Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
Why are his Department Q books so good, but the others rarely are? This was too long with too much explanation. The premise is chilling and really could have been successful, but...
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did not like the book. Perhaps it was the narrator who sounded like someone from the backwoods for every character. The story is about a fascist takeover of the government. That part is scary enough, though progresses too slowly. The characters who save the day are not believable and there are too many of them. Switching points of view to build tension is cheating in my book. I so enjoyed the Dept Q stories, this was a disappointment.
A really amazing book strikingly similar to the current political climate in the United States. This includes many interesting characters all with clear motives and a strong sense of realised in particular the character Wesley Barefoot. This book has a really good pacing throughout switching from more mysterious secretive chapters to some with action and drama in every paragraph.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I have LOVED every other book by this author. This one? Not so much. Too much political crap gives me gas. Plus, I worry constantly about our current administration overstepping the bounds of the constitution, so reading about that did not make me feel warm and fuzzy. Some may love it, I think it's just too close to home for me.
This one is hard to review. It's a, "what if," political thriller about America written back in 2006. Obviously a lot has changed since then. Some of the political choices and outcomes are relevant to current events, others are a little harder to swallow. It started out well, then was a little hard to stay in, but picked back up with the author's well written action and suspence. I probably would have enjoyed it more closer to the original published date since I would have been less distracted by some of the political choices that don't seem likely to happen. I am not going to base my rating solely on whether or not Adler-Olsen can predict the future of American politics, so he still gets 4 stars from me.
"The Washington Decree" is the story of an American President who starts out with a noble cause: to end all gun violence after his pregnant wife is shot in cold blood. But he goes about it in such a way that the American government begins to resemble a dictatorship. The country is at chaos and many of the people that once cheered President Jansen on will have to question their past and their futures and how they will fix the country and stop the chaos.
In today's political climate, this book is striking. It is hard to believe that the book was written almost 10 years ago. The book still feels very fresh as it tackles questions of Presidential power and how far is to far. Is peace by any means necessary really peace? I liked that this book made me consider some of the things that are currently happening in this country. I love when a book can make me ponder.
The book is well written and thought out. I appreciated that Adler-Olsen looked at Executive Orders that are already on the books to create some of the events that happen throughout this book. It lent an air of reality to the book. At over 500 pages, the book is huge and I did feel like there could have been a lot that could have been streamlined. There are a lot of places in the book that are concerned with some of the secondary characters ponder what is going on and have a lot of hand wringing over what they should do about it and what role they have played in where the country is going. The events in the book are so stunning that you really don't need the hand wringing in order to understand the full gravitas of these events.
Overall, this was a solid read. It could have been streamlined but left me with a lot of unsettling thoughts to ponder.
In today's political climate, this book is striking. It is hard to believe that the book was written almost 10 years ago. The book still feels very fresh as it tackles questions of Presidential power and how far is to far. Is peace by any means necessary really peace? I liked that this book made me consider some of the things that are currently happening in this country. I love when a book can make me ponder.
The book is well written and thought out. I appreciated that Adler-Olsen looked at Executive Orders that are already on the books to create some of the events that happen throughout this book. It lent an air of reality to the book. At over 500 pages, the book is huge and I did feel like there could have been a lot that could have been streamlined. There are a lot of places in the book that are concerned with some of the secondary characters ponder what is going on and have a lot of hand wringing over what they should do about it and what role they have played in where the country is going. The events in the book are so stunning that you really don't need the hand wringing in order to understand the full gravitas of these events.
Overall, this was a solid read. It could have been streamlined but left me with a lot of unsettling thoughts to ponder.
I love every book in Adler-Olsen's Department Q series, but this book is just plain awful. Boring. One-dimensional characters. Dialogue from a high school play. Not even Assad could have spiced this one up!