Customer Reviews

The Race

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

One of the sadder things in sports is watching a once-great athlete clinging to his career, the glory days long since past. In writing, Richard North Patterson is not quite there yet - and unlike athletes, there's always a better chance at a comeback - but The Race is the latest in a run of several books that shows he's not the novelist he once was.

The Race focuses on the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Senator Corey Grace is a young star in the party, rising to the Senate after being a P.O.W. during the First Gulf War. He is a man of ideals that put him at odds with the party: pro-choice, pro-stem cell research and with assorted other "liberal" views. What's worse, in a party that often capitalizes on racism, he is dating a black actress (adding a second meaning to the title).

Running against Grace is the Senate Majority Leader, Rob Marotta who feels entitled to the nomination due to his service and Fundamentalist Christian televangelist Bob Christy. Marotta actually owes Grace his life, but that won't stop him from any sleazy attempt to get the office. Christy, on the other hand, has views are distinctively extreme, but also has an integrity that will form an unusual bond with Grace.

Despite the standard disclaimer that this is a work of fiction, you can tell that certain characters are stand-ins for real life figures. For example, the unctuous Magnus Price has a rather obvious resemblance to Karl Rove and media magnate Alex Rohr is a thinly veiled Rupert Murdoch.

The big flaw with The Race is common to Patterson's other recent novels: he is more interested in political discussion than in a story. And while I may agree with a lot of Patterson's apparent politics, they should supplement the story, not override it. And despite Grace's nominal party affiliation, he is really closer to a Democrat than a Republican, though a race for the Democratic nomination wouldn't give Patterson a chance to tear into the far right.

In certain ways, Patterson is prescient, with parallels occurring to our real 2008 Presidential race. And even if Patterson is losing his sense of storytelling, he is still a decent writer. A lot of opinion about the book will probably be dictated by the political leanings of the reader, but if you can overlook the slant, you'll find that this book is just average, at best, and another disappointment for those who remember when Patterson wrote good books.

This novel is a timely and heady mix of racism, religious opinion, terroristic threats and the presidential political race. In the face of all the factions, can an honest man win the race?

When I read of the candidate sitting in his motel room in Nashua, NH, waiting for the interviews for the primary, it had an eerie feeling of reality, and that feeling progresses through the entire novel, including all the controversies you could imagine. There is plenty of suspense, and diabolical intrigue, some of which is in Candidate Corey Grace's own campaign organization.

Patterson makes a very suspenseful but realistic case in his novel, and I think this is one of the best since "The Manchurian Candidate." Lots of fun and gives you a lot to think about what goes on behind the scenes.

Is there a place for honesty and integrity in American politics? Yes! Only if all the candidates are heavily dosed with sodium pentathol.

But all kidding aside, politics has always been a hotbed for lies, hypocrisy and mudslinging. And in "The Race," Richard North Patterson gives the seemingly impossible a solid, impassioned shot -- the whole idea of a political candidate who actually means (most of) what he says.

Corey Grace is a sexy, kind, charismatic senator from a benighted town in Ohio, whose bright past as a war hero and politician is marred by a chilly divorce, a terrible war incident, and the tragic loss of his baby brother. Now he's one of the frontrunners for the presidency, but up against a religious fanatic, and a kindly but dim senator being manipulated by a political mastermind.

What's more, Corey has begun dating an African-American liberal actress, which has divided potential voters -- even after he saves his opponent from Al Qaeda assassins. Now his honesty is weighed against a politician's need to butter up his voters -- and he must fight his creepy opponents without selling his integrity, or betraying his new love.

You have to hand it to Patterson -- he really gives it a lot of passion and intensity, and it's pretty clear he's done his homework about the putrescent morass that is modern politics. That includes dealing with the touchy issues of our time -- including stem cell research, racism and war -- by trying to show both sides. Admittedly, not always equally.

The book itself is a dense, unwinding string of political battles, each tipping off a reaction in the voters and in other politicians. It's an elaborate story, full of unexpected twists, and a lot of them come from nothing more than an honest speech or a new strategy. It takes a lot of literary skill and atmosphere to make a simple speech suspenseful, but Patterson does manage it.

