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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
One of the things that makes this book extremely interesting is the fact that it makes references to real decrees, which means the scenario that occurs in the book is not impossible. The way someone can take control of a country and abuse that control, depriving citizens from their freedom, is terrifying. The fact that the human being recurs to violence whenever they feel in danger brings up a lot of questions and concerns about how society is today. Is vengeance always needed? This book, in my opinion, has not been treated fairly by the public opinion. I enjoyed it, I found it to be engaging and I found myself wanting to keep on reading to know how it will end. We all know Jussi Adler-Olsen from the Department Q series, and I found this book to be yet another example that he always writes interesting stories
Jussi sætter i denne bog et meget skræmmende scenarie op - og dog er det troværdigt. Jeg elsker som altid hans hovedpersoner, som jeg kan græde og grine med - i denne bog er der dog ikke meget at grine af.
Jussi holder spændingen til sidste punktum i bogen! Den får kun 4 stjerner fra mig, fordi den umiddelbart er meeeeget lang, og man er ikke suget helt ind fra første side. Senere får man dog sværere og sværere ved at holde pauser imellem læsninger.
Jeg kan anbefale denne bog til alle der synes godt om (især) de Amerikanske konspirationsteorier og elsker et plot der er snoet ind og ud i en næsten umulig knude.
Jussi holder spændingen til sidste punktum i bogen! Den får kun 4 stjerner fra mig, fordi den umiddelbart er meeeeget lang, og man er ikke suget helt ind fra første side. Senere får man dog sværere og sværere ved at holde pauser imellem læsninger.
Jeg kan anbefale denne bog til alle der synes godt om (især) de Amerikanske konspirationsteorier og elsker et plot der er snoet ind og ud i en næsten umulig knude.
3 stars for a book that was bloated by about a third. 592 pages was too long by about 200 pages. I expected a murder mystery like the author's other books, but this book presented an apocalyptic version of the US government in chaos. He imagines a sinister plot to take over the government by one man, Thomas Sunderland, and indeed, points to a set of laws put in place setting up FEMA(Federal Emergency Management Agency). This agency usually handle natural disasters, i.e., hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, etc. But there are provisions in the event of a nuclear attack/ accident for FEMA to take drastic measures. So, while this is a possibility, the author spends way too long setting up his scenario. I almost didn't finish this book. I took 3 weeks to read it.
One quote from the White House: "This was the time of the year when life affirming signs of springtime were supposed to dispel the dark melancholy of winter, but it wasn't having any effect on him. Sitting in the world's busiest workplace, Wesley felt paralyzed, oppressed, and alone. Far from a new season of hope and renewal, this spring accentuated a feeling of self-hatred and despair that was in danger of engulfing him if he wasn't careful."
Thanks to Penguin Group for sending me this eARC through NetGalley. #TheWashingtonDecree #NetGalley
One quote from the White House: "This was the time of the year when life affirming signs of springtime were supposed to dispel the dark melancholy of winter, but it wasn't having any effect on him. Sitting in the world's busiest workplace, Wesley felt paralyzed, oppressed, and alone. Far from a new season of hope and renewal, this spring accentuated a feeling of self-hatred and despair that was in danger of engulfing him if he wasn't careful."
Thanks to Penguin Group for sending me this eARC through NetGalley. #TheWashingtonDecree #NetGalley
In light of the current US political situation, this book had particular resonances that were intriguing. Combination of a political expose with crime thriller was engaging and I was caught up in the machinations.
The story basically revolves around 'Doggie' Rogers, who is working on the campaign for Democratic Senator Bruce Jansen. Her father, a wealthy hotelier, is an outspoken Republican and has a dysfunctional 'helper' who is very abusive about Jansen and his wife.
