I'm always wary of novels with the author's name larger than the actual book's title. In modern publishing, usually you see another credit in small print sandwiched between the two larger entries. I've come to assume that this is the 'actual' author of the book, so my comments about the writing style will be in a separate paragraph.
My opinion of Oliver North prior to this book was neutral overall. I was in the Army as a non-commissioned officer (NCO) during the time he served on the NS... (show more)
I'm always wary of novels with the author's name larger than the actual book's title. In modern publishing, usually you see another credit in small print sandwiched between the two larger entries. I've come to assume that this is the 'actual' author of the book, so my comments about the writing style will be in a separate paragraph.
My opinion of Oliver North prior to this book was neutral overall. I was in the Army as a non-commissioned officer (NCO) during the time he served on the NSC under Reagan. An exhaustive study of the Iran-Contra scandal is beyond this review, but I believe that North was used as a proxy for Reagan's opponents. I've encountered people who use 'Iran-Contra' as a mantra for all things evil about Reagan, but when confronted with explaining what illegal activities happened during Iran-Contra were unable to describe the first thing about the case. I do think that North has made the most of his notoriety and that's not necessarily a 'good thing'.
I credit North with the content of the book as it pertains to the factual content. This is a novel, but it begins with what is obviously the Clinton White House and a National Security Adviser who is named 'Simon Harrod' and is nicknamed 'Jabba the Hut' because he is grossly obese. No doubt this is a fictionalization of Sandy Berger based upon his behavior; I don't doubt that North dislikes Berger and I also believe that he got off with a slap on the hand for his theft of classified documents.
Early in the book I read a passage that clearly divulged highly classified real-world information, which North would have been privy to while in the White House and would have known to be improper for a novel. I won't point it out here, but suffice to say that I am retired US Army and know it as well. So much for North's 'moral high-ground'.
North commits the cardinal sin of hubris by placing himself in the novel. Yes, that's right - we have LtCol (Ret.) Oliver North in the book interacting with his main character. Through this venue you get the idea that North is trying to prove his innocence by vague references to classified material that his main character discovers.
On to the actual writing - I don't know Joe Musser's other works and won't be seeking him out. The characters are comically presented as unrealistic caricatures, the pacing is horrible and the circumstances laughably improbable. Glued on to the mess is some sort of Christian message - we are presented with an estranged married couple ready for divorce who meet Christians early on in the book. Gee, can you see what's coming? Of course, they both have conversion experiences and their marriage is saved! I received this as a gift and now I'm questioning the motivation of the gift.
At the end of this novel (actually after about 1/3 of it) I changed my assessment of Oliver North from neutral to believing that he is a scoundrel. I'll actively avoid anything this man ever does in the future. (show less)
External User wrote a review of A Rare Benedictine (Brother Cadfael Mysteries) and now has 17 total book reviews. 7 months ago