Do be warned: like any political book, this has a slant. Patterson does work hard to show both sides of debates like religion, stem cell research, et cetera. But he tends to paint the voting public in too extreme colours, with few of the many "in between" shades of grey. And Democrats are pretty much... MIA altogether, save the equally extreme Lexie.

Corey is a fairly solid lead character -- he has his flaws, his tragedies, his mistakes and his personal ghosts. His problem is that he seems, from the start, almost too tailor-made to be the perfect bipartisan politician, making him seem a bit too perfect. And sometimes credibility is stretched to keep him in the game -- Al Qaeda just happens to show up then to make him look heroic?

None of the other characters are really likeable... instead, they are almost frighteningly realistic, from the easily-manipulated politicians to the cold spin doctors, religious zealots to the hard-boiled liberal actress. It's hard not to read some real-life people into these characters, but they gradually grow personas of their own by the finale.

"The Race" has some stumbling blocks on the way to political -- and personal -- but despite a few flaws, Patterson's latest is a solid, intricate political thriller.

Richard North Patterson is a great author, one of my favorites. As an aspiring novelist, I copied Patterson's flashback style in the first novel I tried to write. His legal thrillers are top notch books with incredible texture and layering of the characters. HIs political novels are different, however. After reading NO SAFE PLACE, I skipped a few of his "issue" novels because I didn't feel like getting preached to. I read both Conviction and Exile and thought Patterson was very informative on the issues of the death penalty and the middle east as well as very entertaining. With the RACE, Patterson has written a thriller about politics in America. This novel features Corey Grace, a decorated hero from the first war in Iraq. He easily wins a seat in the Senate as a Republican. Now, 14 years later, he is about to enter the race for president.

At the beginning, two issues were very apparent that I felt could detract from my enjoyment of the novel. Patterson, a liberal democrat, has chosen to set the novel right in the midst of Republican politics. If you're a Democrat, a moderate, or just not that interested in the nuances of the issues, you won't be bothered by Patterson's take on Republicans and the issues. As a conservative Republican, I saw many instances where Patterson's view of how a Republican thinks isn't really how a Republican thinks. In one paragraph early in the novel, Grace says"All I'd want to do tonight is tell them what tehy don't want to hear: that the tax cuts we already gave them are crippling the government, screwing seniors and the poor, and saddling our grandkids with debt." I'm not debating the truth of that statement, I'm just saying most conservatives believe that tax cuts stimulate economic growth, and that the problem with the government and the economy is the unrestrained spending.

The next obstacle to enjoying this novel was that Patterson set his novel basically one degree away from the current American politcal landscape. We have a two-term president pursuing an unpopular failed war (Bush in Iraq and liberal belief it is failing), Courtland Lane, an African American, former secretary of state who questioned the president's middle east policy (Colin Powell). Alex Rohr, the corrupt head of the media empire that includes Fox...I mean Rohr news. Bob Christy, a televangelist/politician that holds fervant religious beliefs that homosexuality is wrong (a surrogate for all Christian conservatives in America), and Rob Marotta, the establishment candidate and a decent man who sells his soul to the devil (or Magnus Price, the amoral politcal strategist) to try and win the election. As Patterson describes Grace deciding whether to run and then entering the primary season, the novel is so sprinkled with references to current events that it is hard to seperate the novel from reality.

Corey Grace is a man with a complex past. He feels he doesn't deserve his title as a war hero. His brother committed suicide under suspicious circumstances. His parents don't understand him. His ex-wife and daughter hardly know him. And now, he has started dating Lexie Hart, a liberal Hollywood actress, and an African American.

This novel is at its worst when Patterson attempts to analyze the politcal beliefs of Republicans and Americans. He doesn't give the American people credit. He implies the political views of Americans are shaped by the media or politicians. He also lumps Christian Conservatives all together, painting them all as extreme instead of allowing that the very large majority of them are decent people with honest beliefs. Gay marriage and homosexuality are a major part of the novel. Patterson doesn't understand that for supporters of gay marriage, if they can't accept a religious person's right to believe that gay marriage is wrong, then they are just as much of a bigot as they believe the religious person to be.

In spite of the above complaints, I still really enjoyed the novel. I give Patterson credit for trying to transcend political parties in coming up with a novel that comments on today's political environment. He does this by describing the South Carolina primary, and the Republican National Convention. In both venues, there is backstabbing, lying, bribing, pandering and slandering involved. He sometimes exaggerates but his point that political leaderss are harming America by dividing its citizens into fractions hits home. The novel turns into quite a page turner as Corey Grace fights and bargains to try and win the nomination he has coveted for so long.

Fans of Patterson will enjoy this novel regardless of their political beliefs. Liberals on each coast would consider me a "right wing extremist", yet I thought this was a really good novel about politics in America and a fun thrill ride as well.

Patterson returns to the poltical arena for his newest work of fiction. It appears that there have been many books written on this theme, yet he is fresh in his approach and gives the reader much to think about. This is the story of three Republican Candidates running for the Office of President. One is the "Maverick" who votes, not along Party lines, but rather along Personal Beliefs. The other is a career Politician with a Manager who will do whatever is needed in order to bring home a victory for his candidate while the last member of the troika is fiery evangalist. The book raises issues as whether an honest politician (an oxymoron, to be sure) can be elected. It goes into what extent people will go to in effort to win the Nomination of their Party and goes to the backstabbing and infighting that have become part of todays Political Process. Perhaps this is why so many people have chosen to vote for the lesser of two evils, rather than have a true candidate who can energize the country and allow it to move forward. Each of the candidates has issues in their pasts that are worked through in different ways. The book is very well crafted and must be read slowly in order to appreciate the various machinations that are being worked through. Be aware that the writer does become somewhat "preachy" as he guides this book to its conclusion. Like Poltics, things are not always what they appear to be as numerous twists exist in this Political Thriller. A Candidate such as his Protagonist is truly a work of Fiction. This book deals with the Personalties of many that are in our Political Landscape today and brings up problems such as Race and Sex and their place in our Political Process. Other than Corey Grace, the Idealist, the characters were not well developed yet this is an excellent book which will have most readers thinking as well a wondering. I would strongly recommend it.

Richard North Patterson's The Race is a sad commentary on our current state of political campaigning. An excellent story of political ethics and how today's politicians must "sell" themselves to the people anyway they can. Mr. Patterson examines the American political process through the campaigns of 3 Republican presidential candidates. Each is flawed in their own particular way as they seek the presidential prize. How they each morally and ethically handle the rigors and challenges of political campaigning is analyzed through their individual actions and words. Added to the mix are campaign managers that view winning as the only goal to the exclusion of everything else. Together, Mr. Patterson weaves a very interesting and highly entertaining story. He presents dilemma after conundrum as his hero, Senator Corey Grace, is forced to deal with his own demons as he tackles the impossible problems of today while dealing with the unethical actions of his fellow candidates. Mr. Patterson mixes race, ethics, religion, homosexuality, love, family, friendship, politics and much more in a bubbling stew of political drama as each candidate, and particularly Corey Grace, must make ethical and moral decisions. It is not easy or pretty and all fail to a lesser or greater extent, but hey, that's American politics today where there are NO real winners just compromises.
Average character development but good examination of moral and ethical priciples and political decision making. Although a superficial review of today's campaign machinery, a good job at big-picture overall political strategy and tactics.
Strong language, some sex, no violence.
Overall a good, quick political read although can be depressing. Interesting ending although unrealistic. Recommended.

And no, I'm not kidding. The Race imagines a Colin Powell untainted by the deliberate subversion of his image of integrity by his appearance at the United Nations. It imagines a Falwell-like leader of a mega-church actually willing to cut a social liberal, Corey Grace, some slack. In reality, there is no one who comes close to his views in the GOP candidates.

Indeed, the major problem, and Patterson hints as as much in his afterward, is that Corey Grace is an impossible candidate for the modern Republican Party. In fact, it is impossible to imagine him as a GOP Senator. He's so liberal that if he were a Democrat, he would be roughly equivalent to Barack Obama in his politics.