Sixteen years before fourteen-year-old Dorothy "Doggie" Rogers, small-town sheriff T. Perkins, single mother Rosalie Lee, well-known journalist John Bugatti, and the teenage son of one of Jansen's employees, Wesley Barefoot had been involved in a PR stunt, which went horribly wrong when Jansen's wife was assassinated in China. In spite of their differences, the five remain bonded by their shared experience and devotion to their candidate.
In this new campaign, Jansen is a clear winner and for Doggie Jansen's election is a personal victory: a job in the White House, proof to her Republican father that she was right to support Jansen, and the rise of an intelligent, clear-headed leader with her same ideals. But the triumph is short-lived: Jansen's pregnant wife is assassinated on election night, and the alleged mastermind behind the shooting is none other than Doggie's own father.
When Jansen ascends to the White House, he is a changed man, determined to end gun violence by any means necessary. Rights are taken away as quickly as weapons. International travel becomes impossible. Checkpoints and roadblocks destroy infrastructure. The media is censored. Militias declare civil war on the government. The country descends into chaos, and Jansen's former friends each find themselves fighting a very different battle, for themselves, their rights, their country . . . and, in Doggie's case, the life of her father, who just may be innocent.
Her struggle to try to prove her father's innocence before the death penalty is carried out, is tense.
The story basically revolves around 'Doggie' Rogers, who is working on the campaign for Democratic Senator Bruce Jansen. Her father, a wealthy hotelier, is an outspoken Republican and has a dysfunctional 'helper' who is very abusive about Jansen and his wife.
Sixteen years before fourteen-year-old Dorothy "Doggie" Rogers, small-town sheriff T. Perkins, single mother Rosalie Lee, well-known journalist John Bugatti, and the teenage son of one of Jansen's employees, Wesley Barefoot had been involved in a PR stunt, which went horribly wrong when Jansen's wife was assassinated in China. In spite of their differences, the five remain bonded by their shared experience and devotion to their candidate.
In this new campaign, Jansen is a clear winner and for Doggie Jansen's election is a personal victory: a job in the White House, proof to her Republican father that she was right to support Jansen, and the rise of an intelligent, clear-headed leader with her same ideals. But the triumph is short-lived: Jansen's pregnant wife is assassinated on election night, and the alleged mastermind behind the shooting is none other than Doggie's own father.
When Jansen ascends to the White House, he is a changed man, determined to end gun violence by any means necessary. Rights are taken away as quickly as weapons. International travel becomes impossible. Checkpoints and roadblocks destroy infrastructure. The media is censored. Militias declare civil war on the government. The country descends into chaos, and Jansen's former friends each find themselves fighting a very different battle, for themselves, their rights, their country . . . and, in Doggie's case, the life of her father, who just may be innocent.
Her struggle to try to prove her father's innocence before the death penalty is carried out, is tense.
I have enjoyed his Dept Q series for years, and will continue to read those, but this stand-alone is a dud, mostly due to the flat and sometimes inane writing (or maybe it is the translation). Do we really need to know how attractive every female character is? Really? The plot interested me at first — America, in a state of emergency — but things seemed to fall apart rather quickly.
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
The Washington Decree is a political thriller by Jussi Adler-Olsen (author of the Department Q novels - though this one is a standalone, not related to that series). Originally released in Danish in 2006, the English translation was released 6th Aug 2019 by Penguin on their Dutton imprint. This edition is 592 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.
I read the book at a difficult time. As an American who spends a lot of time in Scandinavia, I feel as though I have a different perspective from a lot of Americans who live in the USA full time. Outside the USA, the media coverage is very different, especially regarding political coverage and culture. It often feels quite surreal to see the things which are happening inside the USA and reading this book was often difficult and distressing for me personally. It is a very long book, which wouldn't normally be a problem (I like big books and I cannot lie), but this one did drag for me in places. I think my major problem was that, when I'm reading Lee Child, Barry Eisler, Brian Haig, and that crew, my suspension of disbelief allows me to read and process the fiction without being constantly yanked out of the narrative because it's too real. There also seemed to be somewhat more filler here than for a lot of political thrillers which tend to be more action and less cerebration.
