Customer Reviews

Vale of Tears: A Novel

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I have always liked Rep. Peter King when I've seen him on television. In this book, he presents us with an equally-admirable, fictionalized version of himself, Congressman Sean Cross. But a likeable main character is not enough for a novel: it needs an interesting, at least occasionally-exciting, plot.

Unfortunately, while this book is purported to be about terrorism, it isn't really. It's actually about meetings about terrorism.

I imagine that, in real life, Peter King spends a lot of time in meetings and no time at all doing dangerous, exciting things like chasing down terrorists. That's a good thing in real life but not so good in a novel.

In Vale of Tears, the even-numbered chapters are about Rep. Cross' life in Washington on and after September 11, 2001 -- probably a fictionalized version of what actually happened to Rep. King during that time. After a chapter or two of it, I found that thread to be way too much sentimental tear-jerking and flag-waving for my taste and not much else, even though I am in general agreement with most of Peter King's politics. I skimmed the rest of the chapters about September 11th.

The odd-numbered chapters tell a fictional story of more-recent terrorist attacks and the attempts of Rep. Cross, his contacts in and out of the Muslim and Irish communities and law-enforcement to stop even-more-serious attacks before they happen.

You might expect a story like this to be told from the points-of-view of the characters involved in it: terrorists and anti-terrorists, with lots of on-the-street action, leading to an exciting climax. But all we get are meetings -- interminable meetings, one after the other. We are never where anything actually happens; rather, we are always where people talk about what happened a long time ago, what might happen, how they could prevent it from happening, what is probably happening somewhere else and then, finally, in lieu of an exciting climax, what actually did happen -- far away from the meeting.

Maybe this book should be in the Business Section, for people interested in how to set up and run successful meetings.

Lo, I entered the darkness, and it was seen through a vale of tears. And Peter King was there, and he was a bloated moron.

There's nothing worth reading - the cover is the most exciting part of the book. And in case you haven't already heard, the author is a fervent supporter of the terrorist group, the IRA, responsible for killing thousands - including hundreds of civilians in random bombings in bars and department stores. According to the author, IRA terrorism is acceptable because it's not against the United States. Don't support this filth. Ignore the book, shun the author.

Save you money! (especially in this economy). Book is supposed to be in fiction section, however, I think it should be in the Rapid, Right-Wing Republican Fantasy secion. This book is simply a thinly-veiled excuse to insult and incite a group of loyal Americans who happened to be of the Islamic faith.

But I guess if you like poorly written and uninteresting policitcal chest-thumping, this book is for YOU!

Unimaginative and dull. Oh wait, that's no surprise given the author.

Never bothered to post a comment until I learned this hypocritical, bloated moron avidly supported IRA terrorists yet now is further marginalizing Muslims by launching a McCarthy-esque investigation into the "radicalization of Islam".

Peter King wants to write a book about 9-11, fine. But by stating that 85% of mosques have leadership that support extremism is patently ridiculous. How the heck does he know? Did he visit every mosque to find out? Of course not, he's using this statistic that he grabbed out of his you-know-what to dishonestly market and hype his book. He's hoping that by picking on a minority group in the US that has no political/economic means to fight back that he can then make a quick buck. It's disgusting and it should disgust every American that an elected government official would attempt to promote his book by fomenting fear and loathing of American Muslims. Shame on you, Congressman King.

Every time a publisher accepts a work like this, presumably due to the status of this author, a more talented writer is denied an opportunity.
This book is purely a case of Mr King venting on his own not-so-hidden agenda. The plot is shallow, the dialogue is laced with unnecessary profanity, characters are poorly developed, the book appears to be unedited. Simply a feeble expression of Mr King's own ego.

A false stereotype, cheap shot to dehumanize the American Islamic community by using 9/11 to sell books. By pointing the finger at them and blaming them of not doing anything to stop the terror like being a silent partner. They are guilty because they have the same religion. Even though after three years of tragedy there was no proof any of American Islamic citizens knew anything of the bombing or was arrested because of direct or indirect link to Sept 11.

If the same logic holds then the bomber Timothy McVeigh who was guilty of Oklahoma City bombing. He was Christian from Oklahoma city, Then 85 % of Oklahoman's are guilty because they are Christians and they never helped the law enforcement to stop the bombing in Oklahoma city. It is a crooked logic.

Muslim like Christians and Jews worship the same one God. Allah is the
Arabic word of God. Arab Christian or Jews refer to God as Allah in their prayer.
Muslims honor Biblical prophets, accord a special esteem to Jesus and his mother Virgin Mary, and recognize the sacred scriptures revealed to Moses and Jesus, namely the Torah and the New Testament.

They honor Jesus, virgin Mary, Moses, and Muhammad in their bible. They
Only pray to one God. They do not pray to Muhammad. Islam and democracy are compatible and complementary. Both rest on accountability,
Consultation,open discussion,delegation and consensus. The opening words of the U.S. Declaration of Independence express deeply felt Islamic sentiments. Muslims pledge themselves to prayer, peace with justice, harmony, cooperation, compassion, charity, family responsibility, tolerance toward people of other faith traditions and respect for the environment.

Read the War on Freedom by John Leonard you will understand who benefited the most from 9/11 and you will find out who was dancing in joy and taking pictures while the twin towers fell in the background. After a New Jersey resident spotted them cheering and jumping up and down in apparent joy, she called the police. Police in Bergen county detained five men, the first arrest after 9/11 and they were not Arabs or Muslims ..!

Complete and utter nonsense. Save your money and don't buy a book that promotes racism. Also, extremely boring. The only reason I finished it was because I like to finish what I start.

As a terrorist supporter himself, and general all around insane bigot this gentleman has no place in politics. The book is poorly written lacks anything substantial, a waste of money.