Related to this is a completely unrealistic portrayal of religion in politics. Christy is a stand-in for Falwell, more or less and he is made to be a sympathetic character with simply a "different point of view." As if belief in the Rapture, nuclear Armageddon, the denial of science, and a belief that one has a pipeline to Absolute Truth are somehow not whacko. Grace himself talks about religion in a near-incoherent manner. And no one addresses the obvious, that the kind of religious tests for public office implicit in the mindset of all the characters has no business in American politics.

Patterson's written good books and he certainly knows how to get a reader to tear through the pages, but this book imagines a far kinder and more liberal Gop than exists, and that makes the book not only preposterous, but completely misleading. I'm not saying there aren't decent Republicans - there are and I've met them, even in Congress - but no Republican who would be taken seriously as a presidential candidate could have a career or hold views remotely similar to Corey Grace. And had Patterson portrayed presidential level Republicans as they really are, he would have had an impossible task creating a character with...well, with character.

My wife Kathy and I are political junkies, we watch shows such as "This Week . . .", "Countdown" and "Hardball" every chance we get. Since we live in Iowa, every four years we also get a chance to engage in face-to-face meetings with most of the presidential candidates.
Approximately 10 pages into this book, I turned to her and said, "You are going to like this book." Twenty pages later, my head spun again and I said, "You are really going to like this book." After consuming twenty more pages, my comment was, "You are going to love this book. It grabs you by the b__ls!" Her response was, "Just finish the book so I can read it!"
Corey Grace is an Air Force pilot who shot down an Iraqi general attempting to flee to Iran during the First Gulf War. Due to a mechanical failure, he and his crewmate were forced to eject over hostile territory. They safely made it to Earth but were captured by a rogue element of the Iraqi military. He was tortured and his crewmate was decapitated. Corey went on to become a Republican senator from Ohio and is now considering a run for the presidency. The setting is the modern political environment, where the Iraqi war is raging with no end in sight.
However, the fury of the Iraq war is nothing like the hostility of the Republican primary process. Brutal political dirty tricks are unleashed against him, even to the point where he is accused of being an Al-Qaeda operative. One of the top three candidates is a Christian evangelical and he is falsely accused of soliciting oral sex from a female campaign worker. If you are a follower of the political events in the United States, you will recognize many of the characters in this book as depictions of real political players and organizations. Rupert Murdoch, Bob Jones University, Colin Powell, Karl Rove, the Log Cabin Republicans and many others are clearly visible if you are familiar with the political landscape. However, even if you are not, the quality of the writing will keep you turning the pages.
As my wife began reading the book, she paid it one of the highest compliments possible She said that this is a book where you cannot and do not want to skip even a paragraph. For if you do, there is the very real chance that you will miss a critical point. I agree with this assessment, once I started it, I devoured it rather than read it.

The author never keeps you guessing about his political beliefs. His plot seems little more than an excuse to debate and discuss various issues. Patterson is deft at misrepresenting the arguments of those he disagrees with.

The "hero" of this tale is a younger, better looking John McCain knock-off (whose war-hero status is a lot less deserved than McCain's). The villains are the Republican party, Christians, conservatives, value voters and Fox News. Like McCain, he defies the party, defies the party base and charts an independent political course.

This is my second Patterson book. I liked "Exile" enough to give this one a try and I'm not sure I'll try another.

This book I felt got off to a slow start for me but it sure wraps up with a bang. I loved how they showed you how Corey Grace, future senator becomes the man that he is running for president. It shows how things that happen when are younger can come back to haunt or help us, but all of it makes us who we are. This books starts out almost as the John McCain story with Corey Grace being an American hero that survives capture when his navigator doesn't. It shows how he manevers through his Senate career and loses his wife and child in the process to Australia. Then he decides to run for president and the book really heats up. It shows how the Religious Conservatives pretty much own Iowa and how Southern racists can mess with South Carolina over their Confederate flag views. It goes to California and how Corey's black liberal actress girlfriend can help or hurt him. Then the ending is stunning with it coming out of the blue but making so much sense. I really enjoyed this book especially with the primaries going on. I highly recommend this book to political fiction junkies and Richard North Patterson fans like me, but also to someone just looking for a good book to curl up to in the winter.