There were some British idioms which made it into my eARC, but not many and I don't think they would present any problems in context for readers. They included 'sacked' for 'fired' and possibly one or two others, which I couldn't find again from my notes. There are several references to alt-right organizations (KKK, moral minority, hell's angels, and finally 'White-Headed Eagles', which I believe is fictive, but all too believable - I do -not- believe that it was a mistranslation). Otherwise, the translation (by Steve Schein) was, for me, seamless. I did read the original at release in Danish, and am shocked and dismayed by the current political landscape and the eerie prescient reflections ripped from the headlines today. I think it's brave (?) of Penguin and the author to release the book into the current climate. The language is R rated and I would say typical for the genre. There is murder, assassination, discussion of sexual assault and rape, miscarriage of justice, and the depressing inevitable tectonic grind of political extremism.
I was left with a feeling of inevitability and sadness and despair reading this book. Despite a solid denouement in the book, I just can't help feeling we aren't going to get anything remotely resembling a neat resolution in real life. Everything is changed and it certainly won't be much improved in my lifetime at least.
Three stars for depressing content, four stars for writing, rounded up for relevance.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The Washington Decree is a political thriller by Jussi Adler-Olsen (author of the Department Q novels - though this one is a standalone, not related to that series). Originally released in Danish in 2006, the English translation was released 6th Aug 2019 by Penguin on their Dutton imprint. This edition is 592 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.
I read the book at a difficult time. As an American who spends a lot of time in Scandinavia, I feel as though I have a different perspective from a lot of Americans who live in the USA full time. Outside the USA, the media coverage is very different, especially regarding political coverage and culture. It often feels quite surreal to see the things which are happening inside the USA and reading this book was often difficult and distressing for me personally. It is a very long book, which wouldn't normally be a problem (I like big books and I cannot lie), but this one did drag for me in places. I think my major problem was that, when I'm reading Lee Child, Barry Eisler, Brian Haig, and that crew, my suspension of disbelief allows me to read and process the fiction without being constantly yanked out of the narrative because it's too real. There also seemed to be somewhat more filler here than for a lot of political thrillers which tend to be more action and less cerebration.
There were some British idioms which made it into my eARC, but not many and I don't think they would present any problems in context for readers. They included 'sacked' for 'fired' and possibly one or two others, which I couldn't find again from my notes. There are several references to alt-right organizations (KKK, moral minority, hell's angels, and finally 'White-Headed Eagles', which I believe is fictive, but all too believable - I do -not- believe that it was a mistranslation). Otherwise, the translation (by Steve Schein) was, for me, seamless. I did read the original at release in Danish, and am shocked and dismayed by the current political landscape and the eerie prescient reflections ripped from the headlines today. I think it's brave (?) of Penguin and the author to release the book into the current climate. The language is R rated and I would say typical for the genre. There is murder, assassination, discussion of sexual assault and rape, miscarriage of justice, and the depressing inevitable tectonic grind of political extremism.
I was left with a feeling of inevitability and sadness and despair reading this book. Despite a solid denouement in the book, I just can't help feeling we aren't going to get anything remotely resembling a neat resolution in real life. Everything is changed and it certainly won't be much improved in my lifetime at least.
Three stars for depressing content, four stars for writing, rounded up for relevance.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The plot takes potential to unrealistic lengths and the ending is poorly written, in my opinion. I enjoyed the character development, though, which I have trouble finding in books these days.
I picked this up, because the scenario sounded grand and I love me a good conspiracy thriller. Overall I enjoyed the book, although it definitely isn't perfect. The editing could've been tighter, like other reviewers I think the book could be about a third shorter. There are other flaws as well, but it's still an enjoyable read. I read the German translation, so I can't speak about American v. British English problems. Recommended if you like conspiracies on a grand scale.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced