, as their storylines become more overblown and unrealistic. I've read three of his books now, and in each case I felt my intelligence being insulted further and further as I progressed through the book.

THE MACHIAVELLI COVENANT is an example of this flaw in Folsom's work. It has a very exciting beginning, but quickly disintegrates once Folsom reveals his far-flung conspiracy plot, a storyline that would make Oliver Stone blush with embarrassment. In this book, we have a President on the lam from his own cabinet, a plot to assassinate the Presidents of France and Germany, a scheme to annihalite the Middle East, and even some virgin sacrifice to boot.

All of this is dumb, dumb, dumb. It doesn't help that all of the novel's characters are essentially caricatures and that Folsom writes in a long-winded, expository, repetitive style. I found myself skipping a lot of pages just to finish this book, which is way too long for its own good.

I found THE MACHIAVELLI COVENANT frustrating, because I think Folsom has the raw talent to write a seriously good book. He came closest with the DAY AFTER TOMORROW, and I recommend giving that novel a try if you want to give his work a shot.



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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Truly ROTTEN!!, January 19, 2008
This review is from: The Machiavelli Covenant (Hardcover)
Whew! The fact that a book as wretched as this can receive favorable reviews from so many sources has given hope to my own literary aspirations!

I was a minor fan of Folsom's until I had to suffer through this latest endevor. Previous reviewers have this book nailed - the characters are wooden and completely unbelievable. The premise is ridiculous. We have the president of the USA running around with a former cop turned gardener who uncovers a major plot based on a few whispers from a dying friend.

The plot does not develop in a natural way, but is forced and amazingly contrived through countless repetitive discussions, memories, and deducements from the poorly drawn characters. The writing is lousy. If I have to read one more "conversation" between "Richard" and "Victor," I'll shoot myself.

Spare yourself this read - go get a root canal instead!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The slow pound of Nicholas Marten's heart sounded like a drum buried somewhere inside him. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
horrid thumb, monorail tunnel, black buses, survival blankets, big floppy hat
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Secret Service, United States, Bill Strait, Merriman Foxx, Hap Daniels, Nicholas Marten, Jake Lowe, Reverend Beck, Caroline Parsons, Captain Diaz, Peter Fadden, James Marshall, White House, Sig Sauer, Lorraine Stephenson, Mike Parsons, Evan Byrd, John Henry Harris, Middle East, Tom Curran, Miguel Balius, New World, Demi Picard, Aradia Minor, South African
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